{"id":186,"date":"2012-05-02T19:33:21","date_gmt":"2012-05-02T19:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/linetrackers.com\/?p=186"},"modified":"2012-05-02T19:33:21","modified_gmt":"2012-05-02T19:33:21","slug":"fantasy-baseball-week-5-pickups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linetrackers.com\/?p=186","title":{"rendered":"Fantasy Baseball Week 5 Pickups"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we enter week 5 in fantasy baseball, we turn the calendar on April and go in to month two of the long baseball season. \u00a0We\u2019ve watched some amazing things happen so far like Matt Kemp hitting 12 HR, collecting 25 RBI, and batting .417, while the $250 million man, Albert Pujols, has driven in 4 runs, has no HR and is batting 200 points less than Kemp at .217. Some of the pitchers that were drafted early like Cliff Lee, Daniel Hudson, Rick Dempster, Drew Storen, Brian Wilson, and Andrew Bailey have all found a place on the DL.<\/em><\/p>\n

And so here are some key waiver wire pick ups that you should be considering and who are not widely owned in most leagues:<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
Gerardo Parra<\/a>-OF-Diamondbacks- <\/strong>Parra makes for a nice little pickup in all leagues basically for one category; stolen bases. While OF Chris Young is healing from what\u00a0has been diagnosed as a slight ligament tear in his right shoulder <\/em>, the speedster will continue his lead-off duties and probably see 3-4 more weeks on the field. In the last two weeks, he has stolen 7 bases, knocked in 10 runs, has 2 HR, and has scored 13 runs. Not bad for a replacement player. So if you have a \u2018need for speed\u2019 (and a little more), Parra is available in 75% of leagues.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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#8 Gerardo Parra slides in safely in front of the tag by Jose Reyes of the Marlins. The speedster is worth a flier if you need SB. Photo: Sarah Glenn\/Getty Images<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Chris Davis<\/a>-1B\/3B-Orioles-<\/strong> This 26 year old has been red hot of late after a torrid weekend series versus the Athletics. He\u2019s batting .310, which is bound to come down somewhat, but his power is his strong suit as he has hit 4 HR and driven in 12 in just 67 AB. I was surprised that Texas gave up on him so quickly because less than 2 years before he was traded to Baltimore, in 2009, he belted 21 HR in just 391 AB which equates to 1 HR every 18.6 AB. His dual position eligibility is also a plus. Davis is currently owned in just 35% of Yahoo! leagues and makes a nice add in 12+ leagues.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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3B Chris Davis also has 1B eligibility which, together with his power makes him a nice add in most leagues. Photo: fansedge.com<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Bryan LaHair<\/a>-1B\/OF-Cubs- <\/strong>Another player on fire is LaHair. Monday he doubled and hit a 2-run home run against the Phillies, which now gives him 5 moon-shots for the season to go along with 14 RBI. More impressive for the 29 year old who has spent most of his career in the minors, is his stellar .390 BA which, coupled with his obvious power, makes him a must add in most leagues. If you\u2019re a gambler, you can think about trading LaHair while he\u2019s got these amazing numbers. Or, if you don\u2019t have him, you can pick him up on waivers which is becoming even harder to do as his stock rises. On Monday he was owned in 51% of leagues. Today it\u2019s up to 62%. Don\u2019t procrastinate-see if he\u2019s still available.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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Cubs 1B\/OF celebrates with Starlin Castro after LaHair’s 2 run HR in the 8th inning vs the Phillies over the weekend. Photo: associated press<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Jason Hammel<\/a>-SP\/RP-Orioles- <\/strong>Hammel, who has spent the last three seasons in the thin air of Colorado, has watched his wins and K\u2019s go up while his ERA 1.97, and WHIP 1.03 has dropped significantly since being traded to Baltimore this past winter. He\u2019s 3-1 in the month of April and has fanned 30 in just 32 innings pitched. On Monday versus the Yankees<\/a> he allowed 2 runs over six innings and struck out five but took the loss. The red hot Red Sox are up next for Hammel so it won\u2019t be an easy task for the 29 year old. He is another player you might consider selling high but would suggest waiting another start or two. His 10 strikeout performance against the White Sox is what impressed me the most and is worth a grab in most leagues. He is available in 50% of leagues.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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#39 Jason Hammel got the win over the Minnesota Twins 3-1 on Sunday and lowered his ERA to 1.97 on the season. Photo: GREG FIUME\/Getty Images<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Pedro Strop<\/a>-RP-Orioles- <\/strong>Our third Oriole of the week, is a 26 year old fire-baller who can bring it. With closer Jim Johnson securely in place with his 7 saves, 0.00 ERA and 1.15 WHIP, Strop is a nice alternative if you\u2019re lacking in the RP slot and could use an occasional save and\/or win. He finished April with a 3-1 record and has added 2 saves to his resume. He also has struck out 14 in 13 innings and has a 2.08 ERA with a 1.08 WHIP which makes him more than serviceable. In Yahoo! leagues, he is currently ranked 70 among all pitchers. He is widely available in 85% of leagues and is definitely worth a flier. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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<\/span><\/a>RP Pedro Strop makes for a nice pickup if you’re looking for wins, saves, and K’s from your RP. Photo: csnbaltimore.com<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
WANT MORE?<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n
Fantasy Furnace<\/a> is a contributing writer to Daily Shootout. Follow them on Twitter @FantasyFurnace<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
Ple<\/span><\/span>ase join us on our <\/span>Facebook Page<\/a> and follow us on Twitter <\/span>@DailyShootout<\/a> <\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n
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Be sure to check out other great articles at DailyShootout.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we enter week 5 in fantasy baseball, we turn the calendar on April and go in to month two of the long baseball season. \u00a0We\u2019ve watched some amazing things happen so far like Matt Kemp hitting 12 HR, collecting 25 RBI, and batting .417, while the $250 million man, Albert Pujols, has driven in … Continue reading Fantasy Baseball Week 5 Pickups<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-baseball-betting"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linetrackers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linetrackers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linetrackers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linetrackers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linetrackers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=186"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/linetrackers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":188,"href":"https:\/\/linetrackers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186\/revisions\/188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linetrackers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linetrackers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linetrackers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}