Alejandro De Aza: Deep League Waiver Wire

After searching far and deep, I was only able to uncover one hidden gem for this week’s deep league waiver wire. Contrary to popular belief, not all White Sox hitters are cursed this year. This week’s pick will hopefully prove to be one of the few who manged to escape the can’t hit disease.

Alejandro De Aza, CHW OF | 3% Owned

With Carlos Quentin on the DL and Adam Dunn speeding up his retirement plans, outfield playing time has opened up for De Aza. Though no longer young or considered a prospect, he is still just 27 and was once a speed demon in the Marlins system. Now, he seems to have added some power to his game as well. De Aza makes decent contact, and walks at a below average clip, but seems to know his game is about speed and has hit nearly 50% of his balls in play on the ground. As a result, his BABIP has always been high which suggests he could sustain a well above average mark. Clearly, his current .382 is probably above his head, but a favorable batting average should continue. He stole 22 bases in 385 Triple-A at-bats this season, but at a pedestrian success rate, though he has been more efficient in the past. Though he had shown little power pre-2009, his ISO marks have jumped from sub-.100 to .206, .138 and .171 in the minors, so his current .194 may not be such a fluke. There is a real opportunity for De Aza to continue accumulating at-bats and he has the skills to potentially contribute some in every category. Desperate mixed leaguers may even want to give a look.