Posted on July 4 2011 by Caitlin Carver

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Watch: Lee, Masterson, Ackley, Bastardo, Headley, and Gorzelanny

In this weeks waiver wire watch, we provide six names you should be scouring your free agent lists for right now. Is El Caballo out there? He might be able to provide you with some pop. How about the new closing sensation in Philadelphia?

Take a look at the names and see who can help you position yourself for the stretch run.

Format for waiver wire watch:

  • 50-75% Owned- Player qualifies for 10-team league
  • 25-49% Owned- Player qualifies for 12-team league
  • Less than 25% Owned- Player qualifies for 14-team league

Again, these percentages are found on Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball.

Carlos Lee, OF, HOU

Carlos Lee may no longer be the 30 HR, 100 RBI machine he used to be during his prime, but he certainly still has the potential to help out most fantasy teams.

Lee started out the season miserably, batting only .194 in April with an OBP well under .300.  However, since then Lee has actually put up some pretty respectable numbers.  His batting average for the month of May climbed to .316, and he posted a .303 batting average in June.  Also, he had an OBP of .388 and a SLG of .505 in June, which is much more like the Carlos Lee baseball fans have come to know over the past decade.

Lee may not be able to provide you with the power numbers he was once capable of providing in the past, but it looks like he is still capable of posting a high AVG, OBP, and SLG.  This bodes well for fantasy owners in most rotisserie style leagues.

Justin Masterson, SP, CLE

Despite the fact that his record might not indicate it, Justin Masterson has pitched like an all-star this season and has just been victimized by some bad luck.  With basically any type of run support, Masterson could potentially have had double-digit wins by this point in the season.  However, this might be good news for fantasy owners as this has caused Masterson to go under-the-radar, so he probably is still available in many leagues.

Masterson’s 2.85 ERA currently ranks 9th in the AL, and right-handed batters are only batting .189 against him this season.  In addition, Masterson has not allowed more than two runs in a start since June 3rd, and has posted an ERA of 1.85 since then.  He also has the ability to strikeout batters if needed, and is always one pitch away from getting out of trouble with his lethal sinker.

Do not let his 6-6 record fool you, Masterson has been one of the top pitchers in the AL this season, so the potential for a vast increase in wins will always be there.

Dustin Ackley, 2B, SEA

Dustin Ackley flew through the minor leagues, spending only parts of two seasons in the minor leagues before being called up in mid-June.  Ackley is a much anticipated arrival in Seattle, as Baseball America rated him as the 11th best prospect for the 2010 season, and the 12th best prospect for the 2011 season.

Since being called up, Ackley has lived up to the hype as he is batting .302 with 2 HR and 7 RBI in just 13 games.  He has also reached base safely in all 13 games he has played in thus far.  Throughout his time in the minor leagues, Ackley was always able to produce a high OBP, so look for that to continue at the Major League level as well.

Along, with a high OBP usually comes more potential for runs scored too, which is proven by Ackley 7 runs scored in his 13 games.

Antonio Bastardo, RP, PHI

Injuries to Brad Lidge, Jose Contreras, and Ryan Madson have opened the door for Antonio Bastardo to pick up some extra saves.  He has been almost untouchable out of the bullpen with a 3-0 record to go along with an ERA of 0.90 and a WHIP of 0.80.  He has struck out 34 batters in 30 IP and batters are only hitting a ridiculous .112 against him.  Bastardo has only allowed 3 ER all season, and has not allowed a run since May.  He has been able to convert 4 saves in 4 opportunities, so it does not seem like the pressure of the closer’s role is getting to him either.

Good closers are usually gone by this point in the season, so jump on Bastardo if you are in need of a closer, because it is rare to find an available lights-out closer at this point in the season.

Chase Headley, 3B, SD

Chase Headley has probably been the most underrated third baseman so far this season.  He has put up all-star caliber numbers, and he has been on a prolonged tear for the past two months.

Headley’s only real problem is that he does not produce much power, from a typically power-heavy position.  However, there are many other areas he should be able to really help out your fantasy team in, as he is among the league leaders in the NL in many categories.  Headley ranks 10th in AVG (.307), 5th in 2B’s (22), and 7th in OBP (.398).  Since April 29th, he is batting over .340, and he is batting over .460 in his last 60 AB.  These are great statistics, especially for some who is most likely available in the majority of 14-team leagues.

Tom Gorzelanny, SP, WAS

Tom Gorzelanny is another pitcher that has pitched well for most of the season, but yet does not have much to show for it due to lack of run support.  However, players like Gorzelanny are extremely important to watch over the course of the season, because once the wins start racking up, they become extremely viable fantasy assets.

It looks like Gorzelanny might be entering a hot streak shortly.  In his past two starts, he has pitched 14 innings, while striking out a combined 16 batters.  Furthermore, Gorzelanny only allowed a combined 1 earned run in those two starts.  He has posted an ERA under 4.00 in two out of the three months so far on the season, and he has struck out 64 batter is 71.2 IP.

It is highly unlikely that Gorzelanny has been picked up yet in your fantasy league, and if he can prolong his recent streak of great pitching, he is more than worthy of pick up consideration for a 14-team league.

 

All statistics used are as of Monday July 4, 2011

Justin Master photo source: The Sports Jury

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