Wednesday’s Wide World of Waivers: Juan Uribe?

Welcome back to Wednesday’s Wide World of Waivers. Let’s jump right in and check out the picks from last week. I’ve got to hand it to Chris: Seth Smith was on his way to being a fantasy playoff MVP, and Chris derailed him with the skill of a safe cracker. With 4 RBIs and a .227 BA last week, Smith didn’t get much done. Arroyo on the other hand was a pretty pleasant surprise to me. He had been very good lately, but a trip to Coors usually turns very good into very ugly. Arroyo had a decent game, but only 4 Ks and no win means that while he didn’t hurt you, he didn’t help much either. I do like Arroyo for the rest of the season though. Chris, a Mets fan, picked Sullivan, a Mets player, and you know how the Met season has gone, so I’m going to leave it that. Brantley had a nice week with a two-stolen base and .333 BA contribution. By my count that is two stinkers and two decent plays but I’m not keeping score. I’ll be doing my best to make Chris look even worse when I score four standout players.

As always the cutoffs are 50% Yahoo ownership in mixed leagues and 20% Yahoo ownership in for NL/AL only leagues.

Standard Mixed Leagues

Matt Diaz, OF, ATL

	Yahoo	ESPN	CBS
Owned %	23	15	31

	Runs	RBI	HR	SB	AVG
Week 23 Stats	2	4	0	0	.302

.
After the All-Star game Matt Diaz has seen his BA rise 20 points. That’s nice, but Diaz has been a solid but unspectacular option all year, so why now? The Braves remaining schedule has them playing the Mets, Phillies, Nationals and Marlins. Diaz has an OPS over .900 against all these teams this year. Against the Phillies alone Diaz has 4 HRs in 10 games and a cartoonish .529 BA. He’s setup to finish the season strong helping your fantasy team along the way.

Juan Uribe, SS, SF

	Yahoo	ESPN	CBS
Owned %	13	10	22

	Runs	RBI	HR	SB	AVG
Week 23 Stats	5	7	3	0	.409

.
God help me I’m suggesting Juan Uribe, but how do you argue with those numbers from a player that has SS, 2B and 3B eligibility in Yahoo? The other thing you have to like about Uribe is that 5 of his remaining 12 games are against Arizona. Uribe’s line against Arizona this year is 9 games, 3 HRs, and a 1.133 OPS. A hot player and an opponent they have shown success against already is a recipe for playoff success.

NL-Only Leagues

Vicente Padilla, SP, LAN

	Yahoo	ESPN	CBS
Owned %	7	2	34

	IP	W	K	ERA	WHIP
Week 23 Stats	12	2	8	1.50	1.08

.
Here’s another player I wouldn’t have given a second thought earlier in the season, but Padilla has been hot and has some nice matchups to end out the year. Padilla has recorded wins in three of his last four starts and did not surrender more than 2 ERs in any of those starts. SF at home, at Was and at SD has me thinking about 3 wins and some great ratios to finish out the year.

AL-Only Leagues

Nolan Reimold, OF, BAL

	Yahoo	ESPN	CBS
Owned %	6	5	35

	Runs	RBI	HR	SB	AVG
Week 23 Stats	2	3	1	0	.316

.
Reimold has 48 Rs, 45 RBIs, 14 HRs and 8 SBs on the season in only 102 games. Those are some pretty serious numbers for a rookie, but Reimold only seems to be owned in 6% of leagues. Reimold gets to finish the season against Boston, Toronto, Cleveland and Tampa Bay. Reimold has had some success against Boston plus Toronto, Cleveland and Tampa Bay rank 12, 11 and 13 in team ERA for September. Let’s hope they along with Reimold keep it up and he finishes the season on a high note.

Please let us know what you think by posting in the discussion thread. Feedback is always appreciated. Chris will be back for next week’s Wednesday’s Wide World of Waivers with four new waiver pickups. In the mean time, keep watching that waiver wire!

Tom Huffman is one of a growing number of fantasy experts who write for the Cafe. You can catch up with Tom in the Cafe's forums where he posts under the name of Pogotheostrich.

Rate this article: