by Will Overton
Right now is a busy time for fantasy baseball owners to be working the waiver wire. The trade deadline is approaching and as the wheeling and dealing starts the fantasy fallout comes with it, including the introduction of new names and faces to the wire.
The hard part is not letting all the trade rumblings and hot stove talk overshadow everything else happening in the fantasy baseball world that is impacting the waiver wire as well. One of those things are injuries which can be crippling for fantasy owners at time, but can also open up the door for new fantasy value impact players.
Here are some guys available in a lot of leagues who have had their fantasy value boosted by an injury to one of their teammates:
Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick– OF, Miami Marlins: When Marcell Ozuna went on the DL the Marlins ended up making two moves and calling up two different your, talented outfielders. The big news was the recall of Yelich who has been considered one of the best prospects in baseball this year, and a guy I personally just love to watch play, especially swing the bat. Yelich should be getting the attention and that’s why he is up to 30% ownership and he should be owned in all formats.
Still, Jake Marisnick shouldn’t be overlooked by deep league owners just because he’s not Yelich. Marisnick is off to a slow start, but he has the tools. Marisnick was hitting .294 with 12 HR’s and 11 SB’s. It might take some time to see the power translate to the bigs, but it’s there. In the meantime he should be a factor on the base paths if nothing else. He’s the kind of guy I think is worth taking a flier on in deep leagues.
John Mayberry Jr. – OF, Philadelphia Phillies: Between Ben Revere hitting the DL* a while back and now Domonic Brown going on the DL with a concussion the outfield is wide open for Mayberry to make an impact and prove he can be more than just a platoon guy. Mayberry has hit safely in seven of his last eight games and has multiple hits in three of his last five.
Mayberry has more power then we have seen the last year and a half, something we saw in 2011 when he had a 17.8 HR/AB. He’s got the size and the swing to be a homerun hitter. If he gets the regular AB’s that may help being that power out. As he’s playing everyday he’s worth grabbing in 12 team five-OF leagues and might be worth taking a chance on in 10 team leagues too.
Eduardo Nunez – SS, New York Yankees: It was a short lived run in the major leagues for Derek Jeter before he found himself back on the DL and Eduardo Nunez found himself back as the starting shortstop. Nunez spent a significant amount of time on the DL himself this season, but he’s been hitting well in July since coming back, hitting .291.
One of the things we haven’t seen a lot of from Nunez yet is his speed. He only has four steals so far this year, but he has 11 in just 38 games last season and he tallied 22 steals the year before. The Yankees are desperate to score some runs and they are going to have to do something to manufacture runs pretty soon. Utilizing the speed of someone like Nunez could be one of those things. One advantage he has is his position flexibility, so if he’s playing well when Jeter comes back he could move somewhere else.
Derek Norris – C, Oakland A’s: Just yesterday John Jaso hit the 7-day DL for a concussion. It’s only the seven day DL, but we’ve seen concussions keep guys out a whole lot longer than seven days before. Norris hasn’t been the most productive player so far, but he hasn’t seen anywhere near regular playing time. Maybe this is what will give him the chance to get that playing time now.
Norris has actually been playing better lately and is 6 – 22 at the plate in the month of July in sporadic appearances. In the minor leagues Norris showed off some power with a couple 20 HR seasons and he even had seven HR’s in limited at-bats last season. I wouldn’t be in a hurry to grab him unless you’re in a two catcher format, but in those cases you might want to consider taking a chance on him. I’m not ready to write him off as a bust just yet.
Brandon Beachy – SP, Atlanta Braves: It was horrible news for the Braves and fantasy owners when we found out that Tim Hudson was out for the year after having his ankle inadvertently stepped on the other night. The good news however, at least for fantasy owners, is a spot has opened up for Brandon Beachy who has been rehabbing in the minor leagues. Beachy has had nine rehab starts and gradually has been working his way back to form.
Right out of the gate we might not see the pitcher who struck out almost 11 batters per nine innings a couple of years ago, but in time hopefully he can regain that same kind of stuff or close to it. Let’s remember that before throwing out his arm last season Beachy had a 2.00 ERA in 13 starts, I realize the injury concerns and you can’t just assume he goes back to that kind of a pitcher, but to claim someone like this off of waivers could be a jackpot for fantasy owners. You at least have to give it a shot and see what happens.
What are you doing with these injury replacements? You ignoring them or are you adding them? Is there someone else that fits this description that I missed?
