Lonnie Chisenhall & Andrew Werner: Deep League WW
September 12, 2012
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!
Archive for Waiver Wire
Zach Britton & Jon Jay: Waiver Wire
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).
September Call-Ups: American League Bats
The list of September call-ups in the American League this year is rather disappointing once you get past Jurickson Profar’s name on the list. There’s no Jesus Montero or Matt Moore to go along with Profar this season. Since no impact arms, like a Shelby Miller, are being called up in the AL we’ll stick to looking at some notable hitters for these final ~25 games.
Jurickson Profar
As one of the top prospects in baseball anyone who plays fantasy should be well aware of his existence. The 19-year-old shortstop more than held his own at Double-A, posting a .367 wOBA, 129 wRC+ and hitting 14 home runs in 126 games. As good as Profar is, the Rangers have a, young, star shortstop in Elvis Andrus which limits his playing time dramatically. The Rangers would probably be best served by benching Michael Young and using Ian Kinsler at DH and playing Profar at second, but Ron Washington is too stubborn/loyal/stupid to do that. Young has been one of the worst every day players in baseball this season and Profar would provide better defense than Kinsler at second. In his only action this season Profar went 2-4 with a home run and double. He’s sat the last three games while Young and his .653 OPS have started them all.
In a perfect would Profar would be getting regular to semi-regular playing time, making him a startable player in deep mixed or AL only leagues. Sadly, Washington seems set on keeping Profar on the bench, almost making him un-ownable. In keeper leagues he should already be gone, but if he’s somehow still available grab him as soon as you can. He has the potential to hit for a decent average and provide a little bit of pop and speed if given the opportunity this season, but I wouldn’t count on it due to playing time issues.
Dropping Rasmus, McAllister, and Quintana
This time of the year, the season long production of a player means a lot less than how they have played over the past few weeks. Colby Rasmus, Zach McAllister, and Jose Quintana have all had solid years, but it’s time to cut bait and pick up more useful players for the stretch run of the season.
Read the rest of this entry »
Aoki and Cabrera: NL Waiver Wire Speed
With just three and a half weeks to go in the season, you should be targeting specific categories in which you can move most easily. Even if it’s just a couple of points, if you can take them, take them now. In looking at the standings of my roto leagues, stolen bases still looks like the easiest category in which a move can be made in a short period of time, so here are readily available two guys who you might consider picking up to get a quick speed boost. Read the rest of this entry »
Lavarnway & McLouth: Deep League Waiver Wire
September 5, 2012
There’s only about 3 1/2 weeks left of the season, so it’s scrambling time if you’re lucky enough to be in contention. Any hitter with a pulse who’s receiving every day or near regular at-bats could get hot and be the guy to bring home the trophy for your team. Here are two possibilities for that honor.
NL Call-Ups: Five to Watch
Ah, September: that bizarre time of year where rosters expand, the disabled list disappears, benches swell, and all of a sudden managers have access to 16-man pitching staffs.
For the purposes of this article, we’ll only be looking at players who either have already been called up or who we can confirmed will be shortly, so if you’re wondering why Billy Hamilton & Oscar Taveras aren’t listed, that’s why.
Shelby Miller, RHP Cardinals
To merely glance at Miller’s 2012 stat line, you might think that the 2009 first-round draft pick had suffered through a disappointing year, one which would surely knock him off the top prospect lists. Sure, 160 strikeouts in 136 2/3 innings is impressive, but a 4.74 ERA (4.48 FIP) that was in large part due to a disturbingly high 1.58/9 home run rate – amid reports of maturity questions and declining velocity – can easily make you wonder, “well, what happened?”
It’s a little more complex than we have room to get into here, but the Miller of September 2012 bears little resemblance to the one who started the season, and that’s to be taken literally. A renewed commitment to conditioning and improved mechanics – Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has more on that here – allowed Miller to regain velocity and effectiveness, and the results were eye-catching. In 17 starts before the All-Star Break, Miller had a 6.17 ERA; in 10 starts after, it was just 2.88 along with a stellar 70/7 K/BB.
Miller is probably up only to soak in the atmosphere and perhaps get some time in out of the bullpen than he is to join the rotation, though it’s worth nothing that current #5 starter Joe Kelly pitched out of the bullpen last week and was hit hard in his most recent start. In keeper leagues, Miller is an obvious add.
