2011 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Gems: American League

This week on Waiver Wire Gems – American League:

Bartolo Colon, SP New York Yankees (33% owned in Yahoo, 44% ESPN)

Current Stat Line – 2 W / 1 L / 33 K / 3.00 ERA / 1.09 WHIP

Not a bad stat line for someone available on more than half the waiver wires out there. Looked dominant against the White Sox in his second outing and has given up 3 or fewer earned runs in each of his starts.

Projection: 12 W/ 8 L / 155 K / 3.95 ERA / 1.30 WHIP

Justin Smoak, 1B Seattle Mariners (39% owned in Yahoo, 79% ESPN)

Current Stat Line – .315 AVG / 10 R / 5 HR / 20 RBI / 0 SB

OK, those in ESPN leagues are making all of us in Yahoo leagues look silly now when it comes to Smoak. This guy is legit, pick him up.

Projection: .285 / 70 R / 22 HR / 82 RBI / 0 SB

Matt Joyce, OF Tampa Bay Rays (17% owned in Yahoo, 46% ESPN)

Current Stat Line – .345 AVG / 12 R / 2 HR / 12 RBI / 3 SB

Joyce has been hot lately, but he usually sits against lefties. Keep an eye on the match ups and take advantage of his strong play so far before he begins to regress to the mean.

Projection: .275 AVG / 60 R / 14 HR / 65 RBI / 9 SB

Scott Baker, SP Minnesota Twins (31% owned in Yahoo, 18% ESPN)

Current Stat Line: 1 W / 2 L / 3.16 ERA / 26 K / 1.18 WHIP

Ok, so he got another no decision….the guy actually lowered his ERA and still his ownership goes down?? Admittedly, his K’s weren’t great and he’s not getting the wind, but his ERA and WHIP are both better than league average. Where’s the love??

Projection: 13 W/ 9 L / 3.95 ERA / 165 K / 1.20 WHIP

Eric Hosmer, 1B Kansas City Royals (24% owned in Yahoo, 22% ESPN)

Current Stat Line: N/A

So one of the top 5 hitting prospects in baseball is called up and you didn’t put in a waiver claim? Better hope the rest of your league is slacking as much as you are. Grab him now before it’s too late.

Projection: .270 AVG / 60 R / 18 HR / 70 RBI / 7 SB

See the Previous American League Waiver Wire Gems: 4/30, 4/23, 4/16, 4/09