Deep League Waiver Wire: April 4th

Jack Cust | 2% Owned (Y!) | 0.4% Owned (ESPN)
Be forewarned ESPN owners: Jack Cust is not outfield eligible. But if you’re like me and play more on the Yahoo! side of things, Cust could be a nice addition if things go right for him. We all know by now that Cust is much more valuable in OBP leagues, but if your team can stomach a relatively low batting average, you don’t have much to worry about. Cust has seemingly always had playing time questions surrounding him, but since the Mariners don’t have much in the way of a suitable platoon player, Cust should be an everyday player. Add him if you’re looking for some extra pop and decent RBIs.

Jason Bartlett | 9% | 3.8%
Bartlett is one of “those guys.” You know, the guys you don’t feel good about owning, even if it will help your team. Bartlett has a nice line-drive swing, and getting out of the AL East certainly won’t hurt his batting average. Even if you only expect Bartlett to hit .270 with 15-20 steals, that line makes him worth owning in deeper leagues, and maybe even in some shallower leagues that have a MI spot. Bartlett will be hitting towards the top of the Padres’ lineup most days, but the hitters behind him could limit his runs scored.

Jose Lopez | 7% | 71.4%
First off: does anyone have any idea why Jose Lopez is owned in over 70% of ESPN leagues? For those of you wondering, Lopez’s ownership rated jumped up less than 10% after opening day, which means he was owned (and presumably drafted) in 60% of leagues this offseason. Regardless, Lopez is a great add in deeper leagues. He’s only third base eligible right now, but he’ll be eligible to play second base sometime soon, depending on your league’s settings. Coors and the NL West could be a great fit for Lopez’s pull power, and almost anything is better than Safeco for Lopez’s skill set. He has plenty of competition behind him should he falter, but I’d expect Lopez to hang on to the job for most of the season.