Pedro Severino (C, BAL) - Week 14 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two-Catcher Leagues

OWNED IN: 5% of leagues

ANALYSIS: It has hardly been the ideal season for the 2019 Baltimore Orioles, but there has hardly been a bad stretch of work at the plate for Pedro Severino. The 25-year old backstop has mostly been heralded for his phenomenal work on defense, but his bat has absolutely shined this year, and he has been particularly tuned in for the month of June with four home runs, one stolen base, and a slash of .295/.343/.525 in a season-high 61 AB. While it has been his arm and fielding talent that have earned him his routine spot in the starting lineup, it has made it easy him around with month after month of offensive success.

He has gradually brought his strikeout rate down from 21.3% in April to 19.4% in June, while supplementing his OBP with an 8.9% walk rate on the year. He has netted a .230 ISO and .311 BABIP this month, and it is clear as to how he accomplished this by hitting for 44.9% hard contact (with an albeit, high soft contact rate of 20.4%) on 28.6% line drives. At 27.3 feet per second in sprinting speed, Severino is a bit more athletic and explosive from an all-around perspective than one might guess, and the quality of contact that he has been applying to batted balls in conjunction with improving plate discipline is a fantastic formula for success in hitter-friendly Camden Yards. In a deeper format, you could do way worse at catcher than the red-hot Pedro Severino.