Ian Desmond Replacement – Fantasy Baseball Sleeper Central – July 24
Replacing injured players can be the key to success in fantasy baseball but it’s also one of the hardest things to effectively accomplish. If you lost Ian Desmond, check out our sleeper awakening as a solid fill-in.
Our sleeper awakening is part of our daily sleeper central post where you can find a whole lineup of players who are owned in less than 50% of ESPN leagues but are still producing at a noteworthy fantasy clip. It’s basically a condensed boxscore of who might be on your waiver wire.
Sleeper Awakening
Josh Rutledge – SS – Col: Since being called up from Double-A Tulsa, Rutledge has contributed to the Rockies and his fantasy owners in multiple categories. He’s still available in 93% of ESPN leagues. Yesterday he connected on his first Major League home run and added his fifth double while going 2-4 to raise his average to .368. His OPS is 1.074 thanks in large part to eight of his 14 hits going for extra bases. On top of that, in his 10 games he is a perfect three-for-three in stolen base attempts. He may face some adjustments as he adapts to the Bigs, but for now he’s a solid fill-in if injury or incompetence has left you with a hole at SS.
Sleeper Starting Lineup
C– Yasmani Grandal – SD: (6.4% ownership in ESPN leagues) 2-4, 2B. Grandal continues to hit in the middle of the Padres lineup and is up to .299 with nine of his 20 hits going for extra bases.
1B– Todd Frazier – Cin: (4.8%) 3-6, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B. Frazier should be getting more hype for NL Rookie of the Year with his 10 home runs, 15 doubles, and 33 RBI. He’s filling in nicely at 1B while Joey Votto is out. If he continues to produce he’ll move back to 3B at that point.
2B– Ryan Theroit – SF: (5.2%) 3-4, 2 R, 2B, SB. Theroit has two steals in his last three games and has his average up to .279 while continuing to score runs from the two-spot in the Giants order.
3B– Chris Johnson – Hou: (9.1%) 4-5, RBI, 2B. Johnson has doubled in four consecutive games and has raised his average back to .273 for the season.
SS– Josh Rutledge – Col: (6.5%) 2-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B, HR. See Above.
OF– Ryan Ludwick – Cin: (2.0%) 3-6, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 2B. Ludwick continues to pick up the pace while hitting in the middle of the Reds lineup missing Joey Votto. He has four home runs and 10 RBI his month.
OF– Carlos Gomez – Mil: (0.4%) 2-2, 3 R, 3 RBI, HR, BB, 2 SB. Gomez had a huge night in just about every way raising his average to .244 and raising his totals to 21 RBI and 17 stolen bases. He hasn’t been in the everyday lineup but has contributed (especially speed) when given the opportunity.
OF– Craig Gentry – Tex: (0.5%) 2-4, 2 R, RBI, SB. Gentry’s value is limited by his role, but when in the lineup he’s contributed. He is hitting .347 on the year with 11 steals, 21 RBI, and 22 runs scored in only 167 at-bats.
AL Starting Pitcher– Scott Feldman – Tex: (0.2%) 7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, W. Feldman should get a chance to fill in with Colby Lewis shelved for the season and looked good against the Red Sox last night. The Red Sox lineup has made everyone look good lately, but it’s still worth noting.
NL Starting Pitcher– Jeff Samardzija – CHC: (30.5%) 8 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. Samardzija was brilliant once again and has recovered nicely from a horrific June. April, May, and July have shown this guy has the stuff to be special.