Waiver Wire What-to-do's July 6th edition
Managing the Waiver Wire
We are about ready for the all-star break so let's take a look at some under the radar pickups that could help you in the second half of the season.
Lance Berkman, 1B St. Louis Cardinals (44% owned ESPN leagues)
Believe it or not Berkman will play again this year. And it may be sooner than you think. Berkman went down early this year with a knee injury that appeared to end his season and possibly his career. Well, we were wrong in assuming that. Berkman plans on being back in the Cards lineup shortly after the all-star break. Always a power threat he should be instantly added in any format. He will join a lineup that features Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina, Carlos Beltran and Allen Craig among others. You should probably pick him up now. I know I did. Because I like Lance. I like Lance a lot.
Michael Fiers, SP Milwaukee Brewers (38% owned)
If you are not a Brewers fan this is where you say "who?" Fiers has come out of nowhere while filling in for the injured Shaun Marcum and has been nothing short of stellar. In his last three starts he has allowed two earned runs and has a 26:5 K/BB rate. While his rotation spot isn't assured if/when Marcum comes back he can certainly prove useful as long as he is toeing the rubber every 5th day.
Jose Quintana, SP Chicago White Sox (19% owned)
A lot of people bailed on Quintana after he gave up six earned runs against the Yankees and had the Texas Rangers offense looming in his next start. He handled that quite nicely though giving up a mere two hits and one run in eight sharp innings while striking out eight. He may not be a K machine but he has pinpoint control so he doesn't walk many batters. Everyone else bailing on him is your gain. So long as you scoop him up off the wire right now that is.
Tyler Colvin, OF Colorado Rockies (17% owned)
Unlike Fiers this is a name you should know. Colvin had a promising rookie season with the Chicaco Cubs in 2010 mashing 20 home runs in 135 games. He was later involved in a gruesome play on the basepaths when he was impaled with a broken bat. That signified the end of Colvin's usefulness to the Cubs. He has, however, resurfaced this year in Colorado. His slash line of .301/.330/.608 is quite nice from any player and he has already hit 11 home runs. He should stick in the Rockies lineup and should provide legitimate power numbers going forward as Coors Field is playing like it used to: a home run haven.
Yasmani Grandal, C San Diego Padres (7% owned)
Grandal did something that not many people (one by my count) can claim to have done. He launched a home run for his first MLB hit. Then he did it again for his second. Then he did it again for his third. He let us all down by singling for his fourth but I guess we will have to live with that. While the home runs are nice he does have the task of playing half of his games in spacious Petco Park. He should, however, produce a lot of doubles in that park. Catcher is typically a tough find for an offense threat but Grandal should prove to be semi-godly. That is unless Beowulf shows up.
