Rob Refsnyder & Tyler Naquin: Deep League Waiver Wire

Deep league waiver wire, when injuries are your friend. As usual, injuries have opened up playing time for this week’s candidates.

Rob Refsnyder | 2B NYY | CBS 6% Owned

Refsnyder primarily played second base in the minors, while also playing right field here and there. But an injury to Mark Teixeira truly tested the Yankees depth at the position. And since there is precious little, Refsnyder has seemingly been thrust into the starting job. Before arriving in New York this year, he had never played an inning at the position. But hey, if you can handle second base, surely you could perform respectably at first, right?

Refsnyder entered the season as the Yankees 13th best prospect according to Dan Farnsworth, who noted that defensive issues prevented him for getting an extended look last year. Clearly, that is why the team was okay moving him away from a middle infield spot. As a hitter, he possesses a touch of power and some speed. Decent strikeout rates and up and down walk rates. It’s a skill set missing a standout tool, but that overall makes him a potentially average hitter…if he remained at second.

Unfortunately, his bat isn’t good enough to remain a viable first baseman, but that’s not what you really care about anyway. He has the type of skills underappreciated by fantasy owners, as 10/10 upside doesn’t look as exciting as 20/0, but it’s at least as valuable. If you extrapolate the projections over a full season, that’s exactly what both ZiPS and Steamer are forecasting. Chris Parmelee was summoned recently as well and certainly poses a threat to Refsnyder’s playing time. Worst case, the latter falls into the bad side of a platoon. But given Refsnyder’s position flexibility, his value wouldn’t disappear, and he has a much better chance of sticking around than Parmelee does when either Texeira eventually returns or the Yankees find better offense for first.

Tyler Naquin | OF CLE| 9% Owned

Michael Brantley‘s continued shoulder woes has had the Indians scrambling for a set outfield. Throw in both Abraham Almonte and Marlon Byrd’s PED suspensions, and it’s no wonder the team has already employed eight different outfielders so far this year. Naquin opened the season with the Indians and had a chance to earn regular at-bats until Brantley returned from the DL the first time. He posted a BABIP fueled .323 wOBA, but was sent down in early May when Brantley returned.

He was then recalled a week later, before being sent back down several days after. Finally, he was recalled once again at the beginning of the month in the wake of Byrd’s suspension. He has gotten the chance to play every day since and has actually made the most of his opportunity, swatting homers in three consecutive games from June 3rd to June 5th. Naquin isn’t much of a power hitter though, as his career high season home run mark is just 11, set back in 2013. But he does have a bit of punch and a full season could net him in the neighborhood of ten dingers.

He has some speed too and would likely get into the double digits in a full season. His skill set is actually a lot like Refsnyder’s, but with a couple of extra strikeouts. Unfortunately, he has been brutal in center field so far this year, posting a -27.9 UZR/150, but the Indians are used to horrid defense.

There are definitely playing time concerns, as the Indians try to juggle Naquin, Rajai Davis, Jose Ramirez, and Juan Uribe for three spots. None of the hitters standout, so it will likely come down to the hot hand in the short-term. But with Brantley potentially out a while, the potential is there to seize a job in the outfield.