Nine Bo Jacksons

Waiver Wire Review

Here are some guys available in the NBJs 12 team mixed league:

• C: Brian Schneider.  He's at least getting PT, which is about all you can ask for at this point.
• 1B: Richie Sexson.  Sexson is looking like a cheap source of power with 8 HR already.  There aren't too many questions on whether or not his .204 AVG is for real - it is.
• 2B: Luis Castillo.  A decent source for SB, Castillo's current .262 AVG should rise as well.
• 3B: Bill Hall.  Another good power source, his .207 AVG is certainly going to rise.
• SS: Bobby Crosby.  His PT is at least solid, even if nothing else is.
• OF: Brian Giles.  He's obviously on a hot streak, but ride it while you can.
• OF: Luis Gonzalez.  With Willingham's injury looking more serious, Gonzo should keep getting the PT.
• OF: Ryan Sweeney.  Currently sporting a .295 AVG, his value has shot up in May.
• P: Darrell Rasner.  He was pretty solid in AAA and is continuing that streak at the big league level.
• P: J.P. Howell.  Pitching out of the Rays bullpen, he's lowered his ERA by more than 1.00 in the month of May.
• P: Octavio Dotel. The 14.59 K/9 in the past month is pretty impressive.
• P: Ramon Ramirez.  Ramirez has a great K rate [11.31 K/9] and solid ERA/WHIP numbers [1.86/1.09].
• P: Tony Pena. Clearly the setup guy in ARI, Pena brings a good K rate and the speculative saves if Brandon Lyon needs an off day.

Waiver Wire Review

Here's some players out there in the NBJs 12 team mixed league:

• C: Raul Casanova, NYM: He's taking advantage of Brian Schneider's hospitalization, going 6 for 16 with a HR, 3 R, and 2 RBI.  Casanova is a quick fix, as Schneider should be back in the Mets' lineup sooner than later.
• 1B: Mike Sweeney, OAK: Although he won't be a permanent fix, Sweeney is clearly on a hot streak.  Ride the wave of production out.
• 2B: Rich Aurilia, SFG: A very flexible player with four position eligibility, Aurilia is 6 for his last 13 with 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI and 1 SB.  Take it while you can.
• 3B: Melvin Mora, BAL: One of the few 3Bs on the waiver wire with regular PT secured, Mora is 9 for his last 28 with 5 RBI.  He's also hitting well with RISP, so decent RBI value should be found.
• SS: Brendan Ryan, STL: Finally off of the DL, Ryan brings 3 position eligibility to the table. If he gets regular PT, he's a decent source for SB.
• OF: Jose Guillen, KCR: Still hitting below the Mendoza line overall, Guillen has got things working lately.  A .286 AVG and 2 HR in the past week is a good sign that he's getting warm.
• OF: David Murphy, TEX: 8 for his last 24 with 7 RBI, Murphy has been pretty solid all season.  He won't be a game changer, but a good stop-gap.
• OF: Reed Johnson, CHC: Felix Who?  Johnson has done a pretty good job in CF for the Cubbies.  He seems to have locked down sufficient PT to warrant an add.
• P: Chad Gaudin, OAK: He's been pretty solid in his 4 outings since his 1st start of the season.  Not going to rack up elite K levels, but certainly can hold his own.  He's one of the reasons why Oakland is as good as they are.
• P: Bronson Arroyo, CIN: As noted the other day in BP, his terrible numbers thus far are going to come down.  The 8.42 K/9 is a little out of his neighborhood, but any regression there should be offset as the other rate stats come down as the BABIP comes down.
• P: Greg Smith, OAK: Looking at his minor league numbers, there seems to be two sides to Greg Smith.  This year in Oakland, they're getting the good side.  A 2.73 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP through 33 IP is something any fantasy roster would take.
• P: Taylor Buchholz, COL: He's been pretty solid out of the Colorado bullpen, logging 16.1 IP of 1.65 ERA and 0.92 WHIP.  The Ks aren't where you'd like them to be for a MR option, but the rate stats are looking good thus far.
• P: Aaron Cook, COL: Although he is due for regression, I'd ride the wave of productivity while Cook is on it.  A 2.41 ERA and a 1.15 IP is pretty impressive.

