MLB - 2010 Fantasy Baseball NL-only League Waiver Wire Watch (Week 14)
Posted by: ewagner25
on Jul 10, 2010 
By looking at our RotoCommunity Expert League bids, we can help you with your waiver wire considerations. Here are the leagues we're using as points of analysis (both weekly transactions, TC $1000 FAAB budget, U $100 FAAB budget):
- RotoCommunity.com's Triple Crown 12-team standard Roto NL-only League (TC)
- RotoCommunity.com's Ultimate NL Challenge 10-team h2h points KEEPER League (U)
Ask a question about your waiver and line-up situations in our FORUM. Leave a comment about this article down below.
Madson, Ryan RP PHI ($60 TC - drop Pearce, Steve 1B PIT)
After being hit with a rash of injuries over the last couple weeks, the Phillies had some good injury news this week with Ryan Madson's activation from the disabled list. Before his toe injury, Madson was struggling badly at closer, but there's a lot of cause for optimism that Madson will step in and regain his status as one of the league's better setup men. For one, opponents are batting .419 on balls in play, a figure that is ridiculously inflated and indicative of a good deal of bad luck on Madson's part. Plus, his other rates are as good as they've ever been; his walk rate is lower than his career average and his 12.3 K/9 IP is extremely healthy. If he's available in your league, Madson is a worthwhile acquisition, especially with Brad Lidge struggling again at closer. At minimum, Madson will provide help with ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts, while it's not hard to imagining him picking up some saves in the coming months.
Marshall, Sean RP CHC ($34 TC - drop Lincoln, Brad SP PIT)
With the Cubs primed to do a bit of selling in July, Marshall is a solid target for savvy owners. He has quietly been outstanding pitching in middle relief this season, striking out more than a batter per inning while yielding just one home run in 42.1 IP. He also figures to be a top candidate to enter the rotation should the Cubs trade someone like Ted Lilly. On the other hand, Marshall is a good bet to regress - a 2.3% HR/FB ratio is impressive but unsustainable - but based on his career numbers, he should still be pretty effective whether it's in relief or as a back-end starter.
St. Louis finally seems willing to admit giving Brendan Ryan (.552 OPS) regular at-bats is a pretty bad idea, creating an opportunity for Greene. Greene's a little old to be considered much of a prospect, and he didn't do much in 48 games with the Cards last season, yet he's worth a look. His minor league career suggests Greene has a little pop (a season-high of 20 HR in 2006, 15 HR last season), and he's an effective base stealer (123 SB, plus an 86.6% success rate). Greene isn't someone I would get too excited about, but if he can clear the low bar the incumbent Ryan has set, he stands a good chance of being a useful enough fantasy SS.
Duda, Lucas 1B NYM ($5 U - drop Moylan, Peter RP ATL)
In a sense, this was a nice little speculative move in case, for instance, the Mariners convinced the Mets to include Ike Davis in a Cliff Lee deal. Someone would have to pick up at-bats at 1B in New York, and perhaps that someone would be Duda, who has enjoyed a strong season between Double-A and Triple-A (combined .977 OPS). Yet, I'm inclined to think even if Duda received a look, it wouldn't be wise to expect much. His previous high slugging percentage was a meager (for a 1B) .462 in low-A, and if the Mets were high on him, they would probably be more open to including Davis in a trade for an elite pitcher. I like the thought, but I suspect we'll see Duda back in the UNLC free agent pool soon enough.
Jay, Jon OF STL ($2 U - drop Francisco, Ben OF PHI)
Jay has had a nice stretch filling in for Ryan Ludwick, but he's really more of a fringy, 4th OF type. He's slated to return to the bench (or Triple-A) once Ludwick returns after the All Star Break, but with Colby Rasmus having some hamstring troubles, Jay is perhaps worth a low bid in hopes that his hot streak can continue.
ALSO
Jonathan Herrera 2B COL, Takashi Saito RP ATL, Zack Cozart SS CIN, Simon Castro SP SD, Gregor Blanco OF ATL, Travis Ishiwaka 1B SF, and Alex Sanabia RP FLA were also added in UNLC. Ishikawa is a pretty good signing, with the Bengie Molina opening 1B for him... Adam Kennedy 2B WAS, Blake Hawksworth RP STL, and Xavier Paul OF LA were also signed in TC. The Nats are giving Kennedy more at-bats, potentially making him a decent source of steals at 2B.
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