There's only one way to know which players people are avoiding that should be picked up -- by looking at the "owned" percentages for all of CBS SportsLine.com's Fantasy leagues.
Here's a list of some players you should start thinking about adding to your squad. Consider dumping some dead weight and picking up some hot hitters.
Players auditioning for a spot on your team
Carlos Ruiz, C, PHI (owned in 25 percent of CBS SportsLine.com's Fantasy leagues): The Phillies spent $2.5 million on Rod Barajas this past offseason, bringing the veteran backstop over from the AL. Chris Coste came on last season with solid numbers in place of injured starter Mike Lieberthal. But it's Ruiz that owns the job right now. The rookie has pop and he's still hitting over .300. Catcher is a great position for sleepers.
Dmitri Young, 1B, WAS, (20): The former Tiger is healthy, he's starting in Washington and has hit safely in eight of 13 games this season. He leads the Nats in RBI (7) and is tied for the team lead in runs scored (6). He's batting cleanup behind Ryan Zimmerman and in front of Austin Kearns and Ryan Church, so he's well protected. Starter Nick Johnson won't be back for another five or six weeks at least.
Jose Vidro, 2B, SEA (27): The Mariners have Vidro batting third in their lineup behind Ichiro Suzuki and Adrian Beltre and in front of Raul Ibanez and Richie Sexson. He worked with his hitting coach in the video room this weekend. His adjustments helped him to a two-homer, four-RBI afternoon against the Rangers.
J.J. Hardy, SS, MIL (47): You have to figure the hitter sandwiched between leadoff man Rickie Weeks and No. 3 hitter Prince Fielder is in for a good season. Hardy has hit safely in eight of 10 games this season. He's not going to get you great power numbers or steal many bases, but he should put up a decent average this year and possibly score 80-plus runs. Bill Hall's move to center field officially opened up a starting spot for the oft-injured shortstop.
Adam Lind, OF, TOR (24): Once Reed Johnson (back) went down with an injury, AL-only owners were fighting over the Fantasy rights to Lind. He tied a club rookie record by collecting 15 hits in his first 10 major-league games last year and he's not wasting any time this season -- going 4-for-8 with an RBI after two games with Toronto. Manager John Gibbons will have to figure out where to bat him (he hit second Saturday, then eighth on Sunday in the Detroit series). He hit .367 in 18 games with Toronto last September. CBS SportsLine's resident Blue Jays' fan Jake Payton said it best about Lind, "All this did was speed up the inevitable passing of the torch in left, if only Johnson could play second base." I think he followed that up with an obligatory, "Eh," as well.
Travis Buck, OF, OAK (5): The Athletics are a M*A*S*H unit right now, with Dan Johnson (hip), Milton Bradley (hamstring) and Mark Kotsay (back) dinged up. Buck is seeing a ton of at-bats and he's taking full advantage of his playing time. He's being used mostly at the bottom of the order, but Baseball America had him rated as Oakland's top prospect entering this season. His .300 BA leads the A's and his five extra-base hits are third on the team -- despite playing three of four games fewer than his teammates. He has hit safely in eight of nine games this year -- including his current seven-game hitting streak.
Billy Butler, OF, KC (6): Through 12 games at Triple-A Omaha, Butler is hitting .341 with three homers, 10 RBI and nine runs scored. He's an extremely mature hitter with great bat speed. The Royals have taken their time with him, but once he makes it to the majors, he could stick for good. With both LF Emil Brown (.176-0-2), RF Mark Teahen (.179-1-3) and DH Mike Sweeney (.152-0-1) struggling, how long will it be before the Kansas City media starts writing, "The Butler did it" after a game-winning hit by the 21-year-old?
Chone Figgins, OF, LAA (48): Imagine if, in your league, there was a player available that has stolen 114 bags over the past two seasons and is eligible to play at both third base and the outfield. Toss in the fact that he hit .303 with 15 RBI last September, and he's expected to be back from the 15-day disabled list by the end of the month. That's exactly the case with Figgins, who is sidelined with a couple broken fingers. Considering it's not even a leg injury, he should be snatched up and held onto in any Rotisserie format.
Bartolo Colon, SP, LAA (49): This former AL Cy Young winner has averaged over 18 wins in four seasons before last year. He's coming off of a torn rotator cuff injury that stole 2006 from him, as well as the beginning of 2007. But in each of his three rehab starts, Colon has reached the mid-90s on his fastball. He'll start against Seattle -- not the strongest offensive team -- on Saturday. Charlie Nagy, Colon's pitching coach, said that Colon could have pitched more than just the seven scoreless innings he threw for Triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday. Manager Mike Scioscia agreed, saying, "He's got the ability to get over 100 pitches now." If I were you -- I'd get that mole looked at by a doctor, but then -- I'd pick up Colon in all mixed leagues, and then see how he looks Saturday. If he's decent, you're solid, if not, cut him and pick back up whomever you dropped -- no harm done.
Tom Gorzelanny, SP, PIT (39): By the time you read this, it might already be too late. Gorzelanny looked good in his first two starts, going 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA, but then he nearly pitched his first career complete game on the road at St. Louis Tuesday afternoon. Now he's 2-0, with a 1.33 ERA, with a second start coming up at the Dodgers this weekend. He walked three batters Tuesday, but his control has been outstanding for the most part. Grab him in mixed leagues while he's hot.
Tim Lincecum, SP, SF (11): There might not be a hotter minor-league pitching prospect right now than Lincecum. He's probably going to be one of the first big rookies you'll fight for on waivers, unless you can get him as a free agent now. Adam Miller and Andrew Miller are stellar as well, but Lincecum will likely arrive sooner. He will strike out more than a batter per inning once he matures in the majors and he's on the fast track. He struck out eight batters in five scoreless innings for Triple-A Fresno last week -- his first game above Class A ball.
Al Reyes, RP, TB (49): Reyes is sort of in a tough spot. He happens to be the best pitcher in a horrible bullpen. Normally, that's like saying, "Hey, you're the skinniest fat guy I know!" But in this case, Reyes has four saves already on a team that has only five wins on the year. Don't be scared by the "closer on a bad team" theory. The Devil Rays won't blow people away, so they'll be fighting in tight affairs all season, allowing plenty of opportunities for Reyes. He's completely back from Tommy John surgery and ready to help your team. He has allowed only two hits so far this year -- and no earned runs. We're running a poll on the Fantasy Baseball home page (click here to vote), asking readers who will finish '07 with more saves: Eric Gagne, Brad Lidge, Akinori Otsuka, Reyes or Joel Zumaya. I thought it was interesting that 35 percent of our readers thought Reyes would finish with the most saves, yet he's still only owned in half of SportsLine's leagues!
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