Waiver Wire: Chad still too Green?

Even though Yulieski Gurriel isn't coming up Tuesday, Scott White says he's still worth owning. He also assesses the prospects of Monday standouts Chad Green and David Phelps.

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Wait, what?

Tuesday was supposed to be Yulieski Gurriel Day. Everybody reported it, and some actually believed it, his ownership rising from 34 to 41 percent in two weeks' time.

So what's this about him only moving up to Triple-A?

"No specific timetable for him joining our big league club, but he is getting close," general manager Jeff Luhnow told MLB.com via text message.

Close? Close? Of all the outrageous, manipulative, nonsensical reports ...

Ah, whatever. He's still underowned.

Let's take a glass-half-full approach here. The about-face is like an extension for those who've been procrastinating. You still have a chance to beat the rush to the waiver wire now that it's on hold.

And yeah, it's worth it. It may sound like a chore to you, stashing a minor-leaguer this late into the season, but Gurriel has at least a 50-50 shot of making an immediate impact Fantasy, if history is any indication. Of the high-profile hitters to come out of Cuba in the last five years, three (Yoenis Cespedes, Yasiel Puig and Jose Abreu) have factored right away while three (Rusney Castillo, Yasmany Tomas and Hector Olivera) have not.

And Gurriel had the best numbers of any of them, batting .500 with 15 home runs, 38 walks and an astonishing three strikeouts over 174 at-bats in his final year before defecting. Yeah, he's batting only .263 with a homer, three doubles and 11 strikeouts over 38 at-bats in the minors, but whatever. He's rusty.

I'm still saying 50-50. If he hits somewhere in the neighborhood of Adrian Beltre or Justin Turner from the time he arrives, he'll have been worth the trouble.

Chad Green, SP/RP, Yankees (11 percent owned)

Well, this one came out of nowhere.

But did it really? I mean, just looking at his minor-league numbers, you had to believe Green had a performance like this one in store.

By "this one," I refer of course to his two-hit gem against the heavy-hitting Blue Jays Monday in which he struck out 11. Here's the evidence:

As you can see, stuff isn't an issue for the unheralded 25-year-old, who isn't even regarded as a top prospect. That 95-mph fastball has a lot of movement on it, and he gets a lot of swings and misses with it. Indeed, in 33 1/3 major-league innings now, Green has a whiff rate better than Corey Kluber and Justin Verlander.

Of course, he did have a start sort of like this one back on July 3, striking out Padres over six three-hit innings, so to say it's the start of something might be jumping the gun. But that was the Padres. When you do it against the Blue Jays, you're more likely to turn heads.

"We loved his arm, that's why we traded for him," manager Joe Girardi told MLB.com, referring to the deal that sent Justin Wilson to the Tigers this offseason. "He knew that in order to make the next step we had to [work on] some things and he's made adjustments."

In particular, Girardi cited the improvement of Green's slider, which the right-hander threw more than any other pitch this time out. And every fifth one resulted in a whiff.

Because Green is relief pitcher-eligible, he's someone Head-to-Head owners especially should have on their radar even if they want to see more before acting. Given his current ownership percentage,that's the most reasonable approach.

David Phelps, SP/RP, Marlins (38 percent owned)

Of course, Phelps might be the even more attractive relief pitcher-eligible starting pitcher given his most recent performance against the Reds:

That's three straight starts in which he has carried his reliever velocity into a starting role. And that velocity made him one of the game's top setup men, resulting in a 2.65 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings over 50 appearances earlier this year.

It reminds me a little of Danny Duffy, who, like Phelps, floundered in a starting role before seemingly finding his niche in short relief. And then when he transitioned back to the rotation, the reliever mentality followed, with brilliant results.

Obviously, Phelps still has to prove it over six, seven, eight innings, as Duffy has, but he has further extended himself with each start -- and with no letup in production. I'm not saying he's the Marlins' ace in a month's time or even their No. 2 (since becoming the Marlins' ace is a little more daunting than becoming the Royals' ace), but the early results, knowing the ability, are encouraging.

And like Duffy, Phelps has a home park that should help ease the transition.

Gary Sanchez, C, Yankees (50 percent owned)

Blows my mind that Sanchez is only 50 percent owned still. Blows it to tiny, confetti-like pieces.

I understand some of the less competitive owners have tuned out by now. It's mid-August. Preseason football has started. I get it. But you mean to tell me everyone still competing for something is settled at catcher, a position where Derek Norris, with his .189 batting average, has the 16th-most Fantasy points?

Sorry, I'm not buying it.

In a year when offense is back on the rise, the disparity between this position and every other is greater than ever. Maybe those with the greatest need there have already filled it with hot-hand play Yasmani Grandal, whose ownership has risen from 53 to 83 percent over the last six weeks, but Sanchez can do the same sort of things, only with even more at-bats.

That's right: Playing time isn't a concern for him -- which, quite frankly, distinguishes him from most catchers, who often sit every fourth or fifth day. That's not to say he'll play every single day, but the Yankees have shown a tendency to shift him to the DH spot when he's not behind the plate. Shoot, they put themselves through all of that A-Rod drama just to have that option.

Do you think they'd invite that media circus if they were just looking to get Sanchez's feet wet? He's already an integral part of their lineup, and if you find yourself debating between Matt Wieters and Welington Castillo every week, this future 25-homer guy should also be an integral part of yours.