Reimold, Drew, Holland: DL Waiver Wire

Today I am going to look at a 3 players on the DL that may be able available in a league and should be returning to the field soon. The players could be added to a regular or DL spot.

Ownership rates are ESPN and then Yahoo.

Nolan Reimold (29%, 35%) – Usually, I don’t look at players with this high of an ownership rate because they are just not available in active and/or deep leagues. I am just amazed at how much he is being dropped. He has experienced a 61% point drop in his ownership rate at ESPN (The fact that over 60% of the leagues at ESPN are this active really surprises me).

I don’t get the immediate hate. Projection systems have him hitting anywhere from 12 to 18 HRs this season. He has supported those projections by hitting 5 HRs so far this season. Also he has a nice 0.333 BABIP that is fueled by a 26% LD%. The LD% is about twice what he has done in past seasons, so I would expect it to regress. Even with the regression, he should be held in almost all leagues. I actually expect him to begin to be picked up as other owners see him available.

He plans on being back on the 16th and should immediately begin to contribute. This over-reaction by some owners is a perfect opportunity for other owners to buy low.

Stephen Drew (21%, 25%) – If any good hitting shortstop is available, they should be picked up. Drew is no exception. He is currently playing in extended spring training games, so he will hopefully return to the majors in a week or so.

He may be a bit rusty, but he still has the potential to put up double digit HRs from the SS position. His AVG will likely be around the 0.260 level and he will have a half dozen or so steals. At the SS position, these numbers are quite respectable.

It is always best to get a player a bit early then not being able to pick him up because some owner has already scooped him up. While he is not the fanciest SS in the league, he is a great plug-n-play candidate. Also, he could be traded off if another team has a SS go down for an extended period.

Greg Holland (1%, 11%) – Greg should return to the Royals soon as Jonathan Broxton’s set up man. Any set up man, in just about any sized league, should be owned. Closers go down with injuries or just can not get the job done at the end of a game.

People are not going to usually keep any pitcher with a 11+ ERA, so I can see why he is widely available. They should have kept him though. By looking a little deeper into his stats, he seems to be a great sleeper pick. His ERA estimators (FIP, xFIP, SIERA of 1.69, 2.55, 2.87) predict that his ERA should be almost 10 Runs lower. He has an outstanding 14.2 K/9. His BB/9 has though doubled to 5.7 compared to the 2.8 figure he put up in 2011. His main problem thas come from a 0.591 BABIP which has lead to 53% LOB%. Those numbers are almost for sure to come down. Holland’s ERA screams regression.

As with any pitcher, I would not put him on my active roster until he has thrown once in the majors. Check his fastball speed to make sure it hasn’t dropped off. Make sure the he isn’t headed back to the DL, especially with his rib injury. After verifying those two facts, feel free to add Holland into an active roster.