More...
Right now is a busy time for fantasy baseball owners to be working the waiver wire. The trade deadline is approaching and as the wheeling and dealing starts the fantasy fallout comes with it, including the introduction of new names and faces to the wire.
The hard part is not letting all the trade rumblings and hot stove talk overshadow everything else happening in the fantasy baseball world that is impacting the waiver wire as well. One of those things are injuries which can be crippling for fantasy owners at time, but can also open up the door for new fantasy value impact players.
Here are some guys available in a lot of leagues who have had their fantasy value boosted by an injury to one of their teammates:
Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick– OF, Miami Marlins: When Marcell Ozuna went on the DL the Marlins ended up making two moves and calling up two different your, talented outfielders. The big news was the recall of Yelich who has been considered one of the best prospects in baseball this year, and a guy I personally just love to watch play, especially swing the bat. Yelich should be getting the attention and that’s why he is up to 30% ownership and he should be owned in all formats.
Still, Jake Marisnick shouldn’t be overlooked by deep league owners just because he’s not Yelich. Marisnick is off to a slow start, but he has the tools. Marisnick was hitting .294 with 12 HR’s and 11 SB’s. It might take some time to see the power translate to the bigs, but it’s there. In the meantime he should be a factor on the base paths if nothing else. He’s the kind of guy I think is worth taking a flier on in deep leagues.
John Mayberry Jr. – OF, Philadelphia Phillies: Between Ben Revere hitting the DL* a while back and now Domonic Brown going on the DL with a concussion the outfield is wide open for Mayberry to make an impact and prove he can be more than just a platoon guy. Mayberry has hit safely in seven of his last eight games and has multiple hits in three of his last five.
Mayberry has more power then we have seen the last year and a half, something we saw in 2011 when he had a 17.8 HR/AB. He’s got the size and the swing to be a homerun hitter. If he gets the regular AB’s that may help being that power out. As he’s playing everyday he’s worth grabbing in 12 team five-OF leagues and might be worth taking a chance on in 10 team leagues too.
Eduardo Nunez – SS, New York Yankees: It was a short lived run in the major leagues for Derek Jeter before he found himself back on the DL and Eduardo Nunez found himself back as the starting shortstop. Nunez spent a significant amount of time on the DL himself this season, but he’s been hitting well in July since coming back, hitting .291.
One of the things we haven’t seen a lot of from Nunez yet is his speed. He only has four steals so far this year, but he has 11 in just 38 games last season and he tallied 22 steals the year before. The Yankees are desperate to score some runs and they are going to have to do something to manufacture runs pretty soon. Utilizing the speed of someone like Nunez could be one of those things. One advantage he has is his position flexibility, so if he’s playing well when Jeter comes back he could move somewhere else.
Derek Norris – C, Oakland A’s: Just yesterday John Jaso hit the 7-day DL for a concussion. It’s only the seven day DL, but we’ve seen concussions keep guys out a whole lot longer than seven days before. Norris hasn’t been the most productive player so far, but he hasn’t seen anywhere near regular playing time. Maybe this is what will give him the chance to get that playing time now.
Norris has actually been playing better lately and is 6 – 22 at the plate in the month of July in sporadic appearances. In the minor leagues Norris showed off some power with a couple 20 HR seasons and he even had seven HR’s in limited at-bats last season. I wouldn’t be in a hurry to grab him unless you’re in a two catcher format, but in those cases you might want to consider taking a chance on him. I’m not ready to write him off as a bust just yet.
Brandon Beachy – SP, Atlanta Braves: It was horrible news for the Braves and fantasy owners when we found out that Tim Hudson was out for the year after having his ankle inadvertently stepped on the other night. The good news however, at least for fantasy owners, is a spot has opened up for Brandon Beachy who has been rehabbing in the minor leagues. Beachy has had nine rehab starts and gradually has been working his way back to form.
Right out of the gate we might not see the pitcher who struck out almost 11 batters per nine innings a couple of years ago, but in time hopefully he can regain that same kind of stuff or close to it. Let’s remember that before throwing out his arm last season Beachy had a 2.00 ERA in 13 starts, I realize the injury concerns and you can’t just assume he goes back to that kind of a pitcher, but to claim someone like this off of waivers could be a jackpot for fantasy owners. You at least have to give it a shot and see what happens.
What are you doing with these injury replacements? You ignoring them or are you adding them? Is there someone else that fits this description that I missed?
More...
