Waiver Wire: May 20th
Here’s three players who could step right in and give your team a nice little boost…
Francisco Cervelli | Yankees | C | 4% owned
News broke late last night that Jorge Posada will miss the next 3-4 weeks (and probably more when you consider a minor league rehab assignment) with a hairline fracture in his foot after getting whacked with a foul ball on Sunday. He’s also missed time with a sore calf and a bruised knee (suffered on a HBP) in recent weeks, so backup Frankie Cervelli has actually started behind the plate in 11 of the Yanks’ last 14 games. He’s responded with a gaudy .413 wOBA and 17 RBI, though he’s certainly been helped by a .417 BABIP. ZiPS RoS projection calls for a .282 AVG the rest of the way, which has lots of value from a catcher. Perhaps most importantly, Cervelli now how some playing time certainty.
Chris Coghlan | Marlins | OF | 40%
The reigning NL Rookie of the Year had what we’ll call a rough go of it early this season, with a sub-.250 wOBA and zero extra base hits through his first 107 plate appearances. That also came with a sub-.200 BABIP, but over the last week-and-a-half Coghlan’s steadily picked up the pace. He’s 13 for his last 41 (.317) with two doubles, two homers, and two stolen bases for good measure. His BABIP has climbed up to a more reasonable .279, which is still a ways off from his .326 minor league mark, nevermind last season’s .365.
When trying to replace an injured (or underperforming player), I tend to forget about replacing what I’ll lose in counting stats and instead try to make sure my rate stats don’t take a hit. If Coghlan continues to regress back to the mean, he should provide a better than good AVG for your team.
Wade LeBlanc | Padres | SP | 25%
LeBlanc took Chris Young’s spot after he made his annual trip to the DL, and he’s been the best pitcher on the staff since. His 1.54 ERA is backed up by a 2.67 FIP and a 3.95 xFIP, and he’s not enjoying any extra special luck on balls in play with a .315 BABIP. LeBlanc’s LOB% is sky high at 87%, but an ERA in the low-4.00’s from here on out is very possible. His next three starts are at the Mariners, then at home against the Cardinals and Mets.
Ownership rates are bases on Yahoo! leagues.
Mike writes about the Yankees at River Ave. Blues and baseball in general at CBS Sports.
I was a day late and a dollar short on Cervelli. He got snatched up this morning as I waited for Y! to put the DL stamp on Jorge. Now I’ll have to go with Zaun or Torrealba.
who to pick up in jorges absence? buck, cervelli, or ruiz?
LeBlanc scares me. while his era is a savory 1.54, his whip is 1.31. seems like a stat correction is in place as some of those baserunners (3.34bb/9ip) come around to score.
meh, that whip isn’t awful if you’re talking about a spot starter/back of the rotation guy.
Does Posada’s injury in any way affect how the Yanks may handle Montero this year?
Doubtful. At the beginning of the season, I estimated that Jesus Montero had about a <20% chance of an early call up this year based on his age, performance, the Yankees roster/depth, and reports from management. The primary reason that he won't be called up is because management is strongly committed to developing Montero as a catcher unless/until he physically grows too big for the position. Since his defense still needs a lot of work, the Yankees wouldn't call him up for his skills behind the dish.
Instead, the best chance for Montero would be an unlikely combination of devastating injuries to the New York lineup and a team-wide offensive slump that would threaten their playoff chances. This *could* force the Yankees' hand to add Montero's bat, but they would only add him as a DH. Granted, the injury situation is just about right: their best offensive C (Jorge Posada – check), the DH (Nick Johnson – check), and other DH possibilities (Nick Swisher – although I think he's back now).
The current problem, oddly enough, is his hitting. In his first run at AAA this year, Montero is hitting .230/.304/.385 with 3 HR's in 122 AB's. Until Montero figures out AAA pitching, we may not see a callup until September or even 2011. The Yankees do not want to hinder his development as a catcher, Montero isn't lighting up AAA, and the Yankees are still very much in contention in the AL East. All reasons that I think his timeline is currently unaltered.
Dropped Snyder for Cervelli before the news hit about Jorge. Now will coast with the solid production till Posey gets the call!
Ruiz is king in OBP leagues
Love LeBlanc. Do you see Coghlan out performering Andres Torres and Angel Pagan this year. I’m currently rostering Torres and I’m open to other speed options. Batting 9th instead of the pitcher tonight, does not exactly give me a vote of confidence for Torres.
I’d take Coghlan over Torres any day. As a G’s fan I can tell you Torres is not good, or guaranteed any sort of consistent PT either.
Jeremy Guthrie 3% owned, one-eighth as much as LeBlanc? I’d prefer 8 Guthries to 1 LeBlanc. Heck, I’d prefer 1 Guthrie to 1 LeBlanc.