Waiver Wire: April 20th

While the obvious strategy is to have everyday players in your lineup to achieve maximum offensive production, sometimes, it makes sense to go with a platoon player.  Maybe the at bats aren’t as regular — maybe he gets only three or four starts per week.  But if his numbers are solid and he’s outproducing some of your regulars, then why not give him a try.  Here’s a pair of platooners worth a look right now…

Brennan Boesch |OF|  Ownership:   ESPN – 34.4%  Yahoo – 28%

For those looking for the correct way, his last name is pronounced, “guy who’s screwing over everyone who bought into the Ryan Raburn hype during the off season.”  After a solid rookie season and a strong spring, Boesch has quickly become a favorite of manager Jim Leyland’s in Detroit.  He’s the left-handed bat in the outfield platoon with Raburn and is obviously getting the bulk of the work.  He’s currently hitting .302 with one home run, 10 RBI, 16 runs scored and a pair of stolen bases in 63 plate appearances, and has been relatively consistent in his overall performance.

Aside from being a lefty, working in Boesch’s favor is his plate discipline.  He’s got a 14.3 BB%  despite the fact that he doesn’t take a lot of pitches and he’s got an above average contact rate – 83.2% to be exact.  That also helps keep the strikeouts down – a little below average with a 18.9 K%.  However, his minor league numbers don’t dictate a .300 average, so the .349 BABIP is obviously helping.  Figure there will be some regression, a drop in the walk rate and a slight increase of Ks, but I don’t see a huge drop-off coming, especially if he’s not out there against southpaws.  If you’re looking for a fifth or sixth outfielder and could use  a .260-15-70 player, then maybe Boesch can be a help to your team.

Garrett Jones |1B, OF|  Ownership:  ESPN – 40.5 %  Yahoo – 12%

Jones is a little bit tougher of a play sometimes as everyone who knows Clint Hurdle from his Colorado days, knows that he’s all about playing the guy with the hottest bat.  So when Jones goes into a little slump as he did a little more than a week ago, he’s going to ride the pine for a few games.  For the most part, Jones is the left-handed bat in the outfield platoon with Matt Diaz, but will also spells Lyle Overbay at first every so often.  The added eligibility is always a bonus in leagues with daily roster adjustments.

He started off the year in modest fashion, got a few games off, but has now started in 3 of the last 4 games and is swinging some lumber out there.  He’s got multi-hit games in all three starts and has a pair of home runs, 3 RBI, 2 runs scored and has drawn 4 walks.  Not only does he say he feels more comfortable at the plate, but he actually looks more comfortable up there lately.

Save for the unusually high walk rate right now, Jone’s numbers seem to be falling right in between his 2009 and 2010 totals.  The power should be about the same which means you can probably count on 20 HR this year, but I’d expect more of a .270ish average.  He should outproduce Diaz as the season progresses which should hopefully garner him some extra playing time and make for a worthwhile bench player for your team.