Kuzul

We all knew it would come. Now it’s that time.

Like a man on death row, you just sit and wait—you wait on your sentence and hope, something, somehow, could change your fate.

Then the inevitable day comes, and all of a sudden…you’ve lost first place.

Those Phightin’s, I don’t know how they do it, but, they live up to that name of theirs year after year.

If you haven’t been keeping up, or you fell asleep within the game last night, I’m here to tell you, those Phils have done it again. They are back in first place and they are ready to finish the last two and a half weeks off of this season in style—as they have in the last five years, or so.

With a very important series coming up in under two weeks, the Phils wasted no more time taking over the top spot, beating the Florida Marlins last night 8-7 after a scary crash by the Phillies bullpen. The bats, however, were able to come alive, enough, to bail Joe Blanton out.

The pitching shouldn’t be a problem down the stretch, being that the Phils have made due without such a dynamic force before.

Even if Joe Blanton and Kyle Kendrick were to bomb every game in the playoffs, it will still be hard to beat three aces in a seven game series—and that’s without pitching some on short rest.

Amidst what seemed to be a flop by the Phillies in July and August, they have once more, stepped up to the challenge, leaving some who unnecessarily doubted them, to look back on their foolishness.

But the season is not over by any means. The Braves are still right there.

Speaking of which, we can understand the excitement of Braves fans, and the like, but, it’s clear that everyone knows, the Phils are a marathon team, who finishes strong down the stretch.

Despite ‘great debates’ and the sort, the Phils and their fans know all along, there is no need to panic.

In a poll conducted by Phillies Featured Columnist, Vincent Heck, and Braves Featured Columnist, Evan Walker, a few days ago, we asked our fans who would win the NL East.

With the Phillies behind the Braves one game, the public came to an decisive conclusion–after 2,000 readers, 520 people voted, and 80% thought that the Phils would come out on top.

Quick math—that’s 416 voters for the Phils.

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind what the outcome will be, and there should be none in your mind either.

Despite injuries, despite a stretch of cold bats, the Phils and their front office will take care of business the way they know how.

It’s September the 8th, 2010, and the two time National League Champions are in first place again. If the Braves can knock off the team at this stage, much credit should be given to them.

Despite statistically being better than the Phils “across the board” we’ve got to recognize the fact that, there are some very important factors that are just as important, if not, more important than statistics that tell the real story. Those factors should most certainly be considered.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

P-h-i-l-l-i-e-s Phillies!

It’s only weird because you’re not used to it. It’s a little long, yes. But it’ll have to do for now.

The Philadelphia Eagles have been the talk of the town for so many years. From Randall Cunningham, to the endless plethora of quarterbacks in between, to Donovan McNabb, they have pulled a big part of this city’s sports weight, if you will, behind them.

The Flyers, Sixers, and Phillies have always played second, third and fourth fiddle to the mighty Eagles.

But, with Kevin Kolb at the helm, McNabb out, Evan Turner joining Sixers nation, and the 2008 championship, it’s now clear that the big-dogs in Philadelphia are your Philadelphia Phillies.

So many questions surround the other teams in Philadelphia: Can Kevin Kolb take the control and lead the Eagles back to elite status. Can Evan Turner adjust to the NBA, and just how good will he be?

Those are just two questions surrounding those particular teams. Two individual columns could be written about the needs and questions of both of those franchises alone.

With the Flyers going to the Stanley Cup Finals last year, and the Phillies going to the World Series, it’s clear that they are the two elite teams in Philly.

Of the two teams, there is no doubt who are the beloved—you’ve got it.

It’s definitely hard-earned, and well deserved. They took over the town in 2008, a year that was not, by any means, a quiet one in Philadelphia sports.

The Sixers, for one, had a decent run, giving the third-seeded Southeastern Division champion and eventual Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic, a run for their money. The Sixers were able to push the series lead to 2-1 and in game four, they stretched their lead to over 15 points—to no avail, however.

Orlando magically, pulled off the comeback win, beating the 76ers 84-81.

