Hot Off The Waiver Wire

MLB Waiver Wire Wonders
by Tim Williams/AccuScore

Hot Off The Waiver Wire
posted by Tabloid Paige

The waiver wire can drive you nuts sometimes. You add a top prospect like Clayton Kershaw to your pitching staff to give you a boost, but in eight starts the highly touted rookie posts zero wins, a 4.42 ERA, and a 1.63 WHIP. Upon demotion to the minor leagues you cut Kershaw loose.

By the time Kershaw gets recalled, you are content with options like Manny Parra, who posted a 2.57 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in the 21 days Kershaw spent in the minors. When Kershaw returns you look at his horrible ratios from when you had him, and you look at Manny Parra’s success, and decide that you’ve got the better pitcher. So you decide to hold on to Parra and let Kershaw ride it out on the wire.

Your guess was right, as on June 22nd, Kershaw returns to pitch three innings, allowing ten hits, three walks, five earned runs, with just two strikeouts. However, from June 23rd until now, Kershaw has posted two wins in three starts, with an 0.47 ERA, and 0.89 WHIP, and 15 strikeouts in 19 innings. Parra, in the meantime, has zero wins, a 7.27 ERA, and a 1.73 WHIP, with the only benefit being 16 strikeouts in 17.1 innings.

Now I think Manny Parra is in a slump, and I won’t hold these three games against him, at least not as much as Prince Fielder would. That being said, I added Kershaw in a few of my leagues a few weeks before his first call up. I waited for him to show his top prospect status from May 25th until July 1st. When he was demoted to the minors, I was finally able to cut ties with him. And now he is showing what I was waiting for all along, only he’s doing it on other teams.

Although I guess it all comes full circle. I did not own Brett Myers at the start of the season, and after torturing his owners for months, following by a near month long demotion to the minors, Myers has returned to post a 2.50 ERA and an 0.94 WHIP in three starts. I now own Myers in just as many leagues as I dropped Kershaw in. So if you are regretting losing a guy like Kershaw or Myers due to their recent success, maybe you can redeem that mistake with one of this week’s Waiver Wire Wonders.

Batters

Lastings Milledge – Milledge has been on a tear recently, with a .407 average, four homers, and a stolen base in the last week. So far this season he has 11 homers, 14 stolen bases, and a .250 average. He has hit eight homers since the start of June, which is good considering he only had 23 at bats in July. At 23 years of age, he could finally be seeing his potential.

Mike Cameron – The thing that has been holding Cameron back has been the batting average. Cameron has 17 homers and 10 steals on the season, but a .237 average to go with those numbers. Cameron seems to be rebounding, with a .263 average in the last month, and a .279 average in the last two weeks. I don’t think he is anything better than a .250 hitter, but considering his other numbers, that will be enough.

Jason Kubel – He has 16 homers on the season, and four in the last month. The drawback to Kubel is that he only has a .268 average this season, making him this year’s version of Chris Duncan. Kubel is still a decent option for deeper mixed leagues, or if your team is in search of power.

Billy Butler – I consider him the Clayton Kershaw of offense. Butler is only 22 years old, and came in to this season with high expectations. After hitting .295 with one homer in April, he hit .233 with no homers in May, before being sent down in June. In the last month, Butler has hit .301 with five homers, showing that he may finally be living up to the early season hype.

Denard Span – Since being called up at the end of June, Span has a .330 average, two homers, three steals, and has been a great source of runs. Those are some pretty solid numbers in such a short…span? Sorry, I couldn’t resist. He will resume batting leadoff when Michael Cuddyer returns, which makes him a solid option if you need stolen bases and a boost in batting average.

Marlon Byrd – Byrd is batting behind Michael Young and Josh Hamilton in the Rangers lineup, which could give him a lot of chances for production. In the last two weeks he’s hit .362 with three homers and 11 RBIs, showing just what he’s capable of in that lineup.

