Steve Pearce (2B/3B/OF, TOR) – Waiver Wire Pickups

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OWNED IN: 5% of Yahoo! Leagues  

ANALYSIS: Steve Pearce’s season-long numbers don’t look gaudy at first glance, but when he has been on the field he has been very productive. He will likely be a hot name for the waiver wire this week as he slugged two game winning grand slams in the past week.

For Pearce, however, it isn’t a case of simply having a hot week. After a sluggish April, he had monstrous performances in May and June with limited at-bats due to injury. In a full complement of at-bats in July, he has posted five home runs and 16 RBI. Pearce does fall short in runs scored due to a combination of his low on-base percentage and the fact that he most frequently hits sixth and seventh in the Blue Jays’ batting order.

Another key to Pearce’s value is his ability to slot into multiple different positions, allowing him to serve as a valuable replacement for injured starters. In deeper leagues, Pearce is also a viable option for power production, and at just 5% ownership he is under-owned for deeper formats.