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Must or Bust: Waiver Wire Gems? Smoak, Jones, Scherzer & More

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A quick look at last wee’s Fantasy Baseball top performing and least owned players on the waiver wire. Justin Smoak is smoking the ball and Max Scherzer dominates twice. Can they really keep it up for another week? Check out who’s a Must or a Bust.

SWINGERS
John Buck – 40% of Y! Leagues
4 R / 3 HRS / 8 RBI / .389 BA
With all this hype around catchers this year, most owners seem to overlook guys like Buck. If you are a win-now kinda of fantasy player, then having Buck on your team may very well benefit you over a guy Weiters. Buck’s problem has always been hitting for a decent average and so far he’s 33 points above his career numbers. Three multi-homer games already, he could easily hit 25 by seasons end.

Chipper Jones – 53% of Y! Leagues
5 R / 1 HR / 7 RBI / .471 BA
Yes he’s older and hitting 50 points below his career .306 average but he’s still one of the best 3B of the past 20 years. If Glaus can have a comeback year, then Chipper can too. Expect better numbers in the second half assuming he doesn’t get injured like the past few years.

Scott Podsednik – 53% of Y! Leagues
5 R / 1 HR / 7 RBI / 2 SB / .286 BA
I’m so tempted to call the Royals the worst team in the league but the truth is that the Indians and Orioles are certainly worse. Regardless, Speedy Scotty is back to his old form and running the bejeezus out of the bases. Injuries have really dropped Podsednik off the radar but he’s healthy this year and on track to at least 40 stolen bases.

Justin Smoak – 13% of Y! Leagues
5 R / 2 HRS / 8 RBI / .320 BA
After a dismal start, Smoak has put together a solid last month (15 RUNS / 4 HRS / 21 RBIs /.278 avg). With the influx of all the call-ups owners have forgotten to come back around and take a look at what Smoak is doing. He won’t be available for much longer, go get him.

Angel Pagan – 33% of Y! Leagues
3 R / 5 RBI / 2 SB / .417 BA
Pagan has been on fire the past month, batting .327, 15 Runs, 13 RBIs and 9 SBs. I seem to be less and less worried about Beltran coming back and squeezing Pagan out. Angel really has been at the center of the revitalized Mets.

HURLERS
Carl Pavano – 16% of Y! Leagues

16 IP / 2 W / 7 K / 2.25 ERA / 0.63 WHIP
Despite Pavano's 8-6 record, this is actually his best season since 2004. There's still plenty of time for Carl to get back to his usual mediocre numbers, but right now he is pretty much pitching career bests in ERA, WHIP & BAA. His last game was a gem against the struggling Phils, going nine and only giving up one. 10 of 15 have been quality starts!

Max Scherzer – 34% of Y! Leagues

13 IP / 2 W / 17 K / 2.77 ERA / 1.15 WHIP
There is so much talent in this kid. Owners were expecting a lot more out of Scherzer this year and a few have jumped back on the boat since his return. In 5 games since returning, he has a 3.48 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 41Ks. If you lack strikeouts, Mad Max is your guy!

J.J. Putz – 3% of Y! Leagues
3 IP / 1 W / 1 SV/ 3 K / 0.00 ERA / 0.33 WHIP
It’s truly amazing how quickly Relief Pitchers fall from grace. In 2006 through 2007 Putz amassed an amazing 76 saves with just a 1.86 ERA. Those days are long gone and J.J. has been reduced to a set-up guy, just silently waiting for Jenks to get injured or implode. Unless you are in a crazy deep league, there are better middle relievers out there.

Joel Pineiro – 27% of Y! Leagues

8 IP / 1 W / 5 K / 1.12 ERA / 0.50 WHIP
I feel like a broken record saying this, but Pineiro is a roller-coaster ride. He pitches well against the tough teams then blows-up against teams like the Royals. There is no rhyme or reason to whether he will have a good game or not and so I’ve always stayed away. When he is on though, he can be as good as they come. In his last two games, Pineiro has pitched 17 innings, 8 hits, 2 runs and 12 K’s while only giving up 2 walks! Like clockwork though, Joel will have a bad game in the next one or two, regardless of who they is playing.

Jason Vargas – 29% of Y! Leagues

7.2 IP / 1 W / 4 K / 1.17 ERA / 0.65 WHIP
Past his first game, Vargas has put up a quality start in all of his games since (1 game was only 5 innings, but he still only gave up 2 runs). Honestly if the Mariners we’re any better we could be looking at 9-2 record instead of a 5-2. Season ERA is under 3.00, WHIP is just above 1.00 and batters are only hitting .225. In his fifth year, Vargas may have finally figured it out.

Who is the best waiver wire pickup this week? Who do you think is just getting started
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Tags: Fantasy Baseball Advice, Fantasy Baseball Blog, Fantasy Sports Blog, MLB, Week 12, Must or Bust, Double Dippers, The Fantasy Marx, John Buck, Chipper Jones, Scott Podsednik, Justin Smoak, Angel Pagan, Carl Pavano, Max Scherzer, J.J. Putz, Joel Pineiro, Jason Vargas. Toronto Blue Jays, Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners

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