Heading only into the sixth week of the young baseball season, one of the marquee pickups among fantasy pickups thus far has been Kansas City’s Alex Gordon. Largely undrafted and forgotten as the prospect that never was, Gordon appears to have turned the corner in his professional career. Owners that picked up on the Royals leftfielder are currently enjoying the 42nd best option in the Yahoo! game with 3B and OF eligibility.
A year before Gordon was selected as the 2nd overall pick in the 2005 draft, the Cincinnati Reds drafted RHP Homer Bailey with the 7th pick. To say Bailey has underachieved since his debut in 2007 is a large understatement. The hard throwing Texan showed glimmers of hope throughout years of mediocrity, and an inability to locate has been a major problem (1.49 career WHIP). But, since returning from the DL this season, Bailey has again become the center of attention as the prospect with unfulfilled potential.
In two starts this season, Bailey has sparkled with 12 strikeouts in 13 innings against the Houston Astros. So far this season, the Astros rank seventh in the National League in runs so Bailey’s wins over them shouldn’t be taken as lightly as if he was pitching against, say, the Padres. Bailey has issued just one walk in 13 innings and with his next start coming against the Chicago Cubs at home, Homer might just enter back into the circle of trust among fantasy owners.
Owned in 23% in Yahoo! leagues, Bailey has post-hype sleeper written all over him and in this instance, the reward far outweighs the risk.
Discount Den: Players owned in less than 25% of Yahoo! Leagues
Matt Joyce (TB-OF): 24% owned
One of the big reasons why Desmond Jennings hasn’t arrived in Tampa Bay following Carl Crawford’s absence has been the stellar play of Sam Fuld and now, Matt Joyce. Joyce is on a tear right now, picking up in May what he started in April. Joyce hit .321 in April and has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 appearances. The Rays outfielder has ripped off three consecutive multi-hit games and with his ownership on the rise, owners seeking help in the outfield in deeper formats should take a look.
Erik Bedard (SEA-SP): 12% owned
Is it time to let the oft-injured Bedard graduate from the wire to your team? Well, it depends on how much faith you have in the former All-Star. Since arriving in Seattle, he’s failed to log more than 90 innings in a season. However, early results from this season have been mostly positive for Bedard. In his last 19 innings against the White Sox, Rangers and Tigers, Bedard has been impressive. He’s allowed four earned with 15 punchouts over that time while pitching into the seventh inning against Texas and Detroit. Buyers beware with Bedard of course, but with Cleveland on deck for his next start, it’d be wise to keep an eye on him at this point in the season.
