Milwaukee Brewers Chris Carter: Waiver Wire Pickup

By Bill Pivetz | Apr 27, 2016

Apr 6, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Chris Carter (33) hits a solo home run in the third inning during the game against the San Francisco Giants at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports /

The Milwaukee Brewers signed slugger Chris Carter in the offseason. On a team in need of power, Carter has been productive this season. Go pick him up.

The National League Central is a very crowded division. There are three teams fighting to win the division, and have a lead over the other two teams. However, the season is young and anything can happen. The Milwaukee Brewers know they have a long road ahead of them as they made some improvements in the offseason. One of those moves was adding slugger Chris Carter. He’s been hitting well so far and should be added in all leagues.

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After spending three years with in Oakland, Carter broke out in his two seasons with the Houston Astros. In those two years, he hit 66 home runs, 170 RBI and .225 while striking out 394 times. If you owned him, you know what you were getting. He is a good source for power, but make sure you have a batter or two that can offset his low batting average.

Chris Carter is the second-best hitter on the Brewers roster. He is one of two hitters with at least five home runs and 15 RBI. The other? Ryan Braun. He is currently hitting .297 and only has 21 strikeouts. If you stretch that out over 140 games, he’ll finish with 155 strikeouts, only four more than last season in 11 more games.

His strikeout rate is five percent lower than what it was in 2015. His walk rate is a tad lower, but not significant. He isn’t swinging at pitches out of the zone, 18.8 O-Swing percentage, and is waiting for his pitch, 12.4 swinging strike percentage. If Carter can keep those rates trending in the right direction, this could be his best season at the plate to date.

Chris Carter is the No. 3 first baseman on the Player Rater, behind only Mark Trumbo and Anthony Rizzo. While I don’t expect that to last all season, he does have the skill, mostly power, to be a top-15 guy at the end of the season. His average and lack of steals will hurt his ranking, but the home runs and RBI should balance it out.

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Chris Carter is owned in 47.2 percent of ESPN leagues, an increase of 18.4 percent over the last week. He is currently on a four-game hitting streak and has nine hits in his last 23 at bats (.391). There are other first basemen worth adding, but if you are in need of a power hitter, Carter is someone to add. He can be your corner infielder or utility spot and fill in for your first baseman when he gets an off day.

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