Waiver Saviors: July 14th, 2011

Three days without baseball games that matter and one of those days without an internet connection at home has me feeling like I've been through some sort of fantasy baseball detox program against my will. Who organized this intervention? (Probably my wife and kids).

If you're in a league that doesn't suck, now is the time to start evaluating each player on your roster to determine if they are part of the problem or part of the solution.

Let's take a look at some players possibly available on your league's waiver wire who could help your team bring home some fantasy baseball glory.

• OF Nate Schierholtz, SF (30% ESPN; 11% Yahoo!) is hitting .425 (17/40) with a .700 SLG in the month of July with three home runs and eight RBI. His first half 5x5 line of .293/30/7/31/5 could easily be duplicated in the second half depending, though, if the Giants are buyers or sellers as the Trade Deadline approaches. Aaron Rowand and Pat Burrell must go.
• OF Ben Revere, MIN (9.3% ESPN; 4% Yahoo!) was June's co-winner of the AL Rookie of the Month award with a .294 batting average and seven stolen bases. With Jason Kubel and Denard Span still on the DL, Revere should continue to get a chance to showcase his stuff. Target him for his ability to score runs and steal bases without killing your team's batting average while sacrificing home runs and power.
• RP Bobby Parnell, NYM (33.7% ESPN; 25% Yahoo!) and Jason Isringhausen, NYM (10.6% ESPN; 14% Yahoo!) could both be in the mix for saves and holds as a result of the Francisco Rodriguez-to-Milwaulkee trade. Ownership rates suggests fantasy owners are gambling on Parnell becoming the closer. If you're desperate for saves, grab whoever is available until it all shakes out. Both are must-owns in leagues using holds as a scoring category.
• RP Javy Guerra, LAD (18.5% ESPN; 11% Yahoo!) seems to be the Dodgers' closer du jour. He's recorded their last two saves while striking out three over two innings pitched. A save is a save is a save. Pounce now and dump later, if necessary.
• OF Travis Snider, TOR (33.2% ESPN; 26% Yahoo!) has been on fire since his recall from AAA. In seven games, he's hitting .367 (11/30) with six doubles, one home run, eight RBI and six runs scored. A very productive second half could easily be a reality for him.
• 1B Casey Kotchman, TB (6.9% ESPN; 7% Yahoo!) is hitting .336 with a .394 OBP in 75 games this season. He won't bring much else on offense (3 HR, 25 RBI, 21 R) but could be a very nice fit as a CI, DH or UTIL player for a team needing a batting average boost in a deep league.
• C/1B Mike Napoli, TEX (65% ESPN; 72% Yahoo!) is worth checking your waiver wire for just in case he was dropped during his stint on the DL and is still lingering out there. In six games since his return from the DL, he has two home runs, eight RBI and a .316 batting average. He may only get four to five starts a week but for a player with catcher eligibility, he's a must own.

This may not be the "sexiest" group of names you'd hope to find when reading a "waivers" article but these are players who can help you make up ground or stay on top of the standings right now. Keeper and dynasty leagues have a very different set of challenges than the more common one-and-done leagues. Players like Mike Trout and Pedro Beato would certainly be worthy of a mention but I don't think either player is going to help you win your league this year. And I am a big believer of playing to win now while worrying about keepers once I'm out of the running or in the off season.

*All statistics quoted are from games played through July 13th, 2011.