Mitch Garver (C, MIN) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two Catcher Leagues

OWNED IN: 0% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Minnesota Twins catcher Mitch Garver is a young, basically unowned player who has been given a chance to prove himself after the primary catcher, Jason Castro, was lost for the year due to a knee injury. Garver has dominated the minors; most recently, he had a great year in Triple-A last season, where he continued to show power with very good plate discipline. He hit 17 HR and 29 doubles to go with a 13.4 BB% and .291 AVG which earned him the Minor League Player of the Year for the Twins in 2017.

Garver was called up in August of 2017 for a cup of coffee and has served as the primary backup since the first day of spring training. Once Castro went to the disabled list in early May, Garver stepped into the full-time role. He only has a .259 average in 27 at-bats with two runs and three RBI. However, there are few full-time catchers available on the waiver wire, let alone one who is more of an offense-first profile on a team with little other options. Garver has a 38.6% rate for both hard hit and fly ball to go with a 80% contact rate.

As a full-time catcher, Garver becomes an option for those in deep leagues and even more if his performance improves. He has matchups that he can take advantage of this week with Milwaukee and Detroit at home and Seattle on the road.