Carlos Triunfel & Elliot Johnson: Deep League Wire

We’re going real deep today folks for perhaps the last deep league waiver wire piece of the 2013 season. If you’re looking for middle infield help, it’s your lucky day!

Carlos Triunfel | SEA SS | CBS 1% Owned

To be honest, I’m shocked that even 1% of CBS fantasy players own him! Anywho, with Brad Miller nursing an injured hamstring that may keep him out until next week, the 23-year-old Triunfel will likely take his spot at shortstop until he returns. I am rather surprised that Triunfel is still only 23, as it feels like a decade ago that he was a top prospect. In fact, the last article we published that referenced his name was back in early 2010, when he was ranked as the team’s third best prospect. Unfortunately, he hasn’t hit a whole lot since, which is why he has just 57 Major League plate appearances to his name.

However, he does provide non-zero contributions in both the steals and home run categories, while (hopefully) not hurting you in batting average. The key here though is that he should be playing every day until Miller heals, and sometimes that’s all that matters. Then again, this is no guarantee as Nick Franklin started at shortstop yesterday and the Mariners have the ability to start Dustin Ackley at second. Either way, desperate times call for desperate measures, and he could potentially have the highest playing time upside in your AL-Only league at the moment.

Elliot Johnson | ATL 2B/SS | CBS 2% Owned

Surprise, surprise, Fredi Gonzalez has tired of a veteran’s slump and has chosen to start a weak hitting veteran instead. Dan Uggla‘s benching is Elliot Johnson’s gain, as the latter has suddenly become the every day second baseman in Atlanta. After being claimed off waivers from the Royals on August 21, Johnson has stolen 7 bases in 8 tries over just 71 plate appearances for the Braves. Although he has finally gotten his average above the Mendoza line, his .271 BABIP isn’t so outrageously low that you would assume a significant batting average surge in the near future.

For a guy with just a .102 career ISO, you wonder how he strikes out so often. But unfortunately, he does, and does so without pairing it with an above average walk rate. The good news is that there have been several occasions in which Fredi has believed a .242 OBP is a perfect fit for the lead-off spot and batted Johnson there more than once. The other piece of good news is the speed, which is really his only fantasy asset. He has always shown good wheels in the past and has been caught stealing just once this year in 22 attempts. Cheap speed is gold!