NL ONLYDarin Ruf 1B/OF, Phillies (Yahoo: 0 percent owned, ESPN: 0.1 percent)
I wasn't sure Ruf would get much playing time when he was called up from the minors earlier this month, but the Phillies are giving him a look in left field now that they are essentially out of the playoff race. The 26-year-old is a little old to be considered a prospect, but he led the minor leagues with 38 home runs this year while playing with Double-A Reading. I'm highly skeptical about his chances of sticking in the majors, but perhaps he runs into a couple over the final days of the regular season.
AL ONLYChad Jenkins RP, Blue Jays (Yahoo: 0 percent owned, ESPN: 0 percent)
Jenkins was solid in his first major league start Sunday against the Rays, allowing one run (a solo homer) on two hits over five innings while striking out four and walking just one. The 24-year-old right-hander doesn't blow batters away, but has good control (2.2 BB/9) and induces his fair share of grounders with his sinker/slider combo. While he has a dangerous matchup against the Yankees on Saturday, he's relevant if you are trying to keep up in certain categories.
****************************
The 2012 Waiver Wired Awards:
This is my third year of handing out superlatives for Waiver Wired excellence. You'll notice that I have titled each award after an obscure Met from my formative years. I'm not sure where I got that idea from exactly, but the tradition continues this year.
As usual, I did whiff on a few guys this year, though some of that was a matter of timing. Kyle Lohse was a popular pickup after he dominated the Marlins in the first game of the season and never saw his ownership dip below the 50 percent mark. Mike Trout and Bryce Harper were both called up on a Saturday and were universally owned before I got a chance to mention them here. And so, while Trout has been the most valuable player in fantasy this year, he will not be mentioned below. Sigh.
The Phil Lombardi Award (best waiver wire catcher)
There were plenty of good finds at the catcher position at certain points this year, including Jonathan Lucroy, Ryan Doumit, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, A.J. Ellis, Salvador Perez and Yasmani Grandal, but Wilin Rosario is the runaway winner here. The rookie backstop is tied with A.J. Pierzynski for the MLB lead among catchers with 27 homers and also ranks eighth with 70 RBI, sixth with an .855 OPS and is tied for fifth with 66 runs scored. His recent hot-hitting is likely responsible for many fantasy titles. I still think he strikes out too much to hit for a high batting average, but he should be an easy top-10 catcher next year.
The Roberto Petagine Award (best waiver wire first baseman)
After being limited to just 43 games last season due to shoulder surgery, Adam LaRoche has bounced back in a big way this year by batting .268 with 32 home runs, 98 RBI and an .844 OPS. He ranks fourth among first base-eligible players in homers and eighth in RBI. Guys like Justin Morneau, Anthony Rizzo, Ike Davis, Garrett Jones and Tyler Colvin have also come in handy at certain times this year, but LaRoche was an easy choice.
The Jason Hardtke Award (best waiver wire second baseman)
One of only a couple of bright spots for the last-place Astros this year, Jose Altuve is first among fantasy second basemen with 33 stolen bases, fifth (tied) with 164 hits and 13th with 79 runs scored. While his production has dropped pretty sharply since the All-Star break, I'm optimistic he'll be a top-10 second baseman next year if he's fully healthy and the Astros add a bat or two to drive him in. Versatile options like Kyle Seager, Danny Espinosa and Jeff Keppinger also had pretty good value from the second base spot this year.
The Al Pedrique Award (best waiver wire shortstop)
Ian Desmond was the breakthrough star at the shortstop position this season from a fantasy perspective, but he was already over my 50 percent threshold when the season started. With that in mind, we'll go with Alcides Escobar. He's hitting .291 with four homers, 50 RBI, 32 stolen bases and 67 runs scored this season. Meanwhile, the universally-owned Elvis Andrus is hitting .288 with three homers, 60 RBI, 20 stolen bases and 81 runs scored. I'm a bit skeptical whether Escobar will be able to maintain his lofty BABIP next year, but he'll likely still come at a bargain rate in comparison to Andrus. I would be remiss if I didn't mention Erick Aybar here also, as he has been outstanding after getting off to a slow start this season.
