Get An Edge On The Competition

There are plenty of suitable waiver wire options and potential sleepers for  deeper leagues, including NL-Only and AL-Only formats, if you are looking for a bat or an arm to fill out your roster.  Keep a close eye on these players and their current hot streaks, as you might be able to lay the groundwork for a productive fantasy baseball season.  Enjoy this week's edition of Deep League Waiver Wire Pickups.

Brandon Crawford (SS, San Francisco Giants)

Owned in 13% of Yahoo Leagues

Mostly thought of as a “glue” guy for a championship type team, Brandon Crawford is starting to show off his bat.  The big difference in his game this year has been his power numbers.  Take a look at the slugging percentage for last three years: .349/.363/.433.

It may be the case of a player brought up for his glove and then slowing developing his hitting skills. Whatever the reason for his surge in production, he is outperforming some bigger names. Here is a comparison with last year’s sensation Jean Segura who is owned in 95% of Yahoo leagues:

Crawford:  .241/5 HR/21 RBI

Segura:  .257/2 HR/12 RBI

Recommendation: Pick up Crawford, you could do a lot worse at SS/MI

Drew Hutchison (SP, Toronto Blue Jays)

Owned in 18% of Yahoo Leagues

I was actually kind of surprised that Drew Hutchison's average ownership has been below 25% throughout the first quarter of the season.  Maybe fantasy players are waiting to see if he will continue to provide solid starts for the Jays.  Hutchison has slightly more K’s (55) than innings pitched (54) thus far. Plus he is coming off his best outing of the year having recently shut down the Rangers.  His home/away splits are telling, if you decide to pick him up be careful of his dreadful home numbers.

Recommendation: He has shown enough for you to consider picking him up to this point, however you should count on a few bad starts especially in the AL East

Jake Odorizzi (SP, Tampa Bay Rays)

Owned in 9% of Yahoo Leagues

Jake Odorizzi's overall numbers may scare people away, but there are few hotter pitchers in the month of May. He has posted a 1-0 won/loss record, 1.8 ERA and how about his 22 k’s in only 15 innings?  Pitchers are constantly making adjustments and it appears that he may have figured out how to miss a few bats with a nice assortment of pitches. His numbers have room for positive adjustment with a sky high .358 BABIP.  Doesn’t it seem like the Rays always get a starter to step up and keep them in the race? Odorizzi may be that guy this year.

Recommendation: Need to see a little bit more from him, his May numbers could be an aberration

Chris Owings (SS, Arizona Diamondbacks)

Owned in 11% of Yahoo Leagues

Chris Owings won the shortstop battle over Didi Gregorious in the spring.  That was no small task, so I would guess that manager Kirk Gibson wants to see him succeed.  So far the results are somewhat mixed.  Owings has carried a solid .BA of over .290 the last two years that peaked above the .300 mark in April.

Owings won't help you with power or RBI production, but he has collected 9 doubles. It is also nice to see him run the bases with 6 steals.  Owings has been hot over the last few games which has Gibson placing him the 2^nd spot in the lineup.

Recommendation: Another wait and see on Owings, by the looks of things he will get better with more playing time.

David Murphy (OF, Cleveland Indians)

Owned in 13% of Yahoo Leagues

David Murphy is a solid professional hitter that has been through the wars with Texas.  Now he finds himself in a new environment, but he seems to be adapting well.  His strength thus far is in taking advantage of RBI opportunities hitting at a white hot .467 clip.  If you are looking for a daily matchup, he has burned righties for a .316 average.  I like the pickup because he has produced well enough for weekly leagues as well, including another big game last night where he went 2-for-6 with a HR and 4 RBI.

Recommendation: Pick him up, this looks like it could click well into summer.