Gavin Sheets (1B, CWS) - Week 15 Waiver Wire Pickups

3 years ago by Mike Marteny

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ANALYSIS: Sheets is hitting .296 with a pair of homers and eight RBI in his first eight major league games. It's about time to take notice. The White Sox sure have. Sheets has been batting second in the order against right-handed pitchers already! The question at the front of everyone's mind is the same as it always is when a rookie hits the ground running: can he keep it up?

Sheets was hitting .292 at AAA Charlotte before his promotion this year and hit .281 in 342 minor league games. We saw Sheets hit 16 homers for AA Birmingham in 2019, his last full minor league season. His minor league career was marked with a high walk rate (11.4%) and low strikeout rate (19.7%). Those have mostly held so far in the majors with a 9.7% walk rate and 16.1% strikeout rate.

The only problem that shows so far is that he doesn't have a hit against a breaking pitch so far in eight games. If pitchers keep attacking him with breaking pitches, that could become a problem. It's also why his xBA is low at .236 despite a 43.5% hard hit percentage and 8.7% barrel percentage.

The main thing that Sheets has going for him is plate discipline. He's not chasing bad pitches and is hitting the good ones well. That means that his average is sustainable. His minor league track record suggests that Sheets should be able to hit around a dozen homers and drive in 40-50 runs the rest of the way. If he can do that with a .280 average, he's a solid fantasy asset. He is even more important in leagues that count OBP with his above-average walk rate.

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