It’s a strange feeling losing Grady Sizemore for the year because for all intense and purposes he never really showed up. His name alone had him owned in upwards of 90 percent of leagues entering Week Nine. Yet in 128 at bats Grady was hitting .211 with only 15 Runs, zero Homers, 13 RBIs, and four stolen bases. To put things into perspective Kyle Blanks in 103 at bats had 14 Runs, three Homers, 15 RBIs, and one Stolen base (he also hasn’t played in two weeks, and is currently in the minors). Being the optimist that I am I ask myself what it the upside to this loss? This was a blessing in disguise, and literally picking up ANY other starting Outfielder will give you an immediate boost. That’s not good enough though, you want the best available player on the wire to fill your void.
There are two things you can look at:
1. Best Available Outfielder covering the five major offensive statistical areas (R-HR-RBI-SB-AVG)
2. Your team has one pressing need and consistently loses one of the five categories above, so you grab the best player excelling at that category.
Let’s take a look at who makes the most sense to pick up covering both these perspectives.Option I (Well Rounded Starters)
H/AB-Runs-HR-RBI-SB-Avg
1. Drew Stubbs 42/178-31-6-26-12-.236 Cincinnati Reds
2. Corey Hart 43/167-23-14-35-3-.257 Milwaukee Brewers
3. Jason Kubel 37/163-15-6-31-0-.227 Minnesota Twins
4. JD Drew 53/193-33-6-33-1-.275 Boston Red Sox
5. Cody Ross 61/205-27-5-30-3-.298 Florida Marlins
6. Jose Guillen 51/209-33-12-34-1-.244 Kansas City Royals
Option II (Single Stat Upgrades)
Runs
Seth Smith = Scored 19 times in the last month, huge beneficiary of Dexter Fowler’s demotion.
Fred Lewis = Scored 18 times in the last month, Leading off for a team full RBI machines.
Home Runs
Corey Hart = has 11 HRs in the last 30 days. Enough said.
RBIs
Delmon Young = He may not have the pop we would like, but he still drove in 18 over the last month.
Hideki Matsui = More like a Gecko than Godzilla, but still hits fifth on a very good team driving in 18 over the last month.
Stolen Bases
Juan Pierre = 22 Swipes this year
Nyjer Morgan = 12 SBs in 2010 so far, and heating up
Average
David DeJesus = 33 for his last 94 (.351)
Chris Coghlan = 36 for his last 113 (.319)
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