Cole Young Is Heating Up — And the Contact Quality Is Real

Cole Young just posted a .412 wOBA over the last seven days with a 3.8% strikeout rate, and only 12% of fantasy managers are paying attention. That disconnect won't last.

The 22-year-old Seattle second baseman has been on WaiverScout's radar since spring — we first flagged him as an "add now" back on March 22 when he was rostered in just 6.2% of leagues. His signal has oscillated between watch and deprioritize through the summer, but what's happening right now is the most convincing stretch we've seen from him.

The Rolling Window Tells the Story

Young's 7-day slash is electric: a .391 AVG with a .412 wOBA across 26 plate appearances. That alone is easy to dismiss as a hot week. But zoom out and the progression becomes harder to ignore:

  • 7-day wOBA: .412
  • 14-day wOBA: .343
  • 30-day wOBA: .315

That's a steady, accelerating climb — not a random spike. And the underlying process supports it. His strikeout rate has cratered from 16.7% over the last 30 days to just 3.8% over the last seven. Meanwhile, his walk rate ticked up from 6.7% to 7.7% in that same window. He's making more contact and being more disciplined. That's the combination you want to see from a young hitter finding his footing.

Statcast Backs the Breakout

The hard-hit data is where this gets interesting. Over the last 14 days, Young is posting a 66.7% hard-hit rate with an average exit velocity of 91 mph. Compare that to his 30-day numbers — 33.3% hard-hit rate and 89 mph EV — and it's clear he's barreling the ball with far more authority. He popped 2 home runs in the 14-day window despite having 4 over the full 30 days, meaning half his power output came in the more recent sample. The quality of contact is trending sharply upward.

His last five games show a player locked in at the plate: 6-for-19 with only 1 strikeout, steady line-drive production, and consistent at-bats that suggest approach refinement rather than lucky BABIP.

The Opportunity Is Secure

Young logged 26 plate appearances over the last seven days — that's everyday lineup territory with no days off. Seattle is giving him the reps, and with the trade deadline approaching, Yahoo recently featured him among notable second basemen to monitor. Spring Training observers were already bullish on his 2026 trajectory, and the mid-season performance is starting to validate that optimism.

At just 12% rostered with a stable ownership velocity (only +-1% change over the past week), there's still time to act. But if this .412 wOBA week turns into a two-week trend — and the hard-hit data says it could — he'll be 25-30% rostered before you blink. Compare that to more established names at the position like Ozzie Albies or Marcus Semien, and Young obviously carries more risk, but his upside at near-free cost is the entire point of the waiver wire.

Verdict: Watch

Cole Young is a firm watch. The data is clear: his contact quality is surging, his plate discipline is improving, and he's playing every day. We aren't quite ready to bang the table for an add in all formats — 50 PA is a solid sample but we want to see the hard-hit rate sustain above 50% for another week before this becomes a must-roster signal. In deeper leagues (14+ teams) or MI-needy rosters, he's already worth a speculative pickup. In shallower formats, put him on your shortlist and check back. WaiverScout has been tracking Young since March. If this breakout holds, you'll want to say you were early.