Waiver Wire Review

Here are some guys out there on my 12 team mixed waiver wire.

• C: Gerald Laird, TEX:  One of the only catchers on my waiver wire with guaranteed PT.  That's about all he really has going for him.
• 1B: Sean Casey, BOS:  He's only getting PT until Mike Lowell is back, but the Mayor is at least a good source for AVG.
• 2B: Luis Castillo, NYM:  5 swipes already is a good sign that the leg injury is behind him.  He's not a game changer, but a good role player on your team.
• 3B: Aubrey Huff, BAL: Still hitting .313 over the past week.  The other shoe will fall, but there aren't too many good options at this position in my league.
• SS: Maicer Izturis, LAA:  He's good for swipes, something you need at the position.
• OF: Franklin Gutierrez, CLE:  A slow start for F-Güt, but he seems to be turning it around.  He's a good sleeper.
• OF: Emil Brown, OAK: Rajai Davis' addition should only affect the newly DL'd Travis Buck, for now.  Brown is on a hot streak, and a good source for RBI.
• OF: Reed Johnson, CHC: He's received 29 ABs to Felix Pie's 9 in the past week, and done okay with them.  He's probably just on a hot streak, but ride it while you can.
• P: Jeremy Affeldt, CIN: 14 K in 9.2 IP and a 1.86 ERA with a 1.14 WHIP is a good sign, even for someone handicapped as a RP.
• P: Daniel Cabrera, BAL: His 4.40 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP aren't exactly great, but his K/9 rate [5.66] is quite below his career rate [7.48].  Is this the year he finally puts it all together?
• P: Matt Albers, BAL:  Okay, I swear, it's the last week I'm mentioning him here.
• P: Chad Gaudin, OAK: No, he's not 1 ER in 14 IP good, but ride the hot streak while you can.
• P: John Lannan, WAS: All you need is love...expect the K rate to falter, but 3 of his 4 outings had 2 ER or less. 

Waiver Wire Review

Time for another installment of the Waiver Wire Review.  I meant to do this yesterday, but just didn't have the time.  Let's see who's out there in the NBJ 12 Man Mixed:

C: Jeff Mathis, LAA:  The other option here was Shawn Riggans, but Dioner Navarro should return soon.  Mathis is sharing time with Napoli, but it's one of those addition by subtraction things [Mathis' good AVG + fewer ABs > Player X's bad AVG + more ABs].  He's not doing terrible with the counting stats for now, but that will probably knock down his value sooner or later.

1B: Eric Hinske, TBR:  He's getting the PT, and making the most of it.  I don't buy him as a long term solution, but he's hitting pretty well lately [7/21 with 2 HR, 4 R & 4 RBI in the past week].  Ride the hot streak out while you can.  He's far from a permanent solution, though.

2B: Jose Vidro, SEA:  I know I've knocked him, and I stand by that.  But, he is hitting right now, and you gotta play the hot hand.

3B: Jorge Cantu, FLA:  I sometimes forget Cantu is only 26 this year.  He's not going to be a great Mixed league option at 3B, but ride the hot streak [7/22, 1 HR & 1 SB last week] out while you can.

SS: Erick Aybar, LAA:  There's not much out there with power at the MI, so go with what you can get I suppose.  Aybar will be a power liability, but he's stealing bases and hitting for good average.  The speed is legit, and the dude was a .311 career MiLB hitter.

OF: John Bowker, SFG:  He's not this good, but he's a good plug and play power option.  He's hitting .538 in 13 ABs, so don't get too psyched about that category: he'll regress.  But, in San Fran, someone's gotta drive the guys in, so he makes for an interesting add.

OF: Coco Crisp, BOS:  Last week, Crisp got 20 ABs and Ellsbury got 13.  While I'm not going to debate the logic of that decision, Crisp is a valuable fantasy option if the split keeps going  in his favor.  The hamstring injury is being downplayed, but could be a factor, as Crisp's value is entirely dependent upon his ability to swipe bases.

OF: Milton Bradley, TEX:  He's yet to hit one out of the yard, but he is batting cleanup and playing half of his games in Arlington.  Giving him time at DH should help ease some of the injury concerns that come along with Bradley, meaning 20+ HRs is a good possibility.

