Peter Bourjos, Cameron Maybin and Jesse Crain: Waiver Wire

Today’s edition of Waiver Wire revolves around two “raw” outfielders and a reliever who’s made a slight change.

Peter Bourjos | 18% Owned (Y!) | 3% Owned (ESPN)
Coming into the season, the most important stat we were looking for from Peter Bourjos was going to be his LD%. Bourjos has fantastic speed and decent pop, but made a mockery out of his 51 games last year by hitting liners on less than 10% of balls he put in play. It’s early, sure, but a line drive rate close to 24% is a pretty nice start for the youngster, and it will be key to his fantasy success. Another thing Bourjos has been good at is striking out. A lot. Bourjos’ contact rate has not been good, and that is why he isn’t even hitting .300 despite a BABIP of .400. If you’re looking for an OF with some upside who’s numbers are not as good as they may seem, give Bourjos a shot.

Cameron Maybin | 16% | 11%
Like Bourjos, Maybin is a toolsy outfielder who is having trouble with strikeouts, but Maybin’s counting stats are well on their way to making up for it. Coming into Thursday’s action, Maybin had went boom-boom thrice and stolen six bases in seven tries. It should be no surprise that two of his homers came on the road, but one of them came in St. Louis, which is actually worse than Petco for right-handed hitters. His steals have not come in steadily, instead coming in bunches (of three), which can be frustrating for fantasy owners. Maybin isn’t hitting at the top of the Padres lineup, so his other two counting stats are going to be a little hard to come by, but he’s still worth a look in a little bit deeper leagues.

Jesse Crain | 3% | 0%
One of the relievers that benefited greatly from the market this offseason, Crain has been good for the White Sox, at least in the early going. Crain was an extreme fastball/slider pitcher last season, opting to throw his breaking ball more than his fastball. He’s still sticking with his slider, but he’s opted to throw a changeup this year, primarily to lefties, and the results have been nice. Crain’s swinging-strike percentage is through the roof, and his strikeout rate has followed it on its ascent. The ChiSox’s bullpen is an absolute mess, so Crain is a good guy to have around as long as he’s striking guys out.