RADIO
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Joe Gallina analyzes five fantasy baseball waiver wire sleepers that can help your team in the final month of the season. These sleeper hitters should be owned.
IT’S FOOTBALL SEASON!!....but there’s a pesky little fantasy baseball league or two or three that you still need to keep an eye on. Don’t lose focus on the task at hand. Your fantasy football draft is done and you might be patting yourself on the back or maybe you’re down in the dumps because you missed out on your super sleeper but SNAP OUT OF IT and let’s work on making the playoffs or even winning your fantasy baseball league. Take a look at your fantasy baseball roster. Is it offense that you need help with? No problem!! I’ve found five hitter sleepers owned in less than 50% of Yahoo fantasy leagues who can infuse some much needed energy in your fantasy lineup for the next few weeks and help get you to the promised land!
Russell Martin, Pittsburgh Pirates, C
Owned in 42% of Yahoo leagues
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Do you remember Russell Martin? Apparently not enough people do because he’s probably waiting for you to pick him up off of the waiver wire and add him to your fantasy baseball roster. At a time of year when too many catchers are struggling to make it to the end of the season Martin is putting up the kind of numbers that we were used to seeing from him when he was 25 years old in 2008.
He is a steady producer whose batting average hasn’t dipped below .278 since 7/31. Everything seems to be falling into place for Martin this season. He is walking more, striking out less and hitting more balls for line drives and that has helped his overall stat line. His.288 batting average, 8 HR, 52 RBI and 40 runs scored in just 92 games has helped put the Pirates in the thick of the chase for NL wild card. Add him to your team and who knows, maybe he can help you in your quest for fantasy baseball glory.
Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox, 2B/SS/OF
Owned in 31% of Yahoo leagues
The Boston Red Sox may be going from worst to first and back to worst again as they languish in last place this season but with a nucleus of talented future fantasy studs on their roster there is hope for the future in Beantown. With eligibility at second base, shortstop and the outfield Mookie Betts is someone you need to add to your roster right away. His overall numbers are solid: .271 batting average, 4 homeruns and 4 stolen bases in just 30 games.
Project those stats to a full season of 500 plus at bats and he’s a 20/20 guy folks! Betts has been especially hot as of late batting .344 with 2 homeruns in the past week. Once he learns better plate discipline and learns to walk more and push his OBP closer to his minor league levels he has the potential to be an even bigger base stealing threat. He could prove especially valuable in keeper leagues.
Jon Jay, St. Louis Cardinals, OF
Owned in 18 % of Yahoo leagues
Is anyone really shocked that the Cardinals got hot late in the season and overtook the Brewers and are sitting in first place in the NL central? The Cardinals continued their annual late season tradition of surging past the competition with the help of fantasy superstars like Adam Wainright, Matt Holliday and JON JAY. Jon Jay? Yes, Jon Jay. With a career high of 10 home runs in a season, Jon Jay is never going to wow you with his home run and RBI totals but did you know that over the course of his five year career he has compiled a .296 batting average?
If you are in a rotisserie league and need help in the batting average category Jon Jay is your man. Talk about hot, in his last 30 games Jay is batting .415 and has driven in 14 runs while scoring 17. His OPS over that period is 1.046, way over the league average of .730. He is in the lineup everyday and should be in yours as well. Pick him up off of the waiver wire and maybe some of that old Cardinal magic will find its way onto your fantasy baseball team.
Lorenzo Cain, Kansas City Royals, OF
Owned in 18% of Yahoo leagues
If your team has a need for speed hurry, hurry, hurry and pick up Lorenzo Cain off of your league’s waiver wire. Unfortunately he is a two trick pony but with eight stolen bases in the past month and an overall batting average of .298 he could prove to be the final piece to the puzzle that will complete your fantasy baseball team’s lineup. ( In case you didn’t pick up on my sly sense of humor his two tricks are his talent for base stealing and his ability to hit for average).
Trevor Plouffe, Minnesota Twins, 3B
Owned in 30% of Yahoo leagues
Fantasy baseball owners are waiting for Trevor Plouffe to have a true break out season. In 2012 he hit 24 homeruns but batted only .234. In 2013 he raised his batting average by almost 20 points but only hit 14 homeruns. Let’s face it he may never get it together but for now if you are looking to add a bat to your fantasy lineup that can help you with some homeruns and RBI Plouffe can help.
In his last 25 games he has driven in an impressive 21 runs, hit five homeruns and he has batted .268. That would translate into a monster year of 30 homeruns and 120 plus RBI! There is no doubt that Plouffe is streaky but if you need the offensive help pick him up and let him lend you a helping bat.
