Pickup Artist: Young and the Theftless

Need help navigating the waiver wire each week? Let the Pickup Artist be your guide.

Infielders

Eric Young (2B, COL) - 3% owned
Young got the call when Brad Hawpe went on the DL but he could be here to stay if he can prove himself a catalyst atop the Rockies order. So far, so good. Young is 5-for-10 with two stolen bases and four runs scored in four games since his promotion, including two straight starts as Colorado's leadoff hitter. Clint Barmes is no great shakes with the bat or glove, so if Young can continue to get on base and wreak havoc on the basepaths, E.Y. could very well find himself the starter at second base after Hawpe returns. Regardless, he'll net enough playing time at second and in the outfield -- he could soon add eligibility there -- for at least the next few weeks to help you make waves in the stolen base category. He tallied 66 swipes per season over his last four minor league campaigns and could easily swipe 30-40 with everyday at-bats.



Share Adam LaRoche (1B, ARI) - 43%
You don't usually see LaRoche's name in a waiver wire column until right before the second half (career .300/.363/.546 after the break), but he's in Arizona now, where the warm weather arrives much, much sooner. LaRoche hasn't done anything special with a .270 average, two homers and 12 RBI to date, but when balls in the desert start flying over the fence with regularity, you can bet that more than a few of them will belong to LaRoche. With a good shot at surpassing his career high in home runs (32) and RBI (90), he needs to be owned in all leagues. Just make sure you're scooping up Adam, not Andy.

Mark Teahen (1B/3B/OF, CWS) - 37%
What's not to like about Teahen this year? He's eligible at three positions, he's shown more patience at the plate (9/9 strikeout-to-walk ratio) and he's already attempted four stolen bases. So what if he's hitting seventh or eighth? He's never been great at any one thing, and he's been plenty bad at a lot the last couple of years, but let's not forget he was once considered a young player on the rise -- .290-18-69-70-10 line in 393 ABs back in 2006 with Kansas City -- and he's only 28. He'll also play half his games in a hitter-friendly ballpark and he's got a manager that likes to run.

Nick Johnson (1B, NYY) - 12%
Pay no attention to what Nick Johnson's done over the last three weeks. That .135 average is a thing of the past and the amount of bad luck he's had to deal with early on -- a .182 BABIP despite almost a quarter of his hits being line drives -- is merely a blip on the 162-game radar. Or in Nick Johnson's case, the 113-game radar. The simple fact of the matter is that he's still hitting second in the powerful Yankees lineup and he can't possibly be this bad the rest of the way. His odds of staying healthy are never good, but he's going to produce when he's on the field. Trust me, you'll want him on your roster when that happens.

Outfielders

David DeJesus (OF, KC) - 37%
When you look up "boring" in the fantasy baseball dictionary, David DeJesus' mug is front and center. Year in and year out, he does absolutely nothing special, yet he's consistently solid and doesn't hurt you. It's easy to ignore those types, especially when they play for a perennial bottom feeder like Kansas City, but these aren't your older brother's Royals. There's no telling how long KC's offensive surge will last, but they are leading the majors in batting average and rank in the middle of the pack in runs scored. With DeJesus leading the way at the top of the lineup -- a spot in the order where he's always been at his best (career .295/.356/.443 out of the leadoff spot) -- he too could have one of his better offensive campaigns.

J.D. Drew (OF, BOS) - 33%
• Career .892 OPS with a .914 and .917 mark the last two seasons.
• Current .244 BABIP is 72 points lower than his career mark.
• a homer and eight ribbies over his last seven.
• 'Nuff said.

Austin Kearns (OF, CLE) - 4%
If you've been following Kearns' career at all over the last decade, what he's done over his last five games (10-for-25, two homers, nine RBI and two steals) should come as no surprise. After all, he is a former first-rounder. Sadly, injuries have always gotten in the way of him reaching his full potential. But while four games is hardly a sufficient sample size to start predicting a breakout, Kearns clearly still has the talent to produce at a high level and he doesn't turn 30 for another three weeks. He'll have to battle another former first-rounder, Matt LaPorta, for playing time, but Kearns has hit cleanup in four out of his last five and should continue to find himself in the middle of the lineup as long as he keeps raking.

