Greg Bird (1B, NYY) - Week 16 Waiver Wire Pickups

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OWNED IN: 43% of leagues

ANALYSIS: New York Yankees first baseman Greg Bird is very quickly turning his season around, hitting .321 with three home runs, five runs scored, and 12 RBI this week. The short porch in right field of Yankee Stadium is particularly advantageous for a left-handed hitter like Bird who has a 53.7% pull rate. The question then becomes his ability to make consistent contact. Bird’s contact percentage of 76.8 is average but his swinging strikes of 10.3% is below average and needs to be improved upon. Speaking of improvements, his .143 batting average against same-sided pitching leaves a lot to be desired. Avoid starting him against left pitching if you can.

Bird’s fans have been waiting for him to do something similar to his performance the last couple of weeks (four runs, two homers, 12 RBI), even with a .256 average. The Yankees host the crosstown rival Mets followed by a trip to Tampa Bay after the All-Star break. Assuming the team doesn’t return with an upgrade at the position, Bird should be manning the first base job in the second half.