Charlie Blackmon: Deep League Waiver Wire
Today’s look at the Deep League Waiver Wire could be very well be construed as sacrilege.
Charlie Blackmon | 0% Owned (Y!) | 1% Owned (ESPN)
While our very own Carson Cistulli is very high on Charlie Blackmon and probably owns him in every league imaginable, it doesn’t mean you should copy him and do what he does. Frankly, you should do the opposite, most of the time.
To my knowledge, Blackmon progressed through the minors unnoticed by 99.9% of fantasy owners, and there may have been a good reason. Blackmon entered the Rockies minor league system after being drafted in 2008, and he immediately showed most of the same skill set we are expecting to see from him in the majors. Those skills, while somewhat impressive, don’t carry a whole of lot of flash and have led to Blackmon flying under the radar. Throughout his minor league career, Blackmon has kept his strikeout rate to a minimum, allowing him to consistently hit .300 or better. The outfielder also stole his fair share of bases, even if his success rate was generally underwhelming. In terms of power, Blackmon started flashing some boom-boom during last year’s stint in AA, and he continued hitting homers in Triple-A this season. Overall, Blackmon’s minor league career looked okay, but he failed to show any overly impressive skill outside of his batting average.
He doesn’t project to be ownable in standard leagues, but if you’re in a deep league, Blackmon’s worth a waiver claim due to the lineup and ballpark he plays in. His minor league run may have been undervalued, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to be a stud in the majors.
I had to think long and hard about writing this bit on Blackmon, because it does not show him in the most positive light and Cistulli scares the crap out of me.
Carlos Peguero | 1% | 0%
Let me make it clear that I am not a fan of Carlos Peguero the major league player; not in the least. I am a fan, however, of the power potential he’s shown and what it could mean for his fantasy value in the future if the Mariners are willing to live with his defense in left field. Peguero’s OBP is going to be quite bad, but he has a slugging percentage around .500 despite a strikeout rate north of 30%. His swing may have many holes, but if the big man makes contact, that ball is going to fly. If you’re in anything shallower than a dynasty league, don’t even bother. In fact, you probably shouldn’t bother even if you are in a dynasty league.
Zach is the creator and co-author of RotoGraphs' Roto Riteup series, and RotoGraphs' second-longest tenured writer. You can follow him on twitter.
Blackmon has been starting consistently but EVERY depth chart I looked at shows him backing up Spilborghs even though Spilborghs has been getting very little playing time. Do you know how the outfield rotation shakes out in Colorado? I’m thinking Blackmon might be useful in my OBP league.
It’s far from anything official, but the Rockies’ announcers seem to be very high on him and have said that the team expects Blackmon to eventually become an every day player at the MLB level.
For me at least, that means that they’re going to give him as many opportunities to prove himself as they can given his slick defensive skills and toolsy nature.
Yes, he’s playing everyday for now…Fowler went down with an injury, Gonzalez shifted over to center and Blackmon went into left.
I believe Fowler started a rehab assignment though who knows what happens when he’s ready to come back. The team likes his D but they also are confident in Gonzalez in center. Fowler’s K rate had shot up this year and as a result his other numbers took a step back. The team has had Ian Stewart on a short leash and with Blackmon doing well (or at least, not looking overwhelmed), they could do something similar with Fowler.
That said, Blackmon has never had a high walk rate, so he doesn’t seem like a great choice for an OBP league.
Glad to see someone else skeptical about Blackmon, but I think Peguero has more potential than he’s given credit for. He strikes me as a Ryan Howard kind of hitter, but maybe a notch below what Howard’s skill at the plate.Peguero is young and has more speed, but his BB% is a downer, and he hits a few more grounders and infield flies than Howard. Otherwise, contact rate & strikeout rate are very similar.
Peguero intrigues me. He has been bad in the outfield but hes athletic enough to think he might improve to be above average if he works on it. He has raw power, hes quick, and he can take a ball off his shoe strings and drive it a la vlad guerrero, but his contact skills and plate discipline leave something to be desired. I have no idea right now what he will be, but I think he is dismissed too easily. If he works hard and learns to play the OF and lay off breaking balls in the dirt, he could be a legit major leaguer. I think his overall athleticism is underappreciated. That said, he could also never be anything more than he is: greg halman without the defense.
Just making sure that all of you know that Charlie Blackmon is actually white.
So is Rex Brothers. That is all.
The 2011 Colorado Rockies, starring:
Charlie Blackmon as “The Great White Rasta”
And Ben Revere is white!
Whodathunkit?
I mean black.
Crap.