Travis Snider (OF, TOR) - 5%
I'll admit, I'm a little biased. I've been plugging Snider for months and yes, he'd make me look really good if he started hitting (I own him in a number of leagues too). But I'm using my head, not just my heart to make this recommendation. A few bullets:

• Snider has made significant strides in both his strikeout and walk rate this season, cutting his Ks by almost seven percent while upping his walks by more than four percent (17/11 K/BB on the season). I know that may not mean much to the fantasy owner who doesn't see strikeout-to-walk ratio as a category in their league, but it means an awful lot, especially for a 22-year-old.
• Snider's been the unluckiest player in all of baseball. How else do you hit line drives 23.4 percent of the time and post a .133 BABIP? No, that's not a typo. His BABIP is .133, the lowest of any major league player this season (I, personally, have seen him hit no less than five frozen ropes into the gloves of opposing defenders).
• Nearly a quarter of the balls he's hit have been infield pop-ups. You know what the difference between a pop-up and homer is? About a eighth of an inch. In plain English, when he's not hitting frozen ropes, he's just missing the big flies.

He's on the cusp, folks. Don't miss it when he busts out.

Starting Pitchers

Colby Lewis (SP, TEX) - 38%
I don't know what Lewis did in Japan to reinvent himself but whatever it was, it worked. He's got 28 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings, and nothing about his 3.80 ERA says fluke (3.59 FIP, 3.87 xFIP). I do expect he'll give up more homers as the weather gets warmer in Texas, but if he continues to make hitters swing and miss, I'm not sure they'll be that detrimental to his success. He's issued just four free passes over his last two starts and his next two turns are at Seattle and at Oakland. Yummy.

Carl Pavano (SP, MIN) - 39%
Fantasy owners sure can be fickle. Pavano was one of the more highly coveted properties just a couple weeks ago. One bad outing against Kansas City and almost immediately he was kicked to the curb. Unfortunately for the GMs who cut him, they missed out on his seven-inning, two-earned-run rematch against Kansas City just five days later. The lesson here? Pavano, like any other good pitcher, is bound to have his ups and downs. But as long as he continues to post a great strikeout-to-walk ratio (160/40 dating back to the beginning of last season) and keeps the ball on the ground, he'll remain a mixed-league asset.

Shaun Marcum (SP, TOR) - 44%
You'd think Marcum would be universally owned right now. He's been remarkably solid since his Opening Day gem, yet still remains available in more than half of leagues. What is the deal? Like Pavano, he's got an excellent K/BB (28/7 in 34 IP) and he can induce the heck out of a ground ball (45.7% GB). His 3.44 ERA is also right where it should be. No luck involved here.

Brett Myers (SP, HOU) - 4%
Myers graduates from the deep/monoleague list to mixed-league relevant this week based on his body of work thus far. Granted, he's faced Pittsburgh, Florida and San Francisco, but he also had his best start of the season against St. Louis in St. Louis (7 IP, 1 ER, 7 Ks). He hasn't been the strikeout machine he was when he was in Philly but his 18/4 K/BB stands out as stellar. Throw in his ground ball tendencies (career 47.4% GB, 51.1% in 2010) and the team he plays for and he's one of the virtual world's best kept secrets.

Joe Blanton (SP, PHI) - 27%
After making his third rehab start on Wednesday, Blanton has declared himself ready to rejoin the Phillies rotation. He could make his first big league start of the year as early as Monday. Philly hasn't yet made a decision on when to activate him but this much is clear: the minute he takes the mound he becomes a mixed-league must-have. Must-have? Yes, must-have. Blanton posted the highest strikeout rate of his career after making the league switch last season (7.51 K/9) and had a 3.62 ERA and 1.25 WHIP after the break. As an added bonus, you know he'll get plenty of run support in his quest for victories. At just 27-percent owned, Blanton's a flat-out steal.

