Mets Curtis Granderson Heating Up: Worth a Waiver Wire Add?

By Brad Kelly | Sep 10, 2016

Aug 28, 2016; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets left fielder Curtis Granderson (3) hits an RBI sacrifice fly against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports /

Curtis Granderson is currently on a tear for the Mets. After his previous struggles this season, can fantasy owners turn to him again as a waiver wire add?

It has been an interesting season for Curtis Granderson and the New York Mets. Billed in the offseason as a playoff lock, injuries and the inability to score runs have them in a dogfight for a wildcard spot. Granderson has 26 HR this season, but amazingly, has only been able to drive in 48 RBI. Yet, amidst all their struggles, the Mets are the hottest team in baseball.

A large part of their recent turnaround is thanks to Granderson, and the current tear he is on. Fantasy owners are very familiar with Granderson, as he is one of the more prolific power threats in baseball since 2007. For the 2016 season, Granderson has posted a, .228/26 HR/48 RBI/.775 OPS line.

His AVG will never be pretty, a .243 BABIP does not help either, but the root of his struggles this season lie in his BB% dropping, his GB% rising by 7% from last season, and his putrid AVG with runners in scoring position.

We all know that Granderson adopted a severe uppercut swing while playing with the Yankees, and even though it bodes well for his power numbers, it does him no good when he hits grounders.

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Owners drafted Granderson this season aiming to secure 25+ HR from a OF4 or OF5. With 25+ HR, one would think that RBI would follow, but that has not been the case for Granderson. He is still hitting his HR, but what good are they when he cannot drive in more than 10 RBI a month? Through the first five months of the season, Granderson could not muster more than nine RBI in any month, even though he had at least three homers in each month.

But, even though September has not even reached its second week, Granderson has already eclipsed the 10 RBI this month, and has notched 4 HR as well. Over the last two weeks, he holds a, .306/6 HR/14 RBI/1.282 OPS/12 R line. The RBI uptick stems from the Mets slotting him in the cleanup spot, with the hot hitting Jose Reyes, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Yoenis Cespedes in front of him.

He has currently homered in four straight games, and just simply by watching him at the plate, he looks locked in. Which can further be evidenced, by 7 BB:4 SO ratio over the last 10 games, and do not discount the fact, that he is getting a lot more pitches to hit now with Cespedes being pitched around. With the fantasy playoffs only days away, everything seems to coming together for Granderson to finish the season on a high note.

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Granderson is known for his HR barrages, and with plenty of RBI opportunities now laid at his feet, owners should give him another look off the waiver wire. He may be a weekly AVG drain, but with the advantage he can give in the HR and RBI department, we could have a fantasy difference maker on our hands.

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