The fantasy baseball season has begun. Don’t sweat a slow start, because as you already know, baseball is a long season.
There will be plenty of hills and valleys throughout the season, which definitely includes the season’s beginning.
Just in case you do panic, or decide that draft pick wasn’t necessarily the best option, here’s some players stuck on the waiver wire who can offer some help in multiple categories.
Kevin Gausman, Baltimore, SP/RP
Fantasy owners were a little hesitant to put Gausman on their opening day roster.
He’s starting out the season on the disabled list, but won’t be there for long. He’s the 61st ranked starting pitcher, according to Fantasy Pros. Several pitchers ranked below him are far more owned in fantasy leagues.
Gausman has serious talent. He was drafted fourth overall by Baltimore in the 2012 draft and worked his way through the Minor Leagues in fairly fast fashion.
In his second season of extended work last year, he took a bit of a step back than his rookie year in 2014.
That’s to be expected by a young pitcher, so I’m not completely erasing him from my fantasy team because of a perceived rough season last year with a 4.25 ERA.
In 2014, he had an ERA of 3.57 and managed seven wins.
However, when looking at the two seasons, he wasn’t all that bad last year. He improved his strikeout-per-nine-inning mark from 7 to 8.3, and allowed nine fewer walks in only one less inning of work.
His problem last season was allowing too many home runs (10 more than the previous year). That should improve this season, giving Gausman some value.
C.J. Cron, Los Angeles Angels, 1B/DH
He’s not going to jump off the stat sheet just yet, but he’s going to pile up better numbers this season.
Cron went for 151 more plate appearances last year than in the past season, and had better numbers in batting average and on-base percentage.
That’s a good showing for a guy who will get even more playing time this season.
The reason why I don’t mind Cron is his ability to play both positions and be a major factor in the Angels’ batting order. He tallied 16 homers last season in only 113 games.
Had he played 162 games in the past two seasons, his home run output would have been 23, to go along with 74 RBIs.
That’s not starter-worthy, but if he can stay healthy, he offers depth to your roster. He’s young, so he should continue to improve for an Angles team looking for power and run production.
Trevor Plouffe, Minnesota, 1B/3B
There’s a reason why these guys are on the waiver wire. But Plouffe can provide some statistical help, as evidenced by last season.
In the most games he’s logged in his career last year, he tallied more than 80 RBIs for only the second time in his career and mustered more than 20 homers for only the second time in his career.
He won’t help with batting average or on-base percentage, but he can offer some production in home runs and RBIs if you’re desperate.
If the Twins can keep the momentum from last year’s solid year, Plouffe will have opportunities to drive in even more runs.
Go ahead and keep him on your radar if you’re thin in runs, RBIs and home runs.
