Oscar Mercado (OF, CLE) - Week 16 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 28% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Oscar Mercado has hit a bit of a snag in his rookie campaign with the Cleveland Indians, and the deceleration may cause a few hesitant owners (or potential owners) to hit the brakes on his utilization as we enter the ceremonial second half of the 2019 MLB season. Although Mercado has had a spotty minor league track record at the plate (probably why he has been absent from the top-prospect lists to this point), he has a hard cap on his potential for power, and his plate discipline has been mediocre in his short major league sample, he is still easily worth an acquisition for his wheel-turning alone.

With an elite sprinting speed of 29.3 feet per second, it isn't a stretch to see how he was able to steal 210 bags over the course of seven minor league seasons. With the Tribe needing to mix things up early in the outfield, Mercado earned his spot by producing four home runs, 14 stolen bases (in 17 tries), and a slash of .294/.396/.496 in just 119 AB for Triple-A Columbus. Even with his recent slump, he has still created a robust 42% hard contact on batted balls, and his 20.4% line drive rate (along with his lightning speed) helps to support his .333 BABIP in spite of his dirt-heavy 1.37 GB/FB ratio. Oscar Mercado's ability on the base-paths is game-changing, and with the peripherals he has conjured supporting prolonged base-hitting, ups and downs shouldn't scare anyone out of buying in on the 24-year old Tampa native.