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As we move into May, many of the season’s early performers have been snapped up from the waiver wire. That necessitates digging a bit deeper, especially in the wake of a season-ending injury to Corey Seager. Eduardo Escobar was a fixture on this list through the first five weeks and has seen his ownership shoot up by about 40 percent since Seager’s diagnosis was announced.
Every Monday until the end of the season, we'll look at the best middle infielders available in at least 50 percent of Yahoo leagues. These are based on standard 5x5 scoring; adjust accordingly for your specific setup.
Let’s get to it.
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Week 6 Middle Infield (MI) Waiver Wire Targets
Addison Russell, SS, Chicago Cubs (41% owned)
Russell has struggled for most of 2018, and his next home run will be his first of the season. Yet his peripherals continue to be encouraging. He’s hitting more line drives, making more contact, and chasing fewer pitchers out of the strike zone. You have to think sooner or later the results will turn around if he keeps showing that sort of growth.
Jedd Gyorko, 1B/2B/3B, St. Louis Cardinals (17% owned)
Gyorko is hitting the snot out of the ball. A home run on Sunday brought his season line up to a cool .400/.525/.767. As those relatively round numbers and his low ownership rate imply, of course, it’s in a tiny sample. Gyorko missed some time with a hamstring strain but was also a victim of the Cardinals’ roster crunch in the early going, so he’s only got 40 plate appearances to his name. With both Kolten Wong and Matt Carpenter having been terrible so far, this may be Gyorko’s chance to take more of the playing time pie for himself.
Nick Ahmed, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks (14% owned)
An 0-for-19 skid has dropped his batting average to a lowly .217, but Ahmed has five home runs to his name. That’s one more than teammate and consensus first-rounder Paul Goldschmidt, because when has baseball ever made any damn sense? Speaking of Goldy, Ahmed has recently seen some time in front of him and a resurgent A.J. Pollock in the second spot of the Arizona batting order. Not a bad place to be.
Alen Hanson, 2B/OF, San Francisco Giants (6% owned)
Even though it seems like he’s been around longer, Hanson is only 25 years old. Formerly a well-regarded prospect with the Pirates, he failed to impress in limited MLB time with Pittsburgh and is now plying his trade for the Giants. Hanson averaged 39 SB/600 PA as a minor leaguer, and has already swiped two bags in eight games with San Francisco. He’s also hitting .321/.345/.643 with a pair of homers. With Joe Panik out until mid-to-late June after thumb surgery, Hanson looks to have the inside track on the starting job at second base.
Lourdes Gurriel, 2B/OF, Toronto Blue Jays (3% owned)
You can ignore him for the moment in standard leagues, but Gurriel represents an interesting flier for deep and AL-only owners. Toronto’s roster has a lot of moving parts on the infield, but another injury – this time an ankle sprain for shortstop Aledmys Diaz – may have at least temporarily made Gurriel’s path to playing time a bit less murky. Yangervis Solarte would likely slide over to shortstop with Diaz out, leaving second base to Gurriel. The 24-year-old is hitting just .236/.263/.364, but does already have two homers and a stolen base in 57 plate appearances.
