Working the Wire

There are two kinds of people in the world: those who love The Wire and those who have never seen it. If you’ve seen The Wire, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, find the closest mirror, look in it, and hang your head in shame. David Simon's and Ed Burns' masterpiece about the decay of an American city is, in this writer’s opinion, the single greatest series ever to grace the small screen... or any screen for that matter. Now that I got that out of my system, let’s talk about a different wire. The wire that will make or break your fantasy season. The waiver wire. Let’s take a look at a few players that may still be available in your league and may be worth adding. Scott Rolen, 3B, Toronto

Scott Rolen hasn’t been a very exciting player to own since his St. Louis days, however he is off to a fantastic start in the 2009 season. Through 10 games Rolen is hitting .389 and getting on base at a .425 clip. He also has 2 HR, 5 RBI, and has scored 8 runs. Rolen is available in 77% of ESPN leagues and 80% of Yahoo leagues.

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Elijah Dukes, OF, Washington A week ago, the Nationals outfield was crowded. Austin Kearns secured the RF job right out of Spring Training and Lastings Milledge was slated to play Center. But with Milledge having been demoted to the Minors this week, the door is wide open for Dukes. Dukes has always had the talent, but off-the-field antics and injuries have kept him from succeeding. So far this season Dukes has put up a .381/.435 line with a homer and 5 RBI. He swiped 13 bags in just 81 games last year and is still available in 56% of Yahoo leagues and 76% of ESPN leagues. Endy Chavez, OF, Seattle Endy showed flashes of talent in his Mets days but never really locked down a secure job. This year he’s pretty well locked in to the Mariners outfield and is off to a red hot start. Chavez is hitting .405 with a homer and 6 RBI and has already stolen 3 bags. Expect the batting average to come down and the steals to plateau a bit, but .300 and 30 steals is not out of the question. Chavez can be had in 90% of both ESPN and Yahoo leagues. Kyle Lohse, SP, St. Louis

I’ll be honest. I’m not a huge Lohse fan. He did, however, have a great 2008 and is off to a nice start once again in 2009. Even though Lohse’s K/9 rate is troubling, making him less valuable for fantasy purposes, he might be able to help you if your rotations are getting destroyed like mine, or if you’ve taken some injury hits. Lohse has a 1.13 ERA and a teeny-tiny .56 WHIP to boot in 2 starts and 2 wins. He’s also available in 48% of ESPN leagues and only 34% of Yahoo leagues. Jason Marquis, SP, Colorado Marquis is another guy who has never been particularly exciting to own. That’s mostly because he rarely strikes batters out. The plus side to Marquis is that he has been pretty solid thus far in his 2009 campaign. He has a couple of wins against quality teams and is boasting a 1.93 ERA and a WHIP of exactly 1. Another encouraging fact is that he has gone seven innings in both his starts, meaning he's been efficient and has minimized the risk of his questionable bullpen losing the game for him. Marquis is still a spot starter at best at this point, but could be worth an add if you’re hurting. He is available in 99% of ESPN leagues and 96% of Yahoo leagues. Remember, this doesn’t mean that if you run out and get these guys you’ll be all set. But take a look at your roster. Decide if you want to make some changes and if you do, consider these guys as possible options. Believe me, you could do a lot worse.

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PCB Scout

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Questions? Comments? Random nonsense? Email me at pcbscout(at)gmail.com

Elijah Dukes: Now or Never

With the demotion of Lastings Milledge (I still believe in the guy - but I'm feeling wrong), Elijah Dukes looks to be the person who will gain the most. He is off to a good start, has all the talent in the world, and hasn't been in trouble lately. So far his line is .375 Avg, 3 RBI, 2 Runs. This is in limited duty, as he has been riding the bench with too many outfielders. Now there is space for him. He is still high risk/reward. Don't overpay, but give him a chance. - Scout Monkey (scout_monkey@gmx.com)

