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Welcome to Week 5. The MLB season is ripening and the time for messing around has come and gone. Your pitching staff has been decent, you've got some real speed on the base paths and plenty of guys who know how to get on base. But - for the love of God - can someone please hit a homerun? The waiver wire is bone dry and you need some power to boost your lineup. Good luck finding someone in your league willing to part with a legitimate slugger.
Here at RotoBaller, we've got you covered. This week, let's take a look at some waiver wire-caliber talent that you can push in return for proven sluggers. Naturally, we will focus on the outfielders; a position teeming with flukes and sleepers.
Week 5 Sell High Candidates
Josh Reddick (OF, OAK)
It's Week 5 and Josh Reddick is leading all qualified MLB outfielders in OBP. There's a phrase I never thought I would have to write. He's batting .389 with 4 HR, 20 RBI and 2 SB. Needless to say, this pace is almost certainly unsustainable. However, if one can briefly suspend his or her short-term memory, Reddick's 2012 campaign comes to mind, in which the 28 year-old hit 32 bombs, swiped 11 bases and garnered attention in MVP talks. Since then, of course, Reddick has been generally lackluster.
Face it - he sports a career .250 BA and often finds himself in a platoon role in Oakland. There's no chance he will keep up this pace as the season continues. Ditch Reddick now and you will likely receive a much more reliable piece in return.
Jimmy Paredes (OF, BAL)
Paredes has been steadily making a name for himself all season. Through 51 AB this season, he's sporting a .353/.365/.667 line with 3 HR and an SB. A few seasons spent in the minors showed that Paredes has a good mixture of speed and power and, perhaps most importantly, often gets on base. Now that he's finally landed a starting role in the majors, Paredes is enjoying early success at the beginning of a promising career.
Yet, it is still just the beginning. His talent is raw and needs more time to develop before he can truly be a significant fantasy contributor. It's unlikely that the young outfielder will continue his dominance in Baltimore. Possibly, he might find himself shipped back to Triple-A if his success wanes. Get your money's worth for Paredes now before you end up dropping him altogether for no gain.
Jake Marisnick (OF, HOU)
Marisnick is having an absolutely dominant season thus far, slashing .382/.427/.632 with 3 HR, 12 RBI and 9 SB. Along with the rest of the surprising lineup in Houston, Marisnick is enjoying success in nearly every category. Yet, unlike Jose Altuve and George Springer, few observers expected this type of production from the young, relatively unheralded outfielder. Most likely, he was still sitting on the waiver wire until some point last week.
Through a few seasons in the minors, Marisnick garnered attention as a speedster on the base paths. But, this power and high BA are new tools in the arsenal, as he holds a career MiLB average of .279 and only held a 37.9 AB/HR ratio, compared to a 23.7 ratio in 2015. Although Marisnick may not continue this elite pace, there's no reason to believe his SB totals will decrease, making him a high-value asset. Plus, he should tally up some more counting stats being surrounded by Altuve and Springer in the lineup. Trade Marisnick now before his ability at the plate begins to slip and you'll get some top-tier talent in return.
Week 5 Buy Low Candidates
Yasiel Puig (OF, LAD)
We all know what Puig can do at the plate. Yet, there have always been concerns about whether the ascendency of his young MLB career is a fluke. Well, his positively dismal performance in the 2014 playoffs and generally unimpressive start to the 2015 season has to make Puig owners sweat this time of year. To add to all of that, Puig has landed himself on the 15-Day DL with a nagging hamstring injury. All of this put together equals frustration and concern for those who dished out an early pick on Puig this year.
In the long run, he should be just fine. 15 days should be plenty of time to rest the ailing hamstring. The 24 year-old is still developing his plate discipline and power. Thus, there's no reason to believe his counting stats won't improve from years past after he returns to the Dodgers lineup sometime around May 1o. Puig was an All-Star in 2014 and an MVP candidate in his first two MLB seasons. Any mention of improvement on that is music to an owner's ears. No reasonable owner will part with Puig for a cheap price, but he should at least come at a significant discount with a panicking owner at the helms.
Marcell Ozuna (OF, MIA)
Ozuna has been doing just fine at the plate this year, slashing .314/.384/.395 to begin the season. One of those numbers should stand out to you. Although Ozuna has done a good job of getting on base thus far, the power just isn't there. He's hit zero HR in 2015, leading to questions about his surprise power surge in 2014. This is not what Ozuna owners signed up for.
Listen - there's no doubt in my mind Ozuna will rack up 20 HR this year, one way or another. Since he's hit zero thus far, that means he still has at least 2o more to contribute, assuming you're following my opinion as if it were fact. Ozuna is the best steal in the league right now. Try to acquire him now for a low-level starting pitcher and reap the benefits as the season goes on.
Coco Crisp (OF, OAK)
Most people have forgotten about Crisp by now, as he's spent the entirety of the young season on the DL while recovering from arthroscopic elbow surgery in early April. Well, the wily veteran is set to make a rehab appearance this week and should return to action at some point in mid-May. Depending on your league format, Crisp may even be available on the waiver wire right now. This is a man who was an MVP candidate in 2013 with 22 HR and 21 SB.
Crisp has been consistently putting up numbers throughout the entirety of his long career and is a team leader who will consistently find himself in the Oakland lineup once healthy. He may even end up taking Josh Reddick's spot eventually if his return correlates with Reddick's imminent regression. It was difficult to buy into Crisp before the draft, knowing that the aging star was going to be sidelined with a serious injury. Now, his recovery seems to be just fine and he is set to deliver his usual numbers once he returns. Buy Crisp now, while owners are still oblivious to his consistency and upside.
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