Waiver Wired: Waiver Wired: Mashing Marcell
For a No. 9 hitter, Jackie Bradley, Jr. is pretty good. Stay tuned for more hot takes. I was honestly this close to including Bradley in Waiver Wired last week, but decided to cut him at the last minute. My mistake. He’s now owned in 69 percent of Yahoo leagues. With a nice 17-game hitting streak and a pair of six-RBI games this week alone, it’s easy to understand why he’s getting scooped up everywhere.
Bradley is hitting .406 with six home runs and 24 RBI during his hitting streak. And if you look at the season on the whole, he’s among the league leaders in hard-hit rate. Despite this, it’s still difficult to know which version of Jackie Bradley, Jr. to believe in. The 25-year-old batted .188/.267/.268 over his first 601 plate appearances in the majors before hitting .446 with seven home runs in a 25-game span from early August through early September last year. He then cooled off considerably down the stretch. He was batting just .222/.271/.315 through his first 16 games this season before going on this recent tear.
I’m in the skeptical camp for now. Strikeouts have been a problem for Bradley in the majors and he’s been more aggressive than ever this season. I also have questions about the power upside. But hey, I can’t blame you for taking a chance on someone who is hitting like this right now.
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MIXED LEAGUES
Marcell Ozuna OF, Marlins (Yahoo: 47 percent owned)
I was hoping that Ozuna would take a step forward after slugging 23 home runs in 2014, but he regressed last season while hitting .259 with 10 home runs and a .691 OPS over 123 games. He was demoted to the minors for a stretch, which led to a public conflict over his service time and rumors that Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria wanted him traded. So far, Ozuna is making the Marlins look smart for keeping him. After a bit of a slow start, he has turned things on in a big way recently by batting .432 (19-for-44) with four home runs and eight RBI during an 11-game hitting streak. His BABIP sits at .353 and he’s still striking out a bunch, so I wouldn’t bank on the batting average sticking at around .300, but I absolutely believe in the power. Remember, he’s just 25 years old and was rushed to the majors in the first place. We likely haven’t seen the best of him yet.
Ketel Marte SS, Mariners (Yahoo: 30 percent owned)
It’s nice of you to join us, Mr. Marte. After batting just .186 through his first 12 games, the 22-year-old has been on fire of late while batting .349 (29-for-83) with nine extra-base hits (including one home run), nine RBI, two steals, and 15 runs scored over his last 20 games. His surge at the plate has led to a promotion in the lineup in recent days, as he has hit either second or first in five straight games. As I stated in this week’s Saves and Steals video, the main reason I like him is his speed. He has stolen as many as 29 bases in a season in the minors before and had eight in 57 games as a rookie last year. His approach at the plate has been much more aggressive than we saw last year, so I’d like to see that change, but he’s interesting as far as middle infielders go.
Juan Nicasio RP/SP, Pirates (Yahoo: 48 percent owned)
Nicasio was all the rage during spring training, but he has been a bit up-and-down so far this season. Through seven starts, he owns a 4.34 ERA and 37/15 K/BB ratio over 37 1/3 innings. Left-handed batters have been the big issue during his career and we’re seeing it again this year, as they have put up a .959 OPS against him compared to a .492 OPS by right-handed batters. Ray Searage can only do so much. As a result, I don’t see him as a must-play every time out, but he’s a fine option if you play the matchups. Speaking of matchups, he lines up for a start against the Braves next week. And I’m still in the “start pretty much everyone against the Braves” mode. Make sure he’s owned next week.
Jake Lamb 3B, Diamondbacks (Yahoo: 22 percent owned)
Brandon Drury has received most of the attention with the Diamondbacks recently, but don’t overlook Lamb. The 25-year-old owns a solid .268/.357/.500 batting line with four homers and 17 RBI through 34 games. The most encouraging part has been the improved plate discipline. He’s drawing more walks while cutting down on his strikeouts and improving his contact rate. I don’t necessarily see him as a huge power source — 15 homers with a useful batting average would be great — but he’s in a favorable place in Arizona’s lineup and plays half of his games in a hitter-friendly home ballpark. Drury is only really a threat to take away at-bats against southpaws, so Lamb should be in there on most nights. I think he can help as a plug-and-play corner infielder in a lot of leagues.
Evan Gattis OF, Astros (Yahoo: 33 percent owned)
If you dropped Gattis after he was sent down to Double-A Corpus Christi last Friday, I’d consider looking to see if he’s still available. The 29-year-old was sent down exclusively to work on his catching and should be back in the majors as soon as next week. Jason Castro is still Houston’s primary catcher, but Gattis should see some time upon the plate upon his return, which means that he’ll regain catcher-eligibility before long. Have you looked at the catcher position recently? It’s ugly. This is a big deal.