P: Matt Albers, BAL: I'm still a buyer on Albers.  He did pretty well in his start, though the 1K was troubling.  I think he'd be better for the O's out of the bullpen, but I guess we'll see what their plans for him are.

P: Brian Bruney, NYY: Okay, so the cheap save he got in the 15-9 game against BOS shouldn't be valued.  Regardless, he is sporting a 9.9 K/9 with a 1.80 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.  This is probably just a hot start for the big guy, but it seems like good MR options pop up every season - perhaps Bruney turns into one.

P: Mike Pelfrey, NYM: Still not a K guy, but he is controlling the ball pretty well.  He's showing some of that 1st round upside he has, and should force his way into the conversation to stay in the rotation, even once El Duque and Pedro come back.

P: Jeff Niemann, TBR: As a UH Cougar, it hurt to recommend a Rice grad...but Niemann looks like a good option.  His biggest concern has always been health; if he can bunk that issue, maybe he'll tap into his 1st round potential.

P: Joey Devine, OAK: He's in the bigs, already with 4.1 IP of scoreless ball.  I guess I'm still blown away by his 13.1 MiLB K/9 rate [114 IP].  Devine's got the stuff to succeed right away.

Waiver Wire Review

Time for the first installment of the Waiver Wire Review.  The following players are all available in the Nine Bo Jacksons mixed league.  Since I have no way of knowing who's available in most leagues, this will just have to do for now. 

C: Yorvit Torrealba, COL: Yeah, his 3 for 22 start is making Chris Iannetta look like a good option, but Yorvit is still looking like the guy in COL - for now.  I think he can turn it around and be a slightly above replacement level fantasy starter.

1B: Marcus Thames, DET: He's another guy with short-term PT issues, but I still think he'll log near 500 PAs when the season is over.  Thames is a almost a lock for 20+ HRs if he gets that PT, and he's in the right offense for scoring and driving in runs.  He jacked one tonight against Lester, for what its worth.

2B: Jose Lopez, SEA: At a scarce position in the NBJ league, Lopez is pretty much it at 2B.  He won't be as good as he is right now, so ride the wave out while you can.

3B: Brandon Inge, DET: This is another position where there aren't any good options on the wire right now; there's only bad and worse options.  Inge is still getting the PT, but will obviously suffer once Granderson returns.  He's played well enough to warrant good PT, so we'll see what Leyland does.

SS: Brian Bocock, SFG: He will hurt you in 4 of 5 categories, but is capable of swiping a few bases if you can take the hit until Omar Vizquel is back.

OF: David Murphy, TEX: Off to a hot start, Murphy will likely force his way into the more permanent situation in Arlington if he keeps this up.  He could be solid in four categories - I'm still a skeptic on his AVG.

OF: Travis Buck, OAK: Yeah...that .074 AVG looks terrible.  He's still the leadoff guy who has decent upside; he's probably someone you'll want to see signs of life from first, but if he starts to pick it up, you could do far worse.

OF: Joey Gathright, KCR: The comments on Bocock apply here.  Pick him up only if the need some cheap steals.

P: Matt Albers, BAL: I saw Albers pitch a lot when he was an Astro.  He was very inconsistent in his time in Houston, but seems to operate really well out of the bullpen in Baltimore.  He's thrown 6.1 IP of scoreless ball with 7 Ks and a 0.47 WHIP.  He's got the stuff to be successful in the role; pick him up as an "alka-seltzer" MR.

P: Santiago Casilla, OAK: Casilla is certainly going to warrant a look if Huston Street goes down for one reason or another, although Embree may be a surer lock for the "closer in waiting" tag.  He's got all the makings of a good closer, but he's still got good value as a MR, too.

P: Jake Westbrook, CLE: Never going to be a K guy, but he's looking more like the Westbrook we used to know.  With the Tribe's offense behind him, I think he'll rack up some Ws, at the least.

P: Wandy Rodriguez, HOU: Wandy has identity issues.  Start him at Minute Maid Park only; he's got a 2.73 ERA there since 2007.  Don't start him on the road, where he has a 6.44 ERA during that time.  You could get a part time ace if you play your cards right.

P: Hong-Chih Kuo, LAD: He's going to flash an excellent K/9, and should get a good innings load out of the Dodger pen.  He'll also be a spot starter, it seems.