Cardinals Jhonny Peralta Heating Up: Waiver Wire Add

By Brad Kelly | Sep 28, 2016

Sep 27, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Jhonny Peralta (27) celebrates after hitting a three run home run off of Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Matt Magill (not pictured) during the fifth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

Jhonny Peralta is having a rough season for the Cardinals, but is heating up at the dish as of late. Can fantasy owners rely on him to help during championship week?

The St. Louis Cardinals are in a dogfight for one of the two NL Wild Card spots, and they will need all hands on deck in order to see playoff baseball. The Cardinals have been ravaged by injuries and under performers this season. One player that falls under each of those designations in 2016 is Jhonny Peralta.

Peralta debuted in 2003, making this season his 13th professional campaign. For a large part of his career, Peralta has been a fantasy mainstay supplying plus power from the SS position. Now that he is entering the back-end of his career, seeing most of his time at third base with the Cards, Peralta has still maintained his fantasy value thanks to his solid seasonal lines.

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Entering the season, Peralta was a late round CI or UTIL pick, hopefully offering solid power and counting stats. Unfortunately, things did not go plan this season. Peralta missed the first two months of the season due to a thumb injury, and would miss time in late July after aggravating the ailment.

Peralta did not really get into the swing of things until August, where he would post a, .280/1 HR/7 RBI/.700 OPS/14 R line. That monthly stat line does not jump off the page, but it was a positive sign nonetheless. Peralta was more than likely off fantasy owners radar entering the fantasy playoffs, but he could very well be a waiver wire add that could help owners win a championship.

There are four more days left in the week, meaning that owners have to find adds that are hot at the plate and can help immediately. Over his last six games, Peralta has gone 10 for 18, homering once, and driving in five RBI. He is clearly heating up at the perfect time for the Cards, and for fantasy owners as well.

The Cards will play the Reds once more before finishing the year against the Pirates in St. Louis. Besides his current hot streak, Peralta has also hit better at home posting a, .267/4 HR/14 RBI/.732 OPS line, compared to .253 on the road. The Pirates have struggled to get consistent pitching all season, so there is no reason to think that Peralta will cool off all of a sudden.

Next: Pirates Starling Marte Injured: Fantasy Fallout

Fantasy owners still alive know that the days are winding down before a champion is crowned. Winning in the playoffs is all about maximizing matchups and having players that are hot at the plate, both boxes that Peralta happens to check off. Make the move.

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