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.
Jeff, one of the authors of the fantasy baseball guide,The Process, writes for RotoGraphs, The Hardball Times, Rotowire, Baseball America, and BaseballHQ. He has been nominated for two SABR Analytics Research Award for Contemporary Analysis and won it in 2013 in tandem with Bill Petti. He has won four FSWA Awards including on for his Mining the News series. He's won Tout Wars three times, LABR twice, and got his first NFBC Main Event win in 2021. Follow him on Twitter @jeffwzimmerman.
Nice note on Reimold, now could you please rank these 5 OF: Soo Choo, Heyward, Reimold, D. Stubbs and Jon Jay…thanks!
As someone with no real idea, I would go Heyward, Stubbs, Jay, Reimold, and Choo. Maybe. I don’t know.
thanks a lot!
I’d go Heyward, Choo, Jay, Stubbs, Reimold. After Heyward those are all kinda the same level guy though.
This is probably right. Personally, I have sworn off Stubbs.
Thank you!
Read somewhere that Reimold will go through Rehab first
fyi, espn’s “ownership percentage” isn’t based on all leagues–there’s some unspecified cutoff for league activity so that they include only the more active leagues in that number, so that’s 60% of a subset of leagues with more active participants.
That is incredibly clever, effective, and wise of them.
Thanks.
“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.”
Well, as always, it depends on your league format. In standard leagues with relatively small benches, only one DL slot, and useful players (including other solid middle relievers) available in the free agent pool, a bench spot is too precious to waste on a non-closing reliever on the DL. Even if his ERA was under 3.00, I still would’ve dropped him.
the main reason Reimold/and most bench bats have been dropped is due to limited bench space and all the closers getting injured or losing their role…
reimold when active has been good but he’s in one day and out the next, not the most productive way to accumulate offense…
Reimold may be set to return by the 14th, but he’s got to make some rehab starts first. He’s got a bulging disc which is causing tingling and it seems like those things are tough to get rid of. If he gets 500-550 ABs, though, 12-18 home runs seems awfully low. He could get 20-25 easy if he stays healthy, but that’s a big if.