The Junior Noboa Award (best waiver wire third baseman)
We finally got our long-awaited breakout from Chase Headley this year, but I didn't mention him in Waiver Wired since he was owned in over 50 percent of ESPN.com leagues from the start. Instead, we'll look toward Pedro Alvarez, who has bounced back from a disappointing sophomore campaign to slug 30 homers and drive in 88 runs this season. He'll probably always be a batting average risk, but his pop should put him in the range of the top 12-14 options at hot corner next year. Guys like Kyle Seager, Todd Frazier and Chipper Jones were also some pretty nice finds this season.
The Wayne Housie Award (best waiver wire outfielder)
Again, no Mike Trout here. Or Bryce Harper, for that matter. But that's OK, because we still have Allen Craig to talk about. While he was probably best utilized at second base in fantasy leagues, his .306 batting average, 22 homers, 89 RBI and .886 OPS played just fine in the outfield. Keep in mind that he'll lose his second base eligibility next year since he didn't play a game at the position this season, so fantasy owners will have to plug him in at either first base or the outfield.
Some other notables in the outfield this year include Josh Reddick (29 home runs, 79 RBI, 11 stolen bases, 80 runs scored), Norichika Aoki (.289 batting average, 60 extra-base hits, 28 stolen bases, 76 runs scored), Dexter Fowler (career-highs with a .300 batting average, 13 homers, 53 RBI and an .863 OPS), Alejandro De Aza (.43 extra-base hits, 26 stolen bases and 80 runs scored) and Carlos Gomez (career-highs with 16 homers, 35 stolen bases and a .743 OPS).
The Brett Hinchcliffe Award (best waiver wire starting pitcher)
R.A. Dickey was widely available on the waiver wire after he was knocked around for eight runs over 4 1/3 innings against the Braves on April 18, but he has simply been the best pitcher in baseball since. The knuckleballer has a National League-best 2.66 ERA to go along with 19 wins and a ridiculous 209/52 K/BB ratio over 220 innings this season. From the waiver wire to the Cy Young Award? It's possible.
The rest of my waiver wire starting rotation includes Kris Medlen (1.64 ERA in 132 innings, including a 1.04 ERA in 11 starts), A.J. Burnett (flourishing in the National League with a 3.53 ERA, 16 wins and a 172/59 K/BB ratio over 188 2/3 innings), Wade Miley (Rookie of the Year candidate with 16 wins and a 3.32 ERA) and Matt Harrison (17 wins and a 3.17 ERA).
The Edwin Almonte Award (best waiver wire relief pitcher)
Let's not doubt the Rays ever again, OK? Fernando Rodney has come out of nowhere to completely dominate, compiling a microscopic 0.63 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 71/15 K/BB ratio over 71 1/3 innings while going 45-for-47 in save opportunities. He has only allowed five earned runs all season long and will likely get some down-ballot Cy Young votes.
Welcome to the 26th and final edition of Waiver Wired for the 2012 season. It has been an absolute pleasure to put this column together each and every week for the third straight year. One of the best parts of this gig is corresponding with everyone through Twitter and email, so be sure to keep in touch during the winter. After all, baseball doesn't really have an "offseason" and there is always something fantasy-relevant to talk about.
Best of luck if you are still fighting to win your league. Below you'll find a few last-minute recommendations to consider. After you give those a once-over, be sure to check out my annual Waiver Wired awards on the second page.
MIXED LEAGUES
Yonder Alonso 1B/OF, Padres (Yahoo: 22 percent owned, ESPN: 25.5 percent)
Alonso may never be a feared power bat, especially calling PETCO Park home, but he has really hit his stride over the past few months. The 25-year-old is batting .290/.357/.433 with six homers, 37 RBI and a .789 OPS in 65 games since the All-Star break. He hasn't batted lower than .280 in any of the past three months. If you are in a head-to-head league and need to stay afloat in batting average for the final few days of the season, Alonso is one of the safer widely-available names.
Stephen Drew SS, Athletics (Yahoo: 19 percent owned, ESPN: 18 percent)
Look who is finally coming around. Drew is red-hot right now, hitting .464 (13-for-28) over his last six games and .360 (18-for-50) over his last 11. While he batted just .193 in 40 games with the Diamondbacks after returning from ankle surgery, he has a .270 batting average to go along with four homers, five doubles, 14 RBI and a .733 OPS in 32 games since being traded to the A's. The 29-year-old has a lengthy track record of being a producing when healthy, so he makes for a fine addition if you need a shortstop or a MI (middle infielder).
