By Dan O’Shea
The major league debut of Gregory Polanco against the Cubs on Tuesday night caused a run to the waiver wire in many fantasy baseball leagues, even by teams with no immediate need for an outfielder.
How can a newbie cause so much fuss? Look no further than last year’s in-season debut of Yasiel Puig – or the debuts in recent weeks of George Springer, Jon Singleton and Oscar Taveras. Puig was last year’s overnight sensation, while Springer was this spring’s, with 12 HRs and 35 RBIs in just 47 games. Singleton already has a grand slam to his credit in just a week of service.
Polanco was 63% owned in Yahoo! leagues as of Tuesday night, so there’s still a little time to get in on the action.
So, who’s next? Here are a few possibilities if you want to start the bidding before they get to The Show:
* Archie Bradley, SP, ARI: It looks pretty certain that Bradley will be called up at some point by the struggling Diamondbacks, but probably not until after the All-Star break, as he recovers from minor injury. He wasn’t pitching great in AAA before he went down, but 23 strikeouts in 24 innings suggest some fantasy value.
* Javier Baez, SS, CUBS: Yes, he’s had a rough late spring after he wowed in spring training, but has been hitting well over .300 in a recent spate of games and though you’ll find many doubters, I think the Cubs will call on him as soon as they make their first trade. That could mean as early as late June. In any case, Baez has the better shot at being called up soon than Kris Bryant, though everyone seems to be lusting after Bryant at the moment.
* Maikel Franco, 1B/3B, PHI: He had 31 HRs and103 RBIs at A and AA levels last year, and with the Phillies falling fast in the NL East, he is probably just weeks away from getting the call.
Expert Wire
* CBS Sports.com evaluates Bradley, Baez, Franco and more prospects.
* Bleacher Report has hot waiver wire pick-ups for this week.
* SI.com looks at Ryan Zimmerman’s new-found OF eligibility.
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Dan O’Shea is our man in fantasyland. He welcomes your comments.
Posted on June 10, 2014