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.

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