Toronto Blue Jays Michael Saunders: Week 1 Waiver Wire

By Brad Kelly | Apr 3, 2016

Mar 22, 2016; Lakeland, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Michael Saunders (21) is congratulated in the dugout as he scores during the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Michael Saunders has had an eventful last two seasons for the Toronto Blue Jays. Now that he is the full-time starter in LF, should he be waiver wire add?

Life as a MLB player must be a roller coaster of emotions. Michael Saunders is an eight year veteran, and also happens to be a native Canadian. So after coming over from the Mariners after the 2014 season, it seemed as though he and the Jays would be a match made in heaven.

Last spring, Saunders was making the rounds of being considered a fantasy sleeper last season, before he suffered a freak injury. He wound up stepping or stumbling over a sprinkler, and tore ligaments in his knee causing him to miss nearly the entire season. He vanished off the fantasy radar and he entered the 2016 season without a clear spot in the outfield.

But, after a solid spring and the demotion of Dalton Pompey, Saunders enters the season as the Jays clear-cut starting LF. The allure of Saunders game is the 20 HR/15 SB skill set he brings to the table. Before an injury shortened 2004 and 2015, Saunders two best seasons saw him notch 19 HR/21 SB in 2012 and 12 HR/13 SB in 2013.

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Now his AVG will never serve as a boost, but that is not what fantasy owners are chasing in the first place. As most fantasy drafts have already occurred, hitting the waiver wire becomes paramount. Now most waiver wire options in week 1 can be tricky to gauge because of owners not wanting to cut bait on players they just drafted, but we do also have a certain set of guys that are expendable.

Saunders has his flaws, he strikes out too much and can be exposed versus lefties, but his solid LD% and hard contact rates, should have fantasy owners interested. Then there is also the investment of adding a hitter that plays in a hitter’s paradise, and is a part of one of the best lineups in the game.

Today he slotted into the fifth spot in the lineup right behind Troy Tulowitzki, which serves as a prime RBI spot and counting stats haven. The speed element of his game might be tempered by his recent knee injury, but he is more than capable of snagging 10 bags. His power potential should easily hover in the 15-20 home-run range with a full slate of playing time. He should be a nice source of weekly RBI too, as he will certainly have plenty of at bats with men of base in front of him.

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It is only week 1 and most teams have not even stepped foot on the diamond yet, but Saunders shapes up to be a nice waiver wire investment thanks to his skill set and his favorable surroundings. If you are not sold, monitor him this week to see if he can get off to a good start and then feel free to snag him, but there is enough to like already to gamble on him.

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