Below are my 10 free agents owned in less than 75 percent of FOXSports.com leagues. Please note that no players will be repeated within any four-week period.
Melky Cabrera, OF, Kansas City (72.8 percent owned)
The Melkman is a better fantasy player than real player, and he’s probably a stopgap solution in center field for the Royals. Still, do you really want to overthink a guy who’s on pace for 23 homers, 105 RBI, 100 runs and 20 stolen bases? He won’t keep up that rate, but if you can get him for free, it’s a no-brainer.
Wandy Rodriguez, SP, Houston (59.7 percent owned)
Rodriguez made a triumphant return from the disabled list on Monday night, throwing six shutout innings in a win over the Braves. Since the start of the 2008 season, Rodriguez has a 3.34 ERA and has struck out more than eight batters per nine innings. Did his brief DL stint really require him to be dropped in so many leagues?
John Danks, SP, Chicago White Sox (57.8 percent owned)
Danks started 0-8, and through May was among the favorites for Fantasy Flop of the Year. However, he’s allowed three runs with 10 whiffs against three walks in 15 innings over his last two starts, and a healthy percentage of ground balls. Who wants to bet that Danks’ rebound has begun?
Francisco Liriano, SP, Minnesota (54.8 percent owned)
Take the paragraph about Danks and double it for Liriano, who has allowed just one run with 16 strikeouts against three walks in 13 innings since coming off the DL. If Liriano has figured things out, he’s a fantasy ace. Is he really available in almost half of the leagues around here?
Jonny Venters, RP, Atlanta (19.8 percent owned)
Venters has gotten two saves in the past week. Even though the fact that both of them followed laborious outings by Craig Kimbrel makes me think that Venters is still the second option to close for the Braves. That doesn’t mean he isn’t worth picking up. Some relievers can make an impact without racking up a lot of saves, and Venters appears to be one of them.
Since making his big-league debut last April, Venters has posted a 1.46 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP and 136 strikeouts in 123 2/3 innings while inducing a ridiculously high percentage of ground balls (71.7). Venters is a dominant reliever, even if he only gets five saves between now and the end of the season.
Mike Moustakas, 3B, Kansas City (16.4 percent owned)
Moustakas was a beast last season, slugging 36 homers between Double A and Triple A, and he heated up over the last month after a sluggish start this year. He’s up with the Royals to stay, and is a solid roster candidate in standard leagues. There are five third basemen with more than six homers right now, and three with OPSes higher than .800. You can’t figure out a way to take a chance on Moustakas’ blue-chip talent? Really?
Fun fact: One prospect website recently compared Moustakas’ body type to Eric Cartman, the rotund, vulgar troublemaker on the animated series South Park. If that doesn’t make you want to pick him up, I don’t know what will.
Freddie Freeman, 1B, Atlanta (11 percent owned)
There’s been a lot of hype lately surrounding rookie first basemen Eric Hosmer and Anthony Rizzo, but I’ll take Freeman if it’s OK with everyone. He’s batted .356 since May 28, and while he’s only had one home run during that time, his seven doubles in 14 games suggest that more power could be coming. It’s easy to like Freeman’s well above average line-drive rate, too. Neither Hosmer nor Rizzo has hit any bumps in the road yet, while Freeman – who won’t turn 22 until September – seems to be getting past his. It’ll get better from here.
Adam Kennedy, 1B/2B, Seattle (6.9 percent owned)
Nobody likes Kennedy. Heck, I don’t even like Kennedy. But he has five homers and six steals with a .282 batting average in 163 at bats, and qualifies at two positions. Unless you’re waiting for Albert Pujols or Robinson Cano to appear in your league’s free-agent pool, Kennedy can be pretty useful.
Dee Gordon, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers (2.5 percent owned)
Whooosh! Rafael Furcal is expected to miss about a month, and Gordon is the starter now. The 22 year old swiped 73 bases in A ball in 2009, 53 in Double A in 2010, and had 22 in 50 Triple-A games before his promotion last week. This one isn’t so complicated, right? You need steals, you pick up Gordon. Done and done.
Desmond Jennings, OF, Tampa Bay (0.7 percent owned)
Rays fans and fantasy owners are salivating over Jennings, who should be promoted before the end of June. If you can pick him up and stash him on a bench for a week or two, do it right now before your competitors beat you to it. Jennings has nine homers, 12 stolen bases, 47 runs scored and an .877 OPS in 60 Triple-A games so far this season. He’s the reason the Rays were OK with letting Carl Crawford walk away via free agency (aside from the whole not having enough money to pay him thing). You’re gonna love this guy.
