Welcome back FA Nation! Get ready for this week’s edition of Category Impact, where we will break down an important, but often overlooked category or two…

If you’re new to the site or just forget how this article works since last week, let me offer a quick refresher...

Category Impact will offer up anywhere from four to six players that can help you out in a certain category, whether it is stolen bases, home runs, or strikeouts. Some weeks, there will be an added focus on a specific categories, while others will be just players that you will want to pick up, but there will be in-depth analysis detailing exactly what category, or categories, a certain player will be of added benefit.

This week’s featured category is……. Batting average/OBP!

Let’s get it.

Teoscar Hernandez , (OF TOR)—Burst onto the scene, young man! After a few game layoff, due to the never ending inclement weather, Hernandez is 7-for-18 with one home run, four RBI, and five runs scored. Toronto can score some runs and Hernandez is right in the middle of that offensive charge. He isn’t striking out a ton, and he’ll likely walk more when he develops more confidence and comfort at the big league level. The guy has played less than half of a big league season, so it’s understandable that he’s going to experience some growing pains. He will need to stay in the zone more, as he’s chasing a lot of pitches outside of the zone. Also, a 16.9 swinging strike rate isn’t ideal, but it’s not far off his career mark, so it’s not as if the trend is getting worse.

As the season progresses, Hernandez will have plenty of help in that Toronto lineup, and if he continues to produce, he could be an everyday player the rest of the way. If he’s still available in your leagues, scoop him up, because he’s red hot at the moment, and barring any changes, he’s scheduled to face off against pitchers like Rick Porcello , Bartolo Colón , Matt Moore and Lance Lynn in the next week and a half. There is potential now and he has long-term appeal for those of you in dynasty formats, although he’s likely already owned there. He needs to be owned in mixed leagues beyond 12 teams, as well as AL-only formats.

José Pirela , (OF SD) – Pirela hit .288 with a .347 OBP in 83 games last season, hitting 10 home runs during his time in the bigs, making him a serviceable fantasy asset. It also should be noted that Pirela posted a modest 7.8 walk percentage last season, which helped boost that on-base percentage. So, why does Pirela make the list when his strikeouts are up and his walks, ISO, batting average, OBP and slugging percentage are all down? Well, he’s making hard contact more frequently than last year, and even though he’s also making more soft contact, his batted ball rates should even out. He’s hitting more ground balls than he ever has before, and in time, that should even out, equating to more line drives and fly balls.

Pirela’s swinging strike rate is par for the course, but what’s exciting, and great for future value, is that he’s staying inside the strike zone. His O-Swing percentage is 28.7 percent so far in 2018, which would be the lowest mark in any stint of his professional career. While the home park isn’t necessarily advantageous, there is success to be had, and even if it doesn’t equate to home runs, doubles in the gap still increase the batting average. He’s a must-add in NL-only formats.

Mallex Smith , (OF TB)— Smith has been on fire of late, registering multi-hit contests in three of his last five games. It’s been a different start for Smith to open up the 2018 campaign, in that he’s practically doing the opposite of what he had been doing for most of his career. Typically, the offensive production aside from stolen bases is lackluster, but this year, it’s reversed. He has just three stolen bases on the year, albeit each of them have come within the last 10 days. However, he’s hitting a crisp .373 with an even better .418 OBP. Before yesterday’s contest, he ranked 18th in the league in OBP, second in batting average and 29th in wOBA.

Smith has been valuable to date, without being a huge factor in what is arguably his best asset: speed. The batting average and OBP are likely unsustainable (career .268 batting average and .333 OBP), but the speed is legit and in time, his stolen base total will climb with time. Be patient with Smith’s speed, but continue to ride the offensive production.

Joey Wendle , (2B TB)— Despite not playing oftentimes against southpaws, Wendle can be a valuable asset for many fantasy teams, particularly those in AL-only formats. However, he’s still useful in deeper mixed formats as well. He’s smacked a home run and swiped a bag this season and despite hitting just .244, seven free trips to first base have catapulted his OBP to .360. Throughout most of his time in the minors, he’s been a reliable on-base guy, and for those of you in OBP leagues, scoop him up now. At the Triple-A level, he’s posted an OBP above .320 in each campaign, hitting at least .279 in each Triple-A stint.

In fact, if he had enough at-bats to qualify, his 14 percent walk rate would be the third highest among second baseman in Major League Baseball, trailing only Philadelphia’s César Hernández and Seattle’s Robinson Canó . His walk rate is comparable to that of Nolan Arenado (14.5 percent), Alex Bregman (13.6 percent), and Jay Bruce (13.6 percent). His current wOBA of .352 places him just outside of the top 10 second baseman in the league. He’s not the hottest addition off the wire, nor is he the sexiest pick up, but he’s a productive player that can fill a need on your fantasy team.