Today’s waiver wire brings you two rookies who have come into more important roles of late, one an outfielder and one a relief pitcher.

Norichika Aoki | OF | Brewers | Owned: 3% Yahoo! and 1.7% ESPN

Aoki turned 30 years old earlier this year, but technically he’s a rookie after coming over from Japan. He opened the season as a reserve player with Ryan Braun, Corey Hart, and Carlos Gomez/Nyjer Morgan entrenched in the outfield, but he’s seen more playing time lately because Mat Gamel’s season-ending knee injury has forced Hart to play some first base. It wasn’t just Gamel’s injury though, Aoki earned his spot.

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Colby Rasmus (ESPN: 58 percent owned; Yahoo!: 38 percent owned)

This is definitely one of those moments where striking while the iron is hot is good business. A few nights ago, I happened to see someone ask a fellow fantasy writer on Twitter whether they should be picking up Rasmus and just assumed he must have been playing in about an eight-team league, since Rasmus hasn’t been available in any of my leagues since draft day. Apparently, the reality is that a decent number of owners were fed up with Rasmus’ slow start and kicked him to the curb, making him available in just under half of ESPN leagues and almost two-thirds of Yahoo! leagues. Read the rest of this entry »

What do two rehabbing big leaguers and a hot shot closer-of-the-future candidate have in common? That’s right: All three are in this week’s episode of Mining the Minors.

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Currently, I am playing in seven different roto leagues and if there is a common thread to be found in each one, it’s that just a handful of stolen bases can vault a number of teams up in the standings by an average of five points.  Unless you’re sitting at the top of the stolen base category or sitting in last by a ridiculously large margin, a boost in steals could mean the difference between languishing in the bottom third of your league standings and competing for the championship.  Here are a pair of outfielders who just might be able to help… Read the rest of this entry »

The great thing about playing in a league deeper than 12-team mixed for a change is I can now simply check out the week’s pickups in the 15-team LABR league for inspiration. Both the players highlighted today were won with FAAB this past Monday.

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Michael Saunders (ESPN: 6 percent owned; Yahoo!: 7 percent owned)

Jack-of-all-trades might be one of the biggest backhanded compliments anyone can ever receive, but it’s probably the most apt description of Saunders’ performance so far this season. He’s not a hitter with massive power, nor is he challenging anyone for the stolen base crown, but he has been simply adequate in nearly every category so far this season. He already has five home runs and eight stolen bases; ZiPS has him stealing another nine bases and hitting seven more home runs. Neither projection seems far off to me, but I could see him getting closer to 15 home runs than he is to 10. Read the rest of this entry »

Justin Smoak (ESPN: 6 percent owned; Yahoo!: 14 percent owned)

The last few weeks have been good to American League first basemen named Justin, but whereas Messr. Morneau is owned in virtually every ESPN league in which he’s eligible, the Smoak Monster is widely available and is in the midst of an equally impressed stretch of play. After an April that almost bad enough to induce vomiting — .200/.247/.325 with just three home runs — Smoak has been much better in May, hitting .255/.303/.451 with six home runs, and while that’s still not a sparkling line from a first baseman, he’s been even better as the month has come to an end. Over his last four series, Smoak has put up a solid .302/.362/.674 line with five home runs including a pair at home. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s not quite on par with Bryce Harper and Mike Trout being promoted within hours of each other in late April, but this week has seen its share of promising prospects getting the call, including a new shortstop in the A-T-L and a couple of quality arms out in Cali.

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If you’re a little light in the speed department, then a couple of situations have opened up that might interest you.  If you’re in an NL-only league, then my apologies.  Feel free to move along.  Nothing left to see here.  But if you’re in an AL-only or mixed league, then these guys just might be able to help you out. Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s waiver wire looks at two hitters who are beneficiaries of injuries. Every year, a large percentage of surprise performances happen as a result of increased playing time, rather than any change in skill. These players are typically undervalued because they have never played full-time and therefore don’t have the history of counting stats to attract fantasy owners or instill the confidence that they could maintain their skills over every day at-bats.

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