Austin Slater (1B/OF, SF) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

3 years ago by RotoBrady

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ANALYSIS: If Austin Slater simply was hitting with greater regularity, he would be in much higher demand. The 28-year-old Stanford alum had a great power/speed burst in 85 AB last year, and has started off 2021 with five home runs and seven steals (once caught stealing), though his slash reads .212/.310/.381 across 113 AB for the 28-19 Giants.

The problems have been in his increased strikeout rate of 32.6%, average exit velocity of 84.3 MPH, and ground ball rate of 53.5%. However, his hard hit rate remains at 42.3%, he is still walking at a 12.4% clip, and his ISO has still hovered around .169. Slater is not an ultra-talented baserunner, but he still steals with above-average success and solid volume, making the most of his 85th percentile sprinting speed. He'll need to start hitting more line drives to start collecting hits in wide-open Oracle Park, but seeing as he's already collected a homer and a steal this week while hitting .167, he has the tools to keep you satisfied in the meantime for those in deeper leagues while those adjustments are made.

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