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Sigh. Soriano went down. I know this happened a few days ago now, but I really thought that his hand would miraculously heal, he would be back in the lineup, and he would continue the pace that warranted an early second round pick. All the while, the Cubs would acquire A.J. Burnett, dominate every game against the Cardinals, and undo 100 years of misery. But since this didn't happen, I thought I'd look at some options to replace an underperforming 2008 outfield class...

30% or less available: First off, I figure I should explain that I looked at these guys as a function of their ownership. Shallow leagues might have a few of the following names, while each increase in percent available reflects a different size league. Brad Hawpe is one interesting consideration. He's available in only fifteen percent of leagues (ESPN used for this stat) but has hit four homeruns since returning from the DL. Jeremy Hermida is a bit more available (23%) and could begin hitting for more power as his HR/FB comes closer to last season's number as it should be a younger player. As Holliday regains his form and Tulowitzki soon returns, he could be a force down the line. Nick Swisher, Delmon Young, and Willy Taveras are also available in shallow leagues, but I'm optimistic about none of them. The BABIP isn't far out of line with their career numbers and while Taveras will steal a ton of bases, he offers little else.

70% or less available: Lastings Milledge and Melky Cabrera, who I like to think of as the same player, offer the kind of production I like from a fill-in, balanced across the board. Both should see their averages increase while the BABIP come closer to league average. Luke Scott was a bit of a sleeper of mine heading into the season, and could see his RBIs increase once the Orioles ship him off. While its tough to predict his homers, the eleven so far this year has not been an anomaly and his splits are right in line with previous seasons. I like any of them more than Cuddyer or Mathews Jr., who have more name recognition but have some injury concerns. Andre Ethier, although a good producer while not platooning, is a bit overrated in my opinion and isn't as good as some of the names to follow.

Deep Leagues: These guys are owned in less than 20% of the leagues, and many are snubbed in circles as well read as our fantasy blogger league (12 players, expanded rosters). The first name that stands out is David DeJesus. He was a favorite of both Pete and myself heading into last season, but disappointed owners. This year, his late start has already yielded seven homers and five steals, and he could easily add ten to each category by the end of the season while contributing a .290ish average and solid run production. Jason Kubel also deserves a look, mostly due to his solid second half last season during which his OPS sat at .891. Jim Edmonds has three straight multi-hit games and has hit over three hundred since joining the Cubs. At Wrigley that average is .360, so he's enjoying the friendly confines while picking up RBIs.

Are there any other names that interest you? I'd love to run to some numbers to add to this list.