St. Louis Cardinals Matt Adams: Waiver Worthy?

By Brad Kelly | Jun 9, 2016

Jun 8, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams bats against the Cincinnati Reds during the fifth inning at Great American Ball Park. The Cardinals won 12-7. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports /

Matt Adams has come alive at the pate over the last two weeks for the St. Louis Cardinals. Should fantasy owners give him another shot off the waiver wire?

Matt Adams has not lived up to high expectations that the St. Louis Cardinals nor fantasy owners have placed upon him. Even with his checkered fantasy history, does his recent performance at the plate warrant owners to take another chance on him?

Owners are well familiar with Adams since his debut in 2012, and eventual label of being Albert Pujols‘ replacement. He looks the part of a perennial 25+ HR threat, but has profiled more of a gap to gap hitter. His best season was in 2014, where he was able to play in 142 games and post a, .288/15 HR/68 RBI/34 2B, line.

But, thanks to an injury riddled 2015 and being slowed by a quad injury this season, he has not been able to parlay that success from 2014. The Cards have not been afraid to bring in rotate options at first base either, with the likes of Matt Holiday trying his hand there, and the acquisition of Brandon Moss last season.

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This was one of the main reasons behind him being off the fantasy radar for most of the season and in the draft. Since his return from the D.L. however, he has shown the flashes of potential that he was once lauded for. Over his last 14 games, he has posted a, .382/2 HR/10 RBI/1.068 OPS, line.

His torrid stretch at the plate earned him consistent playing time as of late, and it may be worth riding him while he is hot. The Cards will still protect him versus lefties and have no issue slotting guys in and out of the position, but he is on fire right now and they are more than willing to get him steady at bats.

In terms of a waiver wire add, owners should feel comfortable with adding him right now. At worse, he provides decent AVG and solid counting stats, and his 8 HR already, put him on pace to surpass his career high of 17 homers in 2013.

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Adams may have burned owners in the past and left Cards’ fan underwhelmed, but that does mean he cannot provide value over the foreseeable future. He provides owners with one of the higher upside waiver adds at the CI position off the wire, making the move well worth it.

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