Waiver wire pickups

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Waiver Wire Pickups: This week RP Shawn Kelley is our “Special K!”

Posted by fantasyfurnace on June 3, 2013
Posted in: MLB. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

If you take the time to look at the numbers that are provided you on ESPN, Yahoo! , or any fantasy sport site you and your league are a part of, you will be amazed at the gems that can be found…Gems that are going virtually unowned. For example, if we were to tell you that the pitcher with a major league leading 15.34 K’s per 9 innings is owned in just 1% of leagues would that be enough of an attention grabber?

1. Shawn Kelley-RP-Yankees- Here is our “Special K” of the week! This former Mariner had an awful 2-game stretch in his 3rd and 4th appearance back in the beginning of April, giving up 6 earned runs vs Cleveland and Detroit. By April 8th Kelley’s ERA had ballooned to an unseemly 10.12. It has since dropped almost in half as he has let his K’s do the talking for him. So far this season, Kelley has struck out 38 in just 22 1/3 innings. Kelley has helped keep the Bombers in quite a few games this season. For now, he is someone to consider in deeper leagues and A.L. only leagues.

RP Shawn Kelley has been on a strikeout tear with the major league leading K/BB ratio of 15.34/9. Photo: Jeff Kowalsky/European Pressphoto Agency

RP Shawn Kelley has been a strikeout machine, owning the major league leading K/BB ratio of 15.34/9. Photo: Jeff Kowalsky/European Pressphoto Agency

2. Chris Carter-1B,OF-Astros- Those desperate for a player with some power numbers who is virtually unowned in most leagues, Carter is another who has gone unnoticed. Consider this: Carter has 3 more homers (11) than Albert Pujols, and just one less RBI (31). He’s on pace to hit 30 home runs on the season and yet is owned in just 17% of leagues. His batting average (.223) admittedly is holding him back in many leagues, and yet players like Ike Davis of the Mets who only has 5 homers on the season and is batting an anemic .168 is owned in twice as many leagues.

3. Chad Gaudin-SP,RP-Giants- This well traveled veteran who just might set a record for the amount of times he’s been traded (10) since entering the league in 2003, is someone that we’re touting because he not only won his first game on Sunday vs the Cardinals as a starter since Sept. of 2009 when he was with the Yankees, but his ERA (2.21) and WHIP (1.15) are the lowest of his career. Gaudin is staying on as the Giants’ fifth starter while Ryan Vogelsong continues his DL stint. He’ll face the Diamondbacks this weekend and could be a reliable streamer for some owners.

4. Nate Schierholz-OF-Cubs- This is a serviceable outfielder who, not known for his power, has hit more home runs after 150 at bats so far this season (7) than he has in any other other season after 150 ABs. Schierholz with 4 stolen bases out of 6 attempts also has a very respectable .287 batting average. The former 2nd round pick of the S.F. Giants is another little owneed (10%) that is taylor made for those in A.L. only leagues.

5. Yunel Escobar-SS-Rays- A career .280 batter, Escobar has just begun to heat things up with his bat over the past couple of weeks. He had been in a slump and as someone who seems to turn it on late, you can catch this little owned MI (10%) who has scored 10, hit 2 homers and driven in 11 since May 20th. Escobar has also raised his batting average over 30 points over that stretch and has 4 multiple hit games in his last eight. This is the time to grab the former 2nd rounder of the Braves. The 30 year old is just 2 seasons removed from scoring 77 runs, hitting 11 homers and batting .290. You could do worse at this lean position.

