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Pierre Camus recommends NL C Jett Bandy as a fantasy baseball waiver wire pickup and add for 2017 for his offensive production at the thin catcher position.
BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team and Two-Catcher Leagues
OWNED IN: 14% of Yahoo! leagues
ANALYSIS: When the Brewers dealt Jonathan Lucroy last season, they chose not to fill that void with another free agent. That seems to have been a wise choice, as Jett Bandy has delivered surprising results on offense this April. Bandy is slashing an impressive .327/.377/.633 with four homers, eight RBI and nine runs over 49 at-bats. Bandy did show modest power last year with the Angels (eight HR in 70 games), but only hit .234. He's never shown the proclivity to hit for this type of average before, even in the minors, so you should expect his .353 BABIP to decline.
That said, there aren't many catchers out there currently producing better than Bandy, even on a part-time basis. Manny Pina is splitting time with him and has fared well, so you'll have to check daily lineups if you plan on employing Bandy. If you have the time, dedication, and roster space, adding both Brewers backstops and playing them interchangeably could be very productive as long as you can get the right one in your lineup each night. Desperate owners in two-catcher leagues probably don't need more convincing to take a chance here.
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