Alex Dickerson & Xavier Cedeno: Deep League Wire

It’s time to speculate on a breakout minor leaguer and the potential for saves.

Alex Dickerson | OF SD | CBS 1% Owned

So Jon Jay was officially placed on the disabled list yesterday with a broken right forearm and will be out for a while. To replace him on the roster, the Padres called up Dickerson, a 26-year-old left-hander who ranked as the organization’s 14th best prospect by Dan Farnsworth before the season. He has played first base and both corner outfield spots in the minors, giving the Padres some flexibility to move parts around when getting him into the lineup.

While this has been his second tour of duty at the Triple-A level and he’s clearly not a youngster, he was in the midst of a breakout, striking out significantly less often and enjoying a power surge. He’s still lacking plate patience, but the combination of a .240 ISO with just an 11.3% strikeout rate is pretty intriguing. He has also shown inflated BABIP ability, as he has never posted a BABIP below .325 at any minor league stop, which is pretty amazing. He has been consistently in the mid-to-high .300 range and was BABIPing .397 prior to his recall.

While there are no obvious openings for him in the lineup just yet, Travis Jankowski is currently manning center field, but has posted a .309 wOBA and is projected for just a .288 mark over the rest of the season by Steamer. He clearly isn’t locked in as a starter, and even though Dickerson isn’t going to directly take his job since he can’t play center, the Padres have the ability to move Melvin Upton Jr. back to the position, opening up left field for him.

Xavier Cedeno | RP TB | 4% Owned

Incumbent Rays closer Alex Colome was placed on the DL yesterday for biceps tendinitis, which is always an ominous thing to read. Because he hasn’t pitched since June 18th, he’s already eligible to return next Monday, meaning there’s a non-zero possibility that Cedeno’s chances to record a save will disappear quickly. However, it’s no sure thing that Colome does indeed return that quickly as biceps problems could turn out to be a more serious issue.

Cedeno is a lefty, sure, and lefties aren’t often tabbed as closers. However, as a cutter/curve ball pitcher, he does possess the repertoire to bust platoon splits. Obviously, the sample size is tiny, but his xFIP is identical against batters of either handedness this year. I’m ignoring his history because his pitch mix has changed. And this pitch mix has resulted in a splendid 13.4% SwStk% and ground ball tilt.

Other names thrown around as potential candidates to garner the saves while Colome is out are Erasmo Ramirez and Matt Andriese. But both are former starters who can pitch multiple innings and may be needed to make an emergency start. It would seem silly to pigeonhole them into 9th inning roles. So my money is on Cedeno, especially if Colome is forced to miss a significant chunk of time.





Mike Podhorzer is the 2015 Fantasy Sports Writers Association Baseball Writer of the Year. He produces player projections using his own forecasting system and is the author of the eBook Projecting X 2.0: How to Forecast Baseball Player Performance, which teaches you how to project players yourself. His projections helped him win the inaugural 2013 Tout Wars mixed draft league. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikePodhorzer and contact him via email.

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feslenraster
7 years ago

Thanks for the two players, I kept my eye on Alex Dickerson for awhile, doubt he’s useful in even a 12 team league.

Can someone write up something about Dodgers pitcher Brock Stewart next? thanks.