Nate Springfield
Under the Radar - AL/NL Only Leagues
Thursday August 2nd, 2012
Hisashi Iwakuma hopes to build on his first five starts. (US Presswire)
This week's AL/NL-only waiver wire pickups features players who can provide some early season help to owners in need of stopgaps and youngsters with upside. Whether your fantasy team needs home runs, steals, or strikeouts, or even if you're just chasing wins, this mix of players has you covered.
* Owned percentages via Yahoo!
AL-Only Players
Geovany Soto - C, Texas Rangers (23% owned)
Recently moving from the Cubs to the Rangers in a deadline trade, Geovany Soto hopes to resurrect his early career success at the plate with his new team. Soto did spend some time on the disabled list early in the season, and if you focus on his stats since that time, they are not horrible for a catcher in a deeper league. Even though his average since his return is around .250, he has hit 3 home runs and posted a 16/9 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Soto will see limited at-bats in Texas, but more than most back-up catchers, because the Rangers are expected to utilize Mike Napoli more as a DH now they have a better offensive catcher to insert into the lineup.
Hisashi Iwakuma - SP, Seattle Mariners (2% owned)
Starting the season in the bullpen, Hisashi Iwakuma joined the Mariners starting rotation full time at the beginning of July and has been very impressive in his first five starts. Over his 29 innings pitched as a starter he holds a 3.41 ERA with 27 strikeouts. He broke out in a big way in his last start against the Blue Jays though, going eight innings, striking out 13 batters, walking three, and allowing only one earned run. Even though he is new to the majors, Iwakuma is 31 years-old and the usual inconsistency that comes with young pitching new the league should not be as big of an issue with the Japan native.
Mike Olt - 3B, Texas Rangers (0% owned - Clears Waivers 8/5 in Yahoo! Leagues)
The Texas Rangers promoted top third base prospect Mike Olt on August 2nd to the major league club. Never playing above Double-A, most thought Olt would see consistent at-bats upon joining the team, but GM Jon Daniels has publicly announced that manager Ron Washington plans to utilize Olt to strengthen and add depth to the team's bench. Even with that in mind, he is definitely worth adding because of the upside of the 23 year-old righty. At Double-A this season he hit .287 with a .974 OPS, hitting 27 home runs and plating 81 RBI over 354 at-bats, and it is quite possible he could replicate that production at the major league level.
NL-Only Players
Luis Cruz - SS, Los Angeles Dodgers (2% owned)
After the dust cleared at the trade deadline, the Dodgers failed to acquire another shortstop which means two things: they have faith in the return of Dee Gordon, and until he returns, Luis Cruz will see the majority of starts at shortstop for the team. At 28 years-old, Cruz is well beyond prospect status, but he has done well in the past two weeks in the field and at the plate, showing a little pop with two home runs while hitting .255. He should be looked at by fantasy owners the same way he is looked at by the Dodgers - he isn't going to hurt your team by slotting him in as a middle infielder, but he isn't going to turn your season around in the limited playing time he is going to see over the rest of the season.
Travis Snider - OF, Pittsburgh Pirates (6% owned)
Even though Travis Snider was just mentioned last week in the AL/NL-Only Under the Radar, his situation has changed quite a bit in the last week - most notably he is now a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In his first two games with the Bucs, manager Clint Hurdle batted him second and fifth in the order, indicating that he looks to be the teams primary right-fielder when facing right-handed pitching, while likely hitting in the middle of the order. The Pirates offense has regressed slightly in the past 10 days, but look for Snider to fit into the free swinging and productive lineup nicely.
Travis Snider - OF, Pittsburgh Pirates (6% owned)
Even though Travis Snider was just mentioned last week in the AL/NL-Only Under the Radar, his situation has changed quite a bit in the last week - most notably he is now a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In his first two games with the Bucs, manager Clint Hurdle batted him second and fifth in the order, indicating that he looks to be the teams primary right-fielder when facing right-handed pitching, while likely hitting in the middle of the order. The Pirates offense has regressed slightly in the past 10 days, but look for Snider to fit into the free swinging and productive lineup nicely.
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