Drew Stubbs & Tommy Field: Deep League Wire

Often times I get my player ideas for this column from the bids in AL Tout Wars. Unfortunately, that means my recommendations typically learn toward American Leaguers, rendering National League owners $hit out of luck. My apologies. But you’re in luck! This week actually features a player from each league.

Drew Stubbs | OF COL | CBS 5% Owned

It’s a testament to Stubbs’ brutal start to the 2015 season that his ownership sits at just 5%. I would bet that he was the most, or close to the most, owned fourth outfielder in baseball coming out of draft season. And he was certainly owned in all NL-Only leagues. But he’s gotten off to a wretched start with a microscopic .202 wOBA and a gargantuan 54.5% strikeout rate in 55 plate appearances. So any chance he had of stealing at bats against lefties to give either Corey Dickerson or Charlie Blackmon a day off slowly disappeared. But now Dickerson has officially been placed on the DL with plantar fasciitis with no real idea exactly how much time he’ll need. From what I’ve read, a couple of weeks of rest doesn’t necessarily cure the condition. So we could potentially be looking at a long layoff.

With Dickerson out, the thought was that Stubbs would move into a nearly every day role. And since the Rockies play at home all this week, I actually picked up and am starting Stubbs in not just the deeper 15-team LABR mixed league, but also my 12-team mixed league. Stubbs did start in center field on Monday, but last night it was recent call up Rafael Ynoa. Ynoa is a switch hitter, so there’s a very real chance that the Rockies have already given up on Stubbs and are going to be platooning the two for the time being. But we can’t forget what Stubbs did last year and the combination of power and speed he has always possessed.

Obviousy last year’s .404 BABIP was unsustainable, but his batted ball distance reached a career high and jumped 30 feet from 2013 to 2014 to an impressive 307 feet. Of course playing at Coors Field had a lot to do with it. But so what? He still calls Coors home! Stubbs has always struck out a lot, but has remained rather consistent in that department, as well as in his SwStk%. This year, his SwStk% has skyrocketed to 18.8%. It’s certainly a concern, but remember the sample size is still rather small. At the very least, he should earn some deep league value while he has this increased playing time opportunity and if he could regain his previous form, he’ll be a solid mixed league asset as well.

Tommy Field | 2B TEX | 1% Owned

The demotion of Rougned Odor resulted in Field’s call up and he has received the lion’s share of playing time at second base so far, with Adam Rosales starting a game here and there. Field hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2013 and has accumulated all of 81 Major League plate appearances. He’s already 28, so it’s not like he’s some prospect who could run away with the job. Odor is already performing well at Triple-A and is likely to be recalled at some point, giving Field a limited amount of time to earn value.

That said, he has some power and some speed, plays in a hitter friendly home park and was enjoying a power outburst over a small sample at Triple-A before his promotion. In 2013 and 2015 so far, his plate discipline metrics look good and he’s not opposed to taking a walk. The Rangers aren’t going anywhere, so there is seemingly no motivation to be starting Rosales. He’s a journeyman utility guy, who is a solid bench player due to his versatility. Nothing more. And of course, if Field performs admirably at the plate, the Rangers will have less reason to give Rosales even one start a week.

So bottom line is that I do believe Odor is back up in the not too distant future. This is not a long-term recommendation and his opportunity might be short than Stubbs’. But he makes for a good stopgap with his ability to chip in a couple of homers and steals.