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As you've doubtless sussed out by this point of the season, deft work on the waiver wire is even more pivotal than it is in a full campaign. Injuries and ineffectiveness are, have been, and will be that much more challenging to overcome, especially as the 2020 runway grows shorter.
By contrast, this column remains consistent, trained on those players who are rostered in under 50% of Yahoo leagues. Your mileage may vary as to their availability and utility. 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.
With that, here are your waiver wire targets for the middle infield in week 7.
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Shallow Leagues (50-30% Rostered)
Robinson Cano (2B, NYM) — 47% rostered
Cano is old now (he'll be 38 in October), but he sure hasn't looked it in 2020. The veteran went deep on Sunday for the fifth time this season, bringing his overall line to an eye-popping .369/.407/.607. His Statcast profile suggests he's earned every bit of that lofty production, which makes it puzzling that he still sneaks in under the 50% rostered threshold. You'd think that a player with his level of name recognition hitting this well would have been snapped up by now.
Jon Berti (2B/3B/SS/OF, MIA) — 39% rostered
Berti has been one of most popular waiver adds in the last few days, owing mostly to his performance last Tuesday when he stole three bases in one inning. Successful steals of home tend to grab attention, and doubly so when the player stumbles on the attempt and still pulls it off, as Berti did. The eventful play gave the versatile vet eight steals on the year, on the heels of 17 swipes in 73 games last season. Speed and positional flex are valuable commodities in most formats, and lately he's been seeing time in the leadoff spot.
Deeper Leagues (30-10% Rostered)
Jonathan Schoop (2B, DET) — 30% rostered
Similarly to Cano, it's odd to see Schoop so widely available. Another home run on Sunday gave him eight on the year, and pushed him to a .303/.341/.529 overall line. The 28-year-old has 7 RBI in his last four games and is hitting .370 over his last 10. That sizzling streak has put him back on the fantasy community's radar after a couple of underwhelming sequels to his monster 2017 campaign.
Super Deep Leagues (< 10% Rostered)
Joey Wendle (2B/3B/SS, TBR) — 5% rostered
Stop me if you've heard this one before, but Wendle also homered on Sunday. That's not his game - it was just his second of the season - but he's still hitting .292/.344/.472 overall. The home run also extended what is now a 10-game hitting streak. The Rays' infielder also has a pair of stolen bases, and swiped 16 in 139 games in 2018, so he's got a little speed in his toolbox.
The Watch List
Luis Garcia (2B/SS, WAS) — 5% rostered
Garcia is just 20 years old and had a .617 OPS in Double-A last year, so it's difficult to muster a full-throated recommendation that you roster him just yet. The crowded Nationals infield doesn't help much in that regard, either. But Garcia is a top prospect, as is basically any player who makes it to The Show at such a tender age, and he hasn't looked overmatched. Even after going 0-for-4 on Sunday, Garcia is hitting a respectable .277 in his 49 plate appearances (.298 xBA per Statcast), with a home run and a stolen base on his ledger.
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