The Flyers, in that same year, advanced a bit further than the Sixers, going to the Eastern Conference semifinals, only to lose the the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Eagles, after a season which looked to promise that the Eagles would finally win a Super Bowl, with everything falling into place for Donovan McNabb and the gang, failed to deliver. Unfortunately, their run ended one game before the big dance.

Despite all of these teams vying for the championship in their respective sport, the Phillies were the only ones to accomplish their goal.

The following season worsened for everyone except for the Flyers and Phils. The Eagles ended their season in the wild card round with back-to-back loses to their bitter rival, the Dallas Cowboys, while the Sixers came nowhere near mattering.

Each of the other teams have moved into a new era, and with the solid core of the Phillies being the premier in the majors, it solidifies your Philadelphia Phillies as the new face of Philadelphia Sports.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

When the Tampa Bay Rays opened the 2008 major league season, third baseman Evan Longoria was playing for the Durham Bulls in the Triple A International League.

It was the minor leagues for the Rays first choice in the 2006 draft, and was the third overall pick. Many people, including myself, suggested the Rays were trying to save themselves some money by delaying Longoria’s “arbitration clock” by sending him to the minors.

Isn’t the idea to try and win games? Longoria was the Rays best opportunity at third base to help them win, but was mired in Triple A for financial reasons.

But being mired lasted all of seven games and 25 at bats, before Longoria was promoted to the majors. The Rays were going to let the clock start early on their prize after all.

But even the Rays startled everyone by signing Longoria the next day to a six year, $17.5 million contract through 2013 including three club options for 2014-2016. The Rays bought out all of Longoria’s arbitration years and his first three free agent years with club options.

Based upon Longoria’s performance, the team has made out very well. Even though they gambled on an unproven young talent and are going to save a bunch of money over the long haul.

This buying out of a players early “control” years is a growing trend which began in the early-to-mid 1990’s by General Manager John Hart when he was with the Cleveland Indians. He signed up youngsters Kenny Lofton, Sandy Alomar, Jr., Carlos Baerga, plus Joey and Albert Belle to multi-year deals WHILE they were really good…and really young. 

For example, Lofton has a 7.7 WAR* in 1994 (shortened season due to strike), the highest in baseball that season and his WAR was 7.3 in 1993. He made only $925K that year and $1.925 million in 1995. His salary would have been much higher had Lofton actually gone to arbitration in 1995.

*That is the first time I used the WAR stat in any article ever. While I am not needing to be rushed to the hospital, I am still in shock. It was needed for reference on how good Lofton was those seasons. Don’t expect it all the time.

Hart needed to do this to keep together what he projected his core would be for many years at reasonable prices than what these players would receive through arbitration and early free agency. As a smaller market team, Hart reasoned the Indians had a smaller window to win.

Signing up young players is a great tactic for these small market** teams to use.

**I love the term small-market. With all these billionaire owners, they can afford to spend their OWN PERSONAL money on players. I don’t mean to spend frivolously big on free agents like you are Omar Minaya, but to spend to keep the players your organization develops.

Why then are there small markets when these guys have their own money they can spend. Before he died, Carl Pohlad of the Minnesota Twins was the richest owner in baseball but did not spend money. Lucky the Twins re-signed Kirby Puckett when Carl was alive, but I am not so sure he would have signed Joe Mauer to that contract last off season.

Should other small-market teams use the same ideas?

Of course, they should. They have to in order to compete with the so-called big boys of Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.

But these big teams do the same thing.

The Red Sox signed Jon Lester, Dustin Pedroia, and Kevin Youkilis to long term deals before even going to arbitration on Lester and Pedroia and after the first arbitration year for Youkilis. I fully expect them to extend Clay Buchholz after the 2011 season.

They want to see players perform for two or three seasons before they sign players longer term. This allows for any adjustment periods the league makes to the players after their rookie and sophomore seasons.

The Yankees also did that with Robinson Cano two seasons ago and even Derek Jeter, who was signed to a ten-year deal after his second arbitration year. Yankees would probably sign Phil Hughes to a multi-year deal, too, after 2011, buying out several arbitration years and maybe a free agent year or two.

