Can we trust Ethier and LoMo?

May 8, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners first baseman

(20) looks at his walk off home run as it sails into the stand in the 11th inning against the Oakland Athletics at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports

We all have those certain guys that we just either were burned by or just plainly refuse to own because we just cannot trust them. It seems very recently that Andre Ethier and Logan Morrison are two prime examples of these frustrating types players.

Let us look at LoMo first, he was a highly rated prospect coming up through the Marlins organization and it seemed as though he was going to be an anchor at the middle of their lineup for years to come. Unfortunately, there were some flashes of the potential but it never consistently manifested itself.

In his one full healthy season Morrison, showed the potential when he blasted 23 HR’s and 73 R.B.I’s. These are numbers that I feel are very attainable in the improved Mariners lineup, if he just stay on the field.

I know that his potential has lured many owners in before, but I fully think this season can show us that the 20+ power is legit. I would like to see creep into the 5^th lineup spot behind Cruz to further his R.B.I potential, but with Kyle Seager manning that spot he still has a good hitter to follow.

The AVG will not be there as he will be lucky to crack the .250’s, but the power should stick and if you need any more encouragement, over the last 2 weeks’ worth of games, he is hitting .328 with 5 HR’s and his OPS has risen nearly.1000 points since April.

The other candidate mentioned here is, Ethier. In my opinion, Ethier has had one of the more perplexing careers as he has shown immense success yet his team is the result of his decline. While he may not hit 20+ HR’s anymore, he certainly could still flirt with it if only he has the playing time.

This season however an opening finally came about, as Ethier has ran with his everyday playing time and has reestablished his value in fantasy. With Kemp gone and Puig sidelined, Ethier has shown the ability that made him one of the better fantasy OF not too long ago.

While he still gets platooned against LHP, he has absolutely demolished righties at a .329/5 HRs/13 R.B.I clip. He has one of the prettiest swings when he is hot and now that is on full display as he has once again become a key cog in the Dodgers’ lineup.

As in the case with Morrison, over the last couple weeks Ethier has really placed himself on the radar as a quality pickup, .308/1 HR/5 R.B.I/7 R’s. There is also another underlying reason why investing in Ethier may pay off down the road.

Yasiel Puig will eventually come back, leaving Ethier more than likely back into a part-time role. But, if Ethier stays hot he could hopefully be traded into an everyday role, thus giving fantasy owners a half season of Ethier at max value. Which could then parlay into a .280/15-20 HR season, which is not too bad for a mid-May waiver wire pickup.

In both these players’ cases, it is valuable to ride them now because they are hot, but they both also bring potential long-term benefits which is something all fantasy owners should value and take into account when trying to unearth value through the waiver wire.