Closing Time: Luis Valbuena swings for the fences
It took me a while to come around on Luis Valbuena, the sneaky infielder for the Cubs. He's a drain in batting average and he strikes out a lot. Heck, the guy didn't even make it to .220 the last two years. But at some point it's time to focus on what a player can do, not what he can't do.
Valbuena's most appealing skill is power. He's clouted 16 homers in a modest 403 at-bats this year, including 11 in the second half of the year (and four in his last seven games). If you can skim him against right-handed pitching, you're getting the best of his game: .469 slugging percentage, a tater every 22 at-bats. That works for me, especially when you combine two positions of eligibility (second, third). I'm kicking some tires. Take and rake.
The Cubs have been respectable in the second half of the year. They're a .500 club since the All-Star break, and they scored 111 runs (sixth in the National League) during August. You can have some fun with these guys. Valbuena is still free to grab in 86 percent of Yahoo leagues, if you need some pop.
Swing for the fences.
• It's been an up-and-down summer for Josh Collmenter, but I'm winning to give him a streaming assignment this week. He draws the Padres in Petco for Wednesday (yes, please), and he's been in fine form of late.
Collmenter only won one of his four August starts, but everything else was in place: 3.28 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, 23 strikeouts against three walks. He has a jagged home/road split this year (favoring Arizona, of all places) but Petco takes the worry away. If you want to jump on board, he's free to add in 91 percent of Yahoo leagues. Collmenter, maybe.
• Jarred Cosart is another interesting streaming play, even as a pitch-to-contact story. He's posted a tidy 1.63 ERA and 1.03 WHIP since joining the Marlins a month back, and he's set to rematch a Braves offense that he beat last week. You know all about targeting Atlanta - the Phillies just no-hit them on Monday, for crying out loud. Cosart waits for you in 87 percent of Yahoo leagues.
• I'm not going to give a lot of attention to the Phillies no-hitter - yeah, Cole Hamels is pretty good; man, the Braves can't hit - but there are two small takeaways I'd like to spotlight.
First of all, let's give a Wiggy cheer to Jason Heyward, who had an extremely valuable line (two walks, three steals) coming from a team that was no-hit. Way to make something out of nothing, Heyward.
Ken Giles pitched one of the legs for the Phillies, a sparkling eighth inning (three whiffs, 15 pitches). This guy has future closer written all over him, but his present isn't too bad, either. Giles has dominant numbers through 35.2 MLB innings (1.26/0.90, 52 whiffs, nine walks), and yet he's still unowned in 94 percent of Yahoo leagues. Quality innings have value in a lot of pools, too.
• So much for the Brett Lawrie stash-and-hope angle - the Jays moved him to the 60-day DL, which ends his season. Lawrie wasn't doing anything special (.247, 12 homers), but he covered two positions and played in a solid lineup. Heck, Valbuena is having a similar season and marks the same two infield spots. Here's another case of being prudent with long-term injury returns.
• I'm surprised to see Michael McKenry completely ignored in Yahoo leagues (one-percent owned). I know he doesn't have much of a career track record, but he's been a .313/.388/.481 bat when asked to play this year, and now Wilin Rosario is hurt. Hello, starting job. There's some deep-league appeal here; McKenry has 31 plate appearances over the last ten days.
At least give McKenry a shot on the current Colorado-heavy swing (12-of-18 games at home). Nothing complicated, it's just gravity. Rosario is eligible to come back on Sept. 7, but given where the Rockies sit in the standings (under 20 feet of rubble), the club might opt to shut him down for the season. So long as McKenry is atop the depth chart, I'll make a spot for him here and there.
