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In this piece, RotoBaller delves deeper into three players who are currently in our Daily Updated Waiver Wire Watch List that you should look to own over the next few weeks. These are fringe players, available on the waiver wire in many leagues, who could have an immediate impact on your team. If you invest a roster spot in one of these guys and catch a hot streak, you could then trade for a more stable player, or roll the dice on continued hot performance. Either way, you could see a fairly nice return from any of these players.
Yasmani Grandal, C (SD) – Grandal arrived in San Diego as part of the Mat Latos trade, and after raking in Triple-A last season he provided high-end production with a .297/.394/.469 batting line over 228 plate appearances. He finally returned from a 50-game PED suspension at the end of May and despite initial concerns that he’d split time at catcher, he’s started five of seven games and appears to have slid right back into the starting job. The switch-hitting Cuban is off to a slow start but make no mistake: he should be owned in all leagues and, PED concerns aside, has a bright future ahead.
(Update: A late-breaking report from ESPN.com says Grandal is among roughly twenty players that MLB will seek to suspend as part of the Biogenesis scandal. If true, Grandal could face a 100-game suspension due to a second drug violation. Stay tuned to RotoBaller.com for all the latest news on what would be the largest performance-enhancing drug scandal in American sports history.)
Mike Leake, SP (CIN) – Leake regressed last season after a very solid sophomore campaign, but he’s off to a much better start in 2013, as evidenced by his 2.75 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 50/16 K/BB ratio. The righthander won’t blow anyone away with his fastball but as long his control is there, he can be an effective major leaguer. Owned in just 38% of Yahoo! leagues, Leake has posted a 1.59 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 29/5 K/BB ratio since the start of May; he’s currently worth owning in all formats.
Adam Lind, 1B (TOR) – Lind was an MVP-caliber player back in 2009, but the last three seasons saw him devolve into a severe platoon option as he batted a combined .186/.226/.281 against southpaws. This season has been a renaissance of sorts for the first baseman, but some of that can be attributed to a highly sheltered approach by Jays’ manager John Gibbons: Lind has seen just 11 plate appearances against lefties. The result, however, has been a very strong .323/.410/.526 triple-slash with a 21/25 BB/K ratio. Lind’s usage patterns put a cap on his overall utility, but he’s worth an add in deep mixed leagues and absolutely worth owning in daily leagues.
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