A Closer Look: Scott Podsednik

When I look back at it, it seems strange. Scott Podsednik’s average draft position on ESPN was in the 20^th round (in 10-team leagues). His average buying price in auctions? 0.0. At the beginning of the season Scott Podsednik was not owned in many leagues. Heck, there are still a few leagues he’s not owned in (what are those people doing, by the way?).

No joke, Podsednik is the No. 7 outfielder on ESPN’s player rater. Seriously.

It’s easy in hindsight, but why were we all so down on Pods? He stole 30 bases last year and batted over .300 in 2009. No, the he’s not going to help with home runs or RBIs, but there are other players like that that went higher. As Matthew Berry would say, there’s nothing sexy about Scott Podsednik.

But 29 steals at the end of July with a .300 batting average? That’s at least a little sexy. And he’s doing just fine in the counting stats.

In a league where I noticed I could make up some quick points with just a few steals, I traded for Podsednik (I gave Braun and Boesch for J. Upton and Pods) and the more I look at it, the happier I am with the decision.

Is there any sign of him slowing up? Nope. His BABIP is high, but he’s always had a high BABIP—due to the fact that he is among league leaders in groundballs. And he has wheels, which can only help.

The Royals are running wild, and with nothing on the line for the team, who’s to say that’s going to change anytime soon? It’s true he’ll probably lose some support behind him as Callaspo has left and Guillen most likely will soon—which could hurt his run totals—but I doubt it will be significant.

There’s a lot to like in Podsednik, so if you need steals and catch an under-appreciative owner, go after him. I just wish he played in Yankee Stadium (two HRs there yesterday) every day.