Last week, I outlined how much of a mess shortstop has been for fantasy baseball this year. Nothing much has changed, except some saviors have bubbled up. Several hot players have made their presences known over the last couple of weeks. If you feel the need to bench your drafted shortstop until he turns it around, here are three guys you can slot in off the waiver wire. To make this list, a player must be available in 50% or more of Yahoo! fantasy baseball leagues. For you deep leaguers, the third must have availability in 90% or more of Yahoo! leagues.
[Jeff]
Zack Cozart, Cincinnati (42% owned)
Cozart’s ownership dipped thanks to an early season wrist injury, but the #9 overall shortstop in standard leagues should not be available in 58% of leagues. Get Cozart now and right him while he’s hot. He has traditionally cooled off as the weather heats up, so these are the months to get him. Worst case scenario he’s put it all together and you get a starting shortstop off the waiver wire.
Taylor Motter, Seattle (38% owned)
Motter’s fantasy baseball ownership more-than-doubled in the last week, and will continue to rise. There’s not a ton of track record for Taylor Motter’s output thus far at the major league level, but Fangraphs put out an article outlining a change in pull rate and launch angle, which are portends of power. The big knock on Motter last week was the Mariners trying to find a place to put him. Mitch Haniger’s oblique injury solved that problem, as the SS-eligible Motter will get regular reps in the outfield in Haniger’s absence.
Tim Beckham, Tampa Bay (8% owned)
Beckham already had his day in the sun in the second base primer this week, but he deserves another nod. The 8% owned Beckham has socked two dingers this week, driving his value up to top-ten at shortstop. His multi-positional eligibility doesn’t hurt, either. The Rays originally tagged Beckham for a bench role when Matt Duffy returned from injury, but Beckham’s put that into question with his production.