Nate Springfield
Under the Radar - Mixed (Week 17)
Saturday July 24th, 2010
Starlin Castro
Ride the Starlin Castro power streak. (Chicago Tribune)

Each week Baseball Press will be providing some Under the Radar fantasy players for NL-Only Leagues, AL-Only Leagues and Mixed Leagues. These articles will be dedicated to finding those diamonds in the rough on the waiver wire that will either be a short term or long term replacement to an injury or struggling player on your fantasy team. All players listed are owned in less than 30% of Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball leagues.

Well folks we have 10 weeks left of collecting stats and even less to make significant trades and moves to improve your team.  The Mixed Under the Radar approach is going to change a little bit.  Instead of including a guy at every position not matter what I will only be adding guys that truly deserve to be on a roster and is owned in less than 30% of the Yahoo! Leagues.  Some percentages may creep a little higher than the 30 but will hover in that area.  Enjoy the rest of the ride, and if you don't see a guy at a position you need here check out the NL and AL-only UtR's.



Pedro Alvarez - 3B, Pittsburgh Pirates (Yahoo! 24% / CBS 43%)

One of the four prospects that the Pirates called up this year, and also the one with the highest season, has really seemed to figure things out after the All-Star Break.  Being a left handed hitter, he struggled early in his call-up because he was facing a lot of lefties.  Since the break though he has shown a better understanding of the strike zone, and has cut his strike out rate in half from 38% to 19%.  The .375 average since the break is lofty, but the 4 home runs is real, and he could finish the year with 12 more pretty easily.

Asdrubal Cabrera - 2B/SS, Cleveland Indians (Yahoo! 43%, CBS 48%)
Cabrera's ownership is higher than my usual 30% standard, but he has not grabbed the attention coming off of the DL like most other major leaguers have.  He doesn't offer much power or speed and unfortunately with the line-up he is playing in his other counting stats are going to be weak as well, but he can hit .285+ and get the at-bats to make a difference on any roto team.  He has looked good at the plate in his games back so far and all indications point in the direction of him continuing to do what he does.

Starlin Castro - SS, Chicago Cubs (Yahoo! 21% / CBS 47%)

With the recent announcement of Lou Piniella 's retirement at the conclusion of the season also came a change in the batting order that he runs out there every day.  Sweet Lou has implanted his two rookies at the top of the order, Castro in the two hole, and the offense seems to be clicking on the North Side.  Being one to go with something that is good, expect for Castro's value to sky rocket in that slot.  His power is starting to translate to the MLB level with an OPS in the 1.200 range since the move and expect his runs total to rise as well.  If you are in any kind of keeper league that attaches values to keepers he is probably gone, but if not it would be a good steal for you now.

Andres Torres - OF, San Francisco Giants (Yahoo! 26% / CBS 39%)
It's that time of year where fantasy owners should not be looking at names anymore and focusing on the numbers - actually that time of year was about 3 weeks ago, but I digress.  Andres Torres has proven that he deserves to be playing every day in the Giants line-up and even with recent shuffling of positions, he is doing just that.  He is also hitting home runs and stealing bases, things fantasy owners like.  He has a legit chance of finishing 15/25 on the year meaning there are about 6 home runs and at least 8 stolen bases left in his tank.  On the speed side of things I would even go out on a limb and say there are at least 10 stolen bases left out of Torres before the end of the season.

Tyler Colvin - OF, Chicago Cubs (Yahoo! 8% / CBS 26%)

As mentioned above, Tyler Colvin is the other Cub rookie that has been put at the top of the order for the Cubs and is now hitting lead-off.  Lou has said that he has the ability to hit lefties, so it seems that unless they are facing a tough South Paw he will be starting things off every game.  The major concern with Colvin previous to this move was mainly his playing time, but with the other options instead of Colvin being Kusoke Fukudome and Xavier Nady his at-bats look to be secure.  He has 15 home runs on the year with an average around .265.  He may see a boost in his steals total now that he is at the top of the order - a place Cub fans and fantasy owners wish him to stay for a while.

Franklin Gutierrez - OF, Seattle Mariners (Yahoo! 32% / CBS 55%)

Gutierrez has really been overlooked because he is known for his defensive prowess, something that doesn't help the normal roto owner, and is playing for the offensively challenged Mariners, but he may be a good option for you between now and October.  He is currently hitting in the low .250's, but as a career .265 hitter you could see a bump in his average here on out.  Also he has quietly contributed 13 stolen bases and 9 home runs.  If he ends up with 15 homers and 25 stolen bases he can be a solid contributor here on out, especially as a David DeJesus replacement.

Brandon Morrow - SP, Toronto Blue Jays (Yahoo! 21%, CBS 68%)
It is funny, the last time I did a weekly Mixed Under the Radar Brandon Morrow was my suggestion then, and this week he is again for all the same reasons.  This week he is actually a better choice because of the two teams he is facing, the Orioles and Indians.  He has 119 strike outs in 107 innings pitched and has 30 Ks in 23.1 innings combined against the Orioles and Indians so far this year.  If the Blue Jay's offense complies you could see 2 wins with close to 17 Ks next week from Morrow.

Matt Thornton / J.J. Putz - RP, Chicago White Sox (various %'s)
It is hard to say if Ozzie Guillen is blowing smoke on the South Side or if the closer spot is open for the taking for the White Sox.  Jenks numbers are definitely not flattering for a closer, but after only blowing 2 saves on the year, he has been effective as a closer.  The two guys most likely to grab a save while Jenks is out are Thornton and Putz.  If Guillen is going to go by a true committee you can expect the batter up for the final out to dictate who gets the saves with Thornton being a lefty and Putz being the righty.  I truly think Jenks will have more saves in the second half than these two guys combined, but 1 save can win or lose you a league, if you are in a tight race you may want to pick one of these guys up for the next week or so.
Nate Springfield joined the Baseball Press Crew for the 2010 season and hosts the site's Podcast. His love for the game has grown thanks to Fantasy Baseball, with a specialty in NL-only auction leagues. You can contact him at nate@baseballpress.com or follow him on Twitter @Nate_BBPress.
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