Kevin Pillar (OF, TOR) - Week 23 Waiver Wire Pickups

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OWNED IN: 21% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Toronto Blue Jays outfield Kevin Pillar is a tough player to evaluate for fantasy purposes  (even if he is one of the best defensive outfielders in the league), but his hot streak of late needs to be considered. Posting a .253/.281/..419 slash for the season, Pillar might be wholly dismissed, but the combination of power and speed is still there. Up to 11 home runs and 13 stolen bases, there is a good chance that Pillar tops 15 home runs and 15 stolen bases for the second consecutive season. Considering that stolen bases are down, and that you would not like to sacrifice power for speed, Pillar could fill a need for those on the steals wire.

Furthermore, Pillar also has hits in 11 of the last 14 games (including seven multi-hit games) and is slashing .300/.311/.500 since August 13. If we dismiss the fact that Pillar will not take a walk (3.5% walk rate for the season), that is a very useful slash line and Pillar is also hitting in the middle of the Blue Jays lineup.

A 36.5% line drive rate shows that Pillar is not getting many cheapies during this hot streak (.320 BABIP and 34.6% hard hit ball rate show that he has not been that lucky either), so maybe it is a good time to buy the Blue Jays veteran. He only has one stolen base attempt during this hot streak, but you can bet on a decent combination of power and speed in deeper leagues.