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With a 60-game slate, deft work on the waiver wire is even more critical than it is in a typical 162. Injuries and ineffectiveness will be that much more difficult to overcome, so every decision takes on added importance.
As in prior seasons, our focus will be on those players who are rostered in under 50% of Yahoo leagues. Your mileage may vary depending on depth, platform, and other league factors. We'll run down options for various league depths in an effort to provide as many fantasy baseball managers as possible with viable pickup options. Despite best efforts and intentions, however, it really do be like that sometimes.
Without further ado, here are your waiver wire targets for the middle infield in week 3.
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Shallow Leagues (50-30% Rostered)
Colin Moran (2B/3B, PIT) — 44% rostered
Moran went 0-for-5 on Sunday afternoon, but entered play with a tidy .321/.367/.893 line on the strength of a league-leading five home runs. The veteran hasn't flashed power like this before, but he did knock in 80 runs and hit.277 in 466 at-bats a year ago. He's also been serving as the Pirates' primary cleanup hitter in the early going, and with how difficult it's been in 2020 to field a full fantasy lineup, the multi-position eligibility shouldn't be overlooked either.
Chris Taylor (2B/SS/OF, LAD) — 32% rostered
Speaking of flexibility, Taylor remains eligible at both middle infield positions in addition to the outfield. The versatile vet has averaged 17 home runs and 11 stolen bases over the last three seasons, and entered Sunday's action with a solid .269/.424/.385 slash line. He's started all but two of the Dodgers' games so far, and in one of those two he pinch-hit and blasted a three-run homer.
Deeper Leagues (30-10% Rostered)
Nick Madrigal (2B/SS, CHW) — 22% rostered
Madrigal made his MLB debut on Friday, and after a pair of hitless contests, he tallied four hits on Sunday. They were all singles because the 5-foot-7, 165-pound rookie doesn't offer much pop. But he did score a couple of runs while driving in another, and the real reasons to have him on your fantasy roster are batting average and speed. Madrigal hit .311 with 35 stolen bases across three levels in the minors last year and struck out just 16 times in 532 plate appearances.
Hanser Alberto (2B/3B, BAL) — 18% rostered
Alberto was a rare pleasant surprise for the Orioles in 2019, coming out of nowhere to hit .305 while providing excellent defense at second base and passable glovework at third. Obviously the latter is irrelevant for our purposes, but Alberto has picked up right where he left off at the plate in 2020. In eight games thus far, he's hitting .429/.459/.658 with a pair of homers and a stolen base. He's recorded multiple hits in five of those contests, and been held without a hit just once. Likely to be a fixture near the top of the batting order, the 27-year-old is primed to deliver sneaky value once again.
Super Deep Leagues (< 10% Rostered)
Nico Hoerner (2B/SS, CHC) — 7% rostered
Hoerner is probably stuck in the bottom third of the lineup for the foreseeable future, but he is playing regularly and showing well to this point. Though he doesn't have a home run or stolen base yet, he entered play on Sunday 7-for-20 with five runs scored and five RBI.
Wilmer Flores (1B/2B, SF) — 5% rostered
Longtime readers already know this, but it's an informal rule of these columns not to tout the same guy in consecutive weeks. Exceptions are periodically made, though, and this is the first of the 2020 season. Flores graduates from the watch list to a deep-league add this week after hitting his second home run of the year over the weekend. The 28-year-old has been held off the bases just once in nine games and appears to be locked in as the #2 hitter in the Giants order.
The Watch List
Shed Long Jr. (2B/OF, SEA) — 6% rostered
Long may have been supplanted as the leadoff hitter by JP Crawford, but he still merits monitoring after stealing his third base of the season on Sunday. The 24-year-old also has a home run to his credit in the early going and posted a solid .787 OPS last season in his 168 MLB at-bats.
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