Travis Shaw: Deep Waiver Wire Pick
By Bill Pivetz
The Boston Red Sox had a busy offseason, bringing in two top hitters in order to make it back to the World Series. Those played haven’t panned out so far this season as the team sits last in the AL East. However, there has been one player crushing the ball in the month of August, and his name is Travis Shaw. If you need help at corner infielder, Shaw is worth the pickup.
Shaw has shown some power throughout his time in the minor leagues. He had 19 home runs between High-A and Double-A in 2012. He had 13 in Double-A the following year. In 2014, between Double- and Triple-A, Travis Shaw hit 21 home runs.
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Owners look at the power numbers and assume that the player isn’t hitting for average. That is not the case with Shaw. He hit .287 and .278 in 2012 and 2014, respectively. His time in Triple-A this year wasn’t that great, five home runs, 30 RBI and .249 in 77 games.
Those numbers didn’t stop the Red Sox from calling up Shaw. In his first nine games, Shaw hit .200 (3-for-15). It wasn’t until he received the call on August 1 that things began to click.
In 17 games, Travis Shaw is hitting .387 with four doubles, six home runs, 13 RBI and a 12:5 K:BB ratio. Since the Red Sox traded Mike Napoli, Shaw has taken over the starting first base job. He is also third base eligible, which helps his fantasy value in deeper leagues.
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In 84 plate appearances., Shaw has a 22.2 HR/FB percent. He doesn’t qualify on FanGraphs for the minimum PAs, so we can’t compare truly compare him to the rest of the league. However, if the minimum was 80, he would rank No. 25 among all hitters, ahead of guys like Starling Marte and Jose Abreu.
At this point, there is no predicting when Travis Shaw will crash back down to Earth. Until then, keep riding this hot streak. Fantasy owners are already jumping on the bandwagon. He’s been added in 31.5 percent of ESPN.com leagues, the second-highest among hitters.
While the rest of his teammates aren’t producing much at the plate, Shaw is leading the Red Sox in batting average over the last 30 days. His kind of production this last into the season is hard to find. If you need help in home runs, RBI or even batting average, Travis Shaw is a player to think about adding to your team.