Yonder Alonso (1B, CLE) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

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OWNED IN: 30% of leagues

ANALYSIS: The definition of a buy-low candidate, Yonder Alonso has not had the start to the season he and the Cleveland front office expected. While the rest of the offense has taken off, Alonso is stuck in neutral with a measly .218 AVG and 88 wRC+ so far this season. Even looking to May, the numbers do not get better, and in some cases, they get worse. Since May 1, Alonso is hitting .189 with only one homer. Why then should owners take a look?

First, the biggest fear with this swing profile is the high K%. With Alonso the swing and miss is actually down a by about two points compared to last year. Not great, but compared to other power hitters this is quite good.  At the very least, this is an improvement to make on the stat line. Second, now take a look at that BABIP. Through May 20th it sat at .219. Last year, even baking in the struggles late, Alonso ended on .302. Expect some more hits to drop in and support the other changes in the profile. Third, even with a low batting average, when Alonso is making contact it counts. Nine homers already this year supported by a 18 HR/FB% make this look sustainable. The other thing is with the supporting cast in Cleveland, the team will allow Alonso to struggle as long as the homers are there. Add him now and expect a rebound to be on its way.