Waiver Saviors/Ultimate Lineup: 05/24/2010

Ultimate Lineup

I've decided to combine two topics into one for this article. Waiver Saviors normally looks at who's hot and available in a majority of leagues and Ultimate Lineup normally looks at who's hot by position. I'm going to attempt to combine them both and give you a name at each position that is widely available and possibly worth a waiver wire pickup in your league. Here we go.

• C  John Jaso, TB (0.4% E; 3% Y!) is barely owned, so if you are in need of a catcher, grab him. This is a line worth owning (22 games): 22/63, .349 BA, .475 OBP, .540 SLG, 1.015 OPS, 7 XBH, 11 R, 2 HR,  18 RBI, 15 BB, 6 K. Dioner Navarro is hitting .188 with 0 HR and 4 RBI in 80 ABs. It's only a matter of time before the starting job is Jaso's.
• 1B/3B Troy Glaus, ATL (63% E; 20% Y!) is being snatched up, so don't miss out. After a rough April, he's hitting .355 with 4 HR and 18 RBI in May. At this pace, he won't be available much longer.
• 2B/SS Mike Aviles, KC (40% E; 19% Y!) is back in a starting role and performing (.347 BA, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 10 R). He could be a nice addition in deeper leagues, especially in a MI roster slot.
• 3B Scott Rolen, CIN (40% E; 41% Y!) is on a pace for over 30 home runs and 90 RBI. That's ownable in every format. He will always feel like an injury risk, but his ownership numbers should be better, at this point.
• 2B/3B/SS Jeff Keppinger, HOU (3% E; 4% Y!) may be the best of what's left out there at the shortstop position. Probably only an option in NL-only or very deep mixed leagues where his .292 BA, 15 R and 17 RBI could be helpful. He's hitting .433 (13/30) over his last 7 games.
• OF Luke Scott, BAL (44% E; 28% Y!) is on one of his tears (last 15 games: .420 BA, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 12 R, 1.253 OPS) and could be a nice "quick fix" in weekly, head-to-head leagues orif your team is decimated by injuries.
• OF Eric Hinske, ATL (3% E; 6% Y!) looks to have played himself into an everyday role with the Braves (last 15 games: 16/36, .444 BA, 7 R, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 1.432 OPS). Hinske is another player to ride while he's hot and piling up the offensive numbers.
• OF Corey Hart, MIL (49% E; 38% Y!) is on a power surge (12 R, 6 HR, 12 RBI in May) and no longer in a platoon. His average (.264) and steals (3) are down, so you may just be sacrificing some scoring categories to get the runs, home runs and RBI.
• SP Carlos Silva, CHC (30% E; 33% Y!) is 6-0 with a 3.52 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. I know everyone is waiting for him to implode, but what if he doesn't? He's also 6/9 in quality starts with a nice 2.82 K/BB ratio. If you're desperate for pitching or looking to stream, Silva is getting it done.
• RP Manny Corpas, COL (37% E; 29% Y!) is Colorado's closer until Houston Street comes off the DL and should be owned if you need saves. He's recorded three saves in his last five outings and could be setting himself up to be the Rockies primary setup man once Street returns.

Is it me or do fantasy baseball managers hold grudges against players that have burned them in the past? Are their guys out there that have burned you one too many times and you simply refuse to fall for it again? (That's right, Zach Duke, I'm talking about you!)

Ultimate Lineup: 04/19/2010

Ultimate Lineup

Ultimate Lineup will be a weekly column looking at the players currently ranked highest at their respective positions over the last week of action. I'll be using ESPN's Player Rater and Yahoo!'s current rankings to determine my starters and reserves based on position eligibility.

CATCHER

• Starter - Ivan Rodriguez, WAS (28% E; 37% Y!) - 10/21 (.476 BA), 7 R, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 1 SB
• Reserve - Bengie Molina, SF (91% E; 86% Y!) - 9/17 (.529 BA), 6 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 0 SB
• Reserve - Nick Hundley, SD (0.3% E; 2% Y!) - 5/16 (.313 BA), 4 R, 1 R, 6 RBI, 0 SB

FIRST BASE

• Starter - Ty Wigginton, BAL (3% E; 8% Y!) - 8/23 (.348 BA), 6 R, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 0 SB
• Reserve - Carlos Pena, TB (100% E; 93% Y!) - 7/24 (.292 BA), 6 R, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 1 SB
• Reserve - Michael Cuddyer, MIN (100% E; 88% Y!) - 9/24 (.375 BA), 4 R, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 0 SB

