It’s time for another day of deep league waiver wire gems. If you’re in need of a third baseman or corner infielder or desperate for pitching, read on!

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The regular season is over for most fantasy leagues and the playoffs have begun, meaning all of that long-term planning and patience kinda goes out the window. Here are two players — one pitcher, one hitter — who can help you during the postseason push these next few weeks…

Zach Britton | SP | Orioles | Owned: 30% Yahoo! and 36.9% ESPN

Britton, 24, returned from the DL earlier this season and needed a few weeks to settle in before really taking off. Prior to yesterday’s self-imposed meltdown against the Yankees — five walks in 3.1 innings — he had allowed just three runs in his previous four starts combined. That included seven walks, 29 strikeouts, and a 55%+ ground ball rate in 28.2 innings against the Tigers, White Sox, and Blue Jays (twice).

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I am not one to ever make much of a small sample size, especially just two weeks worth. However, pitchers usually show a change in skills more quickly than hitters (or at least it can be identified more easily). Plus, as we make our way through the final month of the season, we have to deal with the reality that pitchers do tire and/or, younger pitchers are getting figured out. Here are three American League starters who have posted surprisingly poor SIERA marks over the last two weeks.

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Chris Carpenter – Carpenter has begun throwing a few pitches to see if he can possibly make a start before the end of the season. He has a small chance of returning after being out for the entire season.

The Cardinal hurler had a great 2011 season and helped the Cardinals win the World Series. He began the season with shoulder pain and eventually had surgery for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (I am not sure exactly what it is, but it sounds bad) on July 19th. Initially, it was reported that he was not going to return this season, but signs are starting to point to a return.

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The fantasy playoffs are upon us. And while it looked like Stephen Strasburg would be the only prominent pitcher to be shut down before the season ended, that’s no longer the case. The Mets are planning to shut down rookie Matt Harvey after one more start. Harvey has been phenomenal this season, and has been a great pickup for fantasy owners. In any non-keeper leagues, his stock is sure to soar next year. Unfortunately, his absence during the fantasy playoffs is going to hurt a number of teams. And while losing Harvey is far from ideal, another pitching prospect will be making his return this week, and could have value down the stretch.

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Though he was originally called up as a full-time starter in 2007, Kyle Kendrick has been anything but full-time since 2009. In 2007 and 2008, Kendrick made 51 appearances and 50 of them were starts, but just 67 of his next 107 appearances were as a starter, a rate that has been even lower the past two seasons as Kendrick started 15 of his 34 games in 2011 and 19 of 31 this season. Needless to say, this variable usage pattern makes Kendrick a tough player to draft and hold for an entire season.

As far as this season is concerned, the only obstacle to ownership bigger than Kendrick’s usage was his performance. In the first half of the season, Kendrick allowed opposing hitters to rack up an .822 OPS, which left him with a 4.89 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP and rendered him all but useless. An effective stint in the bullpen later, and Kendrick has emerged as a far better pitcher than he was in the first half, posting a 2.95 ERA and 1.01 WHIP over his six starts in August; his last four outings in the month were even better as he went 4-0 with a 1.23 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP. The .198 BABIP he rode to those results may not stick around, but Kendrick’s string of successful outings isn’t just some mirage. Beating the Marlins and Mets may not be the world’s toughest task, but beating the Nationals and Brewers — the best offense of the bunch — is a better example of what Kendrick has been quietly doing lately, the question is what changed. Read the rest of this entry »

Roster expansion can lead to players getting more opportunities. In some cases, this means redemption for players who were up earlier in the year, and eventually sent to the minors. The Arizona Diamondbacks have announced that Trevor Bauer will get another chance to prove himself in the majors. And while the team won’t call him up immediately, he could still provide some value in the fantasy playoffs.

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September roster expansion and resulting call-ups are almost upon us. But although the party has not begun just yet, we have still seen many new faces among American League starting pitchers in recent weeks. Here are a couple worth discussing.

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Nationals’ pitching has gotten plenty of attention this season. Their starters have accumulated 15.3 WAR thus far, good for tops in all of baseball. Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez have been tremendous, while Jordan Zimmermann proved his early-career success wasn’t a fluke. With Edwin Jackson, the Nationals foursome is a force to be reckoned with. Through it all, Ross Detwiler has remained the forgotten man. And while a brief demotion from the rotation may have scared owners away, he’s been another solid option for the Nationals over the second half.

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Depending a little on the quality of the farm system in question, being the second best prospect in a team’s minor league system isn’t a bad position to be in. Assuming the system in question is average or above, being the second best prospect means having a great shot to make the majors and a decent shot at being an everyday player. What it does not mean, however, is the wider name recognition that comes with being the big dog in the minors. Trevor Bauer’s early season dominance of the minor leagues meant that the #FreeTrevorBauer hashtags came out every time a Diamondbacks starter faltered even slightly. He eventually did win his freedom, only to go 1-2 with a 6.06 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP in the majors before heading back to Triple-A. I still have pie-in-the-sky hopes and expectations for Bauer’s future, especially as he’s back in Reno making a mockery of PCL and its so called “hitters parks”, but the future of the Diamondbacks’ pitching staff is hardly dependent on just one man.

There was no such clamor for Tyler Skaggs, despite the fact that he’s been nearly as good as Bauer in the minors this season. Their WHIP and ERA figures are close — Skaggs’ WHIP was slightly better at 1.22 compared to Bauer’s 1.30, but Bauer’s 2.39 ERA bests Skaggs’ 2.87 — though Bauer’s incredible strikeout numbers give him the leg up on Skaggs in terms of overall potential. Skaggs does hold one major advantage over Bauer as the fantasy season hits the stretch run: He’s the only one of the pair currently in the major leagues. Read the rest of this entry »