Plug-n-Play Candidates

Every week, every team gets a day off, usually on Monday or Thursday. On those days, it is nice for a fantasy owner to be able to put a player into a lineup that may add a few counting stats without hurting the team’s batting average. Zach Sanders coined these players: Plug-n-Play. These are players that have full-time jobs, but don’t have much power and don’t accumulate a ton of Runs and RBIs. Usually they hit lower in the lineup and their only fantasy attribute is batting average. I decided to look at some Plug-n-Play candidates for 2012.

To get a list of possible players, I used the Oliver Projections from the Hardball Times. I looked for players projected to have over 500 plate appearances with an average greater than .275, less than 10 home runs and less than 20 stolen bases. I am basically looking for players that their main attribute is batting average. Here is the list of 10 players that made the criteria and their projected stats:

Name	ADP	Pos	Org	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	BA	OBP	SLG
Castro, Starlin	41	SS	CHN	623	78	6	62	18	0.304	0.340	0.420
Infante, Omar	371	2B	FLO	513	57	6	51	5	0.289	0.326	0.389
Jay, Jon	416	LF	STL	537	61	9	56	9	0.283	0.330	0.403
Headley, Chase	257	3B	SDN	553	66	9	58	12	0.283	0.353	0.408
Jeter, Derek	124	SS	NYA	635	73	8	60	14	0.282	0.341	0.377
Parra, Gerardo	ND	OF	ARI	578	68	7	55	12	0.280	0.333	0.391
Schumaker, Skip	ND	2B	STL	506	52	4	46	3	0.278	0.334	0.358
Escobar, Yunel	219	SS	TOR	571	63	8	55	4	0.277	0.351	0.376
Callaspo, Alberto	ND	3B	ANA	617	67	8	62	5	0.276	0.333	0.384
Seager, Kyle	459	3B	SEA	577	65	9	59	7	0.275	0.332	0.396

Here are some quick thoughts on the players:

Starlin Castro, Derek Jeter and Yunel Escobar – None of these three are going to fly under the radar. They will be forced into everyday duty at shortstop in all but the shallowest of leagues.

Omar Infante – An almost perfect candidate for Plug-n-Play. A near .300 batting average and is off of everyone’s radar. The only way he would be a better candidate is if he was qualified at more than one position.

Jon Jay – Jon looks for now to be the starting center fielder for the Cards. He is also one of the few outfielders on this list. If OF help is needed, he is one of the few players to pick up.

Chase Headley – Like the initial group of SS, Headley will probably end up getting drafted in order for teams to fill their third base position. Chase is a better hitter than his stats show because PetCo suppresses his stats quite a bit as seen here:

Career Splits
Home 0.229/0.319/0.336
Away 0.303/0.364/0.441

With Headley, he may only be useful for Plug-n-Play in away games. He is probably better suited to be platooned with another 3B that hits in a batter friendly park like Brent Morel.

Gerardo Parra and Skip Schumaker – Both of these two don’t have a guaranteed full-time starting position. If either is able to secure a starting position, they will fill the Plug-n-Play role nicely. Schumaker also has the added advantage of being qualified at second base and the OF.

Alberto Callaspo – Callaspo’s hold on the Angels 3B job is a little shaky at the current time. The Angels are thinking of moving Mark Trumbo to 3B. These plans have been put on hold for a while since Trumbo has injured his foot and may miss all of spring training. If I was to make a guess, I bet Trumbo starts in the minors working at 3B. If he is able to field the position, look for him to take over Callaspo’s job. If not, expect one of Trumbo or Morales to be traded.

Kyle Seager – A prospect that has no power from a corner position usually means that the team is looking to fill the position with a player with power. While he may not be able to keep the job in the future, he has it for now.