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Michael Griffin recommends NL C Austin Hedges as a fantasy baseball waiver wire pickup and add in Week 8 of 2017 for his power at the thin catcher position.
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues
OWNED IN: 32% of Yahoo Leagues
ANALYSIS: San Diego Padres catcher Austin Hedges has put together a fairly respectable run of late. The Padres' backstop had a six-game hit streak before Wednesday's game and has an .870 OPS over the last 14 days. He's also got the lead for most homers among catchers with eight and is third in RBI with 20. Not bad for a guy who initially looked like he might never get a hit this season. This push has also had him hitting above his weight (.215), for once.
While Hedges can be trusted in one-catcher leagues, it is not wise to depend on him as a starter unless you are in a particularly weak spot at catcher. Even with a .308 batting average over the last two weeks, he is only hitting .214 for the season. Hedges' power can make a difference for sure, but his batting average is low and he has 26 strikeouts against just seven walks this season. He functions best as a streamer during the power surges, but as a young player it's hard to predict when those will come. If you're in a two-catcher league, he should have been picked up a long time ago.
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