Waiver Wire: March 30th

With the season rapidly approaching and spring injuries are popping up all over the place, it’s time to make some of those last minute tweaks on your roster.  If you find yourself looking for a little power boost, here’s a couple of guys with whom you might be interested…

J.P. Arencibia |C|  Ownership:  22% Yahoo;  31.3% ESPN

Grabbing some extra power from behind the plate is always a huge bonus and Arencibia just might be worth a stash on your bench to start the year.  He’s had a pretty rough spring hitting just .185 with 17 Ks in 54 AB, hence his ownership percentages, but the Blue Jays are committed to him.  Sure, Jose Molina will get some starts here and there, but Arencibia is the primary and based on his ISO numbers throughout the minors (nothing below .200 since ’07) it looks like it’s just a matter of when, not if, his bat starts to explode.  Down on the farm he had a fairly respectable K%, so I think once he settles in, the strikeouts will come down, but you’ll likely have to deal with batting average issues most of the way.  Still, if the guy can pop you 20+ HR and knock in 50+ runs, he’s falling in ahead of most.  If you’ve got the room on your bench and you’re not thrilled with your primary, Arencibia could be worth a look.  Once his bat gets going, he’s going to fly off your waiver wire.

Kila Ka’aihue |1B, DH|  Ownership:  14% Yahoo;  11% ESPN

More power and yes, at the expense of batting average, however, if you’re in an OBP league, Ka’aihue could be a solid pickup.  He proved last season that he was done with Triple-A, banging 24 HR while posting a slash line of .322/.465/.601 and a very impressive 21.1 BB%.  When he was called up, that BB% dropped and he looked a little anxious at the plate, but he also had a very unlucky .238 BABIP, dropping his average to .217 in just over 200 AB.  Still, he knocked 8 out of the yard and posted a .178 ISO, so it’s just going to be about getting the work in and getting comfortable.  He’s been ripping the cover off the ball this spring hitting .411/.476/.875 with 7 HR and 5 doubles and is slated to receive regular at bats between first and DH this season.  I like Bill James’ projections, but I actually think Ka’aihue has the potential to go 25-30 HR this season if he can carry this spring momentum into the regular season.  Now if only we can get him a nickname to stick…current suggestions are Kila Monster and Serial Kila, both good choices.