Nick Ahmed (SS, ARI) - Week 19 Waiver Wire Pickups

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ANALYSIS: Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Nick Ahmed has been solid over the last few weeks, but a roster crunch may see his playing time go down. The Diamondbacks’ infield is going to get crowded once Jake Lamb returns from the disabled list after Arizona acquired Eduardo Escobar at the trade deadline.

After hitting his 16th homer of the year, the former Gold Glove winner is up to 107 R+BI on the year, despite hitting primarily in the lower third of the lineup. This comes after he had hit just 19 home runs over the last three seasons and never hit double-digit homers. Ahmed’s 23 RBI over the last 30 days is tied for third-most in the majors with luminaries Jose Ramirez, Javier Baez, and Brian Dozier.

A .272 BABIP despite a 41.1% hard hit ball rate could mean that the best is yet to come for Ahmed, making him a good fill in until Lamb returns. He may only be worth an addition in deeper leagues, but he could make an impact at shortstop.