Long-awaited callups, like Mat Gamel, Dallas McPherson and Jonathon Niese have arrived at last, but they have yet to make an impact in real or Fantasy baseball. As in the American League, the recent action on the National League waiver wire has mostly involved established veterans. One exception is San Francisco catcher/infielder Pablo Sandoval, who has been added to eight percent of CBSSports.com leagues in the past week. The Giants are finding everyday work for him behind the plate and at the infield corners, and he has returned the favor by showcasing the power and contact skills he demonstrated in the minors. Sandoval is a worthy NL-only pickup for sure, but mixed league owners should exercise caution. With just 44 games above Class-A ball under his belt, who can know if he's for real, or if he will pull a Toby Hall and disappear. Especially with catchers, you never know.

More guys in demand

Martin Prado, 2B, Atlanta
Week 23 Ownership: 2 percent
Week 24 Ownership: 15 percent
Rank in NL Most Added: 2nd
The Skinny: Despite his recent hot streak, Prado looks to be returning to his usual utility role, now that Casey Kotchman has been lifted from the bereavement list. On Thursday night, Kotchman started his first game since departing the team on August 20 and Prado was nowhere to be found in the lineup. The handful of owners who already had Prado on their active rosters have enjoyed a nice ride over the past two weeks, but even if he can steal some playing time from the regular Braves infielders, the ride is most likely over. He has shown steady improvement in his ascent through the minors, but it doesn't explain his sudden explosion of extra-base hitting. Prado's recent averages in the .340s have been propped up by fluky power and H/BIP trends. More realistically, he would probably hit closer to 290 for the rest of the year, if he were given regular at-bats. He is a risky pick for any Fantasy owner other than those in deep NL-only leagues.

Year Team Walk Rate Whiff Rate Iso Power H/BIP RC/27
2006 Richmond (Triple-A) 5% 12% 0.083 31% N/A
2007 Richmond (Triple-A) 8% 10% 0.103 35% N/A
2008 Atlanta 8% 12% 0.175 38% 8.0

Jason Marquis, SP, Chicago Cubs
Week 23 Ownership: 27 percent
Week 24 Ownership: 34 percent
Rank in NL Most Added: 9th (tied)
The Skinny: Overshadowed by his power-pitching Cubbie mound mates, you have to be happy for Jason Marquis that he is finally getting some love from Fantasy owners. But is Marquis really a feel-good story for his new owners? Yes, he rolled off a modest streak of three wins and a no-decision in four starts, but even with that relative prosperity, he was less than helpful in the ERA (3.75) and strikeout (10 in 24 innings) departments. From Brian Bannister to Carlos Silva to Aaron Laffey, we have seen similar pitchers with the same story line a number of times this year. Pitcher goes on a modest hot streak, pitcher makes many new friends in Fantasy, pitcher refuses to keep up superhuman control of the strike zone, pitcher gets dumped. The Cubs can always provide enough run support to make Marquis a winner, but wins are the only category where he can be of assistance.

Year Team BB/9 K/9 HR/9 H/BIP ERC
2006 St. Louis 3.5 4.5 1.6 29% 5.79
2007 Chicago Cubs 3.6 5.1 1.0 28% 4.28
2008 Chicago Cubs 3.4 5.0 0.9 29% 4.19

Others drawing interest

Rank Player Week 23 ownership Week 24 ownership Percentage change
1 Jayson Werth, OF, Philadelphia 28% 48% 20%
3 Jeff Suppan, SP, Milwaukee 32% 43% 11%
4 Mike Cameron, OF, Milwaukee 54% 63% 9%
5 Ty Wigginton, 3B, Houston 74% 82% 8%
5 Cristian Guzman, SS, Washington 64% 72% 8%
5 Chris Dickerson, OF, Cincinnati 21% 29% 8%

Guys Dropping Like Flies

Scott Olsen, SP, Florida
Week 23 Ownership: 52 percent
Week 24 Ownership: 47 percent
Rank in NL Most Dropped: 5th (tied)
The Skinny: As mediocre as Marquis is, it's hard to understand why Olsen is so much more popular than he is. Their skill profiles and performance stats are remarkably similar, other than Olsen generating more flyball outs and giving up more homers. Maybe it's the promise that Olsen showed as a minor leaguer and as a rookie, and at 24 years of age, he has not completely lost the chance to recover his skills. However, with a steady and marked decline in strikeouts since his rookie campaign, he doesn't look close to putting all the pieces together. In other words, Olsen belongs on this list, and it would not be an injustice for him to hang around on it for another week or two.

Year Team BB/9 K/9 HR/9 H/BIP ERC
2006 Florida 3.7 8.3 1.2 29% 3.88
2007 Florida 4.3 6.8 1.5 35% 6.54
2008 Florida 3.1 5.0 1.4 27% 4.13

Others wearing roster repellant

Rank Player Week 23 ownership Week 24 ownership Percentage change
1 Clayton Kershaw, SP, L.A. Dodgers 75% 60% - 15%
2 Jorge Campillo, SP, Atlanta 54% 47% - 7%
2 Jeff Karstens, SP, Pittsburgh 34% 27% - 7%
4 Ubaldo Jimenez, SP, Colorado 76% 70% - 6%
5 Anibal Sanchez, SP, Florida 52% 47% - 5%
5 Jon Rauch, RP, Arizona 45% 40% - 5%
Glossary
Runs Created per 27 Outs (RC/27) -- An estimate of how many runs a lineup would produce per 27 outs if a particular player occupied each spot in the order; ex. the RC/27 for Miguel Cabrera would predict the productivity of a lineup where Cabrera (or his statistical equal) batted in all nine spots; created by Bill James
Component ERA (ERC) -- An estimate of a what a pitcher's ERA would be if it were based solely on actual pitching performance; created by Bill James
Base Hits per Balls in Play (H/BIP) -- The percentage of balls in play (at bats minus strikeouts and home runs) that are base hits; research by Voros McCracken and others has established that this rate is largely random and has a norm of approximately 30%
Isolated Power -- The difference between slugging percentage and batting average; created by Branch Rickey and Allan Roth
Walk Rate -- Walks / (at bats + walks)
Whiff Rate -- Strikeouts / at bats

Al Melchior was recently a Fantasy columnist and data analyst for Baseball HQ and will be providing advice columns for CBSSports.com. Click here to send him a question. Please put "Melchior" in the subject field.

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