Wednesday’s Wide World of Waivers: Monty Magic!

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Welcome back to another week of scouring the waiver wire, a facet of fantasy management that will become even more important to your hopes of winning your league with the imminent arrival of trade deadlines across the leagues.

Last week, yours truly was called out by my esteemed colleague for not making any picks last time up, and doing a review instead! I have a feeling that he enjoyed reading it because, by not making any waiver wire selections, I gave him a chance to catch up in our season-long battle! And, to be fair, all four of Tom’s choices performed well last week, so he certainly took his opportunity. I’ll just have to blow him away with my selection this week! Let’s get to it, with the reminder that our qualifying criteria for standard leagues is 20-50% Yahoo ownership, with deeper leagues at under 20% ownership.

Standard Mixed Leagues

Miguel Montero, C, Ari

The window of opportunity is fast closing for you to grab Montero if you’re suffering at the catcher spot. He has been dynamite since Chris Snyder hit the DL, and should retain the majority of ABs even with Snyder’s return. He is the top ranked catcher in Yahoo over the last month, and, while the .400 AVG won’t last, there is no reason to believe that the power will fade away. In single-season leagues, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him outperform the likes of Wieters and Iannetta over the rest of the season (although I wouldn’t dump either of them for him in a keeper).

Leo Nunez, RP, Fla

I find it incredible that Nunez is still owned in so few leagues. Over the last week, he seems to have taken a firm hold on the Marlins closer role, picking up all three save opportunities and relegating rival Dan Meyer to the role of setup man. He still has a few teething troubles now and again (witness the two-ER performance on Sunday, in a non-save situation), but looks like being the go-to guy for the near-future, at least. And with Fredi Gonzalez saying that Matt Lindstrom will be eased back into the closer role when he gets back, expect a few more saves for Nunez in the meantime.

NL-Only Leagues

Kyle Blanks, 1B/OF, SD

Kyle Blanks is one of the Padres’ top prospects and is getting significant playing time at the moment, starting five of their last six games. There are going to be some teething troubles as he adapts to Major League pitching, but a three-HR week deserves attention in NL-only leagues. His AVG is slowly improving (up 30 points in the last week), so if you are in need of a bit of power in a deep league, Blanks is worth a shot.

AL-Only Leagues

David Murphy, OF, Tex

Murphy doesn’t play quite enough to warrant consideration in standard mixed leagues, but as an AL-only option, he is a fine choice. He hits for power and average, will chip in the odd stolen base here and there, and, of course, plays half his games in one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in the majors. As with Blanks in NL-only leagues, Murphy should be owned in pretty much any AL-only league.

Onwards and upwards as we enter the business end of the season. With only two months to go, there is still time to move yourself up the standings, but that time is getting short! If you can’t make that last minute trade, there’s only one other thing you can do: keep watching those waivers!

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