Not Lastings Very Long

In what seems to me like a drastic overreaction, Lastings Milledge was sent down to AAA Syracuse. In my last article I wrote about the logjam in the Nationals outfield, but I never would have guessed that this was the solution. Milledge was not exactly off to a hot start, and will not need a big suitcase to take his .167 / 0 HR / 1 R / 1 RBI / 1 SB stat line with him to Syracuse. It was not only his hitting that punched his ticket to the minors. Nationals GM Mike Rizzo was not pleased with the way his centerfielder was patrolling the outfield. It is hard to believe that Milledge will spend a long time down on the farm. The Nationals are 0-7 and have been out of contention since the strike shortened season of 1994. There is really no reason to keep him down there to work on things that he could work on in the big leagues. He has always been considered to have a ton of physical talent, but has yet to put together a long stretch at the big league level. He has also had some off the field issues recently, including being late to Opening Day and missing a team meeting. A pre-season darling, Milledge was a 10th round fantasy pick with visions of a 20 HR / 30 SB season dancing in owners heads. It is hard to cut bait on such a high pick one week into the season, but unless you are in a deep league and have the roster space, it is even harder to a guy who is not with the big club. I have always gone by the rule that you give a guy the reverse number of weeks as to where you drafted him before you cut him. (In a 20 round draft, my 20th pick gets one week to prove himself; my 19th pick gets two weeks to prove himself and so on). If we go by that formula, Milledge has another 10 weeks or so to right his ship before I would cut bait. If you have the room, stash this guy. Check your league to see if an impatient owner has already cut him, or offer a lowball trade to see if you can get this guy on the cheap. The player who stands to benefit the most is the equally hyped and talented Elijah Dukes. He will be taking over the starting centerfielder job and will be slotted into the 5th spot behind on-base machine Adam Dunn. The new leadoff hitter has not been named. Cristian Guzman would be the logical choice, but he has a bum hamstring and may spend some time on the DL. It looks like the recently activated Anderson Hernandez is the leading candidate. I would not consider Hernandez roster worthy unless you are in a deep NL Only league. Long and short of it: Go get Dukes; Hold Milledge if you have the room; don’t touch Hernandez.

Opening Day Eye Openers

Finally, Finally. Bags of peanuts are falling from the sky, overpriced beer is going down like water, and the smell of hot dogs has never been sweeter. Opening Day is here, and all is right in the baseball world. In the fantasy baseball world however, there are a few things that have left some owners scratching their heads today. I will start with some happenings in the desert today. You will be hard pressed to find an Opening Day in the next 15 years that will have neither Upton in the starting line-up, but that was the case today. B.J. Upton is on the DL still feeling the effects of off season surgery. Justin, one of the most hyped preseason sleepers spent today on the bench in favor of the newly healthy Eric Byrnes. The Arizona juggling act doesn’t end there. Mark Reynolds, another projected starter, spent Monday on the bench in favor of Chad Tracy, who was penciled in as the starting 1st baseman. The biggest surprise in the D-Back line up was the presence of Tony Clark manning 1st base. Clark responded to the starting nod by hitting two homeruns. Tracy, who was shifted across the diamond, hit a game deciding homerun in the 7th. Manager Bob Melvin responded to questions about his line-up with this quote, “The only message we're sending is we're trying to run the best lineup out there on a particular day." He has also said that Reynolds and Upton will be in the starting line-up in game two, but with the solid first day from Tracy and Clark we could be looking at some platoons forming. Clark has not been an everyday player for years and figures to just get a start or two a week, so he should not be seen as a fantasy asset or a major threat to steal time from anyone. I would assume that Reynolds and Tracy will each see 140 plus starts at the corner infield spots. A healthy Eric Byrnes does throw a wrench in the D-Back outfield. With Byrnes, Justin Upton, Connor Jackson, and Chris Young, there are four starting outfielders for only three spots. If Byrnes can keep his hamstring healthy all year he could be a solid waiver wire grab, as he is one year removed from a 21HR/50SB year. From the above quote it looks as if Melvin will be employing an outfield by committee to start the season. All four outfielders are should be owned in 12 team mixed leagues, but you will just have to keep an eye on the line-up on a daily basis for the time being. The Washington Nationals may have a disgruntled outfielder in their dugout, and Elijah Dukes is one person I would not want mad at me. Dukes was another preseason breakout candidate that was not in the starting line-up. He was sat today after being informed that Austin Kearns has won the starting job. Kearns was once a top prospect in the Reds system that has never put his tools together for an extended period of time. Dukes has too much upside to be kept on the bench for long, I see him making his way back into the line-up soon so don’t cut bait on him just yet if you have the bench space. The cancelling of a game in Chicago due to snow when it never actually snowed was not the only confusing thing to go down in the Windy City. Those of you who spent a high pick on Alexei Ramirez probably will not be too happy to find out that he will be hitting 8th in the order to start the year. Most people thought he would be hitting 2nd or maybe even leading off depending on who won the CF job. Taking a look at his stats from last year you will see that he does not have the peripherals of a normal top of the order hitter. 18 walks in 480 at bats last year and an OBP of .317 do not scream lead off guy. It is not like he strikes out a lot, but he is a guy who has never met a pitch he doesn’t like. If you are going to hit high in the order for Ozzie Guillen, or any one for that matter, you need to take some pitches and draw some walks. I can see him making his way up to 6th or maybe even 5th in the line-up on some days, but I do not foresee much of an improvement over last years’ numbers. He is 27 after all. Keep in mind that Opening Day is just one day. It is just the one day where everyone thinks they are a contender. What happens today by no means will set anything in stone for the remainder of the year, but it can provide some insight into what the managers really thought of their teams in Spring Training. No need to panic and drop guys who went 0-4 or rush and grab the next Tuffy Rhodes who had a solid day one, but keep in mind… They all count now fellas, so put your game face on.