Andrew Cashner, RHP Padres
Cashner started the season in the San Diego bullpen and made 27 appearances before being shifted into the rotation in June. He made just three starts before injured his lat and landing on the disabled list, and that’s the crux of the problem right there: when he left his third start after just two innings because of that lat, the main reaction was joy that he hadn’t blown out his arm. No one doubts Cashner’s talent, just his ability to stay healthy.
Cashner will get another shot when he starts on Friday against Arizona, and if he can stay upright he could get as many as four starts this month. The San Diego rotation is so tattered right now that when Andrew Werner started on Monday, the undrafted free agent who was in the independent leagues just two years ago was the 14th different starter to suit up for the Padres in 2012, so Cashner will get as long a look as possible with an eye towards 2013. The opportunity plus the talent – even if his fastball, which averaged 98.6 MPH this year, dips a little bit out of the bullpen – makes Cashner a worthwhile pickup in NL-only leagues and still intriguing in deeper mixed ones.
Tony Cingrani, LHP Reds
If you haven’t heard of Cingrani before, don’t feel too bad, because the 2011 draftee was a college senior, which is rarely where you’ll find the most touted prospects. Then you look at what he’s done so far in the minors this year – 172 strikeouts in 146 innings, even though his first ten starts came in the hitter-friendly California League – and suddenly you start to wonder why exactly you haven’t heard more about him. Cingrani’s future role is still up in the air, because despite being a starter in the pros, he was mainly a reliever in college for Rice, and isn’t likely to be considered for a start in September when he gets called up.
That might be for the best, since Cingrani brings a plus fastball while still working on his secondary pitches, and it’s not hard for Reds fans to drool at the thought of a Cincinnati bullpen that could add another power lefty to go with Aroldis Chapman & Sean Marshall. I consider him one of the more intriguing new names this September, though the lack of a clear role makes him interesting to NL-only leagues for now.
Xavier Nady, OF Giants
Who says a September callup has to be a highly-touted rookie? It’s been nearly 12 years since the 33-year-old Nady made his big-league debut, but it was only on September 1 that he made his first appearances with his hometown Giants after being cut by the Nationals in June. Of course, the last part of that sentence is a huge red flag, because Nady hasn’t really had a good season since 2008. Still, the Giants have a big, Melky-sized hole in the outfield to fill, and Gregor Blanco isn’t getting the job done. For opportunity alone, Nady has to be considered in NL-only leagues, but despite doubles in each of his first two games… he’s still Xavier Nady. I hope you’re not that desperate.
A.J. Ramos, RHP Marlins
Ramos, a 21st round pick out of Texas Tech in 2009, has been the closer for each of his three full seasons in the minor leagues, moving up a level at a time. While we should know by now that you can’t scout a minor league stat line, the numbers remain impressive, with 288 strikeouts in 211.1 career innings and only eight homers allowed. Better, his control appears to be improving, as a walk rate which was 4.9/9 in 2010 and 3.4 in 2011 is down to just 2.8 this year. Ramos will be 26 this month, which makes him old for his level and may explain some of the impressive stats. Still, the Miami bullpen seems to be constantly in a state of flux, and it’s not hard to see him getting a chance to show his stuff as a lost season slips further away for the Marlins.
Wilin Rosario and Mark Reynolds: Waiver Wire
All too often, players get dismissed in fantasy leagues because of a low batting average. Owners are paranoid that a player with a low average is going to siphon off points in that category and no matter how productive he may be, will always be a drain. But then they get so caught up in avoiding these players and only see the aggregate numbers that they miss when one of them turns things around. Here are two players to check out for the home stretch. Both are turning their average around, both can hit for tremendous power and even if they do start to slump again in the average department, there’s simply not enough time for them to accrue enough at-bats to completely kill you in the category. Read the rest of this entry »
Podsednik & Gomez: Deep League Waiver Wire
August 29, 2012
The fun part about MLB trades for fantasy owners is all the new opportunities afforded to players on the teams involved. New roles open up and suddenly intriguing fantasy options are available for the taking from the free agent pool.
Todd Frazier and Will Venable Deserve Your Love
Today we’re looking at two players, one more prominent than the other, owned in less than 70 percentage of leagues that could add big value to your roster down the stretch.
Excuse me but I’m going to be blunt for a second; How in the hell is Todd Frazier owned in just 68 percent of Yahoo! leagues? What is wrong with people? I’m not talking to you, the Rotograph reader, you’re too smart to let him sit on the free agent pile. I’m talking to your average fantasy player. Is it his dull name? I kind of get it, people named Todd usually aren’t too exciting. But this Todd is killing it, in the good way, unlike the Todd from Breaking Bad.
