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Value Picks Season PECOTA Games Scoresheet
1B/3B/DH Team PA HR R RBI SB BA OBP SLG BA OBP SLG 1B 3B DH vRH vLH Rng
Pedro Alvarez PIT 101 3 8 12 0 .226 .277 .387 .236 .314 .415 0 25 0 +24 –71 2.65
Daric Barton OAK 401 5 40 32 1 .274 .379 .399 .259 .357 .411 91 0 0 +3 –10 1.86
Russell Branyan SEA 238 13 30 33 0 .258 .329 .493 .236 .344 .442 51 0 7 +33 –92 1.84
Matt Joyce TB 57 1 5 5 1 .186 .386 .326 .248 .338 .449 0 0 5 +23 –78
Matt LaPorta CLE 190 5 22 18 0 .250 .321 .384 .262 .344 .462 36 0 6 –12 +29 1.85
Danny Valencia MIN 68 0 4 4 1 .323 .382 .371 .256 .308 .410 0 17 0 –11 +40 2.65
Dayan Viciedo CHA 44 2 9 5 1 .295 .295 .477 .238 .287 .369 2 13 0 –11 +40 2.65
Subscribe to Heater Avg for First Base .275 .359 .477   vRH = OPS v RH
Heater Magazine Avg for Third Base .269 .339 .434   vLH = OPS v LH
  Avg for Desig. Hitter .263 .350 .468   Rng = Range

The Value Picks list looks solid as the second half begins, needing just one change to help your counting numbers at third base. Although fantasy owners have found few serviceable hot-corner options, Minnesota has a glut: the light-hitting Nick Punto, the defensively challenged Michael Cuddyer, and the prospect Danny Valencia. Among this trio, Ron Gardenhire has leaned heavily on Punto and Cuddyer, giving Valencia about two starts a week. Even after Justin Morneau’s concussion shifted Cuddyer to first, Gardy has relied mostly on Punto, who’s hit .148/.179/.148 this month.

This choice is even more puzzling because Valencia needs more development than two games a week provides. Given a chance, the rookie could even step up in the heat of a pennant race to give the Twins their first solid third baseman since Corey Koskie. This situation bears watching, as Gardy could lose patience with the punchless Punto, or Morneau’s concussion could linger. But for now, his playing time doesn’t merit a VP slot, so we “see ya later to Valencia until his circumstances change.

Replacing him on the list is Dayan Viciedo, also a promising rookie, albeit one who’s being given the chance denied Valencia. With Mark Teahen out, Ozzie Guillen has split time between Viciedo and Omar Vizquel. Veteran Vizzy might be a wizard with the mitt, but he’s hitting just .260/.323/.336 on the year, and Guillen recognizes the need for offense.

That’s why Guillen could lean towards Viciedo, the $10M Cuban whose 2010 BP writeup notes his power and batspeed, plus his fondness for fattening American foods. These factors combined to produce Viciedo’s lackluster 2009 Double-A debut when he hit .279/.317/.390, with an impatient 4 BB% but an impressive 82% contact rate.

That trend continued in Triple-A this season, as he hit .288/.329/.533, with a 3.5 BB% while making contact 79% of the time. After a shaky start, he’s collected 8 hits in 27 July ABs for a .296/.296/.593 line. As you can see from his BA and OBP, he has yet to take a free pass in the majors, but he’s struck out just four times in 44 ABs, none of them coming in his recent six-game hit streak.

Small-sample-space warnings obviously apply, but Viciedo seems to be handling major-league pitching, despite his impatience. PECOTA’s line on him is awfully low, giving him little value unless he crests his .267/.320/.454 90th percentile. But Cuban defectors are hard to predict because they have so few major-league comps, and Viciedo has only that weak 2009 line. So that lowball outlook is hardly surprising, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see him beat those projections. Opposing pitchers will catch up to his free-swinging ways eventually, but his good contact rate is a great antidote to his aggressive approach.

A healthy Mark Teahen wasn’t all that amazing, as shown in his .255/.340/.387 line, so Viciedo could stick even when Teahen returns in a few weeks. Owners shouldn’t expect too much from Viciedo, and he’ll hurt you in OBP leagues, but the power potential makes him a good gamble for AL-only owners and deeper mixed leagues, if you can weather the inevitable rough spots.

To find young players succeeding after making adjustments, Viciedo need look no further than fellow VPs Pedro Alvarez and Matt Joyce. Both have weak overall lines, but each one has been steadily improving. Since shifting to the five-hole, Alvarez is hitting .308/.357/.615 in 42 PAs. His strikeouts are still elevated—12 whiffs over that span—but he’s also collected three walks, a good sign he’s kept what little patience he has. For an example of great patience, check out the 200-point BA/OBP differential on Joyce. He’s an OF/DH part-timer, with a .200/.407/.300 line over his last six starts. As long as he doesn't morph into the next Jeremy Giambi, his whopping 26% walk rate and solid 20% strikeout rate mean he'll keep getting better.

Walks have highlighted Daric Barton’s season, too. He continues to lead the AL in that department and seems to have shaken off a pre-Break slump with a three-hit game on Saturday. Those walks mean his approach remains consistent, so he’ll stick as a VP unless he takes a real turn for the worse.

Russell Branyan hasn’t played since the Break after dropping a table on his toe, but he’s expected to return soon. When he does, he’ll join Justin Smoak, who’s heating up, and with whom he’s played just one game; the two should be a productive combination.

Branyan’s former teammate Matt LaPorta has seen his ownership rise to 19% in belated recognition of his pre-Break hot streak, when he picked up a hit in nine of his last ten games, for a .412/.474/.824 line. Even though he’s just 2-11 since then, LaPorta should rebound and crest the VP ownership threshold. Get him while you still can.

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OTSgamer
7/20
After he racked up zero fantasy points in my league last year -- 3-16 with six strikeouts -- would it be a good idea to dump Ty Wigginton in my utility spot and pick up someone like Andres Torres, Drew Stubbs, or Nate McLouth?
michaelstreet
7/25
OTS--

Sorry for the tardy reply! Wiggy makes a good MIF option, even given his current struggles, and a lesser CIF option, but I don't think he's a great UT option.

Among your options, I'm more and more impressed with Torres the more I see him, and he really stung the ball in their series at AZ. Stubbs offers some value, and at least your league doesn't care about his whiffs.

I can't recommend any of these guys as good power options, which would help in your league, but I'd take Torres and Stubbs (in that order), and give McLouth a pass for now. He's a possible bet for a turnaround, given his awful underperformance thus far, but I don't see evidence of that just yet.

Thanks for the question!

Mike