SECOND BASE

• Starter - Chase Utley, PHI (100% E; 99% Y!) - 7/21 (.333 BA), 8 R, 5 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB
• Reserve - Ty Wigginton, BAL (3% E; 8% Y!) - 8/23 (.348 BA), 6 R, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 0 SB
• Reserve - Dan Uggla, FLA (100% E; 95% Y!) - 13/28 (.464 BA), 7 R, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB

THIRD BASE

• Starter - Ty Wigginton, BAL (3% E; 8% Y!) - 8/23 (.348 BA), 6 R, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 0 SB
• Reserve - Casey McGehee, MIL (90% E; 71% Y!) - 10/22 (.455 BA), 5 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 0 SB
• Reserve - Alberto Callaspo, KC (4% E; 25% Y!) - 9/27 (.333 BA), 4 R, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 1 SB

SHORTSTOP

• Starter - Derek Jeter, NYY (100% E; 98% Y!) - 11/22 (.500 BA), 5 R, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB
• Reserve - Yuniesky Betancourt, KC (2% E; 4% Y!) - 11/24 (.458 BA), 6 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB
• Reserve - Ryan Theriot, CHC (88% E; 57% Y!) - 8/28 (.286 BA), 4 R, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 4 SB

OUTFIELD

• Starter - Shin-Soo Choo, CLE (100% E; 96% Y!) - 11/19 (.579 BA), 5 R, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 1 SB
• Starter - Matt Kemp, LAD (100% E; 99% Y!) - 8/24 (.333 BA), 8 R, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 1 SB
• Starter - Jose Guillen, KC (60% E; 59% Y!) - 12/26 (.462 BA), 7 R, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 1 SB
• Reserve - Ryan Braun, MIL (100% E; 99% Y!) - 11/26 (.423 BA), 5 R, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 1 SB
• Reserve - Andre Either, LAD (100% E; 95% Y!) - 11/26 (.423 BA), 4 R, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 0 SB

STARTING PITCHER

• Starter - Adam Wainwright, STL (100% E; 98% Y!) - 17 IP, 1 CG, 2 QS, 2-0, 1.06 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, 5.33 K/BB, 8.47 K/9
• Starter - Ricky Romero, TOR (65% E; 72% Y!) - 16 IP, 2 QS, 1-1, 1.69 ERA, 0.63 WHIP, 4.50 K/BB, 10.13 K/9
• Starter - Matt Garza, TB (100% E; 94% Y!) - 16 IP, 2 QS, 2-0, 0.56 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 2.00 K/BB, 5.63 K/9
• Reserve - Andy Pettitte, NYY (77% E; 59% Y!) - 14 IP, 2 QS, 2-0, 1.29 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 1.67 K/BB, 6.43 K/9
• Reserve - Mike Pelfrey, NYM (7% E; 24% Y!) - 8 IP, 1 QS, 1-0, 1 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 6.00 K/BB, 6.75 K/9
• Reserve - Ubaldo Jimenez, COL (100% E; 98% Y!) - 9 IP, 1 CG, 1 QS, 0 H, 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 1.17 K/BB, 7.00 K/9

RELIEF PITCHER

• Starter - Fernando Rodney, LAA (24% E; 48% Y!) - 3 IP, 0-0, 3 SV, 6.00 K/9
• Reserve - Jonathan Broxton, LAD (100% E; 98% Y!) - 4 IP, 1-0, 1 SV, 13.50 K/9
• Reserve - Rafael Soriano, TB (100% E; 92% Y!) - 4 IP, 0-0, 3 SV, 9.00 K/9
• Reserve - Mariano Rivera, NYY (100% E; 98% Y!) - 2 IP, 0-0, 3 SV, 13.50 K/9

Most of these players are owned in the majority of ESPN and Yahoo! leagues, but there definitely are waiver wire opportunities out there (Rodriguez, Guillen, Wigginton, Romero, Pettitte) to help improve your team(s). Smart, successful owners are always looking at the stats for the "last 7", "last 15" and the "last month" to see who's hot (and not) and where they can improve their team(s) off waivers.

Good luck assembling next week's Ultimate Lineup.