Christian Villanueva (3B, SD) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues

OWNED IN: 44% of leagues

ANALYSIS: San Diego Padres third baseman Christian Villanueva has a hit in four of his eight games, but has made the most of his opportunities. He has hit three home runs in that time span and has knocked in two runs in four of his last eight games.

The free swinging Villanueva has struck out in 31.9% plate appearances this month, walking just 4.3% of the time, but he does have four home runs and has been thwarted by some bad look. He has a .125 BABIP this month and .212 Isolated power. While his 27.3% hard hit ball rate is not terrible, he has only hit 11.4% line drives in May, putting him in a bad spot for average. A 59.1% fly ball rate does show that he is trying to put loft on the ball and it is unlikely that he continues to have this poor of a BABIP.

While his .136 batting average for the month is not good at all, fantasy owners are buying the 26-year-old for his power and he is displaying ins power stroke once again. He is now up to 12 home runs on the season, making him a decent option as a CI in all formats.