Denard Span (OF, TB) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

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OWNED IN: 19% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Denard Span is on a bit of a hot streak this week, registering a hit in five consecutive games coming into Friday night's game with the Angels. Span was held hitless in six at-bats in Los Angeles, but still had two extra-base hits and three runs scored in his previous three games.

For the season, Span has 11 extra-base hits, walking more times than he strikes out, and scoring 23 runs while driving in 27. A  .242 batting average is uncharacteristic for Span, but a 28.4% line drive rate and 36% hard hit rate show that his .262 BABIP is painfully unlucky. Span has never hit the ball this hard and has never hit more line drives, so it is likely that his batting average will creep closer to his .282 career average.

The Rays saw Span as a throw in to the Evan Longoria deal, but he has become a vital part of what has been a surprisingly solid offense in Tampa. He is not on the radar as a starting OF in any format, but as his statistics play towards the norm, look for him to put up very solid statistics. An OPS in the low-.800s with 15-20 stolen bases and 160 RBI+R is not unreasonable to expect if he continues to perform this well.