David Murphy OF, Rangers (Yahoo: 30 percent owned, ESPN: 43.4 percent)
Murphy doesn't get much national attention, but he has done enough this season to be owned in the great majority of fantasy leagues. Buoyed by his increased production against left-handed pitching, the 31-year-old outfielder has a career-best .308 batting average to go along with 14 homers, 58 RBI, 10 stolen bases and a career-best .866 OPS. Only 13 players (with at least 200 plate appearances) have bested his .325 batting average since the All-Star break. He has played nearly everyday over the past two months, so there shouldn't be any hesitation to trust him at this point.
Shopping at the five-and-dime:
(Players owned in less than 10 percent of Y! and ESPN.com leagues)
Jon Rauch RP, Mets (Yahoo: 3 percent owned, ESPN: 4.5 percent)
When I first heard about Frank Francisco's elbow troubles last week, I assumed that Bobby Parnell would get the nod to replace him in the closer role. My bad on that. Rauch got the save on Saturday (though he was pretty shaky doing so) and appears to be the preferred option for Mets manager Terry Collins. Must be that "previous closer experience" thing. The 33-year-old right-hander has actually had a pretty nice season, compiling a 3.23 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 39/10 K/BB ratio over 55 2/3 innings, so he's a fine pickup for anyone on the lookout for saves.
Jean Segura 2B/SS, Brewers (Yahoo: 3 percent owned, ESPN: 3.7 percent)
Segura got off to a bit of a slow start after being called up by the Brewers in early August, but the 22-year-old shortstop is batting .345 (20-for-58) with two doubles, two triples, six RBI and an impressive 11/7 K/BB ratio in 18 games this month. He hasn't shown much pop thus far, but he has swiped six bases in seven attempts. Give him a look if you need some speed or an upgrade of the MI (middle infielder) spot.
Justin Smoak 1B, Mariners (Yahoo: 9 percent owned, ESPN: 4.9 percent)
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Well, Smoak has fooled us multiple times and might be doing it again. The former top prospect is absolutely scorching at the plate right now, hitting .459 (17-for-37) with five home runs, three doubles, eight RBI and a 1.470 OPS over his last 10 games. This is the same guy who owns a .222/.304/.377 batting line in the big leagues and was demoted to the minors in July, so there is obvious reason for skepticism here, but go ahead and ride the hot hand for now.
Suitable streamers:
Andy Pettitte SP, Yankees (Yahoo: 32 percent owned, ESPN: 41.1 percent) -Saturday at Blue Jays
Pettitte should already be owned in any fantasy league worth its salt, but there's a chance he could still be available in shallow formats. Be sure to change that. The 40-year-old southpaw has tossed 11 scoreless innings over his first two starts since returning from a fractured left ankle and owns a fantastic 2.71 ERA and 65/18 K/BB ratio over 11 starts overall this year. The Blue Jays have been one of the weakest hitting teams in the league over the past couple of months, so Pettitte is a strong play this weekend as he gears up for the postseason.
Dan Straily SP, Athletics (Yahoo: 9 percent owned, ESPN: 9.7 percent) - Saturday vs. Mariners
Straily was mighty impressive in his most recent start on Monday, holding the Rangers to just two runs (one earned) over 6 2/3 innings while walking a pair and tying a career-high with eight strikeouts. The 23-year-old right-hander has allowed nine home runs over his first 35 innings in the big leagues, so his fly ball tendencies could spell trouble in certain environments, but a start against the Mariners at the spacious O.co Coliseum is too favorable to pass up.
Jake Odorizzi RP/SP, Royals (Yahoo: 3 percent owned, ESPN: 0.7 percent) - Saturday at Indians
Odorizzi made his major league debut against the Indians last Sunday and gave up just two singles over five scoreless innings before being touched up for three runs on four hits in the sixth. Not too bad, all things considered. The 22-year-old right-hander had a 3.03 ERA and 135/50 K/BB ratio in 145 innings this season between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha and is already looking like a favorite to win a rotation spot during spring training next year. Trusting Odorizzi will be a category decision for many, but another start against the Indians is pretty enticing.
