Brandon Phillips – (2B, ATL) – Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 35% of Yahoo Leagues

ANALYSIS: Brandon Phillips has quietly been a solid four-category contributor this season despite being part of the poor Braves offense. He is on pace for 83 runs thanks in large part to his .295 batting average, 26 extra-base hits, and batting in the second spot in the Braves’ lineup for the majority of his at-bats.

As for his other production, not much has changed in Phillips’ batting profile as he maintains a low fly-ball rate and low hard hit rate. Thus, his increased power output is somewhat of a surprise. On the other hand, it certainly appears that Phillips has taken a liking to his new home park as he is slugging .497 and hit six home runs there as opposed to just .375 and one home run on the road.

Given that, Phillips is best to add as a streaming option for favorable matchups in the long-term. However, his production to this point has been better than that so adding him in the short-term to be an everyday starter is fine, just understand that some regression may come to the point where he is best as a matchup play or depth in case of injury.