Brett Lawrie and Allen Craig: Waiver Wire

Today’s edition of Waiver Wire is totally awesome.

Brett Lawrie | 10% Owned (Y!) | 5% Owned (ESPN)
The Blue Jays top prospect has gotten a lot of hype these past couple of weeks, but for some strange reason we haven’t contributed just yet. Lawrie has flashed the three elite fantasy tools (power, speed, average) while playing in Triple-A. Some of it is thanks to playing in a hitters park, but a slugging percentage over .650 isn’t anything to sneeze at. The Blue Jays have said they will make a decision on whether or not to call up Lawrie today, and while I expected them to have him in the big leagues by the weekend, they may choose to keep Lawrie down for a little bit after he was hit in the hand by a pitch on Tuesday. Lawrie will be eligible at second base as well as third base after a week or two in the majors, depending on what league you play in. The Blue Jays are likely to give him a long leash in the bigs, as their other third base options have been severely disappointing. Lawrie is ownable in all leagues at the moment, so you should think about picking him up if he’s on the waiver wire.

Allen Craig | 11% | 10%
After a rash of injuries at the second base position, the Cardinals decided to give Craig a try to fill a gaping hole. Craig was primarily an outfielder in the majors last year, but that doesn’t mean he’s always played out in the grass. During his time in the minor leagues, Craig normally played third base until the Cardinals moved him to the outfield in 2009. Craig actually played one game at second base in low-A ball in his 2006 season (recording a putout and two assists), so this isn’t exactly his first time at second.

Throughout his career, Craig has flashed plus power and decent on-base numbers. Craig’s bat was never the question; the Cardinals just had no where to play Craig on a regular basis, and they may have found it. Craig’s batting average is currently inflated by some good luck on balls in play, but that doesn’t mean he can’t hit .280 or higher over the rest of this season. He doesn’t play in a good ballpark for power numbers, but hitting in an above-average lineup will help his other counting stats.

If Craig is being trusted to play four or five times a week in St. Louis, fantasy owners should pounce on his positional eligibility and wait for Skip Schumaker to hit himself out of a starting job.