Kevin Kiermaier (OF, TB) - Week 25 Waiver Wire Pickups

Chris Zolli profiles outfielder Kevin Kiermaier as a waiver wire pickup and add in Week 25 of the 2018 MLB season.

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 26% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier is only slashing .225/.285/.386 over 328 plate appearances this season, but that does not speak to the player that Kiermaier is. After posting a .276/.338/.450 slash line last season, he has a .266/.312/.481 slash line in the second half, including three steals and 19 extra base hits. Since the beginning of September, Kiermaier has a gaudy .500/.516/1.036 slash line with seven extra base hits and 16 R+BI.

Obviously, a lot of the interest in Kiermaier stems from his scorching start to September, which has included a hit in every game and five multi-hit games. He has an extra base hit in four of the last five games as well, hitting two home runs on September 5 and posting a double and triple on September 3. Kiermaier has yet to walk this month, and is 0-for-1 on steal attempts, but his 32% line drive rate and 11.5% soft hit ball rate show that his batted ball profile matches his solid stretch.

A .478 BABIP will not stand up (even with a 42.3% hard hit ball rate), but Kiermaier's track record shows that his poor start to 2018 is in the past. He is a good addition in deeper leagues and should be plugged into lineups while he is hitting this well.