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I really don’t want to spend much time on Endy Chavez. Which means basically two things. 1) I don’t think to much of the guy. 2) The Mariners outfield situation is bad. Really bad. Boy, wouldn’t it be nice if they still had a fourth outfielder that could play center pretty well and has some pop? Granted, *they* could have claimed Casper Wells, after eight previous DFA’s this past week, but pride goeth before a fall, or so they say. Well, now that I’m thinking about it, if I’m going to talk about Shelley Duncan and Don Kelly in previous iterations of this series, might as well make Chavez feel right at home. Hitting 269/308/367 for his career, that’s basically who he is. But he’s getting at-bats, so he’s filler if you need it. And if you need filler like that, bless your heart.

Rodney Daal is what Austin Hedges is to Yasmani Grandal. Suffice to say, the Padres are pretty stacked at the catcher position. The Texas Rangers just shook their fist at the sky, cursing Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Taylor Teagarden, and Max Ramirez. But it’s never too early and never too risky to find catching prospects with potential plus bats in fantasy baseball. Signing with the Padres out of the Netherlands in 2011, he’s a right-handed 20-year old with a pretty good chance to stick at the battery position. And though he’s a long way off, maybe a 2016 ETA, he’s shown an advanced bat and could have plus power with adequate defense. Actually, Grandal might be the perfect comp here. Buy now, while he still remains a mystery.

Basically a poor man’s Henderson Alvarez, Pedro Hernandez has a rotation spot, which is the reason he’s here. It’s for the Minnesota Twins, which is the reason you should buy with caution. While his ERA is at an okay 3.48, his FIP is at 5.62. With a disgusting K/9 of 3.48  and meh BB/9 of 2.78, he’s pretty much a typical Twins pitcher on speed. Pitchers who strike no one out usually don’t project well. Even if you need the innings, I’m telling you to stay away.

Pretty much useless against left-handed pitchers, Laynce Nix can do some damage against righties. While unlikely to reach anything past 350 PA’s, he has shown plenty of power in limited action, hitting 16 homeruns in 2011 and 15 in 2009. So far, he’s being used sparingly as a left-fielder and 1B hedge, with some pinch at-bats. But he does have 2 homeruns so far. Which is not a lot, I know. But just go to your free agent sorter and see who’s the leading the list with homeruns. If its Nix or Eric Hinske, you know what’s up. His K% will be too high and BB% will be too low to help in OBP leagues, but the slugging should stay north of .450. A limited power-play if there ever was one.

Xavier Paul is pretty much the opposite of Nix, in that the value he provides is not from power, but speed. He does have decent contact skills, but really only has a role firmly on Cincinnati’s bench. In a limited 29 PA’s so far, he’s hit 333/379/481, which is heavily BABIP driven. As time goes on, expect that to go down to around 260/310/350. But during that time, he could steal 10-15 bases if he continues to get sporadic time.

Following the trend of trying to get as many awesomely named players noticed, Dalton ‘Duke’ Von Schamann is next on the list. And if you were wondering, yes, you have to bow when you say his name. The 6-4 righty has a good sinker that sits in the low 90’s, and also has a developing slider and changeup. His fastball sits around 92-94 MPH and has pretty good command. If everything comes together, something like Brad Radke with slightly better K potential is possible.