Waiver Wire: Pedro, Schmidt or Mitre?

Jason Schmidt, Pedro Martinez and Sergio Mitre are three hot names on Fantasy waiver wires. Our Jeff Lippman clearly favors one over the other two, and you might be surprised to learn who it is. He touches on that and other free agents in his Playing the Waiver Wire.

Hall of Fame and former Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver once said, "The reason you win or lose is darn near always the same -- pitching."

Watching the major league playoffs year after year, you would be hard pressed to argue with that philosophy. That is why, come the All-Star break and beyond, all the talk gets centered around which contending team will make the moves to bolster their staff and put them in prime position to run through October.

Already this season, three contending teams have molded their starting staffs in order to better prepare the team for what is to come. The Phillies, Dodgers and Yankees have 167 wins combined this season and all three are in first place in their respective divisions.

The Phillies recently signed future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez and the plan is for him to pitch every fifth day when he's ready. Los Angeles has finally re-enlisted the services of Jason Schmidt, a one-time All-Star and Cy Young candidate who hasn't had a successful big league season since 2006 due to various injuries and setbacks. And in the Big Apple, a recent announcement has Sergio Mitre as the new No. 5 starter. Mitre is the proud owner of a 10-23 career record with a 5.36 ERA over parts of five seasons with the Cubs and Marlins. He has not pitched in the majors since 2007.

You are probably thinking that Mitre doesn't even belong in the same conversation with Schmidt and Martinez. He's not fit to hold their spit buckets. But when you are standing on a major league mound bearing down at big league hitters, the back of your baseball card matters little. Fantasy owners need to know which of these pitchers will bring them the most value, and the answer isn't nearly as obvious as you'd think.

Pedro is 37 years old and has still yet to pitch on a minor league rehab assignment. He could eventually become part of the five-man rotation but has already said he'd be happy with a part-time or relief role with the World Series champs. Besides, the last time Martinez saw action in the bigs, last season with the Mets, he went 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA in 20 starts.

Schmidt, 36, went 1-4 with a 6.31 ERA for the Dodgers back in 2007 in just six starts and a bevy of shoulder problems have kept the three-time All-Star out of the majors ever since. He's finally back with the club and even won his first start Monday against the Reds. He went five innings and gave up three runs on five hits with three walks. Nothing spectacular, but the Dodgers scored enough for him to win. Still, his 4.18 ERA over five Triple-A starts doesn't exactly suggest he's resurrected his once-great career.

There is nothing good to say about Mitre's past. His best season was his last with the Marlins in '07 when he went 5-8 with a 4.65 ERA in 27 starts. However, the Yankees are one of the hottest teams in baseball and they can score runs in bunches, which counteracts the fact that Yankee Stadium is not a pitcher's ballpark. Plus, Mitre has been solid down in Triple-A for New York. In seven starts for Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Mitre is 3-1 with a 2.40 ERA and has given up just a run over his last 14 2/3 innings.

With Chien-Ming Wang likely unable to join the rotation again this season, Mitre will be a staple at the back end until he proves unworthy of the spot. Schmidt and Pedro could fall apart at any second because of age, but at 28 years of age, Mitre isn't nearly the injury risk.

We are in no way suggesting that Mitre will be a Fantasy stud going forward, but with owners already snatching up Pedro and Schmidt in 37 and 40 percent of leagues, respectively, we think it would be a much safer and more bountiful decision to grab the newest Yankee. With Mitre owned in just 16 percent of leagues, you can prove to your friends that you can look passed the glitz and glamour of once-great names and make the smart Fantasy move.

Call to the Bench -- We feel this player might be worthy of adding to Fantasy rosters for the long haul

Brett Anderson, SP, Oakland
Owned: 50 percent of leagues
Analysis: As a 21-year-old lefty, Oakland's Anderson always had loads of upside. Still, after going 4-7 with an ERA of well over 5.00 over the first three months of this season, Fantasy owners rightly shied away from using him outside of the deepest of AL-only formats. If you haven't noticed, he's beginning to find his groove. Anderson is 1-0 over three July starts. Over that time he has yet to allow a single run and has given up just seven measly base hits and three walks with 18 strikeouts over 21 innings. Anderson went into Boston and pitched a two-hit complete game shutout and followed that by not giving up a run to two very good offenses in Tampa Bay and the Angels. He's done a 180 degree turnaround from the beginning of his season and has started to pitch like the future ace he's destined to become. Anderson will give up more runs this season, of course, but he should now climb the Fantasy ownership charts quickly.

