Deep Waiver Wire: Ben Paulsen

May 22, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies first baseman

(10) during the game against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Due to the offensive exploits and overall streakiness that their players often show, most fantasy owners have a stance on whether or not to own a Rockies hitters.

With the great seasons from Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, the recently departed Troy Tulowitzki, and the suddenly unstoppable Carlos Gonzalez, Ben Paulsen’s solid season has been lost in the shuffle.

The Rockies’ plans to begin the season was to pencil in Justin Morneau at first base, while also sprinkling in Wilin Rosario in against lefties, leaving Paulsen without a job and in the minors to begin the season.

Unfortunately, the concussion bug bit Morneau again and Rosario is still inconsistent, leaving the Rockies without a glaring hole at first base. This is what sprung the opportunity that Paulsen needed to cement himself in the majors.

Paulsen is no longer really considered a prospect as he is 28, plus he has spent the last seven years in the minors. He did show some pop though, as he has amassed 86 minor league homers. What I like about Paulsen is that he has shown good on base abilities throughout the minors and this season in the bigs, thus negating some risk.

He currently has posted above league average OBP, SLG, and OPS so far this season, and while Coors Field has some say in that, he is not completely reliant on it.

At Coors, he has posted a .310 AVG/ 5 HR/ 19 RBI since his promotion. His away splits though, are not that bad either. .264/ 3 HR/ 12 RBI, while there is a clear difference it is not as though Paulsen is completely incapable of producing on the road.

As we get closer and closer to the fantasy playoffs, these are the types of players that can be just what you need to win a match-up. Astute fantasy owners will pick Paulsen up, and look at his schedule for the upcoming games to see if a long home stretch is coming, thus maximizing his potential value.

Take into account that the Rockies have 25 more games before the end of the season, plus a nine and ten game homestead during that span. Pauslen also, has been solid against righties all year, posting a .293/8 HR/ 28 RBI stat line against them.

Paulsen will probably not see an uptick in power going forward, as he shown a more gap to gap prowess and a patient approach at the plate. Over the last two weeks Paulsen has been on surge as well, .304/ 3 HR/ 12 RBI, hopefully speaking to more production in the future.

In fantasy leagues across most formats, Paulsen is barely owned. Leaving him largely flying the radar and a guy you could snag now, and sneak into your UTIL or CI spot. The Rockies still have some great options in front of Paulsen in the lineup as well, helping his RBI totals and counting stats.

He comes with minimal risk nor a huge investment, but he could pay serious dividends down the stretch. Even if you try and stay away from Rockies hitters, production does not lie.