Waiver Wire: American League

Cameron Maybin | DET | OF – Maybin, generally considered to be Detroit’s top prospect, was called up to the bigs today. Maybin was drafted in 2005 and didn’t sign in time to play, so we only have about a year and a half worth of games to judge him by, and the highest level he got more than a handful of at-bats in was High Class A. Will take the place of Craig Monroe, so he’ll get a good number of at-bats.

He strikes out a lot and doesn’t hit a lot of line drives, so he shouldn’t be expected to hit for a high batting average. He does walk a lot though (although he should walk less in the majors) and has good speed, so he might be helpful with steals. He has shown a little bit of power, so he might pick up a handful of home runs. Still, it will be tough to count on a kid fresh out of the Florida State League (excluding his 6 games in AA) for much fantasy production.
Recommendation – Should be avoided in mixed leagues. Should be strongly considered in 12 and owned in 14-team AL-only leagues.

Clay Buchholz | BOS | SP – Talked about Clay earlier this week. Excellent minor league numbers, okay start today. Got sent back down today. When he comes back in September it could just be in a bullpen role. Stash in deep leagues, but keep expectations relatively low for this year.
Recommendation – Should be avoided in mixed leagues without a spot in the rotation. Should be owned in 14-team AL-only leagues.

Alex Gordon | KC | 3B – I didn’t realize just how much power Gordon has shown this year until I looked at his HitTracker file yesterday when I wrote about him. He’s hit 11 home runs so far, but not one of them has been under 400 true feet. When his shorter fly balls start clearing fences, Gordon will seemingly explode. Get him now while you can. Might even be undervalued going into 2008. Bad news is that his walks and line drives have been down since the All-Star break, although they’ve bounced back this month. Batting average won’t be great, but he’ll help in HR, RBI, and SB (and a little in R).
Recommendation – Should be avoided in mixed leagues without a spot in the rotation. Should be owned in 14-team AL-only leagues.

Hank Blalock | TEX | 3B – Will probably return September 1. Is a pretty good contact hitter — better than his 2005 and 2006 batting averages indicate — and has shown decent power, but it is difficult to tell how his shoulder injury will affect him. He’s also returning to a lineup that is now missing Mark Teixeira and Kenny Lofton. Keep expectations low, but Blalock could contribute a bit in deeper leagues.
Recommendation – Should be owned in 14-team mixed leagues. Should be considered in 10 and owned in 12 and 14-team AL-only leagues.

Howie Kendrick | LAA | 2B – I’ve never been a big Kendrick fan. In the majors, his walk rate has been terrible (3%) and his line drive rate has been pretty bad too (15%). His contact rate has only been decent, 83% in 2006 and 80% in 2007. He also doesn’t have a whole lot of power or speed. His lineup is the biggest thing he has going for him, but the lack of power won’t allow him to get a lot of RBIs and the lack of patience won’t allow for a lot of runs.
Recommendation – Should be considered in 14-team mixed leagues. Should be owned in 12 and 14-team AL-only leagues.

Danys Baez | BAL | CL – Chris Ray is officially out for the rest of the year (and most of 2008 as well), so Baez should be the closer the rest of the way. Not great skills, but saves are saves, especially at this point in the year. Needs to be owned.
Recommendation – Should be owned in all leagues.

C.J. Wilson | TEX | CL – Getting all the saves since Eric Gagne was traded, it seems like Wilson is the choice closer for the Rangers, not Joaquin Benoit. Decent peripherals, good strikeout rate. Own him.
Recommendation – Should be owned in all leagues.

Joe Blanton | OAK | SP – Blanton’s ownership has dropped to 44% in ESPN leagues as his LIPS ERA has dropped to 3.94. Control is still good, but his K/9 has fallen to 5.30, more in line with previous years. If a guy like Shaun Marcum or Scott Baker or Wandy Rodriguez is available, you can jump ship on Blanton. I’ve said these guys are better than Blanton for a while now, though. If they, or similar guys, aren’t available, you probably won’t find any that are too much better.
Recommendation – Should be strongly considered in 12 and owned in 14-team mixed leagues. Should be owned in 10, 12, and 14-team AL-only leagues.

Vicente Padilla | TEX | SP – Back from the DL, Padilla still isn’t a great fantasy pick. His career best K/BB was 2.42 in 2001 and 2002 — in the National League — and he will only post a K/9 around league average. Plus, he plays in Arlington with a less than stellar Texas offense. Opt for other pitchers.
Recommendation – Should be avoided mixed leagues. Should be considered in 12 and owned in 14-team AL-only leagues.

Lenny DiNardo | OAK | SP – 3.29 ERA has DiNardo getting a look by some fantasy owners… just don’t be one of them. 5.14 LIPS ERA and a K/9 not much higher than his BB/9 is all you should need to hear to know you need to stay away.
Recommendation – Should be avoided mixed leagues. Should be owned only in the deepest AL-only leagues.


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