You're Out! -- We feel this player might have already peaked and his value could be on the decline, so Fantasy owners might want to cut bait ASAP

Melvin Mora, 3B, Baltimore
Owned: 26 percent of leagues
Analysis: Don't let the fact that Mora has now hit in eight of his last nine contests fool you. This is one career that is coming to an end. The 35-year-old third baseman for the Orioles is hitting .267 with three home runs and 24 RBI this season and is ranked outside the top 30 third basemen in Fantasy. Once a power threat, Mora went from May 8 until July 11 without a homer. Mora had nine RBI in 22 April at-bats and only six RBI in 100 at-bats in May. June was his worst month of all and it just doesn't seem like he'll be a viable Fantasy option in anything but AL-only leagues going forward and for the rest of his career. The Orioles are getting younger and they'd love for him to waive his strict no-trade clause, but the problem is not many teams want an aging powerless third baseman. Fantasy owners should feel the same way.

GIDPs -- We feel this player might not warrant as much Fantasy consideration as he is receiving and should be avoided in most instances

Nick Swisher, 1B/OF, New York Yankees
Owned: 71 percent of leagues
Analysis: Remember April? Swisher does, longingly. Possessing an everyday job during the season's first month, Swisher hit .312 with seven homers and 19 RBI. The job continued to be his over May and much of June, the only problem was, he left his bat in April. Swisher hit .150 in May with three homers and 10 RBI. He followed that with four long balls and 10 driven in during June with a .253 average and the playing time began to wane. Thus far in July, Swisher has been abysmal with a .222 average and what's more, his power has dissipated as he hasn't homered during the month. The worst news of all for his Fantasy ownership is the new addition of Eric Hinske. Hinske and Swisher join Brett Gardner and Melky Cabrera in a four-man platoon at two outfield spots. Hinske provides the power that New York originally hoped Swisher would give them and right now he and Gardner are the two most viable Fantasy options. This could change but Swisher would have to get red hot again before New York would play him enough to warrant ownership in 71 percent of leagues.

Scouting -- We feel this player is on the verge of being a Fantasy reliable option, but still needs to be monitored over the next few weeks

Mat Latos/Tim Stauffer, SPs, San Diego
Owned: 49/8 percent of leagues
Analysis: The Padres are 37-56 and mired in last place in the NL West with no hope of making the playoffs. The future appears to be now as San Diego has already plugged two of its top pitching prospects into the rotation in Stauffer and Latos. They are a combined 0-2 but have allowed just five earned runs over 17 innings combined. Currently, both are NL-only options, at most, but the upside is most definitely there as they'll get consistent starts from here on out. Both are among the most added Fantasy hurlers across the league but we just want to caution they will need more time to sauté before you should really be investing any roster spots on them. The interesting thing here is the fact that Stauffer, a former first-round pick who has made two starts and given up just three runs in 13 innings, is only owned in 8 percent of leagues while Latos, an 11th round pick who lasted just four innings in his debut and lost the game, has catapulted to 49 percent ownership. Stauffer's career became sidetracked by injuries and after giving up 18 runs in 7 2/3 innings pitched back in 2007 for San Diego, we can understand owners' shyness. Still, thus far he's proved to be the better option and both will need to be monitored going forward as the San Diego rotation builds for the future.

Farm Boys -- This segment is for those long-term keeper owners looking for the next Fantasy superstar

John Ely, SP, Chicago White Sox
Owned: 0 percent of leagues
Analysis: Chicago is ensconced in a pennant race right now and they are doing so even as its starting rotation has struggled mightily this season outside of top options Mark Buehrle and Gavin Floyd. It has come to the point where they can't wait for Bartolo Colon to come off the DL and help. Should Chicago look to the minors -- they are already going to recall Carlos Torres from Triple-A -- they'll find one of their farmhands, Ely, was just named the Double-A Southern League's Pitcher of the Week. Ely flirted with perfection in his last start as he retired the first 13 batters he faced. Allowing only one hit over six innings in the game, Ely earned his fourth consecutive win for the Birmingham Barons and is 8-1 on the season with a 3.31 ERA.

Doctor's Report -- This segment highlights a player on the verge of coming off the DL and ready to make an immediate Fantasy impact.

Troy Glaus, 3B, St. Louis
Owned: 15 percent of leagues
Analysis: The former American League home run champion has yet to take a swing for the Cardinals this season as he continues to recover from right shoulder surgery. St. Louis has moved on without the slugger and in first place in the NL Central. If Glaus, who on Monday began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis, hopes to return to the club and become productive once again, it might have to come at a different position. The former All-Star at third base got the start for the Redbirds in the outfield. "It's definitely an angle I'd never though of," Glaus told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "But the more I thought about it -- if I want to play every day, that's where I've got to play." Glaus went 2 for 4 with a walk in the game with an RBI and two runs scored to prove his bat is just fine. Playing the outfield could get him back in the majors much earlier than anticipated and added Fantasy eligibility is always a wanted commodity. Continue to follow this developing situation because Glaus could prove to be a nice piece to your Fantasy lineup over the final months of the season.

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