Matt Duffy (2B/3B, TB) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 7% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Injuries limited Tampa Bay Rays infielder Matt Duffy over the last few seasons and, unfortunately, a hamstring injury may limit Duffy once again. However, if he is able to stay on the field, a six-game hitting streak from May 6-May 15 shows why he has earned the right to be considered in deeper formats.

Duffy has four multi-hit games in his active six-game hitting streak, a home run and three doubles as well, and has nine extra-base hits in just 128 plate appearances this season. His .416 BABIP is extremely high (although he has a 29.7% hard hit ball rate) and his 24.2% strikeout rate is poor compared to his 4.7% walk rate, but his 31.9% fly ball rate has shown that he is working on driving the ball. His 15.4% soft hit ball rate is very strong and is in line with the 14.8% he posted in 2015, where he had a .762 OPS in 149 games for the Giants.

Fantasy owners should be scared about injuries, a low walk rate, and high BABIP, but there are a lot of reasons to believe in Duffy. His stretch of multi-hit games has shown that he is defying his negative trends and his 2B/3B eligibility is useful in deeper leagues.