Jason Bergmann went hot, then cold, but he's hot again and can help you down the stretch.

Last week was so much easier with all of the splendid September callups that made their debuts, but we still have a few more that have cracked their heads up from the minors, and we have some veterans as well that are making some late noise that are likely to be available in a good chunk of leagues out there.

Waiver Worthy

Matt Stairs, First Base/Outfield, Toronto Blue Jay – Stairs was never supposed to be in the plans for the Jays, but he has seen time in the outfield and time at first and time at DH – anywhere and everywhere that they had a player go down, and they had plenty do that this season. Stairs continues to get at-bats well after most would have written him off and he continues to do something with those opportunities; over the last 21 days, Stairs has 42 at-bats, with a .452 batting average, four home runs, fifteen RBI, ten runs, and an OPS over 1.400. Still floating in some free agent pools, but he probably should not be.

Jayson Werth, Outfield, Philadelphia Phillies – The Phillies have been finding ways to work Werth into their outfield rotation, and he has picked up 60 at-bats over the last three weeks as a result. In that time, he has posted a .467 batting average, an OPS just a tad under 1.100, 14 RBI, and 11 runs scored. With a playoff spot still on the line and Pat Burrell about as effective as the Phillie Phanatic would be at the plate, Werth will continue to pick up at-bats.

Luke Hochevar, Starting Pitcher, Kansas City Royals – The last time the Royals developed a true No. 1 starter, it was Bret Saberhagen. That lack of a developmental track record is okay for a team like the Red Sox or Yankees that can just buy pitching, but not for a small market team like the Royals. Hochevar is hoping to change all that. The Royals’ top pick in last year’s draft, Hochevar spent the majority of the season with the Double-A Wichita Wranglers, where he was 3-6 with a 4.69 ERA. That might not be that special, but what was special was his K/BB rate of 94:26. We will touch on Hochevar in a lot more detail this Wednesday in Treasure Hunting, but everything about him screams ace.

Jason Bergmann, Starting Pitcher, Washington Nationals – Early on, Bergmann was an amazing story, pitching quite well for a Nats team in desperate need of starters with front of the rotation material. Bergmann broke down though, went on the DL, and he came back a shell of his former self though. Finally, though, he has turned things around, and has pitched much better of late. In his last three starts, Bergmann has tossed three quality starts, struck out sixteen, walked just four, picked up two wins and no losses, and posted a WHIP below 1.00. If his owner in your league gave up on him, now is the time to pounce.

Waiver Wasting

Esteban Loaiza, Starting Pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers – Loaiza has kicked things off nicely this year, with three quality starts over the last three weeks and two wins, but there is little reason to believe his success will continue. For one, he has just eight strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings, and he has walked five. That is not a good ratio going forward. Further, and I cannot stress this enough, he is Esteban Loaiza. He has done this before – go to a new team, look good early, get fat and lazy, and earn yourself another Designated for Assignment. His track record says there is no way that he can maintain this level of pitching.

Dioner Navarro, Catcher, Tampa Bay Devil Rays – Once considered one of the better catching prospects in the game, things simply have not worked out at the major league level for Navarro. For the last three weeks, though, Navarro has been one of the better hitting catchers in the game, hitting .319 with three home runs, twelve RBI, and eleven runs scored in 47 at-bats, and that might have you thinking about grabbing him. After all, he is available in 93% of leagues according to SportsLine. The potential is still there for Navarro, but I am not buying a three week hot streak being what he needed to turn things around for the season – after all, he is, even with that hot run, is hitting just .221 on the season. He is more likely to be an anchor to your team than a lift over the final few weeks.

Ross Detwiller, Starting Pitcher, Washington Nationals – The Nats brought him up why? Sure, he is a stud pitcher, and he is going to be a big part of the Nats’ future, but he is going to contribute nothing at this point in the year, and rising something negative happening to him in a September cup of coffee in his first pro season seems ludicrous. Hopefully, his one inning already is his only inning, and he is there simply to sit and learn. Great if you are looking at 2009, but only then.

Josh Wilson, Shortstop, Tampa Bay Devil Rays – You might be in need for a middle infielder, you see Josh Wilson, you see that he has two homers, six RBI, ten runs, and a .300 batting average over the last three weeks, and you might be thinking that this would be a good pickup. The problem with that is that those two homers are the first two homers of his career, that he is a career .249 hitter, and he had three of his four years before this season where he literally picked up no at-bats in the bigs. He is there for his glove, not his bat.

Questions and comments may be sent to markhaverty@sportsgrumblings.com