Ackley, Guerra & Maybin: Waiver Wire
Young players all around today, three of ’em for your fantasy squad…
Archive for Second Base
Biggest Busts: Second Base & Third Base (ottoneu lwts leagues)
After a one week hiatus, I’m continuing to look at players who have been busts in ottoneu fangraphs points fantasy baseball leagues. It uses the same model described in this post, although the values have been updated based on year to date statistics.
Second Base
| Dan Uggla, ATL wOBA: .284 Avg. Cost $29.36 Performed As: $1 Value: -$28 |
Chone Figgins, SEA wOBA: .214 Avg. Cost: $5.15 Performed As: -$22 Value: -$27 |
Aaron Hill, TOR wOBA: .275 Avg. Cost: $10.04 Performed As: -$3 Value: -$13 |
My Pick: Dan Uggla
Keppinger and Altuve: Aftermath of a Trade
Jeff Keppinger was traded to San Francisco for 2 pitchers yesterday. The trade opened up a position for Jose Alture at 2B in Houston. The following is a look at how the move will effect each player’s fantasy value.
Jeff Keppinger (5% owned in ESPN) – Keppinger was having an OK season with the Astros so far this season. The 31 year old’s main fantasy value was coming from a 0.307 AVG. He has hit for little power 4 HRs and had 0 SB so far this season.
With the Astros, Keppinger generally hit in the 2nd, 3rd or 5th position in the lineup which have better chances of creating RBIs and Runs. He has not started for SF yet (he is not in Wednesday’s lineup, so he may not actually be a regular starter for the team), but he is not likely to get placed in such nice counting stat generating position in their lineup.
Another item to take into account is that the SF offense as a whole has performed worse (3.7 R/G) than Houston’s offense (3.9 R/G) this season.
Even though Keppinger’s ownership rate has almost doubled since the trade, it is likely that his production will be less than it was with Houston. I would not pick him up in any league that he wasn’t already owned in. With possible questions surrounding his playing time, I may look at replacing him with his replacement in Houston.
Jose Altuve (0% owned – ESPN) – Altuve gets the chance to take over as the everyday 2B for the Astros. The 21 year old has some promising minor league numbers with a triple slash line of 0.327/0.386/0.481. He has shown a little power with 15 HRs last season and 10 so far this season.
His main contribution for fantasy owners is ability to attempt SBs with 60 attempts in 2010. He was successful 42 times (70% success rate). So far this season in the minors, he is 24 for 38 or a 63% success rate. Both of those rates are below the break even point of 75% at the major league level. He will probably not get the green light in the majors with only a 63% success rate. With the Astros out of the race this year, I could see them give him the green light for the rest of the season to see how he can perform against MLB talent to get a success rate determined.
Another item going for him is that the Astros have him batting in the number 2 spot in their lineup. He could be a decent source of runs if he is able to stay near the top of the lineup.
Jose should be owned in all NL only leagues because he is a player that should be getting regular playtiming for a while. He may also be an option in deeper leagues if an owner is in need of 2B help.
Carlos Guillen and Edward Mujica: Deep League Waiver Wire
July 20, 2011
For those deep league teams still in the hunt for the money, congratulations. Unfortunately, I cannot enjoy that same position in my own league. I do, however, have two exciting options that could potentially increase your chances of finishing in that coveted money spot.
Mark Ellis: Deep League Waiver Wire
Mark Ellis | 9% Owned (Y!) | 12% Owned (ESPN)
If you look up “pesky” in the dictionary, you may very well find yourself staring at a picture of Mark Ellis. His photograph also happens to grace the page in which the definition for “Deep League Second Baseman” resides. Some of us were worried that we would have to find a new player for the 2012 version of the dictionary, but after being traded from the A’s to the Rockies a couple of weeks ago, it appears Ellis is still deep league worthy.
Nyjer Morgan and Chris Getz: Waiver Wire Fill-ins
Maybe it’s just me and the fact that my fantasy teams are being decimated with injuries, but do there seem to be a lot more than usual? Obviously, when you lose a player for an extended period of time it can be a nightmare trying to find similar production. But if you’re just losing a guy for a two week stretch and need a temporary stopgap to hold you over, then there’s still help to be found. Here are a pair of guys that seem to be available in a number of leagues and are likely to help you out on a short term basis. Read the rest of this entry »
Polanco, Johnson, Roberts, Espinosa: 2B Showdown
Recently, I did a little work looking at the owned % and the likely hood that a player would be starting on a fantasy depending on the league size. Using Yahoo ownership rates, 90% ownership is probably the starting level for 10 team leagues, 85% for 12 team leagues and 10% for 20 team leagues. Originally, I figured I could just go down the ownerships of each position and get the players on the edge, but multiple positions eligibilities caused some confusion, especially for IF positions like 2B, SS and 3B. The following is the 2B who rank around the cutoff value for 12 team leagues, 85% and below.
The 4 players I will be looking at today are Placido Polanco, Kelly Johnson, Ryan Roberts and Danny Espinosa. Here are their ownership rates and stats so far this year:
| Player | % Owned | H/AB* | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG |
| Plácido Polanco(Phi – 2B,3B) | 83% | 86/298 | 32 | 4 | 39 | 3 | 0.289 |
| Kelly Johnson(Ari – 2B) | 76% | 61/286 | 43 | 13 | 34 | 8 | 0.213 |
| Ryan Roberts(Ari – 2B,3B,OF) | 73% | 62/244 | 43 | 10 | 33 | 11 | 0.254 |
| Danny Espinosa(Was – 2B) | 70% | 68/284 | 40 | 15 | 48 | 9 | 0.239 |
After looking at the these 4, here is the order I would prefer to own/play them:
1. Danny Espinosa: He has the combination of speed (9 SB) and power (15 HR) that the others don’t have. His average is not ideal, but it is expected considering his BABIP (0.264) and K% (25%). It would be nice to see him make some more contact, but his combination of speed and power from 2B is tough to find.
2. Ryan Roberts: The 30 year old is having a career season and I would ride to the end of it. He is already at career highs in SB and HR only half way through the season. His triple line slash of 0.254/0.341/.439 isn’t far this season are that his preseason ZIPS projection of 0.251/0.3290.400. Ryan was finally given the opportunity to play every day and he is taking full advantage of it.
3. Kelly Johnson: He is performing like Danny Espinosa lite. Power and speed, but can’t hit for average at all. His BABIP has risen from 0.227 at the end of March to 0.267, which has helped his AVG some. The main reason for the low AVG is that every third at bat he is striking out. If/once he begins to make contact on a more regular basis, he will instantly become more valuable.
4. Placido Polanco: He has hit for good AVG, but that is about it. He is showing little speed (5 SB) and less power (3 HR). This is a case where the abilities he has, doesn’t translate to fantasy baseball. If you need help with AVG and have plenty of speed and power, he may be worth acquiring.
As a whole, each of these 2B can make decent contributions to a fantasy team. Out of these 4 though, I will take Espinosa, which currently has the lowest ownership rate.
Theriot & Casilla: Waiver Wire
Zach Sanders looked at a pair of deep league second baseman earlier today, but let’s look at a pair of middle infielders that don’t require such a deep format…
Dustin Ackley: Mining the Minors
Mariners top prospect Dustin Ackley will step into a major-league batter’s box for the first time when he faces off against Philadelphia’s Roy Oswalt just about 12 hours from now. You probably shouldn’t wait that long to pick him up.
Bearish on Dan Uggla
It may look like the only way for Dan Uggla’s season to head is up. That is probably true, but he also has some underlying issues, beyond a low BABIP, that are causing his bad season.