Starlin Castro (2B/3B, WAS) - Week 16 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in leagues of 14+ teams

ROSTERED IN: 18% of leagues

ANALYSIS: The pandemic hit some players harder than others. Castro was one of the ones that felt it the worst of players that still played. After playing every game in 2019 with the Marlins and setting a career high with 21 home runs and 86 RBI, Castro hit just two homers and drove in four runs in 60 at-bats in 2020. The power shortage has continued into this season. Castro has just three homers in 87 games.

Why are we recommending picking him up? Well, homers are just one category. Positional eligibility in standard leagues also plays a big role. The main reason is that Castro is a career .280 hitter and entered the All Star break on one of the best heaters of his career.

Castro's average cratered at .236 on June 19. Since then, Castro has raised his average 47 points. That's a huge jump! He entered the break with a 14-game hitting streak and had multiple hits in nine of those games. All told, Castro is hitting a blistering .479 (.500 in 11 July games) with a homer, 10 RBI, and eight runs scored in those 14 games. How long will this hot streak last? Can Castro help us the rest of the season? Let's take a deeper dive.

Castro's hard hit percentage (40.1), sweet spot percentage (33.9), and his expected stats are his highest in the Statcast era. Castro hit .265 or better in all of those seasons and even hit .300 with the Yankees in 2017. Castro already has 20 doubles in just a touch over a half a season. What is notable about this is four of those doubles have carry distance of 380 feet or more. All three of his home runs have been to center field. A little bit of luck will help the homer number rise a little.

The main thing Castro will help you with is average. If you play in a league that counts doubles, OBP (his walk rate is the best of his career), or other categories outside of the normal 5x5, he will be even more valuable. His expected stats suggest that Castro has been a touch unlucky with home run balls. For example, if he had played in Yankee Stadium all season, he would have eight homers instead of three. Castro has sacrificed some launch for better contact, which is the opposite of what most hitters are doing. However, it's working for him and can work for us if we need a boost to our batting average.

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