Yonder Alonso (1B, CLE) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 10-12+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 42% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Damn, y’all are fickle. Remember when Alonso made the American League All-Star squad last year with an awesome first half? Or are you really that burned by the second half that you’re just out on the guy? Even if I grant you that he’s the type who can’t keep this up all year based on a one-year sample size, Alonso was ID’d last year as a potential breakout by Eno Sarris due to his fly-ball ways in Spring Training. He then encountered a timing issue in the second half and things never really settled back in.

Well, guess what? He’s now in a better park for lefties to mash, surrounded by a better lineup to keep those counting stats juicy and, and, his timing is looking pretty good right now. This is one of those times where you do have to take spring numbers into account because he’s tied for the ST lead with seven homers alongside a mighty 1.284 OPS. If he comes close to hitting 20 first-half homers with a .275 average on this team, you’re going to look silly having let someone else scoop him up.