As Eno pointed out the other day, six of us from FanGraphs/RotoGraphs joined up with six writers from The Hardball Times to do battle in a 12-team rotisserie league for both bragging rights and charity. The winner gets to donate the prize to the charity of his choice while the site for which he writes gets to reign supreme in the fantasy universe. Sounds like fun? Well, you weren’t there for the four-plus hour auction.
Obviously, one of the keys to making savvy waiver wire pick-ups is to do so with a specific category in mind. Whether you have a particular need in your head to head league or you have a roto category that looks like you can make a big jump in points, you should be targeting specific players to help out in that area. Maybe they don’t help in other categories, maybe they do, but for the immediate need, they make sense. Stolen bases is usually that category. It always seems to be one of the easiest to move up in in roto leagues and an easy one to match or beat your opponent in head to head. Here’s a look at a pair of infielders that just might be able to help you make that jump right now. Read the rest of this entry »
With Rafael Furcal (oblique) back on the DL for the Dodgers and Oakland’s Mark Ellis leaving Monday night’s game with a right hamstring injury, a pair of top middle infield prospects are primed to get plenty of big league playing time over the next few weeks, and possibly much longer.
Shortstop Dee Gordon made his debut for L.A. last night as a pinch-runner. Manager Don Mattingly intends to start him most nights as the increasingly fragile Furcal heals, according to a Tweet by Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. Second baseman Jemile Weeks hasn’t officially gotten the call to the majors yet, but the move is expected with Ellis possibly landing on the DL. Here’s a quick look at what to expect from Weeks and Gordon.