Jonathan Schoop (2B, BAL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in all leagues

OWNED IN: 35 percent of Fleaflicker leagues

ANALYSIS: Before the season began, some brown-eyed handsome man predicted that Jonathan Schoop would be among the best fantasy options at the keystone. So far, he’s looking good, with a .282/.317/.615 line and three homers in his first 11 games. Nobody’s ever going to mistake him for Joey Votto, but Schoop has nearly doubled his walk rate, halved his pop-up rate, and cut his strikeout rate by over seven percentage points in the early going. That’s all very encouraging, all the more because he hasn’t lost the pop that makes him a potential big-time fantasy asset.

Schoop is currently stuck in the bottom third of the Orioles’ potent lineup, which limits his runs score and RBI opportunities. If he keeps hitting the way he has, though, it will be tough for Buck Showalter to keep penciling him into the eight-hole.