Jason Heyward (OF, CHC) - Week 16 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 17% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Chicago Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward was seen as a free agent bust after a few rough offensive seasons, but has shown some good signs of late. He has a .306 batting average since the beginning of June, posting a .478 slugging percentage and .172 isolated power. Heyward has a .354 OBP in the same time period, putting up solid extra-base and run production totals.

Heyward has four home runs and 11 doubles since the beginning of June, knocking in 18 runs and scoring 25 times. The doubles and run production are very nice for fantasy owners and his .327 BABIP shows that his strong performance of late is not that lucky. A lot of his strong performance has come from 20.5% line drive rate and 32.2% hard hit ball rate. He still has a 47% ground ball rate since June 1, but the line drive rate and hard hit ball rates are very nice.

The Cubs offense has been hot of late, and Kris Bryant has also returned, so Heyward batting second for Chicago will only continue to help his runs scored tally. As long as Heyward is hitting near the top of the lineup for Chicago, he is a good addition in deeper fantasy leagues and should be a starter.