Fantasy Baseball 2012: Should You Be Streaming Gerardo Parra?

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Gerardo Parra is off to a solid start this year hitting .260 with 16 runs, two home runs, 12 RBI and eight stolen bases.

The run total is solid and he is already over halfway toward setting a career high in stolen bases. Clearly, if you need some help in the stolen-base category, Gerardo Parra is a solid option to own.

The masses don’t necessarily agree, as he is owned in about 60.0 percent of ESPN and 35.0 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

I understand his average is not desirable, but he is a a .281 lifetime hitter that is coming off a .292 season. Plus, his .296 BABIP is significantly down from the .342 mark he registered last year and the .335 career mark he boasts. He has been a bit unlucky and numbers in baseball tend to average out.

One option would be to stream Parra when he faces right-handed pitching. So far this year he’s hitting .288 with a .808 OPS against righties and a mere .150 with a pathetic .293 OPS against lefties. Those numbers simply aren’t cutting it.

He was much better last year hitting .277 with a .790 OPS against southpaws (.296, .782 against righties). In 2010, he was .283, .700 against lefties and .257, .674 against righties. While he has struggled mightily against left-handed pitching, his past success does provide some hope for improvement.

In any case, I would still hesitate to use him against lefties until he starts trending in the right direction. Against right-handed pitching, Parra should give you an immediate boost in runs and stolen bases, as well as an eventual average boost.

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