Pedro Ciriaco and Other Fantasy Baseball Options- Sleeper Central-August 27

Major League Baseball dodged the rain for the most part throughout the rain on Sunday although the Toronto-Baltimore game was washed out and the two Chicago-based teams had to shorten their games  due to inclement weather.

In the games that did get done, there were plenty of under-owned players who stepped up for their fantasy owners and MLB teams yesterday. If you’re still in the think of a pennant race, check out our daily Sleeper Central (Archive here) where you can find a full list of players stepping up that can be found on the waiver wire in over half of ESPN leagues.

Here’s today’s lineup of waiver wire options:

Sleeper Awakening

Pedro Ciriaco- Boston Red Sox – 3B/SS/2B: Nobody knows for sure how long Ciriaco can keep up this torrid pace, but fantasy owners that make the addition soon can ride him as long as his hot streak lasts. He’ll definitely get the opportunity as Bobby V has been a big Ciriaco proponent going all the way back to Spring Training. Ciriaco is hitting .360 on the year and has multiple hits in his last four games going 11-20 with eight runs, two doubles, his second home run of the year, and four RBI. He’s yet to be caught in nine steal attempts and has scored 21 runs in just 136 at-bats. He has been hitting leadoff at times in Bobby V’s newest version of the Red Sox lineup and expect him to be a mainstay the rest of the season. He’s still owned in less than 20% of ESPN leagues and his eligibility at multiple positions makes him a good fit in any infield position that needs strengthening on your roster.

Sleeper Starting Lineup

C– Tyler Flowers- ChW: (0.0% ownership in ESPN leagues) 1-3, R, 2 RBI, HR. How manager Robin Ventura works Flowers into the regular lineup remains to be seen, but Flowers has shown some nice power over the last several games he’s been in there. His home run yesterday was his second game in a row with a long ball giving him four in his last six games. In his 114 at-bats this season he’s hitting .237 with six homers and 10 RBI.

1B– Ike Davis- NYM: (43.3%) 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 HR. Davis continues to produce great power numbers up to 24 home runs after his two-home run performance yesterday in the Mets 2-1 win. His walk-off barely got over the wall, but it gave him 13 homers and a .223 average since July 4. His average will always be a bit of a liability, but his homers and RBI make him worth it on many rosters.

2B– Skip Schumaker- Stl: (0.7%) 2-4, R, 2B. Schumaker has started the Cards last three games and gone 6-12 raising his average to a healthy .312 on the season. Watch his playing time if you’re looking for help at 2B since he does produce when he gets the opportunities.

3B– Pedro Ciriaco – Bos: (21.3%) 3-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR. Ciriaco is the top addition in fantasy baseball right now if you need help in the infield. He’ll continue to get plenty of chances over the last 40 days of the season. Look above for more info.

SS– Josh Harrison- Pit: (0.0%) 2-4. Harrison raised his average to .236 and may get increased playing time in his super-sub role. He’s not a great option yet, but monitor his at-bats going forward.

OF– Andy Dirks – Det: (8.0%) 2-3, 2 R, RBI, 3B, BB. Dirks hit in the three-spot in the lineup in the absence of Miguel Cabrera. He stepped up collecting two hits for the second game in a row and raising his average up to .337. Since his time on the DL earlier this season, Dirks has hit .353 with a homer and nine RBI. He should continue to see regular playing time. He’s collected at least a hit in his last eight starts as his OPS has climbed back to .905.

OF– Will Venable – SD: (6.7%) 2-5. Venable keeps right on hitting when he’s n the lineup. He’s had three multi-hit games in his last six games over the past week. He’s hitting .520 with a home run and four RBI over that span. He’s heating up and getting more playing time for the Padres as they’ve started playing much better baseball.

OF– Roger Bernadina – Was: (0.2%) 2-2, 2B. Bernadina is hitting .308 in his limited playing time. He did end up playing all three games in Philadelphia going 4-7 with a pair of walks, a steal, and a double. If he’s in the lineup, he can be a bargain.

AL Starting Pitcher– Cole De Vries – Min: (0.0%) 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 K, W. De Vries has his second solid but short start in a row as he held Texas to just one earned run in five innings. He faces the Royals his next time out and is worth a look as a spot starter. He got the win to move to 3-5 on the year with a 4.68 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP.

NL Starting Pitcher– Jeremy Hefner – NYM: (7.8%) 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 7 K, ND. Hefner didn’t win despite a great start. The Mets lineup isn’t going to score to get him regular wins, but he can dominate when facing a lineup like the Astros.