Freddy Galvis (SS, SD) - Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 4% of leagues

ANALYSIS: By now, most players are somewhat familiar with the story of San Diego Padres shortstop Freddy Galvis, a Phillies farmhand who had a breakout 2016. He was acquired by the Padres as a free agent to keep shortstop warm for Fernando Tatis Jr. and, while advanced statistics hate Galvis, he has actually been serviceable.

So, why is he here; mainly because of his 20 home run, 17 steal, .241/.274/.399 line from 2016, Also, his ownership is a whopping 4%. For another, he spent the last couple of weeks smacking the ball around, relatively speaking. Galvis is quietly producing the hardest contact of his career, even though his .119 ISO does not really reflect that. Over the last two weeks, his line of .277/.321/.468 has actually been depressed by an uncharacteristically low .268 BABIP. Basically, he is hitting the ball harder, better, more often, and getting a little unlucky. For a shortstop, with all of the injuries we have seen this year, that sort of production makes him at least a little interesting.

Galvis has shown in the past that he can go on a tear, and his hard hit ball rate could see his home run total creep up to the 20 he had in 2016. This is another case of value where you can find it, and Galvis getting at-bats at shortstop should be better than Jose Iglesias, Marcus Semien, Miguel Rojas, Scott Kingery, or even Addison Russell. Shortstop is a tough spot to fill in 2018, and Galvis is capable of providing top-15 production at the position.