Wednesday’s Wide World of Waivers: Pierre is still available? - 2 comments

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Week 1 is in the books and 2010 season is in full swing. Looking back at last week’s recommendations, Blanks, Johnson, Snider and Jackson didn’t really come busting out of the gates. Blanks and Johnson started heating up earlier this week and I expect Snider and Jackson to follow suit. All of their Yahoo owned percentage have continued to drop from the slow starts so they are still great pick ups. Now let’s move on and take a looks at four new potential pickups. As always, the cutoffs are 50% Yahoo ownership in mixed leagues and 20% Yahoo ownership in for NL/AL only leagues.

Standard Mixed Leagues

Josh Willingham, OF, WAS

Owned % Yahoo 32 ESPN 58 CBS 83

Even after posting a very respectable line in 2009; 70 R, 24 HR, 61 RBI and a .260 BA in 133 games Willingham went largely undrafted this year. Washington’s OF is a little less crowded this season and Willingham has settled into the 5th spot in the lineup behind Zimmerman and Dunn. The extra AB and the solid spot in the lineup should equal more R and RBI opportunities for Willingham this year. Plus you have to like the fact that Willingham is crushing the ball the first week. He’s tallied 2 HR, 8 RBI, a .483 OBP and a .739 SLG% so far and looks like a very promising pickup for 2010.

Juan Pierre, OF, CWS

Owned % Yahoo 42 ESPN 97 CBS 72

Combing though the waiver wire this week two things really stuck out to me. The sheer number of closers that aren’t 50% owned in Yahoo is ridiculous and apparently Yahoo players hate Pierre. I have no idea what the problem is with Pierre as he is a huge source of SB and from the looks of it he is coming really cheap. Hitting at the top of the White Sox lineup Pierre is going to do three things, hit for average, score runs and steal bases. The .138 BA doesn’t look so good yet but his BABIP is .148 so he has been a little unlucky. Plus, Pierre is a career .300 hitter. He’s already stolen 3 bases and appears to have the green light. Pierre is a no-brainer pickup for anyone needing steals.

AL-Only Leagues

Wade Davis, SP, TB

Owned % Yahoo 16 ESPN 56 CBS 68

Fantasy owners are fickle and a lot of people jumped ship on Davis after a less than stellar start against the Yankees last week. I’m still a believer and I love his potential for strikeouts. During 767 innings in the minors Davis posted a 8.7 K/9. Pitching in the AL East is a tough job but Davis has more than enough talent to hold his own. Davis should be a nice source of K’s without doing too much damage to your ratios.

NL-Only Leagues

Chris Snyder, C, ARI

Owned % Yahoo 11 ESPN 3 CBS 32

Miguel Montero’s torn meniscus opens the door wide open for Snyder. Chris Snyder will be the primary option behind the plate for the Diamondbacks. With a full season of AB I would expect 15-20 HR and solid catcher starter in NL-only leagues. I’d jump on the Snyder bandwagon before he is snatched up by someone else in your league.

The 2010 season is taking shape and the waiver wire is constantly churning. Check back every week for quality pick-ups and 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.
 

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