Anthony Santander (OF, BAL) - Week 26 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in leagues of 12+ teams

ROSTERED IN: 38% of leagues

ANALYSIS: On the surface, it's been an underwhelming 2021 season for Santander. The 26-year-old slugger showed a lot of promise last year, smashing 13 doubles and 11 home runs in just 37 games before an oblique strain cut his season short. Fantasy managers came into this season with tempered expectations but were still hoping for better than what he's displayed up to this point. He got off to a poor start in April, batting just .196 with a .551 OPS over the first 16 games of the year before hitting the IL with an ankle sprain. He was sidelined for a month and picked things in May before sputtering again in June and July. He's played better recently but is still slashing a mediocre .247/.292/.441 with 23 doubles, 17 home runs, and 47 RBI over 381 at-bats. He's underperformed on paper but his expected stats say otherwise. He's got a .265 xBA, .329 xwOBA, and .445 xSLG to go along with a career-best 43.7% Hard Hit Rate, 8.7% Barrel Rate, an Average Exit Velocity of 90.9 mph (77th percentile), and a Max Exit Velocity of 112.8 mph (87th percentile).

The Orioles visit the Phillies for a three-game set before hosting the Rangers for a four-game series at Camden Yards. They'll face five right-handers and two lefties, which benefits the switch-hitting Santander, who hits most of his home runs while batting lefty. He'll likely struggle against Ranger Suarez and Zack Wheeler, who are the two best pitchers he'll face next week but Taylor Hearn, Kohei Arihara, Jordan Lyles, and Spencer Howard don't strike much fear. Santander has also been raking over the last seven games, slashing .333/.385/.750 with three home runs, six RBI, and six runs scored. He'll have a great chance to stay hot next week and should serve as a nice power boost if you're in need of home runs.

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