Is anyone really surprised that the Rays are back to .500, the Red Sox are within a game of that level, and both have closed to within three games of the Yankees in the American League East? Did you really think a dozen games were going to sink anyone’s chances?
And now, without further ado, below are 10 free agents owned in less than 75 percent of FOXSports.com leagues, starting with the second player that falls below the threshold. Please note that no players will be repeated within any four-week period.
Chris Perez, RP, Cleveland (74.2 percent owned)
Perez has six saves, and he’s not even striking out a lot of guys yet. The guy grew up in Florida and went to college at the University of Miami, so let’s cut him some slack because of the cold early-season weather. He’s going to save 35 games – book it.
Michael Cuddyer, 1B/2B/OF, Minnesota (63.4 percent owned)
Cuddyer is a borderline roster type as a first baseman or an outfielder, but he’s played six games at second base so far, and manager Ron Gardenhire said over the weekend that Cuddyer would be his regular second baseman until Tsuyoshi Nishioka comes off the disabled list (probably in a month or so). Cuddyer isn’t yet eligible at the keystone in FOXSports.com leagues, but he will be soon, and he might qualify there in some leagues right now. At his new position, Cuddyer is a starter in standard leagues.
Matt Wieters, C, Baltimore (51.9 percent owned)
Wieters’ walk and strikeout rates are almost exactly the same as last season. However, he has three homers in 18 games; he’s slugging .466; and he has a BABIP (.262) that suggests some bad luck in the batting average department so far. Wieters is a great candidate for this season’s All-Post Hype Team.
Jason Bay, OF, New York Mets (50.9 percent owned)
Bay is finally back after missing the first few weeks of this season with a ribcage injury, and the second half of 2010 because of a concussion. Bay plays home games in pitcher-friendly CitiField, but the feeling here over the winter was that the guy who averaged 30 homers and 12 steals from 2005-09 probably didn’t just fall off the face of the Earth. If you give him a chance, he should be pretty good.
Edinson Volquez, SP, Cincinnati (33.1 percent owned)
Good Lord! Volquez has walked 19 batters in 28 1/3 innings! He’s a nightmare! Yeah, but he also has 31 strikeouts, and he whiffed more than a batter per inning after returning from Tommy John surgery last season. Anyone with that kind of ability to miss bats is worth a flier as your last starter.
David Aardsma, RP, Seattle (32.2 percent owned)
Aardsma is expected to return this week as long as his Tuesday minor league rehab assignment goes by without incident, and he’ll probably reclaim his closer role pretty quickly. A closer is a closer is a closer, right?
Rick Porcello, SP, Detroit (23.8 percent owned)
Porcello is only 22, and he seems to be improving. His ground-ball rate is terrific, and he’s whiffed 16 batters against six walks in 22 2/3 innings so far this season. Porcello’s numbers indicate that he’s been using his changeup a lot more with good results this season. I’ve got him pegged as a fantasy spot starter with the potential for long-term rosterability in the near future.
Ryan Raburn, OF, Detroit (16.3 percent owned)
Like Cuddyer, it looks like Raburn is about to help you with some added eligibility. He’s played four games at second base, and is slated to play there against lefties for the time being. Raburn is just OK as an outfielder, but will offer some pop at the keystone once he qualifies there.
Tim Stauffer, SP, San Diego (6.2 percent owned)
You know the old adage: If a Padres’ pitcher starts at home, activate him. OK, maybe that’s not old, or even really an adage, and Stauffer has been pretty good everywhere so far this season. He looked good down the stretch for the Pads last year and has a 2.60 ERA in 11 starts since September 6. If you’re looking to pick up a starter, you can definitely plan on inserting Stauffer when he starts at PETCO. I’d probably play matchups on the road with him for a while.
Brandon Wood, 3B/SS, Pittsburgh (0.1 percent owned)
If the Bucs were willing to take a chance, why can’t we? Wood is longtime prospect/fantasy tease who was finally handed his walking papers by the Angels last week. The 26-year-old’s coming-out party was in 2005, when he had 101 extra-base hits between A ball and Triple A. Since then, he’s struck out a lot, walked occasionally, hit a bunch of homers in the slugger-friendly Pacific Coast League, and flopped in every chance he had in Anaheim. Still, he hit 25 homers in 2006, 24 in 2007, 36 in 2008 and 23 in 2009. That’s real power, even if most of it was in the PCL.
It stands to reason that Wood will get plenty of chances to play over Ronny Cedeno in Pittsburgh. He might flop … but he might not. If you’re in an NL-only league, you’d be crazy not to take a chance on him.
