It seems like every other day a member of the Tampa Bay Rays is being put on the disabled list. Kyle Farnsworth, Evan Longoria and Desmond Jennings are the main players sidelined by injury, but they’re joined by the likes of Sam Fuld and backup catchers Jose Lobaton and Robinson Chirinos. The latest to catch the injury bug is big right-handed starter Jeff Niemann.
One Yankee and one former Yankee in today’s waiver wire post. Coincidentally enough, expectations for both players were low coming into the season but they’ve since proven to be more useful than anticipated.
Raul Ibanez | OF | Yankees | Owned: 26% Yahoo! and 47.2% ESPN
Both Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira got off to slow starts this season, but the Yankees survived thanks in part to Derek Jeter’s insane April and unexpected contributions from Ibanez. The former Phillie is off to a .273/.330/.568 start with seven homers and 21 RBI through his first 97 plate appearances, and a slight uptick in BABIP (currently .233) will boost his average even more. Keep in mind that as a fly ball hitter, it’s not guaranteed to rebound all the way to his .302 career mark. Ibanez’s strikeout rate (9.3 K%) is a career-low (by far) and I have to think that at some point he’ll run into a 12 K in 20 PA slump or something like that. Hopefully not though.
Lance Berkman’s return to from the disabled list is the last thing any Allen Craig owner wanted to hear, but the multi-position eligible power bat should still find enough time to be productive in fantasy leagues.
Currently, Craig is owned in just 61% of Yahoo! leagues, which is borderline criminal at this point. After starting at first base in Berkman’s absence, Craig is now eligible at 1B, 2B, and OF. With Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran, and Berkman all being aging veterans, and John Jay being a left-handed hitter, Craig should still find enough time between the corner outfield positions and first base to receive enough plate appearances to remain valuable.
Read the rest of this entry »
“Hello, boys! I’m baaack!”
–Russell Casse from Independence Day
Much like the so-crazy-he-has-to-be-right Casse from the 1996 summer blockbuster Independence Day and his never-ending efforts to prove non-believers wrong about his alien abduction, I am bringing back the Mining the Minors column to continue my quest to keep fantasy owners aware of lesser-known minor leaguers who are nearing the majors — and (crazy, I know) just might make an impact on fantasy teams in deeper and/or keeper leagues.
Or put another way: Just because many of these non-big leaguers are currently unowned in the vast majority of fantasy leagues doesn’t mean they should be, ahem, alien to you, dear fantasy owner.
For those of you new to this space, of if you just need a refresher on the method behind this column, I invite you to read the inaugural Mining the Minors from last season.
In the interest of staying current, I’ve taken the liberty of updating the above link with examples from last season of the various types of minor leaguers I’ll be checking in on this year.
1) Lesser-known prospects making names for themselves
2011 Impact Examples: Paul Goldschmidt, Jose Altuve, Ryan Lavarnway, Juan Nicasio, Brad Peacock, Addison Reed
2) Solid but non-elite prospects
2011 Impact Examples: Jemile Weeks, Eric Thames, Henderson Alvarez, Lance Lynn, Josh Collmenter, Javy Guerra
3) Former top prospects whose careers had stalled or fallen off
2011 Impact Examples: Danny Duffy, Todd Frazier, Fautino De Los Santos, Alex White, Zach Stewart and Nick Hagadone
4) Triple-A veteran types
2011 Impact Examples: Ryan Vogelsong, Nolan Reimold, Brett Pill, Jose Constanza, Tom Wilhelmsen, Michael Fiers
If your league’s waiver wire looks anything like the ones in my leagues, then you know how slim the pick’ns are out there. Even the slightest inkling of a quality bat, and your league is jumping on it like a fat kid on cake. But if it’s saves you’re looking for, then the waiver wire is your friend as the revolving door of closers is making more rotations than most fantasy owners would like. Here’s a look at two of the most recent options to explore… Read the rest of this entry »
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time to go fishing in the dark, murky waters of the free agent pool. Today I look at two starting pitchers, one of which I am extremely surprised to see such a low ownership percentage for, the other, not so much. If you are in need of pitching help, read on.
30-odd games into the season, one of the biggest positive surprises has been the play of the Houston Astros. Baseball’s absolute doormat last year rebuilt their front office, adding a slew of really smart people, but expectations were low, since as smart as their director of decision sciences is, he isn’t hitting cleaning.
Two of the Astros’ best producers right now are widely available in most circumstances, and while the fantasy world has gotten wise to Jose Altuve, there is still some value to be had in Houston. Read the rest of this entry »
This week we’re going to take a look at two National League shortstop eligible players who have increased their value dramatically over the past two weeks. One is far less of a surprise than the other.
He’s always had the potential to be a productive fantasy shortstop but hasn’t been given a full time opportunity. His time in Boston was checkered with injuries and up and down performance. Here are his OPS and games played numbers each of the past four season
Today I am going to look at a 3 players on the DL that may be able available in a league and should be returning to the field soon. The players could be added to a regular or DL spot.
Ownership rates are ESPN and then Yahoo.
Nolan Reimold (29%, 35%) – Usually, I don’t look at players with this high of an ownership rate because they are just not available in active and/or deep leagues. I am just amazed at how much he is being dropped. He has experienced a 61% point drop in his ownership rate at ESPN (The fact that over 60% of the leagues at ESPN are this active really surprises me).
The waiver wire is still full of quality options as we start the season’s second month. Here’s an outfielder and a bullpen arm who are likely better than someone on your roster…
Ryan Sweeney | OF | Red Sox | Owned: 11% Yahoo! and 17.2% ESPN
Just a secondary piece in the Andrew Bailey–Josh Reddick trade, Sweeney has become in an important cog in the top-heavy Red Sox offense. His .368/.398/.540 batting line is excellent but nothing something I would expect him to sustain for the next 130-something games, mostly because his .457 BABIP (!) is not built to last. Sweeney has always been a high contact/BABIP hitter however — .330 career — and he moved into a much, much more favorable home ballpark with the trade. A .450 BABIP is nuts, but a .350 BABIP is probably doable.
