Can Carlos Quentin Help Your Team?

Photo courtesy of Keith Allison

If you’re a fantasy baseball player, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re dealing with an outfielder on the shelf right now. If you’re not, some poor sap in your league has a few of them, because there are a ton of outfielders on the DL right now, and even more who have been under-performing. Fortunately, you can find some help with Carlos Quentin.

I know, it probably seems weird to look for injury help from a guy who’s never played more than 131 games in a season and has only topped 100 three times. But we’re not talking about a full season’s worth of help. We’re looking at a guy to see if he can help in the short term, and Quentin can.

Let’s see what Quentin offers (all stats are through Sunday’s game:

Power

Quentin’s inability to be fantasy relevant stems from his inability to be on the field very often, which we already went over. But when Quentin’s been on the field, he’s consistently hit the long ball. Don’t believe me? Look at the numbers:

Through Sunday’s game, Quentin has 144 career homers in 2,528 at bats. That translates to one homer for every 17.5 at bats. To put that into seasonal terms, if you have 500 at bats in a season and homer at that rate, you’re looking at 28 or 29 homers (the division doesn’t work out to a flat number).

What’s even better is that those numbers have been relatively consistent. In 2008, Quentin had a great power year, slugging 36 homers in only 480 at-bats, which translates to one homer every 13.3 at bats. But take a look at what he’s done in the four seasons since:

I guess you can point to it getting incrementally worse, but that would be really nitpicking. The amount of at-bats obviously isn’t consistent, but when he’s been on the field over the last four years, Quentin has homered at a consistent rate.

Within a season, you can catch him in a hit or cold streak. But if you are looking for a guy for 100 at-bats, Quentin is someone who can be depended on for about six homers. That’s not a bad mark for an injury replacement.

He’ll be on base

With a .254 career average, you wouldn’t call Quentin a good hitter. But between walks and getting hit by a pitch, Quentin does find his way onto the bases, as his career OBP is .350. That’s nice because you have to be on base to score a run. Actually, you have to be on base to get a steal, as well, but Quentin hasn’t stolen a base since 2011, when he swiped one bag. So, obviously, you’re not getting him for the steals.

Now, how many runs he scores once on base depends on the San Diego lineup. Admittedly, that’s not exactly the most encouraging thing to hear. But the waiver wire is all about finding guys who give you a chance at success. Someone who is on base gives you that chance.

Now, you could make a case that someone on a better offensive team will score more runs, even if they don’t have an OBP of .350. That may be true, but those guys will drain other areas, Quentin won’t. In a short-term situation, hope for the best with the guys behind Quentin and rely on him scoring runs when he gets on base.

He’s hot

Over the last month, Quentin is hitting above .340. So, even though his career average is only .254 and this year’s only been marginally better, he’s currently hitting at a good rate. There’s no sense in not at least riding this hot streak until it cools down.

On top of that, he’s hit five homers over that same period of time, and even scored 17 runs. The RBI total does leave a little to be desired, and you can thank San Diego’s table-setters for that. Still, that’s a guy who’s contributing in several categories.

He’s available

It’s pretty simple, here. Quentin’s available in more than 80 percent of leagues in both ESPN and Yahoo.

Many owners are looking for outfield help. If you find yourself in that position, look for a short-term fix in Carlos Quentin.