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Andrew Ericksen analyzes Detroit Tigers infielder and outfielder Niko Goodrum as a waiver wire pickup or add target for Week 19 of the 2019 fantasy baseball season. Goodrum has had a steady year and is coming off of his best month.
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues
OWNED IN: 26% of Leagues
ANALYSIS: July was the best month of the season for Detroit Tigers infielder and outfielder Niko Goodrum. He hit .284 with four home runs, 11 RBI, 13 runs and five stolen bases in the month. He's been regularly hitting second in the order since the team traded Nicholas Castellanos and even in a weak Tigers' offense, he should have plenty opportunities for run-scoring and stolen bases going forward.
Goodrum doesn't really excel in any one category. Over the year, he is slashing .251/.325/.413 with 10 home runs, 40 RBI, 54 runs and 12 stolen bases. A lot of his value comes from the fact that he can be started at just about every position under the sun and the fact that he plays just about every day and doesn't particularly hurt your team in any one category.
There are some positive signs for Goodrum's value going forward, both for the rest of this season and going into next year. The uptick in stolen bases this year (he had 12 the entire season last year) has given a significant boost to his value and he's making more hard contact this year as well with a 42.3% hard-hit rate compared to his 35.4% clip last year.
We're amidst the final stretch of the season and sometimes all you need at this point is a guy who is just going to help you keep the boat afloat. The fact that Goodrum can do that from so many different positions makes him a very viable add in 12+ team leagues and AL-only leagues. In more shallow mixed leagues, you can probably find someone with a little more polish at any of Goodrum's positions on the waiver wire.
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