The top fantasy baseball waiver pickups as of May 11, 2012 area as follows…
Carlos Quentin, OF, San Diego Padres – The veteran outfielder is coming back from the disabled list after having arthroscopic knee surgery during spring training. Quentin will assume the everyday role as left fielder and is a good source for home runs, but not a very good batting average.
The Padres don’t have high-powered offense and Quentin’s RBI total will be above average at best. He’s a good replacement for Jayson Werth who suffered a broken left wrist.
Kyle Seager, 3B, Seattle Mariners – It’s becoming apparent that the relatively unknown Seager has earned the starting third base job in Seattle. Chone Figgins was slated to play third before the season begun, but Mike Carp got injured which moved Figgins to left field. Seager has seized the opportunity and is currently the team leader in runs batted in to compliment a batting average around .300.
Expect the former North Carolina Tar Heel to continue to his good play while being a regular in the Mariners’ lineup going forward. The 24-year-old is a good long-term option and short-term replacement for owners who recently lost Pablo Sandoval.
Jarrod Parker, SP, Oakland Athletics – Here’s a young sleeper that is hardly owned in fantasy leagues at this point. Parker, 23, is 1-0 with a 1.80 earned run average in his first three starts this season, making his season debut against the White Sox on April 25th. He was the main piece that the A’s got in the Trevor Cahill trade this past offseason and looks to be earning his spot in the rotation.
Expect him to have a few bumps in the road this year and a shortened workload in the back half of the season like many prospect pitchers in recent years. Parker is a good buy in deeper leagues and could prove to be relevant in shallower leagues by the All-Star break.
