Welcome back to “Off The Deep End”, where I will give you fantasy baseball tips on who to pick up in deeper leagues. For people who play standard leagues, drop/add columns are easy for you to find, but for those of you that love deeper leagues, advice can be harder to come by. That is where I can help. All of these players are available in 85% or more of ESPN leagues.
This piece will focus on middle infielders. I will have a piece up for corner infielders tomorrow, outfielders and catchers on Thursday, relief pitchers on Friday, and starting pitchers on Saturday.
Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Second Base:
Scooter Gennett, Brewers: Gennett has all but pushed Rickie Weeks to the bench. He is hitting .303 on the year with a homer and four steals. Not great production, but in leagues that start two second baseman or in 20 team leagues. he is better than everything else on the wire.
Danny Espinosa, Nationals: Apparently, not a whole lot of you listened when I told you to pick him up after Ryan Zimmerman went on the disabled list. He is hitting .278 with a pair of homers and a pair of stolen bases. Those are good numbers in deep leagues, and he should continue to play almost every day until Zimmerman comes back.
D.J. LeMahieu, Rockies: While he won’t do much for you – he has no home runs and two steals – he is hitting .312 on the season, and the Rockies keep starting him. His 10 RBI and 14 runs scored can also help.
Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Shortstop:
Chris Owings, Diamondbacks: Owings won’t offer you much either, but he has decent speed and is hitting .295. As long as the Diamondbacks keep running him out there, he can help you in deep leagues. He does have four stolen bases on the season.
Brandon Hicks, Giants: He is the epitome of all or nothing. His last three hits have been home runs. The bad news? They have happened over the span of 19 at-bats. If you can stomach the below average batting average, he will reward you with some power.
Jace Peterson, Padres: He is 3-10 with a stolen base since being called up when Chase Headley landed on the DL. He is worth picking up for his potential. All he has to do is hold off Alexi Amarista for playing time, which should happen on most nights. He could give you a much needed boost until Headley returns.