Angels Kaleb Cowart red hot at the plate: Waiver wire add?

Kaleb Cowart is swinging one of the hottest bats in all of baseball since being promoted by the Angels. But, is he now worth a waiver wire add?

The Los Angeles Angels have quietly had a competitive season even though they were without Mike Trout for a chunk of time and are in the middle of a rebuild. They have their fair share of intriguing players, but one recent call-up should catch fantasy owner’s eyes. Kaleb Cowart was promoted to be the Halos’ starting second baseman, and all he has done since is tear the cover off the ball.

But, is he worth a waiver wire add?

Kaleb Cowart is an interesting prospect. He was lauded as potentially one of the next best players to emerge, but inconsistency dulled a once bright prospect star. After two down seasons in the minors in 2013 and 2015, most had thought his development was stalled out at the AA level. But, since turning it around in 2015 in which he posted a .285/8 HR/68 RBI/12 SB/.805 OPS line, Cowart has rebuilt his stock in the Angels’ farm system.

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Prior to the 2017 season, Cowart amassed 65 games at the major league level, yet never mustered more than a .200 AVG in any stint. But, this season seems to be a whole different story. Over his 32 at-bats since being promoted, he is posting a .438/1 HR/4 RBI/1.204 OPS line. The sample size is small of course, but clearly, some of the tweaks he made at the minor league level are working.

In terms of fantasy value, Cowart emerges as a solid waiver wire due to his balanced skill set. The AVG will surely come down some, he is not a .200 hitter either, giving owners some type of happy medium. He posted a .311/12 HR/57 RBI/19 SB at AAA this season, offering the type of counting stat lines he can supply.

He also offers decent speed potential. He has amassed 114 SB in his time in the minors, while only being caught 35 times. The Angels have never been ones to shy away from giving guys the green light on the bases, and Cowart could offer sneaky production in the SB department down the stretch.

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Kaleb Cowart’s raw talent has never been the question. It simply is a matter of if he can take his skill to the level in which to thrive in the majors. The AVG will surely drop, but there needs to be something said about the way he is squaring the ball up right now. He is posting 36% LD, 39% Med and 46% Med contact rates.

Give him a closer look off the waiver wire.