Erasmo Ramirez SP, Mariners (Yahoo: 4 percent owned, ESPN: 0.7 percent) - Sunday at Athletics
Ramirez was touched up for five runs (three earned) over six innings Tuesday in a loss to the Angels, but there's still a lot to like here. The 22-year-old right-hander owns a very impressive 3.42 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 42/8 K/BB ratio over 52 2/3 innings with the Mariners this season and has shown surprising velocity (92.8 mph average fastball) for someone who checks in at just 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds. Stream him now and look for him on plenty of sleeper lists next spring.
Bud Norris SP, Astros (Yahoo: 30 percent owned, ESPN: 24.6 percent) - Wednesday at Cubs
Norris struck out seven over 7 1/3 scoreless innings Wednesday night against the Cardinals for his first win since May 21. If only he could face the Cardinals every time out, right? This has been a bitterly disappointing season for the 27-year-old right-hander, even though his swinging strike rate and secondary numbers are pretty much in line with what we saw last year. The main difference is he has allowed a few more homers while seeing his velocity dip slightly. He has a strong chance to finish his season on a high note next week against the Cubs and makes for a decent bounceback candidate next year.
Travis Wood SP, Cubs (Yahoo: 14 percent owned, ESPN: 11.7 percent) - Wednesday vs. Astros
Yes, I'm recommending both pitchers for the season finale next Wednesday. We're talking about two of the worst teams in the majors, so why the heck not? Wood has a 3.36 ERA and 59/16 K/BB ratio in 67 innings over his last 11 starts and has allowed three earned runs or less in 10 of them. And while the southpaw has the reputation of a fly ball pitcher, he hasn't allowed a home run since August 28. He's a solid streaming option against the light-hitting Astros next week and could even be worth a look against the Diamondbacks on Friday if you're feeling bold enough.
NL ONLY
Darin Ruf 1B/OF, Phillies (Yahoo: 0 percent owned, ESPN: 0.1 percent)
I wasn't sure Ruf would get much playing time when he was called up from the minors earlier this month, but the Phillies are giving him a look in left field now that they are essentially out of the playoff race. The 26-year-old is a little old to be considered a prospect, but he led the minor leagues with 38 home runs this year while playing with Double-A Reading. I'm highly skeptical about his chances of sticking in the majors, but perhaps he runs into a couple over the final days of the regular season.
AL ONLY
Chad Jenkins RP, Blue Jays (Yahoo: 0 percent owned, ESPN: 0 percent)
Jenkins was solid in his first major league start Sunday against the Rays, allowing one run (a solo homer) on two hits over five innings while striking out four and walking just one. The 24-year-old right-hander doesn't blow batters away, but has good control (2.2 BB/9) and induces his fair share of grounders with his sinker/slider combo. While he has a dangerous matchup against the Yankees on Saturday, he's relevant if you are trying to keep up in certain categories.
****************************
The 2012 Waiver Wired Awards:
This is my third year of handing out superlatives for Waiver Wired excellence. You'll notice that I have titled each award after an obscure Met from my formative years. I'm not sure where I got that idea from exactly, but the tradition continues this year.
As usual, I did whiff on a few guys this year, though some of that was a matter of timing. Kyle Lohse was a popular pickup after he dominated the Marlins in the first game of the season and never saw his ownership dip below the 50 percent mark. Mike Trout and Bryce Harper were both called up on a Saturday and were universally owned before I got a chance to mention them here. And so, while Trout has been the most valuable player in fantasy this year, he will not be mentioned below. Sigh.
The Phil Lombardi Award (best waiver wire catcher)
There were plenty of good finds at the catcher position at certain points this year, including Jonathan Lucroy, Ryan Doumit, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, A.J. Ellis, Salvador Perez and Yasmani Grandal, but Wilin Rosario is the runaway winner here. The rookie backstop is tied with A.J. Pierzynski for the MLB lead among catchers with 27 homers and also ranks eighth with 70 RBI, sixth with an .855 OPS and is tied for fifth with 66 runs scored. His recent hot-hitting is likely responsible for many fantasy titles. I still think he strikes out too much to hit for a high batting average, but he should be an easy top-10 catcher next year.
The Roberto Petagine Award (best waiver wire first baseman)
After being limited to just 43 games last season due to shoulder surgery, Adam LaRoche has bounced back in a big way this year by batting .268 with 32 home runs, 98 RBI and an .844 OPS. He ranks fourth among first base-eligible players in homers and eighth in RBI. Guys like Justin Morneau, Anthony Rizzo, Ike Davis, Garrett Jones and Tyler Colvin have also come in handy at certain times this year, but LaRoche was an easy choice.
