I haven’t given out much fantasy baseball advice lately. The trade deadline buzz this season was exciting and it was an absolute blast following the rumors and dissecting the deals. I don’t think we’re done with the trading, either. The contract status of a handful of players who are still being considered as potential stretch drive acquisitions by contenders may allow for more deals. Potential blockers may not want to gamble a waiver claim on someone they don’t want or need because of the cost involved. That could very well pave the way for another trade surge before the end of the month.
But it’s not as though I’ve been ignoring my roto teams, and I’ve got a few guys who should be on the radar screen of owners playing in deep and competitive leagues. I’ll toss out my usual caveat here. If you’re in a league with less than 12 teams, or one that’s loaded with weak owners, the players I list won’t be of any use for the most part. The advice I dispense is for deep leaguers, where finding that useful end of the roster player may mean the difference between being in the money and also-ran status. So, I concentrate only on players currently owned by less than 10% of all Yahoo owners.
That means that even a largely anonymous player like Rajai Davis of the Oakland A’s isn’t going to be recommended, because he’s already at 12% ownership. Of course, if you’re in one of those powerhouse leagues and he’s still available, he’s worth grabbing.
Last time I did this, I tossed out Maicer Izturis and Travis Ishikawa. Both worked out well for the short term and in the case of Izturis way beyond that. Ishikawa has subsequently lost all his value with the Giants trading for Ryan Garko. But if you snared Ishikawa and platooned him against righties, he wasn’t the worst temp pickup on the planet. Here are a few more players mostly unowned who could generate some positive stats the rest of the way.
First of all, there’s all kinds of speed available almost everywhere. Angel Pagan, Tony Gwynn, Eugenio Velez and Carlos Gonzalez are all owned by less than 10% of the total owners. Pagan is leading off for the Mets against righties and that means he may be able to also help in runs while not hurting you in BA. Velez has been raking for the Giants and Gwynn has fit in nicely as a regular with the Padres. But Gonzalez is the guy I’d gamble on. He’s very talented and I would imagine he’s owned in most keeper leagues. But in annuals he’s got less value and his very poor start soured many owners on him. Gonzalez has been picking it up lately, though. He’s got plenty of speed and there’s also power potential. Gonzalez is still sitting against southpaws, but that’s okay, as what you should primarily be looking for with that last roster spot is a platoon player you can spot against the right pitchers.
Another name surprisingly still on the list of largely ignored players is Baltimore’s Ty Wigginton. There isn’t much question about his ability to hit the baseball and he can deliver needed sock as well. Wigginton got off to a rough start and ended up on the Baltimore bench. But he’s really picked things up of late, and I think he’s going to be a five games per week starter the rest of the way. I would not be surprised at all to see Wigginton deliver a .280 BA, as he’s already climbed back into the .260’s, and he’s a good bet to hit right around 10 homers from now until closing time. There’s now way Wigginton should be owned by only 7% of the Yahoo population, but that’s the figure on him as of today.
Let’s toss in a long shot or two as well. Andy Marte, who I
mentioned last week while dissecting the trades the Indians were
making, is worth a gamble. If he busts again, no big deal. If his
substantial improvement at AAA this season is an indicator he’s
finally breaking out, he’s a potential lightning in a bottle
pickup who could be a difference maker. And I’ll mention
Washington reliever Tyler Clippard as well. He’s been outstanding
since being recalled, and the former Yankees prospect sure looks like a
different pitcher coming out of the pen. Clippard is working his way
into a significant role for the Nationals, and I would not be at all
surprised if he gets an opportunity to try his hand at closing come
September. At the very least, keep Clippard on your watch list.
———–
The Rays pulled out a must win victory Tuesday night in extras against
the Red Sox, and they continue to give Boston fits at the Trop. David
Price has been erratic, but the talented southpaw is on the improve,
and I see the Rays having a good chance to get to Brad Penny tonight.
The price isn’t too high, so my choice is the Rays to complete
the sweep against the Red Sox.
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