#11 SS Yunel Escobar has been on a tear of late and can be had in most leagues. Photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

#11 SS Yunel Escobar has been on a tear of late and can be had in most leagues. Photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

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Fantasy Baseball: This Week’s Waiver Wire Pickups

Posted by fantasyfurnace on May 19, 2013
Posted in: MLB. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

We have received several requests for little owned starting pitchers and outfielders from some of our many emails and are obliging this week with two SPs and 3 OFs. Three of our five waiver wire pickups are of the seasoned veteran kind so you will recognize their names. If you should have any specific needs for your roster, please feel free to contact us at fantasyfurnace@yahoo.com Here are this week’s pickups…

1. Dayan Viciedo-OF-White Sox- Although Viciedo isn’t exactly a household name, he’s a candidate in deeper formats and A.L. only leagues this week. The 24 year old was given the everyday left field job last year, his first full season in the major leagues, and he showed why he deserved it by playing keen defense and blasting 25 home runs. The undrafted outfielder needs to cut down on his strikeouts which kept his batting average at a mid tier .255 last season. Viciedo is currently hitting .303 going 11-for-30 (.366) in the month of May.

2. Raul Ibanez-OF-Mariners- We know that you’re probably asking yourself,”why tout a player that will be turning 41 next month?” Well, like Viciedo above, Ibanez is also a fringe fantasy player who is tailor-made for A.L. only and deeper leagues. Consider that discounting last season’s one-year bench role with the Yankees, Ibanez has hit 20 or more home runs in 6 out of his previous 7 seasons and crushed 30+ HRs in two of them, so we know he still can hit for power. Barely owned, the LF has just finished a veritable All-Star-like week going 8-for-22 with 5 HRs and 11 RBIs. Ride him while he’s hot !

3. Bronson Arroyo-SP-Reds- The veteran right-hander has been one durable pitcher going 8 of his last 9 seasons with 30 or more starts. He is as steady as they come and makes an ideal pickup in mixed leagues, while in more shallow ones he can be quite a serviceable streaming candidate. Arroyo is coming of back-to- back wins over the Brewers and Phillies highlighted by a 0.00 ERA and 0.91 WHIP over 14 1/3 innings pitched. He faces the anemic Cubbies next week which should yield him his third win in as many games. Arroyo is owned in just 22% of leagues.

#61 Bronson Arroyo with the highest leg kick in all of baseball is coming on strong & worthy of a pickup in most leagues. Photo: associated press

#61 Bronson Arroyo with the highest leg kick in all of baseball is coming on strong & worthy of a pickup in most leagues. Photo: associated press

4. David Phelps-SP,RP-Yankees- Now in just his second big league season, Phelps is getting noticed more and more by some savvy owners as the reliever turned starter has been nothing short of ace-like over his last three starts going 19 1/3 innings and allowing just 4 earned runs (2.06 ERA). For the season, Phelps’ K/BB ratio is 46/ 18 and with the Yankees fifth starter facing the Rays and Mets over his next two games, we highly recommend Phelps as a ‘Must Add’ in mixed leagues and in all formats. Currently he is widely available in over 90% of leagues, but won’t be for long.

#41 SP,RP David Phelps has been almost unstoppable giving up just 4 earned runs in his last 19 1/3 innings. A 'Must Add' Photo: Courtesy of Getty Images

#41 SP,RP David Phelps has been almost unstoppable giving up just 4 earned runs in his last 19 1/3 innings. A ‘Must Add’ Photo: Courtesy of Getty Images

5. David DeJesus-OF-Cubs- Now in his 11th year in the major leagues, 8 with Kansas City, DeJesus is off to a productive start this season and if you believe in pro-rating numbers, the veteran is on track for 100 runs scored (he has 24) 20 home runs (he has 5) and 84 RBIs ( he has 16). Will he achieve these numbers? Probably not but he does stand a chance of coming close now that he is batting in the hitter friendly confines of Wrigley Field. DeJesus has a career batting average of .281 and is currently right around that mark (.288). Basically he is a low risk high reward Center fielder who, only owned by 10% of you owners, is becoming more & more attractive in most mixed leagues.