The Jason Hardtke Award (best waiver wire second baseman)
One of only a couple of bright spots for the last-place Astros this year, Jose Altuve is first among fantasy second basemen with 33 stolen bases, fifth (tied) with 164 hits and 13th with 79 runs scored. While his production has dropped pretty sharply since the All-Star break, I'm optimistic he'll be a top-10 second baseman next year if he's fully healthy and the Astros add a bat or two to drive him in. Versatile options like Kyle Seager, Danny Espinosa and Jeff Keppinger also had pretty good value from the second base spot this year.
The Al Pedrique Award (best waiver wire shortstop)
Ian Desmond was the breakthrough star at the shortstop position this season from a fantasy perspective, but he was already over my 50 percent threshold when the season started. With that in mind, we'll go with Alcides Escobar. He's hitting .291 with four homers, 50 RBI, 32 stolen bases and 67 runs scored this season. Meanwhile, the universally-owned Elvis Andrus is hitting .288 with three homers, 60 RBI, 20 stolen bases and 81 runs scored. I'm a bit skeptical whether Escobar will be able to maintain his lofty BABIP next year, but he'll likely still come at a bargain rate in comparison to Andrus. I would be remiss if I didn't mention Erick Aybar here also, as he has been outstanding after getting off to a slow start this season.
The Junior Noboa Award (best waiver wire third baseman)
We finally got our long-awaited breakout from Chase Headley this year, but I didn't mention him in Waiver Wired since he was owned in over 50 percent of ESPN.com leagues from the start. Instead, we'll look toward Pedro Alvarez, who has bounced back from a disappointing sophomore campaign to slug 30 homers and drive in 88 runs this season. He'll probably always be a batting average risk, but his pop should put him in the range of the top 12-14 options at hot corner next year. Guys like Kyle Seager, Todd Frazier and Chipper Jones were also some pretty nice finds this season.
The Wayne Housie Award (best waiver wire outfielder)
Again, no Mike Trout here. Or Bryce Harper, for that matter. But that's OK, because we still have Allen Craig to talk about. While he was probably best utilized at second base in fantasy leagues, his .306 batting average, 22 homers, 89 RBI and .886 OPS played just fine in the outfield. Keep in mind that he'll lose his second base eligibility next year since he didn't play a game at the position this season, so fantasy owners will have to plug him in at either first base or the outfield.
Some other notables in the outfield this year include Josh Reddick (29 home runs, 79 RBI, 11 stolen bases, 80 runs scored), Norichika Aoki (.289 batting average, 60 extra-base hits, 28 stolen bases, 76 runs scored), Dexter Fowler (career-highs with a .300 batting average, 13 homers, 53 RBI and an .863 OPS), Alejandro De Aza (.43 extra-base hits, 26 stolen bases and 80 runs scored) and Carlos Gomez (career-highs with 16 homers, 35 stolen bases and a .743 OPS).
The Brett Hinchcliffe Award (best waiver wire starting pitcher)
R.A. Dickey was widely available on the waiver wire after he was knocked around for eight runs over 4 1/3 innings against the Braves on April 18, but he has simply been the best pitcher in baseball since. The knuckleballer has a National League-best 2.66 ERA to go along with 19 wins and a ridiculous 209/52 K/BB ratio over 220 innings this season. From the waiver wire to the Cy Young Award? It's possible.
The rest of my waiver wire starting rotation includes Kris Medlen (1.64 ERA in 132 innings, including a 1.04 ERA in 11 starts), A.J. Burnett (flourishing in the National League with a 3.53 ERA, 16 wins and a 172/59 K/BB ratio over 188 2/3 innings), Wade Miley (Rookie of the Year candidate with 16 wins and a 3.32 ERA) and Matt Harrison (17 wins and a 3.17 ERA).
The Edwin Almonte Award (best waiver wire relief pitcher)
Let's not doubt the Rays ever again, OK? Fernando Rodney has come out of nowhere to completely dominate, compiling a microscopic 0.63 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 71/15 K/BB ratio over 71 1/3 innings while going 45-for-47 in save opportunities. He has only allowed five earned runs all season long and will likely get some down-ballot Cy Young votes.