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Furcal is slumping early again. Get him now before he heats up. |
It is the middle of May, which means that it is time to give your roster a serious look in relation to where you are in the standings. At this point, you are starting to get a good idea about where your strengths and weaknesses are, and there are plenty of you out there who are suddenly finding yourselves short on speed. The question is how do you address that need? Do you look to make a trade, and if so, what type of player do you target? Or do you scour the waiver wire looking for guys that have been overlooked? Both routes are acceptable, but you are definitely going to pay more to deal for speed at this point, especially if you are looking for a category anchor, like the Dodgers' Juan Pierre. Let's take a look at both scenarios, and try to come up with the most cost efficient way to bolster your roster. This week, the focus is on the trade.
Trading for Speed
If you are going to trade for speed, you are most likely going to be going after a relatively well know commodity, such as the previously mentioned Pierre or the Orioles' Brian Roberts. Both players are very safe investments, as you know that if they’re healthy, they’re going to give you enough production by themselves to keep you in contention. There’s also the up and coming players, who’ve just recently exploded onto the scene promising a solid return, such as the Phillies' Shane Victorino. All in all, there are essentially four categories of players to target with different expected costs in the trade scenario:
The Five Tool Superstars
Examples: Jose Reyes, Jimmy Rollins, Grady Sizemore, Carl Crawford; expected cost: top power bat, elite pitcher, or some
combination thereof.
The Surefire Speed Demons
Examples: Juan Pierre, Brian Roberts, Chone Figgins; expected cost: top starter, closer, good power bat.
The Underperformer
Examples: Bobby Abreu, Coco
Crisp, Ryan Freel, Rafael Furcal, Felipe Lopez; expected cost: top starter, closer, good power bat.
The Sleeper
Examples: Reggie Willits, Ryan Theriot, Willy Taveras, Kazuo
Matsui; expected cost: starter, cheap closer, positional need
replacement.
For this article, the focus is going to be on the underperformers and sleepers. Granted, there is some crossover, as you could legitimately put Taveras
in the "Underperformer" or "Surefire Speed Demon" class for example, but you get
the idea.
This early in the season, you do not want to be giving up your quality players to boost a single category like speed. That’s why the middle of May is a great time to target the underperformers in a trade. You want to round out your roster by giving up excess depth whenever possible, and these are the class of players that are easiest to get that way. Always try to move guys that are solid, fill the other teams needs, but most importantly, guys that are expendable. Ideally, you do not want to give your competition any value, but in the real world, you wi’ll rarely get a quality guy back by constantly low-balling your potential trade partners, and you also run the risk of being written off as a cheap skate. You don’t want to be the guy that gets declined every time because you’re impossible to work with.
Let’s get to the guys you want to be targeting. These are guys who are likely rostered and acquirable only by trade.
Underperformers
Bobby Abreu, Right Field, New York Yankees – Abreu could be on the decline, but historically he has heated up in May and June and is worth a gamble.
Rafael Furcal, Shortstop, Los Angles Dodgers – Furcal started off slow last year and then finished very strong. Solid buy low target, particularly if you like to slot your speed in the middle infield.
Felipe Lopez, Second Base//Shortstop, Washington Nationals – Lopez stole 44 bases last season, and like Abreu, once he got into May and April, is bat started to heat up.
Coco Crisp, Outfield, Boston Red Sox– Crisp is a bit more risky than the guys listed above. While he will steal 20+ bases, he’s clearly not the same hitter in Boston, as his average and power have both dipped.
Ryan Freel, Outfield, Cincinnati Reds – Freel is an established speedster, and, with the demotion of Edwin Encarnacion, he’ll start at third base every day now. His value is a bit low due to early season injuries and split duty, but now is the time to get in on him.
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The Riot has established himself as an everyday player in Chicago, and fantasy owners will love both his speed and flexibility. |
Sleepers
Reggie Willits, Outfield, Los Angeles Angels – Willits has been seeing extended playing time due to injuries in the Angels outfield, and he’s definitely making the most of it. He already as seven steals to go with a .359 average in 78 at-bats.
Ryan Theriot, Second Base/Shortstop, Chicago Cubs – I mentioned Theriot last week as a guy to get on your radar. He already has nine games in at shortstop, either already giving him eligibility there in most formats or soon enough, and he’s hitting very well with six steals on the season so far.
Willy Taveras, Outfield, Colorado Rockies – Taveras slumped early and has struggled with a minor leg injury. But veteran Steve Finley did nothing to take the job from him in his absence, so look for this speedster to hit the ground running. He’s very capable of stealing better then 50 bases this year.
Kazuo Matsui, Second Base, Colorado Rockies –Prior to hitting the DL with a back injury, Matsui was hitting .361 with five steals in just 36 at-bats. He’s headed to extended spring training to get back into playing shape, and could provide a nice boost down the road once he’s activated.
Next week, we will talk about Sleepers to be found on the waiver wire.
Have a question or comment for Jesse? Send it to jessedraper@sportsgrumblings.com.
