Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Search – Week 17

It’s the end of the week of July 19th-25th, time to scour the fantasy baseball waiver wire for roster upgrades or replacements. Some notable losses to injury were Matt Weiters, Ben Sheets, Carlos Guillen and David DeJesus. We’ll try andlook at suitable pick-ups for each spot in the lineup. We’ll select players who have been hot in the last week to month, and will be typically owned by half of the leagues or less out there. Taking a look at batting first:

First Base

Gaby Sanchez- FLA: This guy is relatively very unowned. While batting over .300 on the year and 11 dingers.
Ike Davis – NYM: Lately a power surge with 3 round-trippers this week and 6 RBIs. Will not help your Avg.
Michael Morse – WAS: Great hitter has been hot in spot starts. Needs more playing time, but Adam Dunn trade could provide that. Keep tabs on this guy for sure.

Second Base

Neil Walker - PIT: A talented young player who has been a very consistenthitter for over a month. Will not hit too many HRs, but will supply a decent AVG, Runs and occasional RBIs and SBs.
Reid Brignac- TB: Another player withgreat hitting skills. Playing was an issue for awhile, but that has seemed to not be an issue lately. Hot this week with 3HR’s, & RBIs and a .471 Avg. Both Walker and Brignac are better options than the currently higher rated starters in Orlando Hudson, Skip Schumaker and Christian Guzman.

Third Base

Chris Johnson- HOU: Not a whole lot of good things happening for the Astros, but that means giving playing time to rookies and Chris Johnson has been a nice surprise and has hit his couple of ML HRs this week. While also hitting almost .500, 6 Rs and 8 RBIs. Clearly a young player to stash away and see if he sticks.

Short Stop

Starlin Castro- CHI: Nothing flashy, but will supply Avg. and occasions SBs.

Outfield

Jose Tabata- PIT: It is a shame this guy is not owned in more leagues. He is the table setter for a young Bucs lineup. He has little to no power and hits around .270, but he provides a lot of speed for Rs and SBs. Although this week has hit .375 with 7 RBIs adding 9Rs and 2 SBs.
Luke Scott - BAL: When Scott is in the zone he can hot with the best, and lately he has been locked in batting .450 this week and a pair of HRs.
Matt Diaz- ATL: Has been on fire since returning from injury, this week .550, 3 dingers and 9 RBIs. He is a streaky hitter, play him while he is hot.

Catcher

Yorvit Torrealba- SD: He maintains a nice +.330 Avg usually and will provide sparingly in other categories.
Jason Kendall- KC: A scrappy veteran who can fill a void if your starting C is down. More importantly, should keep a healthy enough Avg. to not hurt you there. All other stats are bonus.

Now let’s switch to pitching:

Starters

C.J. Wilson- TEX: The switch to starter has been a success and while this guy is probably owned in nearly half or more leagues, it’s enough to mention. That and he was available in one of my leagues…well not anymore that is. He has been lights out ever since following Cliff Lee in the rotation. He is working on pitch count and few walks and it has led to 4 wins, 29Ks, and a near 2.10 and 1.10 ERA and WHIP respectively.
Vincente Padilla- LAD: This guy always seems to have strong 2nd halves. He is very likely available in your league and has provided a line of 3 Ws, 34 Ks, 1.30 ERA and .77 WHIP in his last 31 innings.
Jair Jurrjens- ATL: Great young arm that is living up lately to a great rookie campaign. Over the last month has delivered 2 Ws, 20Ks, 2.19ERA and 1.18 WHIP.
Vin Mazarro- OAK: Has put up numbers very similar to Jurrjens and worth a look at in deep leagues.

Closers

Alfedo Simon – BAL: Has provided stability to an very unstable situation at the start of the year. n a struggling team, but has 7 saves in the last month. However, keep an eye on Mike Gonzalez who could regain this job if his velocity returns.
Aaron Heilman/Juan Gutierrez - ARI: This is another complicated possible closer by committee. Neither is a great choice, although Gutierrez has been pretty decent lately. fact is the D’Backs do not win a lot of games. So only grab one of these guys if you are really desperate for saves.

Relievers

Sean Marshall- CHI: Marshall has been the Godzilla of relievers this years and will likely return a line at the end of the season that many starters will be jealous of. If his 2nd half is a good as his first his line would look something like 10-12 Ws, 120Ks, 1.80 ERA and1.00 WHIP. Pair him up with another quality reliever and you have a staff ace in the two.

Other mentionable relievers are Evan Meek, Luke Gregerson, Daniel Bardand Johnny Venters.