Nicholas Castellanos (3B, DET) – Waiver Wire Pickups

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OWNED IN: 36% of Yahoo! Leagues  

ANALYSIS: Nicholas Castellanos’ counting stats are finally starting to catch up to his advanced metrics, which have suggested he is capable of fantasy relevance for quite some time. For example, Castellanos has a strong 46% hard hit rate for the season, yet  had just 10 home runs prior to the All-Star Break.

However, things have taken a turn for the better since then, as he has six home runs since the All-Star Break and his ISO has gone from .186 prior to the break to .220 after. That has Castellanos as the 18^th best third baseman over the past 30 days on the ESPN Player Rater. His history of hot stretches also suggests that this performance could carry through the rest of the season, which would make him a viable corner infielder in most leagues, but also an asset at third base in deeper leagues.

One other note that makes Castellanos an interesting consideration is his rumored willingness to switch to a role as an outfielder. That would give him additional positional versatility down the stretch, which would boost his value a bit in deeper leagues. Power is not a scarce asset this season, but for those battling injuries, Castellanos is one option to consider.