Fantasy Baseball: This Week’s Waiver Wire Pickups

Posted by fantasyfurnace on May 4, 2013
Posted in: MLB. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

With about 25% of the fantasy baseball season already in the bank, your roster should be pretty set by now, with the exception of an injured player here or there which is unavoidable in any sport. By now owners also have been able to see how their fellow managers conduct their team’s business; who streams frequently, who requests trades, who is always dropping & picking up hot players, and who doesn’t do much at all. The key is to weed through all of the hype and be quicker to the waiver wire than your competition. Which brings us to this week’s pickups to consider…

1. Justin Grimm-SP-Rangers- Arguably one of the premier rookie pitchers out there this season, Grimm just had the honor of winning the A.L. Rookie of the Month of April by virtue of his three outstanding starts. He has averaged 6 strikeouts per game this season and boasts an excellent ERA of 2.28 and a modest WHIP of 1.27. He has a two-start week this week, vs the Brewers on Tuesday and the much maligned Astros on Sunday. Owned in just 20% of most leagues, we recommend Grimm for those in A.L. only leagues as well as deeper mixed ones, especially with this week’s opponents. To the rest of you we say, ‘Happy streaming!’

A.L. Rookie for the Month of April, Justin Grimm delivers a pitch & should deliver for those in deeper leagues with his 2 starts this week. Photo by Rick Yeatts/Getty Images

A.L. Rookie for the Month of April, Justin Grimm delivers a pitch & should deliver for those in deeper leagues with his 2 starts this week. Photo by Rick Yeatts/Getty Images

2. Yonder Alonso-1B-Padres- Alonso, who just turned 26 last month, must be eating his Wheaties because he’s off to a torrid start given what he recorded in his first full season last year. He has hit safely in 9 of his last 11 games and has two home runs to go along with 11 RBIs over that span. Alonso’s batting average has remained just south of .300 for most of the young season and although there is only a small sampling to refer to, we recommend that deeper roto leaguers should enjoy the ride for as long as it lasts. The most intriguing stat to us is his 4 HRs this season against just 9 all of last year. *Note: Perennial All Star Joey Votto has 9 less RBIs than Alonso. Just sayin’…

3. Dee Gordon-SS-Dodgers- Although not confirmed, it has been reported that the speedster Gordon will be called up as Hanley Ramirez heads to the DL…again. Gordon has been tearing it up in Triple-A Albuquerque batting .314 with 14 steals in 25 games. In 143 total games  that Gordon has played at the major league level, the 25 year old has 56 steals! Baseball guru Jon Heyman is the one that has reported the probable call-up of Gordon and he is usually correct on whatever he reports so in deeper mixed leagues, so grab yourself some “lightening in a bottle” while this speed demon is only 5% owned.

4. Kevin Slowey-SP,RP-Marlins- The second starting pitcher that we’re touting this week is a ‘good news’/'bad news’ kind of waiver wire offering. He has clearly recovered from injuries that plagued him in the last two seasons while he was with Minnesota. Sometimes switching to the National League can work wonders on prolonging a pitcher’s career and in Slowey’s case, it has resurrected his. The ‘good news’ is his ERA is an outstanding 2.15 and his WHIP a miniscule 1.10. He has recorded 29 K’s in 37 innings and all six starts this season have been of the ‘quality’ variety. The ‘bad news’ is that he is pitching for the offensively challenged Miami Marlins so wins will be harder to find than hen’s teeth. Those in deeper leagues should add the 10% owned Slowey as he is serviceable in all categories except wins; at least for the moment..

With the exception of Wins, Slowey has been stellar in every other category. Photo: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

With the exception of Wins, Slowey has been stellar in every other category. Photo: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

5. Russell Martin-C-Pirates-

  •            RUNS  HRs  RBIs  BA     %OWNED       

Catcher #1       5           2          7         .200         44%

Catcher #2      7            1          9         .278          72%

Catcher #3      13          6         10       .267          37%

We put up this illustration just to highlight the fact that Russell Martin, although probably off the waiver wire in most shallow leagues, is owned way too little when you put other catcher’s numbers up against his. In Yahoo! Leagues, catcher #1 is Jesus Montero (Mariners), #2 is Salvador Perez (Royals), and #3 is Martin. See what we’re suggesting here? (He is also the 8th highest ranked catcher as of May 4th in Yahoo! Leagues).