Emilio Bonifacio – The Nationals traded Jon Rauch for Bonifacio straight up, and since getting the call to the majors, Emilio has hit .318 with three steals, eight runs, and six RBIs. He’s a great add in NL only leagues, and a solid option for your middle infield spot in deeper mixed leagues, especially if you need steals.

John Baker – The Marlins may finally have a catcher, with Baker hitting four homers with a .254 average over the last month. Baker’s production has bought him more playing time with Matt Treanor returning from the DL. He’s really only an option if you start two catchers, or in an NL only league.

Kelly Shoppach – Only two catchers have more homers than Shoppach, and that is Brian McCann and Geovany Soto. The difference is that Shoppach has about 150 fewer at bats than each of those guys. In the last 30 days, Shoppach has received a lot of playing time, posting a .328 average and five homers.

Pitchers

Clayton Kershaw – What else needs to be said? If you’ve got him, I’d ride it out and see what he can do.

Brett Myers – Myers has taken a different route than Kershaw. He was a reliever all of last season, and now has moved back to the rotation. I believe his problems stemmed from his habits as a closer. As a starter you need to mix your pitches up, while a closer relies on a fastball and an out pitch. Then there’s the issue of getting his arm stretched out. I think we will see a nice turnaround for Myers the rest of the season.

Gil Meche – Meche has been a decent pitcher this year, with a 4.17 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, 10 wins, and 115 strikeouts. Then he will go on amazing stretches like the last month, where he has posted four wins, 28 strikeouts, a 2.45 ERA, and a 1.09 WHIP. He’s only owned in a third of leagues, but that should be a lot more considering how good his numbers have been pitching for the Royals.

Kevin Slowey – Slowey has struggled in the last month, but I think he is a much better pitcher than his 5.63 ERA over that stretch indicates. Even during that bad run he has a 1.29 WHIP, and on the season he has a 1.10 WHIP. I like his strikeout totals, and I think his bad ERA is just a bit of bad luck.

Zach Miner – In his last four starts, Miner has a 2.31 ERA, and 1.16 WHIP, and a 3-1 record. The Tigers have been surging lately, and if Miner is going to pitch this well, then he becomes a great option in deeper leagues and AL only leagues.

Nick Blackburn – Blackburn is owned in less than a fifth of leagues, and the reason is that he doesn’t put up earth shattering numbers. When you look at what he has done so far (3.60 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, nine wins, 71 strikeouts in 140 innings) you have to wonder why he isn’t owned in as many leagues. My guess would be the low strikeout numbers, which makes Blackburn a great option if you don’t desperately need strikeouts.

Brian Moehler – In the last month Moehler has a 3.72 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP, and three wins. This season he has seven wins, a 4.01 ERA, and a 1.33 WHIP. He’s barely owned, but he’s a great NL only option, and a decent option if you stream pitchers.

Jeff Karstens – In his first two starts with the Pirates, Karstens has pitched 15 innings, allowing seven hits, five walks, and zero earned runs, with two wins. He took a perfect game in to the eighth inning in his last start before allowing a two out double to Chris Young. I don’t think he’s this good, but he’s unknown by NL hitters, which makes him a good option until other teams get a book on him

Anibal Sanchez, SP, Florida

Analysis: Sanchez is on the verge of resuming his major league career after having not pitched in the majors since May 2007 because of a torn rotator cuff. The Marlins were expected to evaluate Sanchez after his final rehab start Wednesday and decide whether or not he will return to the rotation Monday against the Mets. However, his game at Double-A Carolina was postponed and his return to the majors could also be delayed a few days. Sanchez is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in his first four rehab starts. He also has struck out 18 in 21 innings. The right-hander looks a lot like the kid who threw a no-hitter in 2006 and posted a 10-3 record, 2.84 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. Sanchez has topped out at 93 mph in his rehab outings. It's always tough to come back from a serious shoulder operation, but Sanchez has defied the odds thus far. He could be a second-half sleeper if he finds his pre-surgery form.
Hot Off The Waiver Wire