EFB DRAFT RANKINGS

Wednesday April 30th, 2008

Waiver Wire Wasteland: Clement Time

by John Thornton

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Overall Top 25 Drafts

Top 10 rankings by Scoring Category

League by League Breakdown

Jeff Clement, C, Seattle Mariners – I mentioned Clement a few weeks ago in my Farm Factor column and he has done nothing but exceed my expectations ever since. Jeff is currently hitting .397 with 5 HR and 21 RBI for Triple-A Tacoma. As impressive as those stats are, they take a back seat to his jaw-dropping 12/22 strikeout to walk ratio. That’s the kind of patience that will enable him to stick for good when he’s called up later this week. In what might have been the worst investment since the Giants bought Barry Zito for 121 million, the Mariners have reportedly signed Kenji Johjima to a 3-year, 24 million dollar contract extension. Clement is undoubtedly their catcher of the future but it looks like he’ll be a designated hitter for the interim. However, Clement qualifies at catcher in most leagues and that makes him an immediate must grab. (WW 1-4)

Max Scherzer, SP/RP, Arizona Diamondbacks – I hate to pat myself on the back here, but Scherzer is another young stud I mentioned in my Farm Factor column earlier this year. Before being called up this weekend, Scherzer was sporting a cool 1.17 ERA and 38/3 strikeout to walk ratio in 23 innings for Triple-A Tucson. The Diamondbacks called on him to work in relief initially and Scherzer responded by pitching 4.1 perfect innings with 7 K’s in his first appearance. Despite their bullpen needs, the Diamondbacks won’t be able to keep him out of the rotation much longer. Scherzer has the potential to put up Cole Hamels-like numbers this year and fantasy owners shouldn’t wait any longer to add this fireballer to their roster. (WW 1-4)

Jonathan Sanchez, SP, San Francisco Giants - Sanchez's overpowering arsenal has made him an intriguing prospect for several years now. But like many young power pitchers, he has struggled with his command at the big league level. Still only 25 years old, Sanchez might finally be putting it together. There's no doubt that Sanchez has the stuff to be a solid number two starter but one might be surprised to learn that he's already struck out 131 batters in just 120 Major League innings. His 10 K's versus the Reds last week we're no fluke, this guy can ring 'em up as well as anyone. Sanchez has cut back on the walks so far in '08 and if that trend continues, he's in for a breakout season. (WW 9-12)

Emil Brown, OF, Oakland Athletics – Not even a month into the season Emil Brown has already driven in 25 runs – good enough for 2nd best in all of baseball. I certainly didn’t expect this kind of production from Brown, but his outburst isn’t quite as surprising when you take a closer look. Brown’s LD% and FB% are up, while his GB% is way down from his career averages. He’s been able to hit the ball hard with consistency which logically translates into better production across the board. His BABIP is right around the league average at .297 so luck isn’t necessary a factor in this equation. There's is no reason that Brown can’t drive in over 100 runs from the heart of the Oakland lineup this year. If he can keep his batting average above .280, he’ll make a valuable bench player for your fantasy team at the very least. (FA)

Jayson Werth, OF, Philadelphia Phillies – Werth has stepped up quite nicely in place of the ailing Shane Victorino. He entered the season in a platoon situation with Geoff Jenkins but he might have played himself into a starting job over the last few weeks. The fact that he stayed in the lineup up last night after Victorino entered the game is a good sign that he’ll be seeing significantly more playing time than Jenkins for the time being. Werth is currently hitting .292 with 5 HR and 12 RBI and with a realistic BABIP of .300, these numbers look even better. Werth has always been fairly intriguing from a fantasy perspective but has never really put it together. If he can garner 450-500 at-bats, a .285 AVG with 15 HR, 80 RUNS, 80 RBI and 15 SB are well within reach. That’d make him a decent 4th outfielder in deeper mixed leagues. (FA)

KEY:

WW 1-4 = Worthty of Waiver Priority 1-4

WW 5-8 = Worthy of Waiver Priority 5-8

WW 9-12 = Worthy of Waiver Priority 9-12

FA = Grab him if he's free!

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