Luis Urias (2B/SS/3B, MIL) - Week 16 Waiver Wire Pickups

3 years ago by Mike Marteny

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BALLER MOVE: Add in leagues of 12+ teams

ROSTERED IN: 36% of leagues

ANALYSIS: The multi-position eligibility, especially in leagues with shallow benches, is intoxicating, isn't it? The .279 BABIP in the first half is a touch low, so there is hope that the .237 average can increase a little. Still, who can't use 14 doubles and 12 homers from a guy eligible at three positions that are very shallow after the top few players? The question is, can Urias keep this up? Let's take a closer look.

We'll start with the average. Urias is only a career .230 hitter, but it is also worth noting that he has never had more than 249 major league at bats in any season until this year and he is still just 24 years old. Urias never hit worse than .296 in any of his five minor league seasons, so we have every reason to think the average will continue to climb. Urias hit just .206 in April and .232 in May, so that has something to do with the low overall average. Urias hit .284 in June with five homers and 16 RBI. That's more like it! He already has two homers in nine July games as well.

How about the power? Urias did hit 19 homers and 19 doubles in 73 games for AAA El Paso in 2019. However, he did not hit a homer in 120 major league at bats in 2020. Chalk it up to just a weird year all the way around. Urias has raised his hard hit percentage from a career-worst 27.3% last year to a career best 38% in the first half of this year. His 2.3 degree launch angle last year had a lot to do with the lack of power. It's up to a career-best 14.1 degrees this year. Urias also barreled just one pitch in the entire 2020 season. He has 20 barrels already this year (after just nine barrels combined in his first three major league seasons) for a nice 9.4%.

Those improved metrics paint a nice picture going forward. Urias has also lowered his strikeouts from 26.7% last year to 23% in the first half of this year. That's still a touch high, but the 10.3% walk rate is well above average. His power looks sustainable. Urias has a shot at 20 homers and double-digit steals with a serviceable average. That makes him worth an add in most leagues for your second half run.

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