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

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 44% of Yahoo leagues

ANALYSIS: First baseman Yonder Alonso, now with Cleveland, broke out in 2017 and came into 2018 as one of the top sleepers in the draft. It’s crazy how his draft stock failed to ascend after finally breaking out during his age-30 season, though. I thought we were beyond massively discounting post-hype breakouts, but apparently we’re not.

That crazy high fly ball rate of his keeps chugging along, sitting at 46.2% through five games. It also helps that he’s tearing the cover off the ball when making contact (53.8% hard contact rate). Locked into a cushy middle-of-the-order spot on one of the league’s best lineups, Alonso is slowly approaching must-own status in all leagues, but for the time being we’re suggesting an add in 12+ team leagues. If you think Justin Smoak’s revival is real (it is), you should buy into Alonso, too.