In deeper fantasy baseball leagues, finding useful batters on the waiver wire can be a very difficult task. With most popular free agent choices already owned, owners in deeper or AL/NL-only leagues often have to dig at even less popular batters for fantasy production. Here's a look at five batters owned in less than 10% of Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball leagues* who are worth adding for Week 14.
SS Andrelton Simmons, Atlanta Braves (6% owned*)
Statistics*: 30/90 H/AB, 10 R, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 0 SB, .333 AVG
After less than a year in the minors, Simmons has already found his way onto the Braves roster and is contributing at a position of need for the team. With a great batting average in nearly 100 at-bats, Simmons is looking like a batter who can hit for average and make solid contact on the ball. While he hasn't attempted to steal a base yet, Simmons did demonstrate an ability to steal bases at a high rate, which would add to the overall value of this young shortstop.
C John Buck, Miami Marlins (4% owned)
Statistics: 33/184 H/AB, 15 R, 7 HR, 21 RBI, 0 SB, .179 AVG
Amidst a horrible offensive season, Buck displayed a glimmer of hope over the past week. In his last six games, Buck has gone 6-for-20 with a couple of home runs and could be on the road to better hitting in the coming weeks. If he is able to maintain any of his momentum, Buck could be a catcher of use in very deep leagues.
OF Andres Torres, New York Mets (1% owned)
Statistics: 33/158 H/AB, 25 R, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 9 SB, .209 AVG
Throughout most of his career, Torres' biggest asset has been stealing bases. Averaging a stolen base a game in his last seven appearances, Torres has been given the green light on the base paths and is creating runs for the Mets. Playing primarily against left-handed pitchers, Torres is a good situational play if you're targeting the runs and stolen bases categories.
1B/2B/3B Jose Lopez, Cleveland Indians (1% owned)
Statistics: 38/148 H/AB, 10 R, 4 HR, 26 RBI, 0 SB, .257 AVG
With Lonnie Chisenhall on the disabled list, the veteran has seen more playing time at third base and even had a season-high five hits on June 30 against the Baltimore Orioles. A decent AL-only option that will see a larger share of at-bats moving forward, Lopez is a versatile fill-in to pick up.
2B Alexi Amarista, San Diego Padres (0% owned)
Statistics: 20/79 H/AB, 11 R, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 1 SB, .253 AVG
Locked in at the plate and even hitting a grand slam in his first major league home run against the Houston Astros, Amarista is an intriguing second baseman receiving plenty of playing time since being acquired from the Los Angeles Angels in May. A contact hitter who aims for the gaps rather than hitting balls out of the park, Amarista is a NL second baseman to watch.
*Percentage owned numbers for Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball leagues and player statistics accurate as of June 30, 2012. H/AB: Hits/At Bats, R: Runs Scored, HR: Home Runs, RBI: Runs Batted In, SB: Stolen Bases, AVG: Batting Average.
Sources:
John Buck Game Log, Yahoo! Sports
Andres Torres Game Log, Yahoo! Sports
Jose Lopez Game Log, Yahoo! Sports
Who's Hot, Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball
More from this contributor:
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 14 Pitchers
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 14 Batters
Most-Added Fantasy Baseball Pitchers from Week 12: Fan's Review
Most-Added Fantasy Baseball Batters from Week 12: Fan's Review
Top Fantasy Baseball Players from Week 12, June 18-24: Fan's Review
Austin Chang is a lifelong baseball fan, San Francisco Giants supporter, and fantasy baseball player since 2005 who has been a Top 3 finisher in 70% of the leagues he has played in. Follow this contributor on Twitter @_austinchang.