Even the Philadelphia Phillies tied up their young guys Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard, who were tied up after their first arbitration years.

There is quite a bit of talk now about the MLB financial statements for several teams being made public. These statements put teams like Pittsburgh and Florida into bad light, and for once it was not about their on field records. They show that the teams have made tens of millions of dollars but have not put that much of that money into player salaries.

These teams need to start signing their young stars when they believe their young players are going to be well-above average for the long haul. This is tricky because if you jump too soon on a player, you could be left holding the bag at big dollars for very little in the way of results.

Similar to what Scott Kazmir and Nate McLouth have become.

But certain smaller-market teams have reaped the benefits of signing young talent early, like Milwaukee with Ryan Braun, Yovani Gallardo and Corey Hart, the Marlins with Hanley Ramirez and Josh Johnson; and the Mariners with Franklin Gutierrez and Felix Hernandez.

Other teams like the Braves with Brian McCann (and likely Jason Heyward soon), have done this.

The Pirates have a couple good, young talented ballplayers in Pedro Alvarez and Andrew McCutchen. Alvarez is signed through 2014 (including club options), but it would be good to spend some of that profit and also sign McCutchen after his first full season to a long-term commitment, saving long-term money.

The smaller-market teams need to decide who the players they want to keep. Not just “team” players who can be replaced cheaper through from their farm system, but players who already have been All-Stars.

And who they feel will continue to be All-Stars and league leaders, not league average.

McCutchen appears to be that type of player a team can take that risk.

Many other teams have major decisions to make.

Players like Wandy Rodriguez of the Astros, Dallas Braden and Trevor Cahill of the A’s, and Jair Jurrjens of the Braves need to be looked at longer term at below future-market rates. 

But the biggest task might fall to the Cincinnati Reds have to decide if Joey Votto (yes, of course!), Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto need to be locked up soon. They all are coming up on their arbitration years.

This would be a great move for the first-place Reds to sign all three, who have plenty of young players in the fold who could keep the Reds at the top of the NL Central standing for many years to come. Similar to what their in-state brethren, the Cleveland Indians, did almost 20 years ago.   

Most of the big market teams seem to like to get their players just before or a year after their first year of arbitration. 

I feel it might be better for the smaller-market teams to take a bigger risk by signing top guys earlier, like Longoria in Tampa and Troy Tulowitzki (his college teammate) in Colorado. The Rockies would be wise to lock up Carlos Gonzalez to a “Longoria type” deal this off season and keep the young slugger locked up in Colorado through age 30.

It sure worked for the Rays.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

“You remember when they traded Bobby Abreu for Matt Smith, CJ Henry, Carlos Monasterios, and Jesus Sanchez?”

“Yeah, that was bad but they got Shane Victorino in the Rule 5 draft so it makes up for it”

People remember the good trades and the bad trades but no one ever seems to talk about the moves that didn’t happen. Most of the moves that you will read about led to a World Series Championship in 2008 and a World Series appearance in 2009.

Without some of these moves, the people in this picture would have had no reason to congregate in Center City, Philadelphia on October 31, 2008.

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Who is the best hitter in Major League Baseball?

Well, that depends on several factors:

Are you asking for the most skilled hitter, or the most valuable?

Do you want a guy who can winning batting titles, or home runs titles?

Should hitting be judged by ability, or by production?

All good questions, and depending on your answers, you might conclude that the best hitter in baseball is Albert Pujols, Ichiro Suzuki, Ryan Howard, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, or Joey Votto.

But what if we wanted to construct the perfect hitter?  What is we could be Dr. Frankenstein, and take pieces from all the different hitters in baseball and make the perfect batsman?  What would you take, and from whom?

Let’s have a look.

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Chase Utley returned to the lineup Tuesday night, but that’s about all there is to report on that front. An 0-for-5 performance from Utley means he’s probably fighting some discomfort and loss of strength in that thumb, but he played the field well and should quickly improve at the plate.

