Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper is not a bust. But that’s not going to stop fantasy owners from complaining. The 21-year-old entered the season with giant expectations. Many fantasy owners spent high picks on Harper, hoping to get superstar numbers. Instead, they’ve received an injury-riddled, three home run campaign. Harper’s well aware of his issues at the plate this season. Early in the year, he made reference to not having his timing down. That same issue seemed to carry over immediately after Harper was activated from the disabled list. Things changed over the All-Star Break, though. Harper emerged after the break sporting a new stance, and while it’s only been a few games, a second-half surge seems possible.

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Isn’t it fun playing the free agent pool merry-go-round? Ya know, picking up another player seemingly every week to fill that one roster spot you just can’t find a permanent player for. Between injuries and demotions, that describes about half my Tout Wars roster. Awesome. Here are two options for deep leaguers, one is almost guaranteed to be temporary, the other could potentially become permanent.

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I drafted Kevin Kiermaier in my dynasty league this season, hoping he would get a shot with the Rays eventually and show off the speed he displayed in the minors. He battled some caught stealing issues to start last season at double-A but went seven of eight in his 39 triple-A games to close out the season.
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Our journey this week into the waters of the deep league waiver wire brings us to two familiar faces, AL-only players who have shown flashes of their talent in the past and quite possibly stand to benefit owners in the short term.
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These are dark times for Allen Craig owners.

It’s not just that those of us who drafted him realize he’s having a bad season — that fact became shriekingly apparent months ago — it’s that there aren’t a lot of signs that he’ll turn things around, and worse, such word is spreading throughout the fantasysphere, eroding his trade value.
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Boy, it’s tough to do a deep league wire after returning from a week and a half vacation having looked at a total of zero box scores while being away! During my quick research for players to recommend, I was surprised at how much I missed. Unplugging does have its negatives.

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Bryce Harper’s production has not be at high level since he has returned from the disabled list. Some people, including his manager, are saying his timing is off. In my opinion, I think his left thumb is not yet 100% for several reasons which is causing his timing issues.

In case someone has not been following the train wreck, here are Harper’s stats before and after the injury:

Before: .289/.352/.422, 23% K%
After: .129/.250/.161, 35% K%

The after is only 37 PA, but the results are abysmal.

To look a little deeper into Harper’s production, here is his batted ball placement before and after the injury (embiggen).

He has yet to hit one ball to the outfield’s right side after the injury. Historically, 81% of his home runs have been to center (30%) or right (51%) field. Since he is hitting nothing to the right side, I expect no substantial power from him.

This situation reminds me of left-handed David Ortiz from a few years back. He hit the ball weakly to left field after a wrist injury and then slowly began to pull the ball with authority to right field  as he got healthy. For a sign Harper is turning it around, look for him to start hitting to right field consistently.

The second key factor telling me the thumb still bothers him is he acts like it does. Players with injuries will physically show signs the body part bothers them. Here is Harper after a foul ball from Wednesday  night.

He concentrates on and re-grips with the injured thumb. I went back a looked at him plate appearances before the injury and he never did anything close to the re-grip. If a Harper owner wants to know if he is healthy, watch a couple of games and see if favors the thumb in any way.

Bryce Harper’s thumb is probably not 100% yet and it is behind his offensive struggles since returning from the DL. Two items can be tracked to see if he is turning his season around. First, look to see if he is beginning to pull the ball with some power. Second, watch some of his at bats and see if he favors the thumb in any way.

Hard to imagine we’re one week away from the All-Star break, but alas, time flies when you’re having fun. As we continue our never-ending search for upside guys on the fantasy scrap heap, we turn our attention to two players who can help owners, one a multi-position infield tool, the other a sleeper outfielder at season’s outset who, halfway into the season, might just be making good on his preseason promise.
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It’s time for another day of deep league wire fun. If you’re in dire need of a catcher or some speed, you have stumbled upon the right place.

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“Holy crap, I totally forgot about him!” That right there is one of my favorite parts about covering minor-league baseball. Today’s column is a product of that sentiment, seeing as I had that reaction just the other day. I was perusing the Triple-A batting leaders when I came across the name Mikie Mahtook for what seemed like the first time in years.

When the 24-year-old was drafted 31st overall by Tampa Bay in the first round back in 2011, he was seen as a relatively polished player who, despite not having a sky-high ceiling, could advance quickly through the minors. The Louisiana State product was an absolute stud in his junior season, leading the SEC in slugging percentage, steals, walks and triples, while finishing second in the conference in home runs, batting average, total bases and on-base percentage.

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