Fantasy Baseball Deep League Pickups – Sleeper Central – July 30
Sunday was a crazy day of baseball as trade rumors and playoff races heat up the end of July. The Red Sox and Yankees needed extras to decide their series with Pedro Ciriaco again the unlikeliest of heroes for the Sox. The Dodgers finished out their sweep of the Giants behind Clayton Kershaw while the Rangers avoided a sweep at the hands of the White Sox behind Scott Feldman.
There were a number of players who are available on most leagues waiver wires that contributed to their teams and fantasy owners yesterday as another week came to a close. If you need to make a move as another scoring period opens, here’s some ideas of who has been heating it up. Check our archive for more ideas.
Sleeper Awakening
Josh Rutledge- SS – Colorado Rockies: We won’t be able to hype up Rutledge much more here since he’s nearing the 50% threshold we keep our sleeper selections under. Rutledge has absolutely raked since being called up from the minors. He’s played 15 games at the Major League level and is hitting .379 with an OPS of 1.031. He’s hit a pair of home runs, a pair of triples, and five doubles while going a perfect three-for-three on stolen base attempts. He’s moved up to the two-spot in the lineup the last two days and has multiple hits in both games there. He’s a great pickup if you have needs at SS and I see him as a top 10 option the rest of the way.
Sleeper Starting Lineup
C– Jonathan Lucroy – Mil: (19.8%) 2-3, R, RBI, BB. He’s back for the Brew-crew and starting to hit again. He’s now at .342 for the year with 31 RBI and five home runs.
1B– Mike Carp – Sea: (8.7%) 3-4, R, RBI, 2 2B. Carp is getting to play at 1B everyday since the demotion of Justin Smoak. He’s responded well with multiple-hits in three of four games. He won’t ever be a big-time contributor in average but his power potential makes him a solid gamble if you need an everyday 1B who provides some pop.
2B– Omar Quintanilla – Bal: (0.0%) 3-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B, HR. Quintanilla would be a hot pickup if it wasn’t for Robert Andino’s impending return pushing him to the bench. In his seven games with at-bats for the O’s he’s collected hits in six going 11-26 with three extra-base hits. If he gets playing time he may be able to help you out, but that’s going to be hard in a crowded middle infield in Baltimore.
3B– Scott Moore – Hou: (0.3%) 2-4, 2 RBI, BB. Moore will fill the role vacated by the Chris Johnson trade and should be in the lineup at 3B or 1B everyday the rest of the season.
SS– Josh Rutledge – Col: (43.4%) 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR. See above analysis.
OF– Rajai Davis – Tor: (9.7%) 2-4, R, SB. Davis stole another base giving him 28 on the year. When he’s starting he provides great speed, but his time in Toronto has been uneven. If they commit to him at the top fo the lineup with Brettt Lawrie hitting third he’ll be fantasy baseball gold.
OF– Justin Ruggiano – Mia: (46.5%) 2-4, R, 2 RBI, BB, SB. Ruggiano has cooled off a bit but is still hitting a remarkable .359 with eight steals and eight home runs. He’s an everyday player for the Marlins and will look to continue contributing the rest of the season to solidify his place in their future fire-sale.
OF– Starling Marte – Pit: (27.9%) 2-5, R, SB. Marte had good 0-9 in the two games since his unforgettable debut but had his first MLB steal yesterday and is hitting .222. He doesn’t have great plate discipline to be sure, but can still have value hitting atop the Pirates lineup.
AL Starting Pitcher– Wei-Yin Chen – Bal: (29.1%) 5.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 12 K, W. Chen only beat the A’s who were the hottest team in baseball this month. 12 of his 17 outs came via the K and he helped the O’s salvage the final game against Oakland.
NL Starting Pitcher– Paul Maholm – Chc: (30.3) 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 5 K. Maholm got a no decision but concluded his amazing July run with a 4-0 record and a 1.23 ERA over 36.2 IP allowing just five runs while striking out 26 and walking only eight. He’ll try and continue in his next start against Dodgers in LA this weekend.