Christian Villanueva (3B, SD) - Waiver Wire Pickups

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ANALYSIS: Christian Villanueva continues to bat cleanup in the Padres lineup, giving him ample opportunities for RBIs. His average stands at .327 on the season. In the last week, Villanueva has a .310 AVG, a .408 OBP and hit three homers with four runs and eight RBIs. His average comes with a .417 BABIP so there is a definite expectation of regression.

The current concern is strikeouts, which some think could be problematic. However, he’s never had a strikeout rate over 25.8% while he was in the minors so once he fully adjusts, his 33.3 K% should drop a little bit. He does swing at pitches outside the zone more than what we want (39%). His approach is working right now, but it is worth keeping an eye on. Another thing to watch is that Villanueva has always been a pull-hitter who had an elevated fly ball rate in the minor leagues. So, it is not surprise to see a 52% fly ball and a 68% pulling the ball down the line.

If he ever slows down or fails to make adjustments, he could become a platoon player. Given he is young, the Padres might let him continue to get playing time for his development. He might be spoiling you with all his homers. You’ll have to be patient this week with him as he faces off against the Dodgers at home to start the week. You will be rewarded with better matchups in Arizona and Colorado later on.