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BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues
OWNED IN: 17% of Yahoo! leagues
ANALYSIS: Very quietly, on a team destined for another season in the cellar, Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford has been breaking out. His season slash line sits at .284/.352/.475 with four home runs and one stolen base in 141 at-bats.
His 10.1% walk rate is phenomenal, and while his 23.9% strikeout rate isn't great, it has been trending downward significantly as he has adjusted to major league pitching. Considering his strikeout numbers in the minor leagues were always above-average, I don't see strikeout issues become a concern for Crawford long-term.
Additionally, Crawford's new swing has allowed him to spray the ball to all fields (his pull rate is down nearly 8%) and he is hitting way more line drives than before - a sign that he is seeing the ball better and taking what is given to him, rather than trying to kill everything.
Crawford probably won't put up huge home run and steal numbers, which hurts his value in 12-team leagues, but he has the potential to contribute in deeper formats as long as he is hitting over .280 - and there is certainly the potential of a power surge on the horizon.
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