The game itself, however, was much more intriguing—if you’re a Phillies fan.

It was a game of two teams heading in two opposite directions as the Giants’ slide continues and the Phillies’ patented August playoff push continued to chug along.

Besides allowing two home runs—one to former Phillie Pat Burrell and the Giants’ newest acquisition, Jose Guillen—Roy Oswalt swept through the San Francisco lineup with relative ease and continued to make Ruben Amaro, Jr. look like a genius.

Jimmy Rollins showed up with a two-run single in the fifth inning, and Shane Victorino, just off the DL as well, hit a two-run double in the sixth inning to put the Phils up for good.

A five-run eighth inning sealed the deal and the Phils sent the Giants back to their hotel down one game in the series.

Overall, that’s not too terribly exciting, but the win could have had playoff implications as the Phillies are now the top dogs in the NL Wild Card race.

And despite the fact that the Phillies are acting like it doesn’t matter and are still aiming to win the division, holding onto the final playoff spot will be very important moving forward.

I understand the importance of winning the division. There’s a certain momentum a team gets as the division champs, and the Phillies have used that the past two seasons to make it to the World Series.

However, it’s just about getting in. Regardless of the seeding or whether or not they win the NL East, the main focus has to be just getting an invite to play in October.

The playoffs are a new season and every division leader in the NL is hoping the Atlanta Braves are able to keep winning and that either the Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, or anyone else is able to take the final spot and keep the Phils at home.

With a revitalized rotation and a lineup that’s finally playing close to their potential, the Phillies are the last team anyone in the NL wants to see.

But with Utley back, and Ryan Howard expected to return at some point this week, it’s going to be very hard to keep this team from heading back to the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The second base position just got a whole lot beefier, as today three of the position’s top guns have been activated from the disabled list. Proud owners of Dustin Pedroia, Chase Utley, and Martin Prado have been forced to plug holes with stragglers like Adam Kennedy and Blake DeWitt. Now is your time to rejoice.

Dustin Pedroia returns to the Red Sox after breaking his left foot nearly two months ago on June 26. In his stead, Bill Hall received the majority of starts at 2B, with Eric Patterson and Jed Lowrie also seeing action. Hall hit 12 homers after Pedroia went down, providing decent numbers for fantasy owners. Hall will likely get significant starts in CF with Jacoby Ellsbury heading back to the DL after more pain in his slow healing fractured ribs. While Pedroia might not be 100 percent game ready, he is still a must start in all leagues. But be wary, he does tend to run in red-hot and ice-cold streaks. A slow start is a realistic expectation while he shakes off the rust. He was hitting .292 with 12 HR and 41 RBI prior to the injury, and had raised his average .38 points in June (from .254).

Right thumb surgery has sidelined Chase Utley since June 29. It had long been speculated that Utley was struggling with the thumb, forcing him to make adjustments to his swing. That could very well be the reason for his average production in the season’s first three months. His .277, 11 HR, 37 RBI stat line looks solid for most second baseman, but for Utley those figures are a disappointment. If Utley is pain free, expect a big final push from him once he settles in. His stroke is the epitome of ‘simple’ and it shouldn’t take him long to rediscover it. Placido Polanco will now shift back to third base full time, and Wilson Valdez will hit the bench. The 32-year-old Valdez did a more than admirable job being thrust into regular action, but was never a fantasy option.

A career utility man, Martin Prado’s fractured finger might have come at an ideal time (well, no injury is ideal). His batting average had plummeted .22 points from .337 to .315 in the month of July suggesting he needed a breather. Maybe sitting on the sidelines for a short while and re-energizing his body will be a positive in the long run. Unlike his 2B compatriots, he’s only been out since July 31 and could find his groove in a flash. All-star selection Omar Infante continued to rake in his absence putting up seven multi-hit games thus far in August. Infante possesses position eligibility all over the diamond, and should continue to see regular ABs at third base with Chipper Jones on the shelf for the year. Once again, Troy Glaus could be the big loser.

