Waiver Wire: National League (Week 2)

Here is your National League Waiver Wire for Week 2. If you have questions on anyone who isn’t listed, just shoot me an e-mail.

National League

Anybody who has been dropped that you deemed draftable on Draft Day: Judging by my 100 percent unscientific observations, this type of things is becoming increasingly less common. Still, if you’re in a league where one of these players has been dropped, he shouldn’t be—with very few exceptions—unless he has been injured or lost enough playing time to warrant it. Numbers from the first two weeks of the season mean very little and should be taken with a grain of salt. We’re dealing with sample sizes that are just too small to be significant.
Recommendation: Should be owned in your league.

Rafael Soriano | ATL | CL: Soriano has hit the DL, but he has so much talent, and it’s even greater when comparing him to the rest of the healthy Braves relievers. He’s worth keeping on your bench.
Recommendation: Should be owned in all leagues.

Peter Moylan | ATL | CL: Moylan really isn’t uber-talented, but he got the first save opportunity since Soriano got injured and is the favorite going forward. If you need saves, pick him up.
Recommendation: Should be owned in all leagues.

Manny Acosta | ATL | RP: Might be a little better than Moylan, but not by much. Gets more Ks, but also struggles with his control. Might pick up a few saves while Soriano is out, especially if Moylan struggles.
Recommendation: Should be considered in 12-team and owned in 14-team mixed leagues. Should be owned in 10-team NL-only leagues.

Chad Cordero | WAS | CL: I know he’s having trouble, but c’mon; Cordero was dropped in one very competitive league of mine this week. Stash him.
Recommendation: Should be owned in all leagues.

Jon Rauch | WAS | RP: Might get one more save opportunity before Cordero takes back the role. Still, Cordero’s health isn’t assured, and it’s possible he or Rauch could get traded (Tigers, anyone?). Decent guy to keep in speculation.
Recommendation: Should be considered in 12-team and owned in 14-team mixed leagues. Should be owned in 10-team NL-only leagues.

Randy Johnson | ARZ | SP: RJ is coming off the DL and should start tomorrow. He’s old and has lots of injury concerns, but his utter dominance through 10 2007 starts makes him worth a flier.
Recommendation: Should be owned in 10-team mixed leagues. Should be owned in all NL-only leagues.

Mike Pelfrey | NYM | SP: Pelfrey had a decent first start, but I’m not convinced he can succeed in the majors right now. A 6.8 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in Triple-A isn’t anything to brag about. Take a flier in deep NL-only leagues and watch him in others.
Recommendation: Should be not be owned in mixed leagues. Should be owned in deep NL-only leagues.

Wandy Rodriguez | HOU | SP: Small sample size, but Wandy is off to a great start. He was very good for a portion of 2007, but he truly does seem to struggle on the road, even when we exclude ERA (a look at his TQS stats this off-season confirms this). If he ever figures this out (mental issue?), he could be a very good pitcher. Definitely worth a pickup if you have the room to see if he has figured something out.
Recommendation: Should be be considered in 12- and owned in 14-team mixed leagues. Should be owned in all but shallow NL-only leagues.

Rich Hill | CHC | SP: Nearly 5,000 drops in Yahoo! yesterday? Unacceptable. Yeah, he’s off to a bit of a rough start, but it’s been two games. Given the fickleness Lou Piniella is prone to display at times (similarly noted by Tim Dierkes at RotoAuthority a couple days ago), Hill might not have the utmost job security. Still, you absolutely cannot drop him yet. Pick him up if he has been.
Recommendation: Should be owned in all leagues.

Mark Reynolds | ARZ | 3B: Talked about Reynolds a couple of days ago. Good player with great power.
Recommendation: Should be strongly considered in 10-team and owned in deep eight-team and shallow 12-team mixed leagues. Should be owned in all NL-only leagues.

Edwin Encarnacion | CIN | 3B: Off to a bit of a rough start, but Encarnacion should be fine as long as Dusty Baker sticks with him. A .290 average with 20-plus homers is a pretty safe bet, and batting behind Adam Dunn and Brandon Phillips should give him RBI opportunities.
Recommendation: Should be strongly considered in 10-team and owned in deep eight-team and shallow 12-team mixed leagues. Should be owned in all NL-only leagues.

Ty Wigginton | HOU | 2B/3B: Wigginton has great value as a second basemen this year. He has similar skills to Dan Uggla, yet you could have gotten him at the end of your draft and now possibly off the waiver wire. Might be out for couple weeks, but as long as he keeps his job upon his return, he’s worth stashing. Perfectly suited for the Crawford Boxes, Wigginton could hit .270-.275 with close to 25 homers (maybe more like 20 now that he’ll miss some time). Batting behind Miguel Tejada and Carlos Lee will help with RBIs. He’s worth keeping on your bench unless you have a better second baseman.
Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team mixed leagues. Should be owned in all NL-only leagues.

Justin Upton | ARZ | OF:- Upton is absolutely destroying the ball. Look at his HitTracker profile. Hitting in Chase Field will help, but it hasn’t mattered so far as his four bombs thus far would have went for homers in all 30 parks. Doesn’t hit as many fly balls as you’d like, but that could develop, and he could approach 30 home runs anyway. That, a .270 batting average, and RBIs from hitting behind Conor Jackson and Mark Reynolds makes Upton a very interesting choice. Just know that he’s 20-years old and bumps in the road are to be expected.
Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team mixed leagues. Should be owned in all NL-only leagues.

A Hardball Times Update
Goodbye for now.

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