The fantasy playoffs are here! It is a time to buckle down and dig deep to find a weekly diamond in the rough that can help lead you to the championship. As I mentioned last week you should have no fear dropping 'big' names who have struggled or are injured for multiple weeks. The end all goal is to win the big trophy weather it is through a largely available waiver wire pickup or if it means dropping a struggling player to take a risk on a hot player.

Week 24 will include players who are widely available in Yahoo leagues and ready to make an impact for your team. The list will include some familiar names as well as some new names. I will work to find players who can help you advance to your league championship with their hot bats.

What we won’t be changing is the Yahoo ownership cut off to get into this column. Players still need to be available in at least 70 percent of Yahoo leagues to be eligible for this column.

Week 24 Middle Infield (MI) Waiver Wire Targets

Tim Anderson (CWS, SS): 30% owned

10-12 team leagues

Tim Anderson is a player I mentioned a few weeks ago as he has been having himself a nice second-half of the season. The shortstop struggled mightily in the first-half but has seemed to show us why we were so high on him in the preseason.

Over the past month the White Sox shortstop has hit .297. But it gets better, over his past 41 at-bats he has hit .415 and has shown power and speed with two home runs and three stolen bases. Anderson is showing the White Sox why they paid him and is staking his claim as the organizations future shortstop.

He should be doing the same for fantasy owners who should highly consider picking him up if you need shortstop help or are looking for stolen bases. With the playoffs on the line and Anderson absolutely raking he is my number pickup for middle infielders.

Joe Panik (SFG, 2B): 11% owned

12-14 team leagues 

Joe Panik is another guy who has been on a tear of late. The second baseman missed time with a concussion injury earlier in the month, but since his return he has seen the ball better than ever. The Giants second baseman is not someone who is going to help you across the board, but the man can hit and make an impact for your batting average and has even shown some pop of late.

Over his past 68 at-bats, Panik is hitting an absurd .382 with four home runs and 11 RBI. During that stretch he has upped the ante with a .542 batting average this past week. These are defiantly the type of numbers that will help you in the playoffs and he should be looked at as he continues to tear the cover off the ball.

Jed Lowrie (Oak, 2B): 14% owned

AL-Only Leagues, 14 team leagues

Jed Lowrie is just one of the Oakland Athletics I will touch upon this week. The second baseman was widely thought to be dealt at the trade deadline to make room for the team’s future shortstop Franklin Barretto, but he stuck around. The Athletics as a team have been a powerhouse of late, but Lowrie although homerless in the past week two weeks has hit .310. He is scoring runs at a rate of one per game over the past week and set a career high with his 43^rd double on Saturday.

He won’t help much outside of runs and batting average but he someone worth looking into if you need to fill a middle infield or utility spot. He is worth using over someone who is struggling at this point because after all the playoffs are do or die.

Chad Pinder (Oak, 2B/SS/OF): 1% owned

AL-Only leagues, 14 team leagues

Onto another Oakland Athletic, Chad Pinder is showing his power stroke over the past week. As I alluded to weeks ago, Pinder is a player like Trevor Story who won’t show much average but his power can carry you for a week or two while he is hot. The versatile middle infielder and outfielder has picked up multi-hits in two of the past four games which includes two homers. The sample size is small but for those digging deep into the waiver wire he is worthy of consideration.

Alcides Escobar (KC, SS): 6% owned

AL-Only leagues

Alcides Escobar is another player who has been on an absolute streak over the past month. Known more for his defense and often on the waiver wire, he has stepped up just in time for fantasy owners to ride his hot bat. Over his past ten games the shortstop has five multi-hit performances.

It hasn’t just been the past week however. Over the past month he has hit .351 and performed well week-after-week. Escobar is not a player who will help in any particular category, but he will help you out with batting average as long as he keeps this up. He is worthy of a deep league add. Each matchup can come down to a hit or two so why not take a flier on someone as hot Escobar?

More Waiver Wire Pickups and Adds

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