Danny Valencia and Ezequiel Carrera: Late Season Waiver Wire Help

by
August 31, 2011

Just one month to go in the regular season, so every little bit of help could make the difference between a top 3 finish in your league and wallowing in the mediocrity of finishing sixth.  With the numerous injuries that are popping up, you might just be in need of a quick fix, so here’s a pair of guys that can contribute in one way or another…

Danny Valencia |3B|  Ownership:  ESPN – 33.2%  Yahoo – 25.0%

With such minimal ownership percentages, it appears as if too many people are overlooking the second half Valencia has had here.  After posting a .236 average with 10 HR and 46 RBI in 346 PA in the first half, he has turned around his season, posting a .284-4-15 line in just 164 plate appearances on a Twins team that has been rapidly falling apart.  Granted, he’s  received some help from the luck dragons as his BABIP has dramatically increased over the last two months, but given the state of third base this whole season, Valencia has to be given consideration down the stretch.  He’s currently riding a 9-game hit streak in which he’s batting .355 with 7 runs scored and a pair of solo home runs, and all that with a day off to have his wisdom teeth removed.  If he can put together a September equivalent to his July or August, then there’s no reason he couldn’t be a solid third base or corner infield option.

Ezequiel Carrera |OF|  Ownership:  ESPN – 0.7%  Yahoo – 1.0%

Having officially lost Michael Brantley for the remainder of the season and with Grady Sizemore still about a week away from even starting his rehab assignment, the Indians have turned over left field duties to Carrera.  He’s not going to dazzle you with any kind of power, but he is an above-average contact hitter (86.4%) who can steal some bases once he’s on.  He’s also got a fairly low K% (16.4%) and a walk rate of 9.0% which have helped translate into a decent .341 OBP. Since taking over full-time for Brantley (a seven game span), Carrera is batting .393 (11-for-28) with 5 runs scored, 3 RBI, 4 SB and has also drawn 5 walks.  In that time he’s raised his average from .236 to a .274 mark, which is an obvious help to almost anyone’s fantasy team.  Eventually Sizemore will come back and start taking away some of his playing time, but for right now, he makes for a solid stopgap player and can give you a boost in the SB category which is usually pretty movable in most roto leagues still.

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Howard Bender has been covering fantasy sports for over 10 years on a variety of websites. In addition to his work here, you can also find him at his site, RotobuzzGuy.com, Fantasy Alarm, RotoWire and Mock Draft Central. Follow him on Twitter at @rotobuzzguy or for more direct questions or comments, email him at rotobuzzguy@gmail.com

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Denny Hocking
14 years ago

Danny V. is in Gardy’s dog house even though he’s a bad infielder which normally makes you one of his favorites – so his playing time might be taking a hit in the last month (not that they have much for options)

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