In other injury news, Charlie Manuel characterized first baseman Ryan Howard’s chances of returning to the lineup before Friday as “slim”. Howard has been out since August 2 with sprained ligaments in his ankle. He’s eligible to come off the DL today, but that’s obviously not happening. How exactly the Phillies plan to handle his rehabilitation remains unclear. Patience is the key my fantasy brethren, patience. Meanwhile, Mike Sweeney will continue to get the bulk of starts at 1B and is a realistic option in NL-only leagues until big number six returns.

Written by Adam Ganeles exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com. Look for Adam’s weekly insight into MiLB & MLB ball.

Who will have the strongest return out of Pedroia, Utley or Prado?
Leave a comment and let us know, or reply to us on twitter @TheFantasyFix

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Well Hello Morrow! 17Ks & Why He Should Be On Your Fantasy Team

Fix’s AAA Farm Report

Sabermetric Series: BABIP For Dummies

2010 Fantasy Baseball’s Second Half Ranks: Closers

Fantasy Baseball’s Top 50 Pitchers Post All-Star Break  

MLB Fantasy Baseball Second Half Ranks: Third Base

MLB Fantasy Baseball Post ASB Ranks: Second Base  
 
MLB Fantasy Baseball Post ASB Ranks: First Base

MLB Fantasy Baseball Post ASB Positional Ranks: Catcher

Easy Steals and Cheap Thrills

MLB Closer Carousel: American League Report & Fantasy Baseball Implications

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Why Tony Romo & Phillip Rivers Should Lead Your Fantasy Team

2010 Fantasy Football’s Top Ten Running Backs: Not Named Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson or MJD

2010 Fantasy Football’s Most Under & Overrated Running Backs

2010 Fantasy Football’s Most Under & Overrated Quarterbacks

Fantasy Football’s Late Round Fliers

MAURICE JONES-DREW & THE SIRIUS XM 2010 CELEBRITY FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFT

2010 Sirius XM Fantasy Football Draft Recap

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Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

For the Philadelphia Phillies, the last few days have brought with them a measure of reassurance.

It was only a month ago that this season’s overwhelming National League favorites were watching their season circle the drain. Losses in six of their first seven games after the All-Star Break had increased the deficit in the NL East standings to a disheartening seven games behind the steady Atlanta Braves.

Perhaps the reality of being irrelevant in the playoff chase woke up the slumping Phils, who have gone 18-5 since July 22 and now trail the Braves by just 2.5 games.

Another source of encouragement, as the Phillies prepare to welcome back Chase Utley and Ryan Howard this week, is the fact that they now find themselves atop the NL Wild Card standings with only 45 games remaining.

While there may be a sense of relief surrounding the past month’s developments, the key to the Phillies success in the 2010 postseason will be their refusal to find satisfaction in their wild card position.

In fact, they must go two steps further.

First, the Phillies must reel in the Braves. Next, they must overcome the current four game lead of the San Diego Padres for the best record in the National League. The first accomplishment would land the Phillies their fourth straight NL East title. The second outcome would secure the most valuable commodity in the National League this season: home field advantage throughout the NL playoffs.

Home field advantage is undoubtedly coveted by everyone in the playoff hunt, but may mean the most to the Fightins.

How much of a boost do the Phillies get from their home field?

Well, if the goose bump moments of the 2008 and 2009 seasons have already taken a back seat to our infatuation with the here and now, then perhaps two recent thrillers against the Reds and Dodgers can remind everyone of the magic of the Phillies’ home turf.

Each of these dramatic comebacks saw the Phillies score eight runs in their final two at bats to pull off the unlikeliest of wins. The first ended on a Ryan Howard walk-off homer in the 10th, and the second with a surge that once again deflated the ego of the soon-to-be demoted Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton.

Anyone who watched or attended these games once again felt the high-voltage atmosphere present when 44,000 Phillie Phanatics bear down on a visiting team.

It seems impossible that any other National League team could enjoy the type of home-field advantage provided by the Phillies’ perpetually sold-out grounds.

