Waiver Wire: April 14
If you’re looking for long-term or even short-term help for your fantasy team, then you’ve come to the right place. This week’s waiver wire will feature some players that could very well be available in your league right now. And they can help you.
Chase Headley | OF | San Diego (47% owned)
The skepticism is understandable. You’re looking at a sophomore who posted a WAR of 1.4 in ’09 and he plays in a massive pitcher’s park. Keep in mind, though, that he was one of the club’s top prospects in the minors (for good reason) and he also plays half his games on the road. Depending on your league, he could also be eligible at both third base and the outfield. Headley won’t post a wOBA of .464 for the entire season but he’s a good player that could offer you batting average, 15 homers and 10+ steals.
Scott Podsednik | OF | Kansas City (43%)
I’m going to file Podsednik under the “short-term value.” The outfielder is currently on a hot streak so managers in unlimited transaction leagues could benefit from picking up this speedy player. Not only is he benefiting from an unsustainable .519 BABIP, but Pod is showing a solid approach at the plate (1.25 BB/K) and he has six steals in as many tries. He has, though, only scored four runs, which says something about the players around him. Still, steals can have a lot of value.
Alex Gonzalez | SS | Toronto (35%)
Gonzalez is another short-term fix, thanks to his hot start and the fact that a number of middle infielders have gone on the DL lately. The former Marlin is benefiting from hitting at the top of the order with a couple of scorching hitters behind him (Adam Lind, Vernon Wells). The power outburst (four homers in eight games) may slow eventually, however he did hit 23 dingers in ’04 and he’s currently utilizing a nice, level swing and not trying to do too much. The average will most certainly plummet from .300+, as he’s a career .248 hitter.
Brian Matusz | LHP | Baltimore (47%)
Let’s switch it up and look at a long-term investment for your team. Rookie starters are usually more heartbreak than they’re worth, but Matusz is an advanced college product who looked solid in eight ’09 starts with Baltimore. He’s struggled a bit with his control in ’10 (4.38 BB/9) but he’s getting a lot of whiffs and he’s providing innings. His ERA is a little high at 4.38, but his FIP is just 2.02. If you’re going to worry about anything, let it be about his fly-ball tendencies and ground-ball rate of just 15%.
Fernando Rodney | RHP | Los Angeles AL (34%)
If you’re looking for a second closer for your fantasy team, Rodney could be your man. Incumbent closer Brian Fuentes was just placed on the DL and manager Mike Scioscia“>Mike Scioscia has pointed to Rodney as the temporary replacement. Keep in mind that he saved 37 games in 38 tries last season so he’s got the experience. Rodney does have a habit of posting some ugly ERAs, but at least he’ll balance that out with some nice K numbers.
Ownership percentages based on Yahoo Fantasy Baseball
Marc Hulet has been writing at FanGraphs since 2008. His work focuses on prospects and fantasy. Follow him on Twitter @marchulet.
Your scouting report on Matusz is based on 2 (read: 2) outings in 2010. The first one he uncharacteristically walked a bunch of hitters. The second he absolutely shutdown the same stacked Rays lineup. It was the supporting (or thereby lack of) bullpen that gave up the inherited runners that counted towards his ERA. He was brilliant in that one, pitching 7 innings of shutout ball, only 1 bunt single to that point.
I don’t know which start you take to be closer to the true Matusz, but I don’t think you can decidedly take one start’s totals to disproportionatley skew your report on him. He’s hardly a pitcher with command issues.
Are you Brian Matusz? Why such a touchy response to a report complimenting Matusz? He mentioned that the ERA was high, but that his FIP was fantastic. He also said the only thing to worry about is his fly ball tendency, which, playing in Baltimore, is a legitimate concern.
No, I am not Matusz. Ha. Didn’t mean it to sound touchy. Just meant to underscore how much of a sample size it was to be pointing out any trends based on two starts. If we take part of last year’s stats as contextual reference, I can accept that, but these flyball, groundball, k/9, innings, etc are all based on two starts.
..just to clarify: Of those two starts, the first one his command of the fastball was just way off. His curve worked well enough to keep him in the game in the middle innings, but he was very unchracteristic. In the second start his changeup was phenomenal and resulted in many many high pop up outs from hitters being way out in front (which is what happens on changeups). Only 2-3 balls made contact, one of which was a bunt hit. The bullpen came in and blew the win and let all the runners onbase score.
I don’t think either game can be seen as especially indicative of Matusz, from a statistical standpoint. He’s a young pitcher with 4 good pitches with good command of all of them. On any given day he might be forced to pitch differently. So determining flyball tendencies based on the performance of heavily off of one start is a little weird to me. Yes, such a thing would be a concern in Camden Yards, and he might prove to be that type of pitcher, but he also has a very good breaking ball and could easily pitch a different way in that park too.