Jose Pirela (2B/OF, SD) - Waiver Wire Pickups

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ANALYSIS: The Padres have made it a habit of patching holes in their lineup out of necessity. They may have found a permanent solution to the left field problem with Jose Pirela. With Alex Dickerson ruled out for the year and Travis Jankowski on the shelf indefinitely, Pirela has been holding down LF and the leadoff spot in the lineup since early June. He started off ridiculously hot, picking up 15 hits in a seven-game stretch that included seven RBI and eight runs. Since then, he's fallen back to Earth but not to the point where he's a non-factor. In fact, Pirela may be starting another hot streak. In the past week, Pirela is hitting .320 with four extra-base hits and four runs batted in. He continued the hit party with a solo home run on Friday night.

Playing in San Diego is both a blessing and a curse, however. Pirela will have ample opportunity to play if he keeps hitting, but at 27 years old he is like a grizzled veteran on a team filled with rookie starters. He's managed to score a fair amount of runs, but the Padres have the tendency to go through offensive droughts quite often. Wil Myers was recently moved to the leadoff position in order to get him going again, so Pirela may find himself lower in the order if manager Andy Green thinks it will benefit the team. Pirela is best used in a MI slot for deeper leagues, although he is mainly used in the outfield.