Tyler Naquin (OF, CLE) - Waiver Wire Pickups

Baller Move: Add in all leagues

Owned in: 54% of Fleaflicker leagues

Analysis: When you have superstars like Michael Brantley down for the count and you are shooting for a World Series, the incredible performances of players like Tyler Naquin must seem like quite a gift to the Cleveland Indians. Naquin is a 25-year old product of Texas A&M who has seen his first 197 MLB AB this year. In that time he has been eye-poppingly spectacular with a .335/.399/.629 slash line, 12 HR, three steals and an XBH percentage of 13.2%. His current OPS of 1.029 is the best out of all MLB rookies who have at least 200 PA. This power surge has come as a bit of a shock. Through all levels of the minors Naquin carried a .802 OPS, a walk rate of 9%, an XBH rate of 8%, and per 500 AB he would've averaged around ten homers and fifteen steals per season. It is hard to imagine his play continuing without some sort of regression soon, but he has a proven track record since 2012 that shows he can steal bases and hit with consistency and power. He is doing that in a huge way in Cleveland, so don't miss out on the rewards because of over-skepticism.