3 Up, 3 Down

He may not be listed below, but even Jamie Moyer could be of some service to you in a pinch.

Time to check that waiver wire again, folks.  With the mid-season point looming and your trade deadline getting closer, a lot of owners are probably in the midst of a frenzy of trade negotiations.  You’ll have all types to talk deal with…owners trying to bolster an already solid roster, panicky owners who are losing ground in the standings, and owners hit hard by the injury bug, just to name a few.  If you’re in a keeper league, then your bottom feeders are probably hounding you for a stud, offering up a bounty of players likely to drive your competition into a tizzy.  But before you go pulling the trigger too fast, take a look at your waiver wire.  There is still probably some decent talent out there that can help and won’t drive you into making a deal you might regret later.  Here’s a look at some of what I see out there…

3 Up

Rod Barajas, C  TOR — So this is why I drafted him, huh?  There’s nothing betterthan when your catcher starts to heat up and you get killer production out of a usually weak position.  In his last 6 games, Barajas is hitting .318 with 3 HR and 7 RBI, one of those dingers being a pinch hit game winner.  He’s not a big booming powerhouse by any means, but when you’ve got a wave like this you have to ride it for all it’s worth.  Consider Barajas a solid option behind the dish right now and hope that this power onslaught continues.

Garrett Anderson, OF ATL — The month of June has been very good for Anderson and his fantasy owners.  He doesn’t have the pop he once had, but he’s hitting .321 for the month with a pair of home runs, 9 RBI and even a stolen base.  Traditionally June has been a great month for Anderson and it usually leads to a monster July as he tends to pop up on everyone’s list for 2nd half Studs in fantasy circles.  He won’t cost you much if you try to deal for him, but there’s a pretty good chance he’s sitting on your waiver wire right now.

John Mayberry, OF  PHI – It may just be for a limited time, but Mayberry looks to be a nice temporary pick up until Raul Ibanez comes back from the DL.  He’s hitting .333 with 2 HR and 4 RBI in his last 5 games, and could be a cheap source of power given Philly’s homer friendly ball park.  He’s not going to dazzle you, but if you’re in need of a quick fix, I’d rather pick him up than to make a trade based on panic.

3 Down

Jonathan Sanchez, SP  SF –  Possible skip in the rotation?  Possible banishment to to the bullpen?  It gets even worse and worse for the struggling 26 year old lefty if you read further down.  But Sanchez has gone from one of the nicer free agent pickups last season (great strikeout numbers) to one of the more disappointing hurlers right now.  He’s 0-4 with a 7.45 ERA and 2.12 WHIP in his last 4 starts and has only pitched 6 innings or more (and by that I mean 6 2/3) only twice in his 14 starts this year.  It’s obviously not working for him in San Francisco, so it shouldn’t be working for your fantasy team either.

Juan Pierre, OF  LAD –  Just in case you missed this one two weeks ago, I wanted to bring it back into the forefront of your mind.  It’s already been stated by Dodgers manager Joe Torre that Pierre will be sent back to the bench once Manny Ramirez finishes up his “rehab” stint.  There’s a decent chance that Pierre’s play could net him a few extra starts in place of the struggling Andre Ethier, but you certainly can’t rely on that.  If you own him, you’re certainly hoping for a trade, but with that being a longshot, you can consider Pierre a reserve outfielder and pinch runner.  Good for SBs, but little else.

Jermaine Dye, OF CHW — This one is a little more speculative than anything else, but something you should definitely keep an eye on if you’re a Dye owner.  Word is that the Giants and White Sox are discussing a deal that would send the aforementioned Sanchez to the Sox in exchange for the outfielder.  Dye has been rock solid this year and has produced very well for fantasy owners in nine of the last 10 seasons.  A move to AT&T Park would likely hinder that.  He’d probably be sandwiched in the lineup between Pablo Sandoval and Bengie Molina which is nice, but he’s still facing more pitchers that he hasn’t seen enough and the cold damp air of the San Francisco Bay will certainly have an adverse affect on his power production.