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Two weeks left in this mad sprint, a waiver wire decisions have only gained importance since the games began.
Precious little about 2020 is normal or consistent, but the focus here is the same as it ever was: Players who are rostered in under 50% of Yahoo leagues. Your mileage may vary as to their availability and utility. We'll run down options for various league depths in an effort to provide as many fantasy baseball managers as possible with viable pickup options. Despite best efforts and intentions, however, it really do be like that sometimes.
With that, here are your waiver wire targets for the middle infield in week 9.
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Shallow Leagues (30-50% Rostered)
Chris Taylor (2B/SS/OF, LAD) — 30% rostered
Even at this late stage of the game, just a week-long surge in production is enough to make a huge difference to both a player's overall line and your fantasy team's fortunes. (Cut to managers who kicked Adalberto Mondesi to the curb a week ago nodding grimly.) Taylor hasn't been the top player in the game over the last week like Mondesi has, but he's been performing at a high level over the last 14 days, hitting .308 with 21 R+BI. and a pair of home runs. That's enough to rank in the top 15 middle infielders, but the community has been slow to recognize his ascent after an uninspiring start to the season.
Deeper Leagues (10-30% Rostered)
Andres Gimenez (2B/3B/SS, NYM) — 17% rostered
Gimenez has been good enough of late to supplant the disappointing Amed Rosario at shortstop. The rookie first drew modest attention from fantasy managers for his speed (7 SB), but he's recently displayed a bit of pop in the bat with two homers in his last 10 games. Toss in a healthy .287 batting average and eligibility at three positions, and it's small wonder that he was one of the weekend's most popular signings. Still time to invest if you haven't, but maybe less than you think.
Jurickson Profar (2B/OF, SDP) — 16% rostered
Much like Taylor, Profar's sluggish start to the season appears to be deflating community interest in adding a bat that is currently sizzling. The veteran went 3-for-4 with a run scored, two RBI, and a stolen base (his fifth) on Sunday. It was his third multi-hit effort in the last five games, and with the way the Padres have morphed into a juggernaut even being buried in the lineup hasn't prevented Profar from respectable run production or impacted his playing time.
Super Deep Leagues (< 10% Rostered)
Willi Castro (3B/SS, DET) — 8% rostered
One of the oddities of the 19-0 drubbing the Tigers suffered at the hands of those angriest of gods the Milwaukee Brewers was that both hits for Detroit came off the bat of Castro. Cold comfort to the rookie, most certainly, but the continuation of what's been a quietly impressive debut. The 23-year-old was lightly regarded in prospect circles but has hit .337/.370/.512 with three homers since debuting on August 12. That comes on the heels of a .301, 11 HR, 17 SB season in Triple-A last year, so there's potential for sneaky speed as well. Based on recent trends, it's unlikely his rostered rate will remain in single digits for very long - maybe not even by the time you read this.
The Watch List
Yairo Munoz (3B/SS/OF, BOS) — 2% rostered
A two-hit performance on Sunday that included his first stolen base of the season brought Munoz's overall line to .382/.382/.618. You probably guessed that it's a small sample from the first two parts of the slash (and it is, at 34 plate appearances) but small samples are really all we have at this point. And while he didn't show well last season, Munoz was intermittently useful in 2018, when he hit .277 with eight homers and five steals as a part-timer in St. Louis. He's played more often than not since getting the call to the MLB roster and is eligible at three positions.
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