Nick Castellanos (3B, DET) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in all leagues

OWNED IN: 42% of Fleaflicker leagues

ANALYSIS: There seems to be some skepticism regarding Nick Castellanos’ hot start in the fantasy community. On some level, this makes sense. A quick glance at his numbers suggests that the third-year Tiger is a mediocre player who didn’t show much in the way of improvement in 2015, his sophomore season. But he produced at every stop in the minors despite routinely being young for his level, and only turned 24 last month. Through 11 games, he’s struck out in nearly a third of his plate appearances, hasn’t walked, and is currently benefiting from a silly .464 BABIP. But Castellanos is also making higher-quality contact in the early going than ever before, and he was already doing pretty well in that area thanks to his all-fields approach. More importantly, the breakout actually started last season. After the break, Castellanos hit .269/.322/.478 with nine homers in 68 games.

There’s legitimate growth potential here. Castellanos was a well-regarded prospect and he’s been hitting in the middle of a pretty good lineup in the Motor City. Particularly with several of the established veterans at the hot corner currently scuffling, he's worth picking up.