Justin Bour 1B, Marlins (Yahoo: 19 percent owned)
I almost included Bour in last week’s column, but I wanted to make sure that his finger injury wouldn’t keep him out of the mix for long. Fortunately, he’s fine now and has actually amassed two home runs with five RBI over his last five games. The 27-year-old is going to sit against southpaws, but he now owns a .275/.338/.498 batting line with 29 home runs through 545 plate appearances against right-handers during his career. That’s some really impressive production. And the power should keep on coming, especially with the new dimensions at Marlins Park. Be careful about how you use him, but he can help as a corner infielder option.
Sam Dyson RP, Rangers (Yahoo: 13 percent owned)
I mentioned Dyson in the first Waiver Wired of the season in anticipation of a potential change in the Rangers’ closer role. Shawn Tolleson still owns an ugly 5.40 ERA, but he has been decent enough since his implosion in his second appearance of the season on April 6. Still, I wouldn’t give up on the possibility of Dyson getting the job down the line. He has backed up his strong finish from last season by posting a 2.12 ERA over his first 17 appearances. His swinging strikes are down a bit, but he’s still inducing a ton of grounders. That he got the save Wednesday with Tolleson unavailable should make it abundantly clear that he’s next in line if Tolleson stumbles.
Javier Baez 2B/3B/SS, Cubs (Yahoo: 34 percent owned)
I keep holding out hope for Jorge Soler, but he’s batting just .175/.261/.275 through 92 plate appearances. Those struggles could open the door for more opportunities for Baez. I admit we’re dealing with a small sample here, but the 23-year-old has swung the bat well since coming off the disabled list, batting .300 (18-for-60) with two homers and four doubles across 21 games. No, I don’t expect the batting average to last. His contact rate is still well below the league average, but it’s nowhere near as bad as what we saw during his first taste of the majors in 2014. You are going to have to watch the lineup card closely with him, so he’s best-suited for leagues in which you can make daily lineup changes, but the power and multi-position eligibility is intriguing.
Luis Severino SP, Yankees (Yahoo: 37 percent owned)
I get it. I know it’s hard to be optimistic about Severino right now. He’s 0-for-5 with a 6.12 ERA and has allowed seven home runs in 32 1/3 innings. But let’s try to look at the bright side here. The Dustin Pedroia homer on Sunday was a true wall-scraper and Severino ended up matching a career-high with nine strikeouts while getting 13 swings and misses. HIs velocity is still right in line with where he was last year and he’s throwing plenty of strikes while posting a ground ball rate around 50 percent. As for his HR/FB rate, it sits at 25.9 percent right now. James Shields led the majors last season with a HB/FB rate of 17.9 percent. There’s no way this can last. There’s always the chance that Severino will be demoted if he continues to struggle, but if you need pitching, I think there’s too much upside to give up on him. As I said in the video above, maybe just stash him for now and look for signs of progress in his upcoming outings. No harm if it doesn’t work out.
Shopping at the five-and-dime:
(Players owned in under 10 percent of Yahoo leagues)
Jameson Taillon SP, Pirates (Yahoo: 6 percent owned)
I realize that everyone wants to see Tyler Glasnow (Yahoo: 40 percent owned) make his way to the majors and he’s certainly worth stashing if you have the patience and roster flexibility, but what about Taillon? He’s sort of been off the prospect radar recently after missing two full seasons due to Tommy John surgery and hernia surgery, but the 24-year-old owns a stingy 1.69 ERA and 32/4 K/BB ratio in 37 1/3 innings across his first six starts with Triple-A Indianapolis this season. He’s also showing mid-90s velocity, so he appears to be back on track. I wonder how far the Pirates will push him in his first season back, but we shouldn’t rule out the possibility that Taillon will get the call before Glasnow. Just keep that in mind.
Trevor May SP/RP, Twins (Yahoo: 9 percent owned)
I could touch on the Reds’ bullpen situation with Tony Cingrani and Ross Ohlendorf, but that’s much too depressing, so instead I’ll recommend stashing someone who has long-term closer potential. May continues to dominate out of the Twins’ bullpen, posting a 1.89 ERA and 27/8 K/BB ratio over 19 innings. The 26-year-old has hasn’t allowed a run in his last eight appearances. And while he had some control issues early on, he hasn’t walked a batter in his last five outings. Granted, the Twins haven’t had many save chances, but Kevin Jepsen continues to look shaky and a return date for Glen Perkins is up in the air. May is one of the better stashes out there if you want to speculate on future save chances.
Steve Pearce 1B/2B/OF, Rays (Yahoo: 3 percent owned)
Pearce came out of nowhere with a monster breakout season in 2014, but he fell back down to Earth last season by batting .218 with a .711 OPS over 92 games. As a result, it sort of flew under the radar when he signed a one-year, $4.75 million deal with the Rays in January. The 33-year-old has been a useful piece thus far, batting .308/.392/.569 with five homers in 20 games while making starts between first base, second base, and even third base. He has done most of his damage against lefties, which is why I like him as a short-term option with the Rays set to face a pair of them in their next four games. If utilized correctly, he can provide value in deeper formats.