Unfortunately, a closer look at the home records of the National League playoff contender’s serves as a myth-buster to the aforementioned statement. Listed below are the 2010 home and road records of each of the National League playoff contenders (expressed in games over/under .500).

Braves

26 over at home, six under on road

Cardinals

19 over at home, five under on road

Phillies  

18 over at home, three under on road

Padres   

14 over at home, nine over on road

Giants   

14 over at home, one over on road

Reds     

10 over at home, six over on road

So, while the tendency is to believe that the Phillies get the biggest boost from their paying customers, the advantages enjoyed by the other NL contenders are often just as impressive.

Just as noteworthy is the fact that, other than the Padres, the road records of every team in contention are all south of .500.

The one thing the Phillies can truly claim as an advantage is that they are the hottest home team in the league since the beginning of July, with a record of 16-4. They are once again making their opponents squeeze the bat and ball a bit tighter in close games at Citizen’s Bank Park.

However, the major difference for the Phillies between this season and the previous two is that they are not as dominant on the road. During the 2008 and 2009 regular seasons, the Phillies were second only to the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best road record in baseball, achieving a mark of 22 games over .500 during that span (compared to this season’s mark of three games under .500).

Despite their road success in those seasons, the 2008 and 2009 playoffs demonstrated that when the Phillies enter postseason play, there’s no place like home. The Phillies home playoff record during that time was 12-3, while their road record was only 8-6.

It definitely does not take an expert analyst to conclude that home field advantage is important in any sport. But the Phillies have proven over the past two seasons that when it really counts, there is no team that gains as much advantage from their home digs as they do.

In no way is any of this meant to diminish the heart shown by a team riddled with injuries that has managed to move into the wild card lead with only just over a quarter of the season remaining. Making the playoffs is the goal of just about every Major League team.

The Phillies, however, should look to win the NL East again because it would add to a string of division titles.

They should then prioritize securing home field advantage throughout the National League playoffs because that could be the edge that sends them to another World Series.

It’s time for the Phillies to do what they do best, and that is to play their toughest and soundest baseball as summer winds down.

It’s also time for Phillies fans to do what they do best as fall approaches: Provide the biggest advantage of any home crowd in baseball.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It’s probably a bit of a reach, but it’s possible the Phillies are able to add Chase Utley and Ryan Howard to the lineup as early as Tuesday’s game against the San Francisco Giants.

Utley, who had thumb surgery back on July 1st, has a better shot of returning when the Phillies start their series against the Giants than Howard.

The All-Star second baseman has reported no soreness in his thumb after making rehab starts in the minors and is closing in on the estimated time of his arrival.

Howard, on the other hand, did report some soreness in his ankle after going through some workouts a couple days ago. He’s going to be evaluated by the Phillies’ team doctors Tuesday, but it’s likely they’ll decide to keep him benched for at least a few more days.

The Giants will probably get lucky and miss the return of both players. With a serious playoff push already under way, Charlie Manuel and the rest of the Phillies organization are going to want to make sure that their star players are 100 percent before throwing them back on the field.

If they rush them back, they could both wind up hitting the DL again, as was the case with Jimmy Rollins a couple months back.

Once both guys are activated, it’s going to be interesting to see what the team decides to do in order to make room for them. The bullpen is about as thin as it can get, so the two guys sent down will likely have to be from the field.

Greg Dobbs could find himself back in the minors, and it could also mean the end of Domonic Brown’s major league stint.

Brown has played well, but keeping him on the bench might not be worth it with a lefty in Ross Gload already on the bench. However, if Gload winds up on the DL, Brown could stay as the lefty off the bench and fill in for Raul Ibanez when he needs it.

Ben Francisco is playing well, so he’d likely be the guy if Manuel felt the need to give Jayson Werth the day off.

Dobbs, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to have a place. Wilson Valdez can play second or third, and the team has two other options for a left-handed bench bat. Manuel and Ruben Amaro Jr. have shown before they’re comfortable putting Dobbs through waivers, so it’s likely that’s the route they’ll go once again.

