Tyler Skaggs Back Up With Arizona — MLB Fantasy Waiver Wire Pickups 2013

Heading into this season, Skaggs was Arizona’s number one prospect, which makes his first nine starts in the Triple-A Pacific League a head-scratcher. He posted a 5.23 ERA and opponents hit .263 against him over his first nine starts. He still managed a spot start against Texas on May 27^th and was lights out, striking out nine over six scoreless frames while earning a win. A shoulder injury to Brandon McCarthy will provide him with another audition. His two starts this week make him a must add in all leagues. He may only see a handful of starts, but if he continues to impress he may force the front office to keep him around.

Prior to his call-up on May 30^th, Wacha had just 73.2 professional innings to his credit. Some may view at that as a knock, but when you see just how dominant he was while in the minors you see a 21 year old kid that looks completely capable of contributing. Both his fastball and changeup are plus pitches and fully capable of getting plenty of outs. His first start against the Royals should be all the proof you need he belongs. With two starts this week you can be sure Wacha will be a very hot commodity on waiver wires. If you were lucky enough to grab him remember there will be ups and downs as he learns to pitch in the majors. The ups will definitely be more frequent than the downs for the 2012 first round draft pick.

If you are going to take a flier on a pitcher from Oakland this should be the guy you target.  The 24 year old posted career numbers last year, winning 13 games while posting a 3.47 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. He has had a rough start to the season but has begun turning things around; posting five consecutive quality starts highlighted by 6.1 innings of shutout ball on Sunday against the Whitesox. His two main issues this season have been an increase in homeruns allowed and walks. Each of those totals have been on the decline, leading to his resurrection. While Parker isn’t a frontline fantasy starter, he is a guy who when on can provide quality innings and stick around for some wins on a solid A’s squad.

A strained right calf landed Huston Street on the disabled list. Padres manager Bud Black is already on the record stating that he plans to give Gregerson most of the work in the ninth inning while he is out. He notched a save in his first opportunity on Saturday and figures to see a handful of chances until Street returns. Obviously if you are a Street owner grabbing him to pick up the slack would be a wise decision. If you are someone like me that likes to pick up cheap saves in season then what are you waiting for?

Chris Perez landed on the DL earlier this week with tendonitis in his right rotator cuff. Next man up is Pestano, who heading into this season was a favorite among experts to usurp Perez in season. Unfortunately for Pestano, he has been dealing with a minor elbow injury most of the season which has really hurt his early numbers. Don’t let those discourage you though. Pestano actually has better stuff than Perez, and if forced between picking him up, or the aforementioned Gregerson I would go with former. Perez is set to resume a throwing program sometime within the next week, but the team still doesn’t have an ETA on his return. That to me smells like Pestano may get the job a bit longer as well.

Walker was quiet to start the season, hitting just .253 with one homer and eight RBIs prior to landing on the DL on April 27^th with an injury to his finger. Since returning on May 13^th he has poked three more homers and drove in eight more runs while raising his average to .260. The fact this guy saw as many waiver wires as he did after getting injured is one thing, but the fact he is still available in plenty of leagues after three consecutive solid seasons confuses the hell outta me. This guy is a strong hitter that is actually exhibiting better patience at the dish this year. That will pay off in the long run, and this guy will post Top-10 numbers at second even after missing time to injury.

Freese broke out for the Cards last season, posting a .297-70-20-79-3 line over 567 plate appearances. Because of his strong numbers last season combined with a solid minor league track record I loved him to continue to grow as a player this season. He got off to a putrid start this year. He didn’t hit his first homerun until May 17^th and was constantly battling to keep his batting average above the Mendoza line. That was until he ripped off an 11 game hitting streak that saw him raise his average 46 points to .256. His game is rounding into form and with it your chances at getting your hands on him dwindle. Expect his ownership to be hovering around 100 percent this time next week.

Matt Kemp’s trip to the DL punched Puig’s ticket to the bigs. He posted a .313/.383/.599 triple slash with eight homers and 13 steals in Double A after taking the league by storm in the Cactus league this spring. His tools are undeniable, as he looks and already plays the part of a perennial 20-20 bat. Kemp’s injury may only sideline him the minimum 15 days, but the team hasn’t made a firm announcement about an expected return date yet. What we do know is the Dodgers are already 8.5 games back in the NL WEST and 11 games out of a wildcard spot. If Puig injects some life into the Dodgers hugely disappointing offense he may force the team to keep him. That scenario turns him from a nice short term option to the type of bat you play every day that helps you win a championship.

Martin was the biggest beneficiary of Josh Hamilton signing with the Angels, as he came into Spring Training as the odd on favorite to land a job as the teams starting center fielder against right handed pitching. He started the season off slowly, hitting just .267 with a homer and two RBIs through April. Since that point though, a light switch has turned on for the 25 year old as he has posted a .307-9-1-7-8 line over his last 65 at-bats. He currently flies under the radar because the fact that he has driven in only nine runs thus far and he takes a seat against most lefties. His strong play has kept him on the field much more of late though. We can see 10 homers and 30 steals with 450 at-bats.

Reddick was activated from the DL on Friday and immediately re-inserted back into the starting lineup. Prior to going down with his wrist injury, he posted a brutal .152-9-1-14-5 line over his first 92 at-bats. Fantasy baseball owners are a what have you done for me lately crowd, and his poor start combined with his injury had him readily available in just about every mixed league. What many fail to remember though is this guy posted a .242-85-32-85-11 line last year in what was his breakout season. After a quick look at his season numbers, I see a guy that has actually improved his walk rate while dropping his strikeouts. His only issue has been his BABIP, which sits at .211. That number will rise, and has already begun doing so. I suggest grabbing him now before he takes off again.