Get'Em Sit'Em

By Matthew Lutovsky

A little, red "DL" next to a player's name -- is there a worse sight for a fantasy baseball owner to see?

Yes, it's that time of year when those red markings start to really wreak havoc in fantasy leagues. Someone gets hurt, and their owner rushes to the wire to find a replacement. Lather, rinse, repeat.
In some cases, you have several players injured, so you wind up eating a roster spot while you wait for your players to heal. Often, in those situations, you're forced to make a decision -- cut an injured player you don't really want to let go of, or take the hit to your team.
When you see another manager in a situation like this, you should be ready to pounce if he drops one of his injured regulars, especially if you're in a league with no waivers. Every couple days, check each team's roster and see how many players are on the DL. If it's more than the allotted amount of DL spots, expect some activity.
But you don't always need another manager to drop an injured player in order to find these bargains. As strange as it sounds, some players on the waiver wire actually become more valuable when they go on the DL. Basically, this is because you can add them to your team without using a roster spot or giving anyone else up. Then, once the injured player is healthy, you can evaluate him for a few days to see if he can help you. After all, by the time he's healthy, you might need a replacement for an injured player of your own. At the very least, you've kept him off someone else's team in the event he does play well after recovery.
Now, if you're in a deep mixed league, this might be hard to accomplish. Most worthwhile players will already be on someone's roster. But if you're in a shallow mixed league, these players are usually there for the taking.
A couple of examples: In my shallow mixed league, Josh Willingham was not on anyone's team despite a hot start. Then, in late April, as soon as he went on the DL, someone picked him up. Of course, Willingham still is out with what looks to be a serious back injury, but it was interesting to see how that worked.
Another example comes from that same league, where one manager had six players go on the DL in the span of two weeks. (We allow two DL spots.) Because of this, he had to drop Gary Sheffield and Ryan Zimmerman. Neither has been tearing it up this year, but if I had an open DL spot, I would've grabbed either. These guys have been great in the past, and it wouldn't have cost me a thing.
Yet another example comes from that same league, where I considered picking up Scott Baker as soon as he was placed on the DL in early May. Ultimately, I didn't, thinking I had enough depth and plenty of time to add Baker later. Of course, another owner wound up grabbing him. And now, Fausto Carmona is on my DL and Clay Buchholz is in the minors. I could use some pitching help now, and Baker, who threw five solid innings in his first post-DL start on Thursday, could have helped me.
Like I said before, it's important to be aware of who's hurt, what team they're on/if they're available and when they're coming back. When you do a spot check of other team's rosters to scout their injured players, make sure you take notice of any player whose return is imminent. I've written about this before, but it bears repeating. If you're in a waiver-less league, you should try to anticipate when decent players will be released. So, if you're in a league where someone has, say, Ryan Doumit (who's due back any day), you know they'll have to drop someone when he's activated. Try to identify which player is mostly likely to be dropped and pay extra attention to the add/drop board if it's a player you could use. Call it the "vulture system."
The bottom line is those little red DL letters won't cease torturing you, so you have to do everything you can to turn things around and actually use DL'd players to your advantage. Always use up your allotted number of DL spots -- it does no good to have them empty. And always be scouring for any recently injured player -- owned or otherwise -- who could help you down the road. It's a no-risk proposition and you never know what kind of dividends it could pay in the future.
Now, a few quick wire tips:
Twins' 2B Alexi Casilla has been a popular pickup this week with 559 adds in the past seven days. Nonetheless, he's still owned in only 33 percent of SN leagues. Anyone looking for a boost in steals, runs and average should grab him, but don't expect him to continue his RBI pace. That has been inflated by a couple of uncharacteristic three-run homers. His average is also due to take a dip, but his speed can make up for that.
Jorge Campillo also has been a popular pickup this week (822 adds), but his star faded a bit with a tough outing against Florida on Tuesday. I like the way Campillo has been pitching lately, but something about a 29-year-old reliever with only eight career appearances before '08 doesn't exactly inspire a lot of confidence. Plus, he has had blister problems and the Braves seem content getting only five good innings out of him.
If Jason Giambi still is available in your league, think about picking him up. He's battling a sore foot, but he's a quick fix for power and RBIs and can help in average and runs. His pinch-hit homer on Thursday was a good sign that he'll be healthy enough to return to the Yankees' starting lineup soon.
You seem to have a love/hate relationship with Aaron Laffey this week (270 adds, 415 drops), but don't let his horrible start last Monday against Texas get you too down. Remember, this is the same guy who gave up zero earned runs in three straight starts last month. While it's reasonable to expect the league to catch up with him a little as the season wears on, he seems like a good bet for success in the near future.
Despite a slow week, Pedro Feliz has been coming on lately for the Phillies. He has 14 runs, four homers and 18 RBIs over the past 30 days. That's nice production from a corner infielder, especially when you factor in the .286 batting average. Maybe he finally has learned how to take advantage of his new, hitter-friendly home. Five of his eight homers and 19 of his 30 RBIs have come at Citizens Bank Park.

Associate editor Matt Lutovsky