Mitch Haniger & Xavier Scruggs: Deep League Wire

If you’re still fighting for a money finish (and you should be because we give you the best advice here, duh), then here are two thrilling recommendations for your deep leaguers.

Mitch Haniger | OF ARI | CBS 10% Owned

I love when these no-name random guys get recalled and are immediately given a full-time role. For those of us still paying attention, we could really take advantage and plug a roster hole. Haniger is precisely this type of player. He was called up a week ago and has played every day since, starting at least once at each outfield spot. Talk about versatility! A.J. Pollock’s expected imminent return will slightly cloud Haniger’s playing time picture, but I’d bet on the team benching Michael Bourn, rather than the younger Haniger.

So Haniger is already 25, which is old to qualify as a real prospect. He merely got a short blurb under the “Players of Note” section in Dan Farnsworth’s Diamondbacks prospects rankings, with his conclusion being:

Haniger looks to me more like a bench bat at best at this point, and he’ll have to show some better contact or power just to clear that hurdle.

This quote, of course, came before his big breakout at Triple-A this year. The sample size wasn’t huge, just 271 plate appearances, but his power surged, as his ISO more than doubled to a whopping .346. He struck out a bit more, but still remained in more than acceptable territory given that power. He also continued to walk at an above average clip. He even showed some speed for potential five category fantasy impact!

I wouldn’t necessarily bet on him being a meaningful batting average contributor, but he shouldn’t hurt you too severely, if at all. Perhaps he made adjustments this season and Farnsworth would have upgraded his future prospects. For now, he’s got the playing time in a good park and owns a minor league record that suggests some intriguing fantasy potential.

Xavier Scruggs | 1B MIA | 1% Owned

If Haniger is too old to be considered a real prospect, Scruggs is a grandpa at 28 years of age. And yet given that advanced age, he has just 71 Major League plate appearances to his name. This year marked his third go around at the Triple-A level, so it’s difficult to get excited by his performance no matter his results. But here’s a guy, like Haniger, who enjoyed a power surge, while not striking out at an alarming clip, and walking often.

With incumbent first baseman Justin Bour potentially out for the season, all the Marlins have right now are Scruggs and Chris Johnson. And we know what Johnson is, so it would make sense to give Scruggs the lion’s share of the ABs.

We have so little on Scruggs, the only article appearing on his player page is another deep league wire recommendation from the end of June of last year! That partially explains why he’s owned in just 1% of leagues.

Johnson, Scruggs’ only current competitor for first base duties, hasn’t started a game since August 18th, so it’s clear the Fish are giving Scruggs a chance to prove that his Triple-A breakout was a sign of legit improvement. Might as well roll the dice and speculate here.