Kila Ka'aihue $12. Other bids: $10, $2, $2, $1, $1.
One of the sabermetricians' all-time favorites is back in the bigs after spending the entire 2009 campaign in the minors. Ka'aihue returns to perhaps jolt a moribund Royals offense to life, though it's unclear where Trey Hillman might play him. The logical move would be to move Scott Podsednik to center field, Jose Guillen to left and put Ka'aihue at DH. However, that might be giving up too much defensively, so Ka'aihue has only started once so far. Guillen is probably a greater risk to lose AB than temp CF Mitch Maier. If he plays, Ka'aihue projects as a 15-20 HR player whose batting average could be anywhere from passable to extremely poor; he's a much, much better play in those rare OBP leagues. He could also get lucky with his BABIP like he did in 2008 and string together a 5-7 year Major League career as a late bloomer. He's worth a low bid in the event that he does play.
Koji Uehara $7. Other bids $3, $3, $2.
Conventional wisdom leans toward Uehara as Alfredo Simon's back-up if Simon falters as Baltimore's temporary closer while Mike Gonzalez is out. Uehara doesn't have overpowering stuff, but the hope in Birdland is that going one time through the line-up he won't need to. Uehara's a fine pitcher to own in deep 4x4 leagues, but at this point I wouldn't count on him stealing any saves.
Ryan Langerhans $2.
I wrote about Michael Saunders yesterday; here is the other piece of the Mariners thin, non-Milton Bradley OF. The 30-year-old prospect washout might split some AB with Saunders while Bradley works through his issues, but has a very low ceiling and should be viewed as a temporary fill-in for Seattle at best.
Michael Wuertz $1. Other bids $1, $1.
Wuertz was simply incredible last year as Andrew Bailey's set-up man, whiffing 102 in 78 2/3 IP in 2009. He should move pretty quickly up the Oakland pecking order after a few good outings, and could once again be the A's choice for saves if Bailey can't go or needs a break.
Phil Coke $1.
Coke was a small piece of the big Austin Jackson/Curtis Granderson/Edwin Jackson three-way deal between the Tigers, Yankees and Diamondbacks this winter. He's vultured three wins in the Tigers pen already and while his peripherals don't scream ace, his performance in close games should ensure some more vulture opportunities in the short-term. Coke's purely a middle reliever, though; don't expect any saves here.
Kevin Frandsen $1.
With Maicer Izturis hitting the DL, Frandsen takes over Izturis' jack-of-all-trades back-up infield role. Frandsen's value mostly rests in his real life utility and he barely has enough power or speed to be worth it even in A.L.-only leagues.
Henry Rodriguez $1.
Rodriguez is one of the hardest throwing pitchers in baseball, but control has always been a huge problem for him. As a result, some didn't even view him as any kind of prospect entering this year. Rodriguez may have solved this problem. He put up a 14/3 K/BB ratio in 9 1/3 IP at AAA Sacramento prior to his call-up. If he can stay near the zone, Rodriguez's stuff is going to be filthy. He shouldn't get any save opportunities this year, but many thought the same thing about Andrew Bailey at the beginning of last year. At the very least, keep an eye on Rodriguez.
Will Ohman $1.
Ohman's a LOOGY in a poor bullpen who doesn't have a great career track record. Maybe he'll vulture a one-out save versus a LHP, but I'd just pass here.
Rob Johnson. Claimed by 11th (tie) place team.
Johnson picked up the lion's share of the Mariners AB behind the dish this week, but didn't do much to run with the opportunity. Adam Moore has more upside, so the Mariners won't be afraid to push Johnson to the bench if he produces next to nothing.
Jeremy Guthrie. Claimed by 9th and 1st place teams.
After a poor 2009, Guthrie thus far has reverted back to his predictable self (with the exception of a poor start against the Yankees). He's a serviceable 4th or 5th Roto starter in one-league only leagues who is best reserved if your league lets you for unfavorable match-ups. He gets the Indians this week at home, and is not a bad play as a result.
J.J. Putz. Claimed by 8th, 4th and 1st place teams.
With Ozzie Guillen's cryptic comments about Bobby Jenks today, Putz was a hot commodity in the free agent pool. Matt Thornton is the logical choice to replace Jenks, but Putz is probably next in line. His numbers are OK, but reports indicate that his velocity is still down and that he's relying a lot more on his splitter. Based on comfort level, Ozzie's obviously going to give Thornton first crack if he makes a change; what wouldn't surprise me is if Scott Linebrink - not Putz - is next in line in this hypothetical scenario.
Julio Lugo. Claimed by 7th, 4th and 3rd place teams.
A hot week for Lugo led to a little more playing time for the Orioles. Lugo is more or less the same player he always was. He's got good basestealing speed and could nab 15-20 if he played regularly. His power is diminishing as he gets older, but he does enough with the bat to be of use when he's healthy. It remains to be seen if Lugo's offense would push Cesar Izturis' defense to the bench, but even if Lugo only plays 3-4 times a week, he has some value.
Dioner Navarro. Claimed by 5th and 3rd place teams.
Navarro's only 26, but it's starting to look like this is a case of "what you see is what you get." Navarro has a little pop but with that pop comes a fairly poor or downright bad batting average - depending on what year you're talking about. It looks like the Rays are going to go with a job share behind the plate until Kelly Shoppach is ready to come back, making Navarro's value somewhat limited.
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