Herrera & Stauffer: Waiver Wire

Today’s emphasis: versatility. There’s nothing better than a quality player eligible at multiple positions…

Jonathan Herrera | 2B, 3B | Ownership: 32% Yahoo!, 52.4% ESPN

The Rockies had enough of a question mark at second base coming into the season that they explored a trade for Michael Young basically all winter, but Herrera grabbed that job and ran with it less than a week into the season. His .327/.464/.455 batting line is fueled by a 14.1% O-Swing% and a 2.7% swing and miss rate, both top five (or is it bottom five?) marks in the league. He’s drawn 14 walks against just six strikeouts, and is doing well to steal bases (four in five tries in 16 games). Herrera is also batting second for an above-average offensive team (.325 wOBA), which presents plenty of run scoring opportunities. The plate discipline has always been one of his strongest skills, and the BABIP isn’t ridiculous enough (.354) that you’d expect his average to come crashing down at any moment. With eligibility at two thin positions, there’s a lot to like here, especially in OBP leagues.

Tim Stauffer | SP, RP | 36% Yahoo!, 3.4% ESPN

The world’s best long man turned Opening Day starter, Stauffer earned that honor with six stellar starts down the stretch last year (2.10 ERA, ~3.25 FIP in 34.1 IP). He came out of the gate a little slowly this year (23 H, 8 R, 5 BB, 7 K in 15 IP in his first three starts) but has settled in nicely the last two times around, firing seven shutout innings against the Cubs and holding the Phillies to two runs in seven over the weekend. Stauffer lives off the ground ball (55.1% GB rate this year, 54.5% last) so his strikeout rate will never be great (5.79 K/9 this year after 6.64 K/9 last year), but he’s a Petco Park pitcher and those guys always seem to outperform their peripherals. Being able to maximize innings from a relief spot is a nice added bonus. Stauffer’s next start comes at the Dodgers (Friday), then he’ll welcome the Pirates to Petco.