After searching far and deep, I was only able to uncover one hidden gem for this week’s deep league waiver wire. Contrary to popular belief, not all White Sox hitters are cursed this year. This week’s pick will hopefully prove to be one of the few who manged to escape the can’t hit disease.
Andre Ethier usually launches bombs, but over the weekend he dropped a bomb on the Dodgers-related news media. The 29-year-old outfielder admitted that he’s been playing with pain in his right knee all year. General Manager Ned Colletti was having none of it, responding with an incredulous question: “What am I supposed to be concerned about?” This is a man who knows how to handle personnel in the media. Give him a better team to destroy, right?
Snark aside, we know that many keeper and dynasty teams are looking to next season and beyond. Therefore it makes sense to evaluate Ethier’s year, future with the Dodgers, and long-term fantasy prognosis with this knee injury in mind. In other words, does this news kill his keeper value?
The fantasy season is coming down to the wire, so let’s focus on two waiver guys that will help boost your stolen base total down the stretch…
Whether it’s beefing up for your head to head playoffs or just looking to boost yourself in a particular category as your roto season winds down, there are still guys out there on your waiver wire that can be of service to you if you dig deep enough. We usually differentiate here between regular waiver wire pieces and deep league waiver wire pieces based on ownership percentages, but at this stage of the game, the depth of your league shouldn’t matter much. If a guy can help, he can help. Here’s two to consider…
At this stage of the game, every single point matters. So much so, in fact, that the numbers become more important than the names. By that, I mean, it’s not as much about the players in your lineup as it is about the statistics on your league’s standings page.
Find the categories that are most essential to your chances at gaining ground and focus on adding players who will address those areas. This applies more to rotisserie leagues than head-to-head ones (since matchups and scoring in the latter change each week), but the point remains the same: Numbers over names.
With that in mind, here are three American League outfielders owned in less than 50% of leagues, each of whom has the ability to help your team in a specific category down the stretch.
It’s time to avoid the puns and get right to it: Does Jayson Werth deserve a lineup spot in shallower leagues right now?
We know that some of Werth’s problem is luck. He’s showing a .282 BABIP right now and his xBABIP, based on his unique mix of batted balls, is .303. Since earlier in the season, he’s hitting more line drives and fewer infield fly balls. Both good things, they also lead to a better batting average. That’s probably why he’s hitting .261 since the All-Star break.
We’re getting down to that time of year where, unless you’re talking keeper league, it’s all about picking up the guy swinging the hot bat with a relative disregard for the long term. If he keeps it up for a couple of weeks, then great, but no more worrying about small sample sizes or potential in the second half. This is it. So if you’re looking for some quick-fix help in your outfield, these guys just might fit the bill… Read the rest of this entry »
If you are still in the hunt for the cash, congratulations. If not, treat these waiver wire considerations as auditioners (not a word, but it should be) for your 2012 fantasy team. Unfortunately, these two hitters play on crappy teams, but hey, we cannot be picky with our pick ups at this point.
Over the weekend, two Pittsburgh outfielders started their rehab assignments at the same time. Since they’ve been injured, much has changed on their major league team. At one point, the Pirates were in first place. Now they are in fourth. They were above five hundred, now they’re seven games under. They were buyers, and now they are 13 games out of first and might already be looking to next year.
But, most importantly for fantasy baseball addicts, the two jobs that were theirs have been distilled down into one starting spot. Yup, Jose Tabata and Alex Presley will return soon and they may find themselves in a battle for playing time.
Good things come to those who wait. But if you were one of the many fantasy owners depending on Jason Bay, no one would have blamed you for cutting bait on the 32-year-old outfielder earlier this season. Expected to be fully recovered from a concussion suffered last season, Bay was a sleeper candidate entering 2011. Unfortunately, Bay’s struggles at Citi Field continued, and he never appeared fully recovered from his concussion. After an 0-5 performance on July 26th, Bay’s slash line fell to a putrid .227/.314/.319. At that point, no one would have blinked an eye if you had cut bait. Since then, however, Bay has experienced a bit of a rebound. Though it’s an incredibly small sample, Bay may be inching back towards respectability.
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