Ah, May, that time of the year in which the baseball season is no longer new, or young, but rather, established enough where players are beginning to lose their jobs and the injuries are starting to pile up, clearing the way for younger talent to make their mark on the fantasy radar. That’s where we find our two contestants this week, one of whom has benefited from playing time thanks to an early-season flameout, and the other suddenly pertinent in fantasy due to his newfound opportunity.
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As we’ve spent the past few weeks picking the bones of injury replacements here in the waiver wire dumpster, let’s turn to our other pastime in this business: placing bets on penny stock prospects in the hopes they’ll yield some value. In the cases of the Diamondbacks and the Mets, however, we’re talking about two sub-.500 teams, which presents the possibility that these young guns could stick around in the majors with some regular playing time — presuming, of course, that they produce.
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The beauty of life as waiver wire fodder is that you don’t need to be great, or good, or heck, even a full-time player to gain entry into the club — you merely need to show up with a job opportunity to take center stage here. In the case of our two contestants this week, their long-term playing time is far from certain, but they’ve been given a chance in the immediate term to contribute in fantasy, and given their past success, that might be enough to make them worthwhile in deeper leagues.
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Another week, another crop of injuries open up spots for two waiver wire candidates. Me thinks there’s a pattern here. As we snorkel amid the waiver wire waters, our first contestant is no stranger to deep league fantasy owners, though his awful 2013 made him persona non grata in the vast majority of formats entering the season. Meanwhile, a Tommy John snakebite has opened up a spot in the Yankees rotation, potentially opening the door for an intriguing left-hander to aid fantasy owners.

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You want deep? Then let’s drill, baby, drill, as injuries to a couple of established American League stars in Week 2 have opened up spots for some deep league fantasy options to get a chance to shine.
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Week 1 is in the books, and with the tiny sample size comes the emergence of several deep league options, overlooked on draft day, who are providing hope that they can help owners in the immediate term.
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It’s officially April, and with the dawn of a new fantasy season comes the return of a beloved fantasy pastime: dumpster diving.

These are the players you didn’t read about in the magazines, who didn’t make the final cut in your draft, who would otherwise be nonentities on the fantasy radar were it not for the deepness of our leagues – and the regular necessity of patching up spots when players go down with injuries, lose playing time, and deal with the usual topsy-turviness of fantasy life.

But you didn’t come here to read an intro, you came here to dive. Let’s do this.
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One might think, given the value of 20 home runs in fantasy — from a catcher, no less — that Wilson Ramos would be a man in demand. After all, he put up 16 dingers last year, good for 10th among catchers, and did so in just 303 plate appearances. So it’s a bit surprising that as drafts come to a close this month, the Venezuelan has been going 11th in mixed leagues despite his potential to finish inside the top five at his position. What gives?

Well, there’s his ability — inability, more accurately — to stay on the field, of course. Over the past three seasons, Ramos has averaged just 72 games, or 278 plate appearances. A torn ACL suffered in early 2012 led to two knee surgeries, and hamstring problems — perhaps not unrelated to the ACL tear — ruined his first half last year. But he played full-time upon returning for good in early July, and ended up catching 23 straight games toward the end of the season, the majors’ longest such streak last year. Over the winter, Ramos played winter ball in Venezuela, and now says he’s fully healthy. Yes, that reeks of Best Shape of His Life, but then again, it’s better to hear that than the alternative, right?

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Back in 2008, his first big league season, Alexei Ramirez slugged 21 home runs, drove in 77 and added 13 steals, establishing himself as a top fantasy shortstop.

But those long balls represented something of an aberration for Ramirez who, despite averaging 16 homers over the next three seasons, has seen his power collapse in the past two years, putting just six over the fence in 2013.

As the homers have faded, so has his fantasy stock, to the point where the 32-year-old is currently being drafted 14th among shortstops on Mock Draft Central. But as Ramirez’s profile as a hitter has evolved, he’s found other ways to help fantasy owners, leading me to wonder if he’s being a tad undervalued right now.

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I was a FanGraphs reader long before I became a scribe for them, and writing this is like coming up onstage for the first time at an open mic night at your favorite bar. Fortunately, it’s that time of the year when we’re allowed to dream big, and since the word “bold” is right in the title, there’s no shame in digging deep and sending out some Hail Mary passes as dawn rises on the 2014 season.

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