Welcome back Self! If you didn’t realize it (admit that you noticed immediately that my highly informative and entertaining posts were suddenly missing from your life), I have been away on vacation for the last 2 weeks. And yes, it was a great time, thanks for asking. Anyway, due to the wonders of the iPhone, I was actually able to keep up with all the baseball happenings for the first time on a vacation. Joining the 21st century is a nice thing. As a result, I found two free agent gems for you deep leaguers!

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The Braves, tied for the wild card lead and four games back in their division, were dealt a big blow yesterday when it was announced that starting shortstop Andrelton Simmons will miss at least a month with a broken pinky finger on his right hand. Known mostly for his excellent glove work, the 23-year-old was having a great season with the bat as well. He’s hit .296/.336/.452 with three homers and 15 RBI in 33 games since being called up to replace the struggling Tyler Pastornicky. The only shortstop on the Braves active roster is Jack Wilson, and nobody wants Jack Wilson. What are the Braves, and more importantly you, going to do?

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With the All-Star break upon us, we finally don’t have to worry about our fantasy teams for a few days. It’s always nice to have that little break, especially when you run multiple teams. Rather than the usual daily waiver wire shtick, let’s take a look at four players who have gone from undrafted and afterthoughts to key contributors in all formats.

Carlos Ruiz | C | Phillies | Preseason ADP: 290 | Owned: 89% Yahoo! and 100% ESPN

Chooch has been, my far, the best hitting catcher in baseball this season. He came into the year with a .265/.357/.393 career batting line which is solid but not exactly worth a fantasy roster spot. The 33-year-old Ruiz carries a .350/.412/.584 (!) line into the break this summer, having already hit a career-best 13 homers with 21 doubles that are just eight shy of his career-high. He’s moved into a more premium lineup spot — fourth or fifth depending on whether or not Ryan Howard plays — and the result has been 46 RBI that are the second most among qualified catchers and eight short of his career-high. His 523 ottoneu points lead all catchers by a significant margin.

Ruiz’s production will likely step back for a number of reasons in the second half, mostly because catchers tend to wear down in August in September. A .362 BABIP and 18.3% HR/FB don’t exactly scream sustainable either. That said, Chooch’s first half production is already in the bank and anyone who grabbed him off waivers in April is surely thrilled.

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Tyler Colvin (ESPN: 7.6 percent owned; Yahoo!: 10 percent owned)

When the Rockies sent Ian Stewart to the Cubs for Tyler Colvin in one of those “my broken toy for your cracked mirror” deals, it looked as though it would end like almost all change-of-scenery deals does, namely, the issues that lead the players to be traded for one another had little to do with the scenery. If one of the players in that deal was going to actually get things to click, I would have guessed it was Stewart, who looked like a man in need of a home without the expectations that had gained him the “bust” tag in Colorado. Instead, Stewart is likely to miss the rest of the season after undergoing wrist surgery. While the Cubs surely would have liked a full season to see if the former top-10 pick could be refurbished, I can’t imagine there’s much dispute about what Stewart offers following 202 PAs that amounted to a .201/.292/.335 line and generally replacement level play. Read the rest of this entry »

One infielder, one catcher, one pitcher. What more could you want, really?

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Wow. Scour that waiver wire and it’s slim pickins out there, for sure. Trying to find some legitimate help can be a daunting task, especially if you’re looking to pick someone up for an extended period of time. So you’ve got to find the door where opportunity is knocking the loudest. Here are two guys who may not actually be Mr. Right, but can at least be Mr. Right-Now. Read the rest of this entry »

Jim Thome (ESPN: 2.5 percent owned; Yahoo!: 8 percent owned)

He has been in the league since Jack Morris was a relevant figure, not just the center of a Hall of Fame debate; his career has taken him from the AL to the NL, back to the AL back, to the NL, back to the AL, back to the NL, and now back to the AL; and though it all Jim Thome does one thing: Mash taters. That’s his reputation, and it’s not wrong, but those in OBP-based leagues will also enjoy his penchant for drawing walks by the bushel. Read the rest of this entry »

HI THIS IS JI-

JIM THOME.

Over the weekend, the Phillies did Jim Thome a solid, sending the future Cooperstown resident out to the equivalent of pasture for over-35 power hitters; the American League. The suddenly struggling (although their pythag always implied dark clouds on the horizon) Baltimore Orioles are likely to install Thome as their full-time (or near full-time) designated hitter in search of a bit of power in the middle of a lineup that was much quieter in June than either of the two previous months. Because of his newfound playing time, Thome has become a trendy waiver wire add in AL-only and deeper mixed leagues, but even so, still remains available in a ton of leagues (8% owned in Yahoo leagues and 2.5% on ESPN as of Monday night). Is he worth grabbing?

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Let’s kick off this week’s waiver wire updates with two East division players, an AL pitcher and a NL outfielder…

Franklin Morales | SP, RP | Red Sox | Owned: 20% Yahoo! and 18.6% ESPN

When the Red Sox put Daniel Bard in the rotation, they were supposed to be able to fall back on using him as a reliever if it didn’t work out. Instead, he’s gone to Triple-A and continued to struggle. Morales, 26, has kinda done the opposite. Expectations were relatively low coming into the season, but he pitched very well in a relief role (3.04 ERA and 3.48 FIP in 23.2 IP) before moving into the rotation to take Bard’s spot (2.00 ERA and 0.88 FIP in 18 IP). Those 18 innings as a starter feature 24 strikeouts and just three walks.

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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 »