Anthony Gose & Ryan Goins: Deep League Wire

Only one more deep league wire piece this season after today’s! ::sad face:: We’re going with a Blue Jays theme as the team has been killed by injuries, allowing some of their younger players an opportunity to garner significant playing time.

Anthony Gose | OF TOR | CBS 5% Owned

The Blue Jays outfield has been crippled by injuries and their entire starting group from the beginning of the season currently sits on the disabled list. Taking Colby Rasmus‘ spot in center field has been the speedy Gose who has been playing pretty regularly and hitting at the bottom of the order. Gose brings along electric speed — he stole 76 bases in both 2009 and 2011 in the minors — while also showing a bit of pop that could translate into 5-10 homers over a full season.

Unfortunately, he also possesses a fatal flaw — he simply strikes out much too frequently. While he has been better with the Blue Jays over the small sample of 2013, he has posted strikeout percentages of between 20% and 30% at nearly every minor league stop. That’s far too high for a hitter with his power profile. But, all that really means is that Gose may not have a real future as an every day player. That doesn’t matter so much now as injuries have forced him into the lineup.

Since there are only a couple of weeks left in the season, batting average shouldn’t be much of a concern. A lucky week of BABIP could push his average into acceptable territory and you’ll be able to enjoy his steals. The aforementioned Rasmus supposedly is expected to return soon, so there are questions as to what that does to Gose’s playing time. But for now, he’s worth a look for his stolen base potential.

Ryan Goins | 2B TOR | CBS 2% Owned

The Blue Jays second base situation has been a revolving door all season. They have employed the likes of Munenori Kawasaki, Mark DeRosa, Emilio Bonifacio, Maicer Izturis, and even Brett Lawrie. Suffice to say, none of these players had any chance to become the team’s long-term solution, aside from Lawrie who began his minor league career at the position. Enter Goins, a 25-year-old rookie who has had an uninspiring minor league career, but does offer a bit of pop and speed from a middle infield spot.

The key here is that he is playing nearly regularly and hitting in the two hole in many of those starts. Unlike Gose, he doesn’t have to worry about an incumbent returning from a disabled list stint, so his playing time is more secure. In deep leagues, at-bats are golden. If they also come with potential for non-zero production in both home runs and steals, then we’ve found ourselves a potential hidden gem. Goins is definitely less exciting than Gose, but could earn just as much value.