Kung Fu Panda Down
Pablo Sandoval has been slayed by a hamate bone again — this time on the other hand. The good news is that he came back strong after his six-week absence last year, so maybe he can do it again. The bad news is that his owners are now looking for a third baseman on a waiver wire that just was just raided by Ryan Zimmerman, Kevin Youkilis, and Evan Longoria owners.
On the Giants themselves, it’s likely that callup Conor Gillaspie gets much of the playing time at third. Second base is still a (craptacular) Ryan Theriot / Manny Burriss mashup, and those two dudes are needed over there, and also to backup Brandon Crawford. Against left-handers, the team has the option of moving Brett Pill over to third base — he’s faked the position before. That still leaves a little under 3/4 of the at-bats at third base for the next six weeks available for the rookie.
What can he do?
He’s hitting .356 in Triple-A right now, which might serve as a recommendation to his new manager, despite the crazy .417 BABIP that pushed it. In real-life terms, his plate discipline should be a boon, anyway. Most years, he walks at an average rate or better, and strikes out at a better-than-average rage. He could be expected to do the same in the Major Leagues.
Combine average-or-better contact ability with average-ish power (he’s ISO-ed .132, .157 and .133 at Double-A and Triple-A respectively), and some speed (he stole nine bases last year), and the Giants could get a decent batting average from their rookie. The projection systems like him for about a .266 average, but with his skillset, it wouldn’t be outlandish to expect better. You see those isolated slugging numbers, though, so Pablo’s power will not be replaced. And while Gillaspie stole nine bases in 2011, he also was caught nine times. Don’t expect him to get the green light.
Is he any better than the waiver options out there? Depends on your league. Kyle Seager, fellow 24-year-old, is making more contact, has similar power upside, and has more speed. Plus, his usage has been fairly steady. For those that can’t afford a step back in batting average, he’s a decent option. Pedro Alvarez is an option for those that need the power more — but his Mark Reynolds-like strikeout rate (34.3%) isn’t likely to get much better than last year’s 30.5% rate, considering he’s showing the same (terrible) swinging strike rate. Not only does that mean a bad batting average, it means that his job is always at risk, much like Mark Reynolds has shown. Dan Wade had more on Alvarez earlier in the day. Chris Davis is just another Pedro Alvarez type, although for some reason he’s showing a decent strikeout rate right now.
The best option to replace both the batting average and the power might be in Boston, but he might not be a great option for all six weeks. William Middlebrooks (Will) is now up, and he’s done a great job improving his biggest flaw this year. Known for not walking and striking out too much, the 23-year-old repeated Triple-A this year and improved in both arenas. If the new strikeout rate is to be believed (18%), then he could maybe strike out around league average (19.2% this year) and use his prodigious power and okay speed to hit for a decent batting average. If you can manage to find two spots to replace the Panda, make Middlebrooks one of them.
Deeper leagues? So sorry. A National-League only reader sent me his waiver wire and all I could recommend was Jesus Guzman or Steve Lombardozzi. At least they’re playing semi-regularly. And there’s a chance, of course, that Juan Uribe is out there for you (and for the Giants?).
Deep NL only reader here, and losing Panda now has me wondering about Ian Stewart. Can we finally write off Ian Stewart, or could he be a viable fill in?
His strikeout and swinging strikeout rates are down for once, but now he’s hitting too many grounders. might be worth seeing if his BABIP will correct while you own him. Has the starting job for the most part too.
Which is the best option out of Alvarez, wigginton, middlebrooks and Chris Johnson?
Piggly Wiggly perhaps.
How does the community feel about Matt Carpenter as a replacement third bagger?
Carpenter will feel the squeeze now that Craig is healthy and won’t see many starts at all once Berkman can play.
I’d give Gillaspie a long look before adding Carpenter and keep a close eye on the situation in Milwaukee. Taylor Green is rebounding from a woeful start and could displace Ishikawa if the latter doesn’t produce. Green had an OPS just south of 1.000 in AAA last season (at age 25). Despite his lack of home runs thus far, he’s getting on base at a healthy clip.
Anyone else have the joy of owning him and longo?
In two days my third basemen have gone from Longoria/Sandoval to Lowrie/Middlebrooks.
Crazy game this fake baseball thing is…
thoughts on alex liddi as a panda replacement… all of the other guys mentioned so far are off my WW (except uribe and matt carpenter who doesn’t seem to be playing now that allen craig is back).
Also wondering about Liddi
Almost before the xrays were dry one guy sent me a trade request to give him Votto and I’d get Aramis Ramirez and Brian Lehair. It fixes 3B but do I give up too much with Votto. For the record, I’m already bottom third in the league in HR and RBI.
that is not getting nearly enough for votto.
okay thanks
I lead my league in HRs, RBIs, Runs and SBs, but am middle-of-the-pack in Average. Have lost Longo and Youkilis to the DL. I was about ready to cut Youk as it was – he has looked old and slow, and now can’t stay healthy.
I managed to pick up Middlebrooks, and he’s absolutely raking. I also have Chris Davis on the bench, but given his human fan impersonation I’m thinking of cutting him and picking up either Daniel Murphy, Kyle Seager, or Chris Johnson for the available utility/infielder spot. Murphy gives me good average but not much else, but can play multiple positions.
Thoughts?
I think Seager fits your needs best.