We all have our Fantasy teams and we all try to make them
well-balanced. Inevitably, we all always seem to be lacking in one or two
different categories. Well, we're here to help, with your
Free Agent
Specialty. Just a reminder, these aren't the same as Waiver Wire
pickups; these are players that will help you in one category, and one category
only. They'll likely play very limited innings and aren't every day
players, so if you pick these guys up, you'll have to really take notice as to
when they're actually in the lineup and can help you.
Speed Kills
Rajai Davis - OF - Oakland
Athletics - In the last 10 days he's played in just four games, but has a
stolen base in two of them. He's now up to 10 on the year, and if you are
hurting in your SB category, he might not be a horrible option. If you're
looking for anything else from him however, look elsewhere; there's a reason Davis
is a bench player. He's batting .191 (13/68) with 5 RBI, 10 Runs Scored,
15 Ks and a disgustingly bad OPS of .446.
Willie Bloomquist - 2B/3B/SS/OF - Seattle
Mariners - Willie Bloomquist, Seattle's
forgotten man, got a rare start this past Sunday at Fenway. He was at second
base in place of Jose Lopez, who served as DH. It was the first start for
Bloomquist in nearly a month. Bloomquist may appear to be rotting on the bench,
but that the two men Bloomquist was most likely to play in place of, Lopez and
SS Yuniesky Betancourt, have been two of the club's steadier hitters.
He's also an excellent utility plug-in guy, which always helps, when he
plays. This year he's batting .171 (7/41) with 2 RBI, 10 Runs Scored, 8
Ks, and has 6 SBs, two in the last two games. His OPS is a bad .491, so
tread lightly.
Chicks Dig The Long Ball
Cody Ross - OF - Florida
Marlins - He's been seeing the field more of late, and with good
reason. Despite hitting .227; all 11 of his home runs this season have
come since May 1. In his last 10 games, he's hitting .353 (12-for-34) with five
homers and 12 RBIs. Could it be just a streak? Potentially, but
that's a lot of pop from someone hanging near the bottom of the wire.
Scott Hairston - OF - San Diego Padres - Welcome back to the list Mr.
Hairston, and 2 HR in your last six games will get you on this list every
time. Hairston's way under the radar; and with good reason, since the
Padres are typically a terrible offensive team (even though they swept the
'high powered' Mets this past week). Here's Hairston's line on the
season: .233 (44/189) 9 HR, 17 RBI, 24 Runs Scored, 2 SB, 51 (wow) Ks and has an
OPS of .723. You could do worse off the wire, but the fact that he's so
hit or miss at the plate might give you pause. Tread lightly.
Masterson and Lester and...Well, the other 3 guys aren't bad either:
Really, Really Old Guy - SP - Detroit
Tigers - After a slow start, 43-year-old Kenny Rogers has warmed
appreciably. Rogers has gone
seven innings in each of his last three starts, allowing just 16 hits and three
earned runs, lowering his ERA from 6.66 to 5.13. Don't be a-scared of the
poor numbers; they've gotten much better of lat, since the Tigers shuffled
their rotation a bit.
Luis Ayala - RP - Washington
Nationals - Any site can give you Saves or Wins, but who gives you
Holds? One of the more pivotal (at least on Yahoo!'s Fantasy leagues)
stats; you can be sunk if you're tanking Holds each week. Well, a set-up
guy like Ayala might just be the one you're looking for. He's got 15
Holds on the season, but he has eight in his last 14 games as he slides more
and more into the late inning role. You're not going to score any points
with the ERA (5.14) or WHIP (1.37), but if it's Holds you need, Ayala might
just be your guy.