Welcome to the Last Word On Sports Waiver Wire Report. Each Sunday you’ll find the players that are worth keeping an eye on or that are ready to pick up. Making movements in your Fantasy Roster are vital to preserve your team in the Playoff race. We’ll suggest players of each position that possess value for the rest of the season or while they are riding on a hot-streak.
Waiver Wire Report: Week One
Catcher: Derek Norris, San Diego Padres.
Norris was traded from the A’s to the Padres as part of Jesse Hahn’s trade during the offseason. As an Athletic, he batted for a .270/.361/.403 slash line and had 10 HR along with 55 RBI. This year he’s off to a great start, having six hits on 22 plate appearances. Norris is batting most of the games second in the Padres’ lineup, so he should have value as a runs producer thanks to a dangerous batting order behind him.
First Base: Mark Canha, Oakland Athletics.
Also elegible to play as an OF, Canha has impressed many this year. Bob Melvin expected Canha to be a platoon player with Josh Reddick, but after Reddick got injured he’s had a lot of opportunities in LF. Canha is impressing many including Bob Melvin: “He’s earned his time, no doubt. He’s swinging the bat great for us.”. In 14 PA he has 7 Hits, 1 HR and 6 RBI.
Second Base: Devon Travis, Toronto Blue Jays.
Even though he’s batting ninth in Blue Jays’ lineup, Travis has been contributing a lot, having .385 /.500/.692 with 1 HR and 3 RBI. Travis possess real value, same as he had in the minors (.323 / .388 / .487). You can add him up in your team without hesitation.
Third Base: Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees.
A-Rod was impressive during Spring Training as he batted for a .286 AVG and 3 HR. He has crushed his first HR of the season, and he’s just five more away from tying Willie Mays for fourth in history. It looks like Manager of the Yankees Joe Giradri has regain confidence in A-Rod, as he’s been batting 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the Yanks’ lineup. He currently holds a .286 / .375 / .571 slash line in the first week of the year.
Shortstop: Jose Iglesias, Detroit Tigers.
Iglesias is off to a terrific start with the Tigers, having .600/.635/.667 through 17 plate appearances. It’s great to see him start the season red-hot, as last year he didn’t play a game thanks to a shin injury and there were plenty of questions surrounding his return. Even though there’s been a bunch of buzz around him, I don’t think that Iglesias will keep this pace but in the meantime you should ride along with him during the hot-streak.
Outfield: Kevin Kiermaier, Tampa Bay Rays
Last year he played 108 games and had a .263 AVG with 10 HR. Kiermaier started the year on the right foot, posting a .385/.429/1.077 slash line. With a full season’s worth of playing time, Kiermaier should improve on those numbers. Kiermaier can be really useful in deeper leagues considering his ability to keep a solid batting average during a season (.279 AVG in minors).
Starting Pitcher: Drew Pomeranz, Oakland Athletics.
On Friday he pitched 7 shutout innings against the Mariners as he struck out 6. This is the third time of his career that he’s pitched 7 innings (41 Starts). Last year he started 10 games for the Athletics and he had a note-worthy 2.58 ERA and a 8.9 SO/9.
Relief Pitcher: Joakim Soria, Detroit Tigers
Joe Nathan is sidelined for several weeks, meaning that Soria should see lots of opportunities in the closer role. He notched his first save of the season on Friday vs. the Indians.
*Statistics as of April 11th*
