In deeper fantasy baseball leagues, finding useful batters on the waiver wire can be a very difficult task. With most popular free agent choices already owned, owners in deeper or AL/NL-only leagues often have to dig at even less popular batters for fantasy production. Here's a look at five batters owned in less than 10% of Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball leagues* who are worth adding for Week 15.
1B/3B Casey McGehee, Pittsburgh Pirates (5% owned*)
Statistics*: 49/202 H/AB, 22 R, 6 HR, 27 RBI, 1 SB, .243 AVG
The Pirates have been solid all season and McGehee has been a small part of the team's success. In his last 11 games, McGehee has batted .294 with three homers, six runs scored, and 10 RBIs. When healthy, McGehee is surrounded by plenty of productive players and is usable in deeper fantasy lineups.
3B/OF Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds (4% owned)
Statistics: 50/179 H/AB, 22 R, 9 HR, 29 RBI, 1 SB, .279 AVG
July has been a good month for Frazier. In seven games, he has gone 10-for-25 with two home runs and seven RBIs. While Frazier will eventually start to lose playing to the returning Scott Rolen at third base, Frazier's versatility will be could give him an opportunity to become a long-term fantasy contributor for the Reds and owners.
1B/3B/OF Greg Dobbs, Miami Marlins (1% owned)
Statistics: 39/130 H/AB, 13 R, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 4 SB, .300 AVG
Aside from his good numbers over his current 10-game hitting streak, Dobbs' biggest value comes at a price to one of Miami's biggest hitters. With Giancarlo Stanton recovering from a knee injury, Dobbs will see more time in right field as well as some action at first and third base. A versatile player who will see a boost in production in the next month, Dobbs has some fantasy appeal.
SS Luis Cruz, Los Angeles Dodgers (1% owned)
Statistics: 7/19 H/AB, 4 R, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 1 SB, .368 AVG
A call-up just one week ago, Cruz initially saw some playing time for the injured Juan Uribe at third base. With Dee Gordon injured with a thumb injury, Cruz will now be called upon to produce for the Dodgers. With plenty of playing time available and initial success in July, Cruz can have some value if he can extend his nice start.
OF Darin Mastroianni, Minnesota Twins (1% owned)
Statistics: 18/67 H/AB, 9 R, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 9 SB, .269 AVG
Despite the reserve role, owners are starting to take notice of Mastroianni and his seven stolen bases in his last seven games. Seeing a little more action now than he did one or two months ago, he will definitely be in line for more playing time if Josh Willingham, Denard Span, or Ben Revere is dealt at the trade deadline later this month. As of now, he is a definite base stealing threat who can be useful in various fantasy formats.
*Percentage owned numbers for Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball leagues and player statistics accurate as of July 7, 2012. H/AB: Hits/At Bats, R: Runs Scored, HR: Home Runs, RBI: Runs Batted In, SB: Stolen Bases, AVG: Batting Average.
Sources:
Casey McGehee Game Log, Yahoo! Sports
Todd Frazier 2012 Split Stats, Yahoo! Sports
Greg Dobbs Game Log, Yahoo! Sports
Who's Hot, Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball
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Fantasy Baseball 2012: Week 15 Pitchers, Waiver Wire Pickups
Fantasy Baseball 2012: Week 15 Batters, Waiver Wire Pickups
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Austin Chang is a lifelong baseball fan, San Francisco Giants supporter, and fantasy baseball player since 2005 who has been a Top 3 finisher in 70% of the leagues he has played in. Follow this contributor on Twitter @_austinchang.
