The Last Roster Spot
August 4th, 2009 | Published in Fantasy Baseball, Waiver Wire
As the fantasy baseball season rolls along, player roles for each team become more define, and players with value have been identified. If you’re in an active league it may be difficult to find a player that is worthy of being on your team. Today, I’ll try to wade through the waiver wire and turn up a worthy option.
For power options Kyle Blanks and Marcus Thames are probably the best options getting consistent playing time. To get the most value from Thames you can start him only against left handed pitchers.
For average, most of the time I try to use the addition by subtraction approach. If you can replace a .250 hitter with a .280 hitter, then you’re doing pretty well. The average guys are pretty boring names but can be helpful; Garret Anderson, Placido Polanco, Billy Butler, and Nick Johnson are among the players that can help you a tick or two in average.
As for speed, Everth Cabrera is the guy you want. He’s starting everyday and he’s running like crazy. If he can continue hitting like he has been over the last 10 days or so he can be a big contributor. Rajai Davis has been hitting and running, but his playing time isn’t full time. Since the Holliday trade he’s been playing and on fire.
Pitching is always tricky, and most of the time I don’t recommend keeping a player more than just the start you need him for. The key here is strikeout pitchers in winnable match-ups. Today there are two good examples that I’ve grabbed. Jonathan Sanchez has been pitching decently outside of his no-hitter, but he’s also a strike out pitcher playing against the meager Astros. Another pitcher I liked for today’s options is Derek Holland against the Athletics.
