Sometimes the season seems like it’s been going for five years, not five months. Though these guys are great at what they do, we’ve seen the same cast of characters doing their thing for a while now and that brand new shine is long gone from the season.

Like Leonardo DiCaprio suddenly showing up half way through the twelve-year run of Growing Pains, we need some new blood in the game. It’s time for some young guys to come up and inject some youthful exuberance into our favorite game.

Sure there might be some growing pains, but I might just blossom like Leonardo DiCaprio. Photo Credit: Icon SMI

Good thing September 1 is this weekend. The rosters expand to forty from twenty-five and among the call-ups to the major leagues there just might be a DiCaprio worth picking up for your team just like the Seavers adopted the budding young star into their family.

Of course, there are a lot of routine transactions that will happen this weekend. Players already on the forty-man roster are preferred to prospects that aren’t on the larger roster. There is less roster movement involved in calling up those players, but therefore also less excitement for us. It’s more likely we’ve already seen these players this year. Some teams don’t even call up the full 15 if some of their prospects are competing in the minor league postseason.

On the other hand, you might remember that Jacoby Ellsbury, David Price and Justin Upton were all recent September call-ups that made a difference in fantasy. The most likely Uptons and Prices of this year, Travis Snider and Matt LaPorta, are already up and already owned in your deep league, but more are on the way.

We are looking for guys with a little less hype that might still contribute. At least we know there’s some new blood coursing through our waiver wire blood, even if we don’t find ourselves a Leonardo DiCaprio or Justin Upton in their midst.

OFFENSIVE OPTIONS

National League:

Justin Maxwell (OF, WAS): Nyjer Morgan broke his hand and is out for the season, meaning Maxwell will be up before September 1. The homegrown prospect has lost his shine over two straight poor years in the upper minors. His walk rate is still over 10 percent, but his batting average has been in the sub-.250 basement, and the power is not really materializing. On the other hand, he’s still stealing bases and he may actually get a little burn this September in center field.

Eric Young, Jr. (2B, COL): Young the younger might already be gone off of your waiver wire. His two caught stealings were on ESPN and he has a little thing called name recognition going for him. The son of Eric Young, Sr. makes his hay the same way his father did: with his legs. He hasn’t hit under .290 since his first year in rookie ball, and he’s racked up 303 minor league stolen bases along the way. With Dexter Fowler on the DL with a knee bruise, Young might get some regular time in center field while backing up Barmes at second base. If you need speed, there are few better places for a deep leaguer to look.

Brandon Allen (1B, ARI): Allen, the trade booty from the Tony Pena trade, is already up in the majors, and it looks like he might get the bulk of the at-bats at first base against right-handers in September. Though the last tryout at first base didn’t work so well for the Diamondbacks (Josh Whitesell struggled to a .194/.346/.287 line in 108 at-bats this year), this one should work out better. Allen hit .324/.413/.641 in Triple-A Reno this year, continuing a tear through the minor leagues in which his worst full-year OPS was in Sally Ball in 2006. Since then, he’s comfortably lived in the high .800s and done his best to undo a slight platoon split. At 23, he’s ready to go.  

American League:

Austin Jackson (OF, NYY): With Brett Gardner just now gripping a bat, the Yankees are depending on Melky Cabrera and Cody Ransom in center field. The thing is, Cabrera is playing only an average center field defensively, and is not providing a ton of offense either. Jackson is 22 and putting up virtually the same line this year in Triple-A (.295/.355/.404) as he did last year in Double-A (.285/.354/.419). This is idle speculation, as there have been no rumors about Jackson coming through the Yankee pipeline. Jackson is capable of coming up and giving you a decent batting average with some steals to boot, provided the Yankees feel the same way.

PITCHING POSSIBILITIES

National League:

Ross Detwiler (SP, WAS): Most of the starting rotation spots on the Nationals’ roster have to be considered up for grabs. After all, only John Lannan and Garrett Mock can be considered to be pitching at even a mediocre level right now. Livan Hernandez, for example, is as old as dirt and hasn’t been a good pitcher in over two years, so he’s not some sort of stalwart. Detwiler, despite a 1.425 WHIP in the minor leagues this year, has a 2.96 ERA and a strikeout rate over eight per nine innings. There’s a chance he could match the production of Lannan and Mock, giving the Nationals a full rotation of No. 4s. He could be a matchup play in the deepest of leagues.

Vicente Padilla (RP, LAD): Pitching prospects are actually a dicey way to go in September. So many of them are going up against innings limits and will be limited to the odd bullpen appearance in September. Maybe that’s why we’re looking at some less-than-exciting names on this side of the ledger. Padilla throws a fastball mostly (75 percent of the time), and that pitch has lost a half-inch of movement over the past year, which is the bad news. But the good news is that the fastball has retained all of its 92 MPH velocity, and it’s been an above-average pitch over his career. Here’s another matchups play for those that are streaming pitchers in the final month. Dodgers Stadium has made decent pitchers out of much worse stuff than Padilla.

American League:

Paul Byrd (SP, BOS): Byrd is about the furthest you can get from a glitzy prospect. He’s 39 years old and his fastball tops out around 86 MPH. His strikeout rate hasn’t even approached five in the last four years. In fact, he only has two marketable skills: his slider is still a decent pitch, and he doesn’t walk anyone. He’s had a walk rate under two for seven years, in fact. With Brad Penny on waivers, and Clay Buchholz mixing in two bad starts for every good one, Byrd has a shot at the fifth starter role in the last month. With that offense behind him, you could do worse if you are chasing wins.

Wade Davis (SP, TB):  Some of the shine has come off of Davis’ star as he’s advanced through the Rays system, and it’s hard to tell if fellow stud Jeremy Hellickson or Wade is first in line for a shot at the majors. This year’s 1.279 WHIP and 7.8 K/9 in Triple-A are not the most exciting numbers. With his velocity (95 MPH+) and plus curve, though, Davis might be best suited for some time in the ‘pen a la David Price last year. He’s already within nine innings of last year’s career high, and with some injuries in his past, Davis won’t take the fifth starter role. The good news is that his manager is open to giving important bullpen roles to young players. Davis could run into some saves this September.

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