Either way, having Howard and Utley back this week is going to be a huge boost to a Phillies team already on a hot streak, and it could make them the favorites in the NL East or, at the very least, to earn a wild card spot.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Nervous about the trade deadline in your fantasy baseball league? Don’t be. The Chinstrap Ninjas have you covered.

Be sure to start by checking out my 10 tips to pull off the perfect fantasy baseball trade deadline deal.

Then, check out the following players you should be targeting as you begin last-minute negotiations with an eye to your fantasy playoffs/championship…

First, let me be frank and point out that making deals at this point in the season can be hard. Players that have struggled throughout this much of the year aren’t as likely to magically turn it around for the final month-plus of regular season action.

For example, Matt Kemp was a first-to second-round fantasy outfielder heading into this season, but can’t get it together. He’s been in and out of the lineup working on his swing, his confidence, and his plate discipline. Sure, at this point you’ll get him cheaper than ever, but what are the odds he’ll turn it around for the stretch run?

If you can get him cheap enough, than go ahead and hope for the best. Just don’t give up too much in the process.

One category of players that offer some decent value with a chance to bring you immediate dividends are those that are coming off the DL or soon to come off the DL.

Those who took previous Chinstrap Ninjas advice and snagged Brian Roberts before he came off the DL are currently reaping the benefits. Some players who could follow suit include:

Dustin Pedroia, who is being fast-tracked back to the majors as early as this coming Tuesday, is a player I avoided in preseason drafts because I wasn’t thrilled about his ADP. However, as a player who missed a ton of time this season with a broken foot, there is little doubt that Pedroia could offer some nice value in middle-infield slots, especially in batting average.

He should produce well enough in other categories to be a worthwhile add if you can get him for the right price.

Chase Utley, just a day ago, was targeting a September return. Now, suddenly, he is in a minor league rehab stint with an outside chance at returning next week or the week after.

Of course, any time a team rushes a player back from injury, there is reason to be concerned about additional struggles or injuries. Be sure to remind your leaguemates of that as you target him cheaply in trades hoping/banking on his talent outweighing his physical woes as the Phillies battle down the stretch for the NL-East pennant.

Andrew Bailey may not see a return to the majors as quickly as Pedroia or Utley, but within the next two weeks, he could be back closing games with the Athletics. Again, you don’t want to sell the farm for him, but you should be able to snag him at a discount price.

Kyle Lohse hasn’t pitched in the bigs since May 22, but is due back to the majors this weekend after a dominating performance in the minors. He may not be a stud pitcher, but as a back-end starter, he could give you a nice boost in wins, ERA, and a few strikeouts to boot.

Other players I’m personally targeting before the fantasy trade deadline:

Jonathan Broxton lost his job as closer, temporarily, after struggles over the past month. There is little doubt that he has more than enough ability to regain the dominance he showed earlier in the season, and I’m banking that his short break from closing duties will be enough of a spark to get him there.

Strike now in a deal as owners worry about his sudden demotion.

Mark Buerhle is the fantasy baseball version of Rodney Dangerfield… he doesn’t get any respect. Sure, Buerhle isn’t going to strike out tons of batters, but he is going to help your team ERA, WHIP, and wins without giving you too many ulcers in the process.

Fantasy owners seem drawn to the flash of other pitchers and are quick to devalue Buerhle’s quiet consistency. Don’t be one of those people.

Fantasy owners rejoiced when Josh Beckett returned from the DL not too long ago. However, struggles on the mound have quieted those cheers. So much so, in some leagues, where you can get Beckett on the cheap.

Pitchers more than any other position depend on getting into a groove and riding there as long as possible. It was hard for Beckett to find that groove so far this season due to injuries and inconsistency around him. I personally think he’ll buckle down and produce some nice numbers down the stretch.

Be sure to check out the other players I’m targeting right now as fantasy leagues reach their trade deadline.

Tempted to jump ship? We have all you need to prepare for a successful fantasy football season.

For all your hard-hitting fantasy baseball and fantasy football advice, go to www.chinstrapninjas.com

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