Rays: Kevin Kiermaier is a must-add for the rest of the season

Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier recently returned on August 18 after missing two months of action. With his skill, you need to add him now.

The Tampa Bay Rays, like every other team, suffered an injury to one of their top players. Luckily for them, that player returned to action with an American League Wild Card spot within reach. After missing 61 games, Kevin Kiermaier returned to the Rays outfield. He should return to your fantasy lineup.

Before getting hurt, Kiermaier was hitting .258 with seven home runs, 20 RBI and 30 runs. He also has a 63:23 K:BB ratio and a .329 on-base percentage. He was a 22nd round pick in standard ESPN leagues, but he did steal 21 bases last season, so owners were looking for a late source of speed.

Kiermaier returned to the Rays lineup on August 18. He went 3-for-8 with a double and three strikeouts in his first two games. In his third game back on Sunday, Kiermaier went 2-for-4 with a solo home run.

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While Kiermaier isn’t the most powerful hitter, getting a few extra home runs and other counting stats can’t hurt with 40 games left.

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Kiermaier will be the Rays’ leadoff hitter on a full-time basis for the rest of the season.

Batting leadoff will only help Kiermaier’s value for the rest of the season. He has some good protection behind him in Evan Longoria, Steven Souza and Lucas Duda. He will score a lot of runs and maybe steal a few bases while he’s at it.

Before being activated, Kiermaier was owned in just 7.1 percent of ESPN leagues. That has since gone up 1.3 percent over the last week. His ownership percentage is still too low for a player of his caliber. I expect it to go up by another 20 or 30 percent.

There are a lot of outfielders available on the waiver wire, but there aren’t many with a guaranteed starting job and hitting leadoff for a good offense.

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Kiermaier is already at 10 steals this season. If you are looking for a boost in speed to end the year, he’s your guy. He could help your other offensive categories as well.