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Waiver Worthy: Breaking Down Three Potential Deep League Additions
by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)
Sometimes it’s easy to figure out if you should make a waiver claim on a player, but when you are looking at someone who isn’t owned in many leagues it’s not as cut and dry. Let’s take a look at a few deep league waiver adds and try to determine if they are worth adding or if they should be ignored:
Tyler Saladino – Chicago White Sox – Second Baseman/Shortstop
CBS Sports – 13%, ESPN – 4.9%, Yahoo! – 15%
There were questions regarding who would lead off for the White Sox, as their “speed” options didn’t provide much in the OBP department (Tim Anderson, for example). In the early going they’ve turned to Saladino, and it’s plausible that he holds the leadoff job all season long (even once Yoan Mocada is summoned, Saladino could shift to another position or be utilized as the DH).
The bottom of Chicago’s lineup is questionable, at best, but they still have Jose Abreu and Todd Frazier providing some thunder in the middle. While Saladino hasn’t shown tremendous OBP ability in the Majors (.315 in ’16), he was better in the minor leagues (.351 for his career) and provides 15/15 potential or better. Given his spot in the order, that type of upside and positonal flexibility, Saladino is worth owning in must formats.
Waiver Wire Guidelines:
- 10 Team Leagues – Monitor
- 12 Team Leagues – Solid Add
- 14+ Team Leagues – Must own
- AL-Only Leagues – Must own
- Keeper Leagues – Solid Add
David Freese – Pittsburgh Pirates – First Baseman/Third Baseman
CBS Sports – 6%, ESPN – 7.6%, Yahoo! – 3%
It’s easy to overlook Freese, but the loss of Jung Ho Kang has given him an opportunity to claim every day duties at third base. It will be interesting to see how much rope he has against right-handed pitchers considering his career split:
- RHP – .267/.366/.400
- LHP – .301/.374/.471
Of course it didn’t matter the handedness of the pitcher last year, as he struggled with strikeouts (28.9%) and groundballs (60.7%). For a player with no speed that’s a bad combination, as a regression in the home run rate (21.7% HR/FB) will leave him nearly unusable.
Waiver Wire Guidelines:
- 10 Team Leagues – Don’t Add
- 12 Team Leagues – Don’t Add
- 14+ Team Leagues – Streaming Add
- NL-Only Leagues – Streaming Add
- Keeper Leagues – Don’t Add
Jacoby Jones – Detroit Tigers – Third Baseman
CBS Sports – 34%, ESPN – 2.3%, Yahoo! – 2%
There are two significant questions facing Jones in the early going:
- Is he going to play regularly in CF
- Can he make consistent enough contact
There’s no questioning that he brings both power and speed to the table, and he certainly could be a difference maker if he is given the chance. As long as he’s producing he’s going to continue to see playing time, and with speed at a premium that’s going to make him an intriguing add.
Waiver Wire Guidelines:
- 10 Team Leagues – Monitor
- 12 Team Leagues – Streaming Add
- 14+ Team Leagues – Must Add
- AL-Only Leagues – Must Add
- Keeper Leagues – Must Add
Sources – Fangraphs, MILB.com
Source: http://rotoprofessor.com/baseball/?p=32503
