Nate Springfield
Under the Radar - Mixed Leagues and AL/NL Only
Friday June 28th, 2013
Gregor Blanco will see plenty of opportunity for the Giants. (US Presswire)
With all of the unpredictable injuries, job changes, and trades of the baseball season, many fantasy owners are looking to the waiver wire for help. Regardless of where help is needed, this edition of UTR can provide you with some players who are still available in most mixed leagues.
*Owned percentages via Yahoo!
Mixed League Options
Gregor Blanco - OF, San Francisco Giants (11% owned)
With Angel Pagan heading to the disabled list for the foreseeable future, Gregor Blanco should be a solid pick-up to help you out in the runs scored and stolen base category. Blanco should see a majority of starts and hit lead off against right-handed pitching. Currently, he is hitting .296 with nine stolen bases and 25 runs scored in 226 at-bats this season. Unless the Giants make a trade, there is no one to take playing time away from Blanco within the organization.
Leonys Martin - OF, Texas Rangers (21% owned)
Leonys Martin has graduated to the mixed league ranks from his mention as an AL-Only player less than a month ago. Since then, he has continued to do great things in Texas, including two home runs, five stolen bases, and a .372 batting average in the last two weeks. Martin does not look to be ready to slow down anytime soon, and there is a good chance that he could finish the season with double digit home runs and 35-plus stolen bases - too great of numbers to be un-owned.
Jhoulys Chacin - SP, Colorado Rockies (19% owned)
Fantasy owners, and gurus alike, had predicted Jhoulys Chacin as a possible sleeper pick heading into the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Unfortunately, injuries, and trying to pitch through injuries, have really hurt the 25-year-old righthander's value. But if you haven't noticed, he has had three great consecutive starts, allowing four earned runs in 20-plus innings pitched, striking out eight and walking three. He is still inconsistent, but is showing better control as of late, and has all the potential to be a quality ace if he can put it all together.
NL-Only Options
Pedro Ciriaco - 2B/3B/SS, San Diego Padres (1% owned)
The former Red Sox utility man has moved the West Coast, and upgraded from the Padres utility man to every day player with the injury to Everth Cabrera. Since it seems Cabrera will be out for a while, Ciriaco should see plenty of at-bats over the next month to six weeks of play. He should not hurt your team's average - in fact he may help some fantasy teams in that category - and will be able to throw in a handful of stolen bases. What little pop he has shown in the past will completely disappear in PETCO Park.
Justin Ruggiano - OF, Miami Marlins (12% owned)
Even after everyone is healthy, and called up for the Marlins, Justin Ruggiano should still be a full time player. Up until this week, he has been used exclusively as a platoon option, but his power potential - 11 home runs in 219 at-bats so far this year - has his manager penciling him in against both righties and lefties as of late. As long as he continues to show pop, he will continue to get the at-bats, no matter how low his average falls.
AL-Only Options
J.B. Shuck - OF, Los Angeles Angels (1% owned)
J.B. Shuck has seen, and will continue to see, enough at-bats to roster in an AL-Only league as long as Peter Bourjos continues to struggle with nagging injuries. At first glance, he seems like an empty average, but he has scored 20 runs in only 147 at-bats. If you can get two strong categories out of a waiver wire freebie, you have to take advantage of it. If he gets the green light, he does have the potential to steal a handful of bases as well, but that should be looked at as something extra, not expected.
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