Royals Alex Gordon Heating Up at the Plate: Waiver Wire Add
By Brad Kelly
Alex Gordon has spearheaded the recent Royals’ hot streak, and finally looks like himself at the plate. After his dreadful start, can fantasy owners trust Gordon down the stretch?
Do not look now, but the Kansas City Royals are right back in the playoff race after winning eight straight. They will have plenty of teams to leapfrog, but it has been a remarkable turnaround for a team that looked dead in the water only a month ago. While there have been many factors that have propelled the team’s resurgence, the most notable, may very well be Alex Gordon‘s recent surge at the plate.
Gordon’s story is well-known, he has gone from looking like a huge bust, to turning into a key cog of the Royals recent championship runs. While he never reached the ceiling that some had hoped, he has blossomed into one of the best defensive outfielders in the game, and is just as steady at the plate.
Fantasy owners are well aware of Alex Gordon’s fantasy value, as over the last handful of seasons he proved to be a great OF3 or OF4. From 2011-2015, Gordon never posted less than a .265 AVG, notched at least 13 HR, and had no less than a .749 OPS. In 2015, he only played in 104 games due to a groin injury, and unfortunately the injury bug has reappeared once again in 2016.
Alex Gordon got off to a terrible start in 2016, and it was further extenuated, when he broke a bone in his wrist during a collision with Mike Moustakas in May. While Gordon may not be a top flight fantasy producer, it was surprising to see him struggle so mightily to being the year. His K rate rose to 30%, a career high, during the first two months of the season warranting some to speculate whether or not he was battling some other ailment from the get go.
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The wrist injury caused him to miss a month of action, but he was able to return in late June. However, things did not improve any in July, as he posted a putrid .195/2 HR/5 RBI/.649 OPS line. In terms of his fantasy value, Gordon was an easy release candidate as owners were forced to move on. But, is Gordon finally turning things around for good?
Since July 31st Gordon has played in 19 games, and has at least registered a hit in 14 of those contests. Even more impressively, he has five homers over his last six games, which has allowed him to already match his last season high of 13. Giving him a current August line of, .294/6 HR/10 RBI/.980 OPS.
Even though Gordon’ season line is nothing to write home about, it is harder to find a hotter stick in the game. With the fantasy playoffs just weeks away, Gordon all of a sudden looks like a waiver wire gem down the stretch. The Royals certainly have momentum on their side, and Gordon appears to be leading the ship.
Alex Gordon has the acumen that very few waiver wire options possess. With most of the Royals remaining schedule being divisional opponents, there are plenty of favorable matchups that Gordon will have. The Royals still have a solid core lineup, and with Gordon once again being a key contributor, his counting stats should remain steady.
Look for Gordon off the waiver wire, as it is hard to overlook the surge he is on at the plate. The start of his 2016 was brutal, but there is enough time for him to redeem himself. Make the move.