Joey Wendle (2B/OF, TB) - Week 21 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 12% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Tampa Bay Rays super-utilityman Joey Wendle was a total unknown before this season. Dubbed a “little engine that could”, Wendle was not considered anything particularly useful to most ball clubs, let alone a fantasy team. While he came into the season on no ones radar, the 28-year-old rookie is slashing a respectable .292/.340/.416 for the season.

Furthermore, since the All-Star break, he has produced a .321/.370/.488 line while chipping in a steal, 10 extra base hits, 12 runs, and 12 runs batted in. That line comes while splitting time at second and in the outfield, making Wendle even more attractive for fantasy owners. Fantasy owners will not get a lot of power and steals, but the Rays have given him shots towards the top of the order, meaning he could be a sneaky source of runs.

Nothing in his profile suggests that his season line of .292/.340/.416 is fluky, and with a solid hard hit percentage of 36.7% there’s a chance that he could barrel the ball and produce more power than expected. He is a solid add for the team needing some flexibility in their lineup and to get some more average or decent upside fill-in at bats for the stretch run.