James McCann (C, CWS) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two-Catcher Leagues

OWNED IN: 14% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Last season, in his first year with the Chicago White Sox, James McCann turned in by far the best campaign of his career, putting up 18 home runs, four stolen bases, and a slash of .273/.328/.460 in 439 AB on his way to his first All-Star selection. So why, after such a season, did the White Sox feel the need to sign Yasmani Grandal and reduce McCann to backup duty? Well, that's because McCann hit a huge slump in the second half of 2019 with a .695 OPS as compared to his first half OPS of .873. Despite all of this unfortunate news, there is good reason to buy stock in the former Arkansas Razorback for the remainder of 2020.

Last year, McCann netted a .187 ISO behind a 39.9% hard contact rate and a 13.9% soft contact rate. While he did hit far more grounders than he did fly balls, he was still hitting line drives at an offense-friendly 23.5% clip, which explains how he finished 2019 with a .359 BABIP. McCann has only taken 10 AB so far in 2020, but he has maximized those opportunities to the tune of two homers and a 1.500 OPS (resulting in a .600 ISO) in the limited sample. He has started 2020 very similar to how he started 2019, in that he is hitting for 50% hard contact, just 12.5% soft contact, and is striking out far less frequently than his career average of 25.4%. He still has a 1.33 GB/FB ratio and hasn't hit many line drive this year, but that is a moot point when you have hit nearly every fly ball into the empty stands. If you are in a super deep league or a two-catcher league and you have room to keep James McCann until days when his number is called, his power stroke is well worth the acquisition.