Patrick Wisdom isn’t a perfect player, and I understand why he’s still unrostered in about a third of Yahoo Fantasy Baseball leagues. But I’d love to see him get a full season, regardless.
Wisdom’s fantasy cred has spiked through the opening two weeks, as he’s slashing .288/.351/.788 with eight homers. The slugging percentage is the best in the majors, and the home runs are tied for first. He’s gone deep in four straight games, including a pair of homers in Monday’s romp at Oakland.
Wisdom is the primary third baseman for the Cubs, but the team is looking for other ways to deploy him. He’s played right field a couple of times. He was the DH on Monday. In Yahoo leagues, Wisdom qualifies at first base, third base and outfield.
Wisdom now has 61 home runs since the beginning of the 2021 season, over 254 games. His 162-game pace over that span is juicy, indeed: 85 runs, 39 homers, 89 RBIs. Of course there’s a .221/.304/484 slash tied to that — the slugging is excellent, the other numbers lagging. Nevertheless, he’s still carrying a 115 OPS+ over that span; he’s still a better-than-average offensive player.
I have more optimism for the Cubs lineup today than I did a month ago. The top three of Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson and Ian Happ is solid (and speedy; they all swiped bases Monday), and Seiya Suzuki made a quick comeback from his oblique injury. Chicago ranks third in runs per game, a pace no one expects to continue, but this is a better lineup than the group that finished just 22nd in runs per game last year. There is Chicago hope.
If you prefer Wisdom in daily leagues or DFS contests, the schedule plays nicely over the next two weeks. His career splits show a heavy lean towards left-handed pitching, and seven of the next 13 Chicago opponents are southpaws. Maybe Wisdom will prove more of a spring fling than a full-season story, but I’ll start him anywhere I can right now.
Another multi-position waiver option
If your league snapped up Wisdom a while ago, perhaps San Francisco’s JD Davis can be of assistance. Davis is off to a .311 start with four homers and 13 RBIs. The Giants usually slot him cleanup. Davis has two Yahoo positions of eligibility, first and third base.
Davis doesn’t have Wisdom’s raw power, but he’s a more polished hitter. Davis carries a career slash of .267/.351/.445, which hashes to an OPS+ of 117. The Mets usually viewed Davis as a part-time player, although he did play enough in 2019 to knock 22 homers, along with a tidy .307 average.
Davis is in his age-30 season, so it’s not too late to dream about a possible career year. And he’s less schedule-sensitive than Wisdom is; Davis’s platoon splits are very close to neutral. Davis has been liberally added of late, but is still unclaimed in 55 percent of Yahoo pools.
Like a lot of fantasy managers, I made proactive offers on Johan Oviedo in my weekly FAB leagues, impressed by his opening push. A couple of those offers were winning ones, too. But this is a story I’m willing to wait for. This week’s start at Colorado makes me nervous, and after that is a date with the Dodgers — it’s not the dynamic Dodgers lineup we’re used to, perhaps, but it’s still a negative matchup.
But let’s focus on how the Pittsburgh righty worked his way onto the radar. He’s allowed just one run over his last 13.1 innings, with one walk against 15 strikeouts. Anytime we see that type of ratio, we’re moved to action. He’s throwing his fastball and slider harder than ever before, and his curveball has been his most effective pitch. Oviedo is also inducing more ground balls than usual, pushing that rate up to 56.5 percent.
Oviedo started the season as Pittsburgh’s No. 5 starter, but it’s possible he could be the de-facto ace by the middle of the year. He’s still just 25, and perhaps this Pirates roster is more competitive than we expected back in March. If you’re willing to wait for some better matchups, note Oviedo is available in 69 percent of Yahoo leagues.