Dustin Ackley and Jarrod Dyson: Waiver Wire

As mentioned last week and around this time every year, with such little time left in the season, you’re simply looking for guys who are contributing now. Worrying about a guy’s ROS stats here on September 4 is a bit silly as few guys available are going to have numbers so enticing that they become a “must-have.” September call-ups are here and eating into a lot of veteran time, so the obvious trick is to find guys who will continue playing regardless of who the team brings up. Here are two guys you may want to consider…

Dustin Ackley, SEA |2B, OF| Ownership: ESPN – 23.2%  Yahoo – 33.0%

He went from super-hyped prospect to fantasy afterthought in just over a year’s time after a disappointing 2012 season. His performance in the minors was never overwhelming, statistically speaking, but he showed a little bit of power, a little bit of speed and had a fairly decent average thanks to some solid plate discipline. It carried over, for the most part, during his 90-game run in 2011, but when the walk rate and BABIP dropped and he hit .226, the 12 home runs and 13 stolen bases hardly seemed helpful. His 2013 opened with a fizzle as well and he hadn’t shown anything positive until August when he hit .390 with two home runs and 10 RBI. Sure, most of it was fueled by a .459 BABIP, but it’s also because of a change at the plate. He’s being more aggressive in his approach, swinging at more pitches inside the zone, and those outside fastballs that were giving him so much trouble earlier in the year, well, he’s now poking those the opposite way. He’s still showing patience on pitches outside the zone, including those outside fastballs, but for the most part, he’s up there looking to put bat to ball and get on-base that way. He’s batting .349 (15-for-43) with two home runs and eight RBI over the last two weeks and with eligibility in the middle infield and the outfield, he makes for a solid late-season add.

Jarrod Dyson, KC |OF| Ownership: ESPN – 31.8%  Yahoo – 5.0%

The most glaring stat that you should be looking at is the nine stolen bases over the last two weeks. Yes, the fact that he’s hitting .324 (12-for-37) is a huge bonus, but a stolen base surge like that is fantasy gold at this time of year. With the slow-healing Lorenzo Cain still sidelined with an oblique strain, Dyson has been garnering nearly all of the playing time in center field and he’s proving to be extremely productive. There’s actually not much going on his his recent batted ball or plate discipline numbers that is standing out — his walk rate was close to the same, although slightly down in August, a few more whiffs and actually a lower line drive rate. But when he does end up on base, the green light is on and shining bright and Dyson is running every chance he can get. At this point in the season, you can easily sacrifice some batting average if it means such a strong boost in steals and runs scored. Nine extra stolen bases for you could easily translate to a three or four point difference in your roto standings. Don’t miss out.