Relief Pitchers

Chris Perez (RP, CLE) - 44%
Franklin Morales (RP, COL) - 40%
I've said it before and I'll say it again: saves are saves. Kerry Wood isn't back for at least another couple weeks and Huston Street hasn't even thrown off a mound yet. He's at least a month away. There is no reason why these guys should be available in any league where saves is a category.

Tyler Clippard (RP, WAS) - 47%
Do the available starters in your league make you want to puke? Consider Clippard who is racking up both innings (16 2/3 IP) and strikeouts (20 Ks), with excellent ratios to boot (0.54 ERA, 0.84 WHIP).

Deeper/Mono-League Formats

Fred Lewis (OF, TOR) - 1%
Toronto's new leadoff hitter has started eight of the Blue Jays last 12 games. He can get on base, hit for average and steal a few bags along the way. Not a lot to dislike in deeper formats. Could even become mixed-league viable down the line.

Ryan Hanigan (C, CIN) - 2%
.483/.559/.690 with 10 RBI in just 29 at-bats? Who won't take that in their second catcher spot? It should be noted that he hit well in limited duty last year as well.

John Jaso (C,TB) - 1%
Tampa's a smart organization. Navarro can't hit righties and Jaso, well, he's hitting everything (nine hits, a homer, nine RBI in 20 at-bats since his call-up). Not only can he hit, but he doesn't strike out and he walks a ton. If he doesn't earn most of the playing time at catcher for the Rays when Navarro finishes serving his two-game suspension, Joe Maddon & Co. lose points in my book.

Tyler Colvin (OF, CHC) - 4%
Color me extremely doubtful about his long-term prospects but the spring sensation's bat (.325, three homers, six RBI, nine runs scored) has earned him starts in three of the Cubs' past four games.

Wade LeBlanc (SP, SD) - 6%
LeBlanc's allowed a single earned run while issuing four walks against 10 strikeouts in two starts. He'll continue to take the mound every fifth day for as long as Chris Young is out (scratched from his minor league rehab start due to lingering shoulder soreness).

Seth Smith (OF, COL) - 4%
Smith hit extremely well (.293/.378/.510) when given the chance last season and should see substantial PT while Brad Hawpe is on the DL.

Carlos Villanueva (SP/RP, MIL) - 12%
Would it surprise you to see Trevor Hoffman come down with a mysterious injury in the next few days? It wouldn't surprise me. Villanueva saved games for Milwaukee when Hoffman was out early last season and with the way Carlos has been pitching, he'd probably be called on again. Regardless, Villanueva makes for a fine deep-league alternative if you're not into middling starters.

Ramon Santiago (2B/SS, DET) - 1%
Santiago's started six straight with Adam Everett hurting (hamstring), and he's hit well. Far from a star but definitely no scrub, his positional eligibility makes this add a no-brainer in AL-only formats.

Rhyne Hughes (1B, BAL) - 0%
Hughes, a rookie, has started three of Baltimore's last four games at first base. He's also done nothing but hit and at this point looks like a HUGE upgrade over Garrett Atkins.

Ryan Raburn (1B/OF, DET) - 2%
Raburn won fantasy titles for some last August and September. It remains to be seen if he'll have that type of impact in 2010 but he'll play an awful lot while Carlos Guillen is out (DL - hamstring). He's started four of the Tigers' last five, going 4-for-15 with four RBI.

Justin Smoak (1B, TEX) - 20%
Like Ike Davis before him, you'd be wise to temper expectations. He hit for average in the minors but his power still developing. His eye is a plus for those in OBP formats.

Position eligibility based on five games played/10 games started at a position in 2009. Ownership percentages courtesy of Yahoo! Fantasy Sports.