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by bigh0rt » Mon Aug 06, 2012 1:29 am Garrett Jones, PIT, 1B/OF -- Managers who have owned Garrett in the back know all too well of just how hot (and consequently, how cold) he's capable of getting. Over stretches he can put up numbers comparable to the big name 1B, and that's no exaggeration. Dude is slugging a cool .513 this season with a career high .271 batting average to support it (not overly inflated by his BABIP, either, which is encouraging). He's had back-to-back excellent months in June and July, and has come out in full force this first week of August as well. If you platoon him vs RHP, it only looks better, to the tune of .281/.308/.530, with 14 of his 16 HR to date. Don't underestimate his ability to help your offensive numbers, even in a part-time role. He needs to be owned in all but the shallowest of leagues, yet is only rostered in 40% of ESPN Leagues.
Mike Olt, TEX, 3B -- Mike Olt has had an interesting first 3 games as a Major League ballplayer. With just 2 hits in his first 7 at bats, Olt has both walked and struck out a pair of times, stolen a base, scored once, and driven in two. At this point in the year prospect play can be like throwing a dart at a board, but you could certainly do worse than this highly touted third baseman engrossed in a fuel injected lineup in a launchpad stadium.
Chris Carter, OAK, 1B -- Carter is really an enigma to me. Strikes out a ton, but is also walking at an unbelievable 19.8% clip, which puts his walk and strikeout potential in the range of Adam Dunn a half-decade ago (before Dunn actually started to strike out more). Carter never showed a batting eye remotely close to this in the minors, and the sample size is a paltry 25 games, but he's got legitimate power potential, with the upside of molding into a Dunn-esque type of offensive player (and not in the way everybody else who hits HR and has a low AVG gets compared to Adam Dunn; I mean as a complete hitter). ZiPS absolutely hates him, but I'd ride out this power streak as long as possible, especially if I'm in a bind at 1B.
Ryan Ludwick, CIN, OF -- It's not that long ago that this guy was swatting balls in St. Louis and people were thinking he may quietly be really good. Check out his 2008. Phew. Even his 2009 has to be considered nice looking back, though not after where he was drafted following his 2008. Perspective is a wonderful thing, ain't it? At any rate, after that he went to the place where all good hitters go to die, San Diego. We're going to pretend that never existed (nor did Pittsburgh), and here we are in Cincinnati. 19 bombs in just 303 Plate Appearances, and Ludwick has filled in amicably during the absence of All-World 1B Joey Votto, offensively. He has the opportunity to be a cheap source of extremely underrated fantasy production over the final two months of the season, if you can stomach .260. How many other players are you going to possibly find on the WW (owned in just shy of 60% of ESPN Leagues) who could realistically approach 10 HR over the final 2 months of the season?
Lorenzo Cain, KC, OF -- I know how Josh Hamilton and Ron Washington feel, cause I'm addicted to LoCaine. He's stealing bases, jacking homers, scoring runs, and driving them in. Remember what you thought you drafted Eric Hosmer for? Lorenzo Cain is doing that all now, with OF eligibility. Remember when you didn't pick up Cain so you could pick up Starling Marte instead because he had a good speed and power combo? Cain has 3 HR and 3 SB since re-joining the Royals off the Disabled List, batting .295 in the process. He's batting 3rd most days, which is good enough to start in all fantasy leagues for the production potential alone. If you're one of the few leagues where he's available, snatch him up.
Coco Crisp, OAK, OF -- It may seem like a long time ago, but just last season Crisp swiped 49 bags, providing ridiculous (albeit, one category) value to fantasy owners. This season he got off to a sluggish (understatement of the thread) start, and was dropped at an alarming rate, and forgotten about. Fast forward to a week into August, where his 21 steals may not look that impressive, until you see that twice as many of then came in June and July than in April and May (he missed time in May, but that doesn't support my claim, so we're ignoring it). He also bat .342 in July. Crisp was BABIP'd to death the first two months of the season, and since then has been much more of the Coco Crisp of 2011 than of Spring 2012. If you're looking for Steals with the potential for a nice batting average and some Runs, Crisp is owned in 44% of ESPN Leagues, and even in many competitive leagues still finds himself on the Waiver Wire due to his ugly overall season numbers.
I wanted to write a few more up for guys like Brett Wallace, Travis Snider, Josh Vitters, etc. but I got tired. By all means, feel free to add your own and why. As I noted above (if I didn't, I meant to), these guys aren't necessarily available in your league, but they're often the guys who are ditched to pick up the hot new prospect, or the first three-game stretch they go hitless in, unfairly, and you need to be there to swoop in and capitalize. Happy hunting!
Also, here's your meme fix...
I hate you.
Love,
bigh0rt
Today's Matchups:
NYY: Nova (10-5, 4.53 ERA)
DET: Verlander (11-7, 2.63 ERA)
ATL: Sheets (3-1, 1.46 ERA)
PHI: Worley (6-6, 3.63 ERA)
SEA: Vargas (12-7, 3.71 ERA)
BAL: Tillman (4-1, 2.70 ERA)
ARI: Miley (12-6, 2.98 ERA)
PIT: Bedard (5-12, 4.83 ERA)
MIN: Diamond (9-5, 2.93 ERA)
CLE: McAllister (4-3, 3.42 ERA)
WSH: Jackson (6-7, 3.57 ERA)
HOU: Keuchel (1-4, 5.77 ERA)
TEX: Darvish (11-7, 4.38 ERA)
BOS: Cook (2-5, 5.24 ERA)
CIN: Arroyo (7-6, 3.87 ERA)
MIL: Gallardo (9-8, 3.92 ERA)
KC: Mendoza (5-7, 4.32 ERA)
CHW: Sale (12-3, 2.61 ERA)
SF: Cain (10-4, 2.82 ERA)
STL: Westbrook (10-8, 3.79 ERA)
LAA: Weaver (14-1, 2.29 ERA)
OAK: Parker (7-5, 3.44 ERA)
CHC: Wood (4-7, 4.90 ERA)
SD: Stults (1-2, 3.19 ERA)
COL: Pomeranz (1-6, 5.13 ERA)
LAD: Capuano (10-7, 3.33 ERA)
