Sam Hilliard (OF, COL) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

Brady Grove profiles red-hot Colorado Rockies outfielder Sam Hilliard as a potential waiver wire acquisition of value for fantasy baseball leagues in Week 7 of the 2020 MLB campaign.

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ANALYSIS: Sam Hilliard has been putting up eyebrow-raising numbers since arriving in the Colorado farm system in 2015 from Wichita State (21 HR and 37 SB in 2017 for Single-A+ Lancaster), but 2019 was a particularly triumphant year (causing eyebrows to raise so high they're hitting hairline), this time coming with Triple-A Albuquerque and a limited stint with the big league Rockies.

In 500 AB last year at the highest level of the minors, Hilliard smacked a robust 71 XBH (29 doubles, seven triples, 35 home runs), with 101 RBI (for whatever that's worth), 22 steals in 27 tries, and a .262/.335/.558 slash. Hilliard was somehow just getting started when he got the call to Coors Field, a venue seemingly tailor-made for Hilliard to thrive in, putting up 13 XBH (four doubles, two triples, seven homers), stealing two bases (zero times caught), and hitting for a .273/.356/.649 slash in a mere 77 AB.

Hilliard has so far seen 61 AB for the Rockies in 2020, and while they don't equal his Herculean figures of last year, he has still had a strong and encouraging run with six XBH (a double, a triple, four HR), three steals (in three attempts), and a slash of .230/.309/.475. The 26-year-old outfielder has a knack for achieving balance; that is, he counterbalances his lofty 33.3% strikeout rate with an 11.1% walk rate, and he reads as the prototypical high-volume power/speed threat with a .234 ISO and 7.4 speed score. Hilliard has kept his barrel rate steady at 12.5%, while his hard hit rate has actually bumped up a few ticks to 45%, and though his line drive rate is less than ideal at 15.4%, he is again balancing his game out by gradually bringing his GB/FB ratio closer to 1.00 (1.10 to 1.06 from last season to this one), and it's safe to say that fly balls are a good thing to be hitting when you play your home games in the "Mile High City".  You might have to tolerate some streaks and skids when deploying Sam Hilliard, but the across-the-board rewards are easily worth the minor headache.