Norichika Aoki (ESPN: 3 percent owned; Yahoo!: 6 percent owned)

The posting process for Norichika Aoki was not as well publicized as Tsuyoshi Nishioka’s or Hisashi Iwakuma’s, but given the choice between the three, the number of teams that would still take either of the more heralded pair over Aoki has to be pretty small. The 30-year-old former Yakult Swallow hasn’t set the world alight with his play in the Brewers’ outfield, but he’s already been worth about a win and is on pace to be worth a bit more than two wins as he’s getting consistent playing time now that he didn’t really get in April. Read the rest of this entry »

While big-time prospects like Trevor Bauer, Anthony Rizzo and Martin Perez got called up this week — you can find takes on those three here, here and here — these three lesser-knowns should be making their way to a ballpark near you soon.

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Is your team lagging in production from behind the plate?  Can you sacrifice some batting average if it means a boost in the counting stats?  Well, if you answered yes to either or both of these questions, here are a pair of catchers you should probably look into to give your fantasy team a nice little burst of power. Read the rest of this entry »

Jared Burton (ESPN: 1 percent owned; Yahoo!: 6 percent owned)

On Monday alone, Glen Perkins was added in nearly 9000 Yahoo! fantasy leagues as the Twins’ usual closer, Matt Capps, hit the DL with shoulder inflammation. It was a reasonable move to make, Perkins was the Twins’ set-up man both this season and last season, so it would make good sense for him to get the bulk of the save chances… except for the fact that the Twins just do not seem to trust Perkins at the end of games. There isn’t a good statistical reason for it, but when closers are involved, the numbers seldom add up. Perkins has been solid as a set-up man, striking out just shy of a third of the hitters he has faced this season and while, at 1.34, his WHIP isn’t what one might hope out of their closer, there’s no reason to believe he couldn’t do the job an inning later than he has been. Read the rest of this entry »

The love of getting things on the cheap is built into all of us. Garage sales. Half-off department store blowouts. Clipping coupons. We love it. It makes us feel like we got away with something. It’s almost a badge of honor. Oh, you like these jeans? They were $100.00 but I got them on sale for $49.99. BOOM. The same feeling exists in the world of fantasy sports as well. You’re happy with the production of Edwin Encarnacion, but you’re really happy that you got him in the 10th round, and tell your friends as much.

On that note, there are deals out there. Today we’re focusing on speed, where several players can provide stolen bases for the bargain hunting consumer.

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Got two young players finally stepping into more prominent roles this week…

Brandon Belt | 1B, OF | Giants | Owned: 32% Yahoo! and 49.2% ESPN

It took yet another Aubrey Huff (knee) injury, but it appears as though Belt has been freed for good. The 24-year-old has started 15 straight games at first base — even against left-handed starters — and he owns a .362/.483/.702 line with more walks (ten) than strikeouts (nine) during that time. Over the last two weeks, his 236 wRC+ leads all of baseball.

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No, that’s not the name of a law firm. Rather, those are the last names of three under-the-radar pitching prospects who made their MLB debuts in the past week. Click below to take a closer look at the trio, and as a bonus you’ll get not one, but two more minor leaguers nearing the bigs.

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Francisco Liriano (ESPN: 13 percent owned; Yahoo!: 29 percent owned)

Explaining Liriano’s season to date comes down to two numbers: 1.024 and 0.923. If they were both WHIPs, the difference would be between good and excellent and he wouldn’t really be fit for a waiver wire column since his ownership would be pretty close to 100 percent. The second figure is indeed a WHIP, Liriano’s since his return from the bullpen on May 30 to be precise. The first, on the other hand, is the OPS he allowed over his first six starts of the season. Read the rest of this entry »

Today, I am looking at some possible 2B options for owners in deeper leagues. The following players are owned in less than 10% of the leagues at ESPN and Yahoo!.

Ownership percentages are ESPN and then Yahoo!.

Ryan Theriot (9%, 7%) – Theriot is just not a talented 2B and it really doesn’t matter. He is getting regular playing time (started 19 of the last 21 games at 2B for the Giants) and is hitting at the top of lineup (#2 hole in 19 of the last 20 games). Both “attributes” will help him to generated plenty of opportunities to score and drive in Runs. He just needs to take advantage of the opportunities.

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Sifting through your waiver wire can be a daunting task at this time of year.  I mean, let’s face it…unless your league has such a limited bench or no DL spots to use, the majority of guys left out on the wire are there for a reason.  Some can’t hit, some can’t run, some don’t play regularly, whatever their faults may be, the bottom line is that they are sitting there because no one else wants them.  And very few of them have the ability to stay in your lineup on any kind of permanent basis if you do happen to grab one.  So rather than just arbitrarily find you a moderately warm body to insert into your lineup for some indeterminable amount of time, let’s talk about two guys whose current performance and presence on the wire make them a hot topic amongst emails received over the past two weeks. Read the rest of this entry »