Oh no, you’ve got Matt Holliday who just went on the DL, you are still waiting for Vernon Wells and Jorge Posada to come back, not to mention Clay Buchholz and Jake Peavy too. You pretty much have two options at this point. You could either throw in the towel and be that player that hits a few bad breaks in the beginning and just gives up for the rest of the year, or you can scour the waiver wire and try to hit some gems for some short term help until your team gets healthy again. Trust me, you want to pick that second option because everyone HATES the quitters.

Here is a list of guys who might be available and can help get you through

Hitters

Delmon Young, MIN. One of the hottest prospects in recent memory, Delmon has completely fallen on his face so far in 2008. He is hitting for a pretty good average at .288 and has stolen eight bases, but those of us who drafted him didn’t pick him for that. We wanted some power! Young was advertised as a 30/30 guy with a chance for 40/40. He has been let go in all but one league I play in, and I think he is too talented to not hit for any power all year long. The chance is there for a power surge sometime in the future.

Jason Kubel, MIN. Three of four years ago Kubel was the hot hitting prospect in the Twins farm system. However, the one knock on him was that he couldn’t stay healthy. Kubel has lived up to that reputation throughout his career, but the potential has always been there. Kubel was a career .320 hitters in the minors and in ’04 he hit 17 homers and drove in 71 runs in just 90 games. Although his average is not nearly where he would like it to be, Kubel is doing pretty well in 2008 with six HRs and 25 ribbies in 44 games. If you need a stopgap for a while (like I do with Holliday), give Kubel a chance to prove he belongs on your roster.

Adam Jones, BAL. The gem of the trade that sent Erik Bedard to Seattle, Jones has been mostly a disappointment as a starter in Baltimore. Jones had his average hovering around the .230s until the past couple of weeks he has picked up his production. Jones has the potential to be a 25/25 guy someday, and the more at-bats he gets, the more comfortable he will become. Keep an eye on Jones, as he appears to be gaining confidence, and he has the everyday job in Baltimore all to himself.

Jay Bruce, CIN. This is no stopgap, this is a replacement. No breaking news here about Bruce’s talent, but I wanted to be sure that I got the news that he will be joining the Reds on Tuesday 5/27. Bruce needs to be added to your team in all formats, and if you are fast, he could help a lot of fantasy teams. Jay was hitting .363 with 10 homers and eight steals this year in the minors. I’ll say it again, go get him.

Wily Mo Pena, WAS. It has been said that Wily Mo has never met a breaking ball he hasn’t swung at……and missed. Pena will never lead the league in walks or batting average, but boy when he connects the ball goes a long way. He has a ton of raw power, and with the injury to Austin Kearns, should be playing the outfield everyday for the Nats. If he could improve his plate discipline, he could at least give your team some home runs.

Other hitters to consider: Matt Joyce, DET, Jeremy Hermida, FLA, David Murphy, TEX, Lastings Milledge, WAS, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, TEX

Pitchers

Andrew Miller, FLA. One of the main pieces of the trade that sent Miguel Cabrera to Detroit, Miller was the 6^th overall pick in the 2006 draft. He has great strikeout potential, but until recently hadn’t been able to translate his past success to the major leagues. However, Miller has won four of his last six starts, and except for one bomb, he hasn’t given up more than two runs in any of those starts. I would certainly look over my roster to see if you can find room for Mr. Miller before it is too late.

Garrett Olson, BAL. Olson had an effective, but unspectacular minor league career, and is now having success at the highest level. Garrett had the best start of his career Monday against the Yankees, in which he threw seven shutout innings and struck out seven. He is now 4-1 on the season, but his ERA is still high at 4.04. He isn’t a guy I would want to count on all season, but if you need a replacement for a month, give Olson a look.

Clayton Kershaw, LAD. Again, no breaking news here, but he could certainly help your team. I can’t say for sure that he is in the majors for the rest of the season, but if you have a high waiver priority in your league, I would use it on Clayton. He handled the Cardinals easily in his first start, striking out seven in six innings. He is one of the best pitching prospects in five years, and I would definitely try to add him to my roster.

Chris Perez, STL. Could he be closing in St. Louis by the All-Star Break? Perez is a hard throwing (meaning 100 mph) reliever for the Cardinals who has been groomed to be the successor to Jason Isringhausen. Well, seeming that Izzy is either not healthy or not effective, 2008 could be the year that Perez takes over for him. If you are desperate for saves, take a flier on Perez and hopefully Tony LaRussa will give him a try closing games. If nothing else, Perez should help your team’s ERA, WHIP, and Ks.

Carlos Marmol, CHC. This is the guy who should be closing games for the Cubs, but for some reason they are committed to Kerry Wood. Not sure if Wood has some blackmail scheme going that involves pictures of members of the Cubs front office in compromising positions, but he doesn’t have the stuff that Marmol has. Carlos has been dominant this season, with a 1.69 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 32 innings. If Wood goes through a tough patch, you could have yourself an electric closer on a first place team.

More pitchers to consider: Chris Carpenter, STL (back in July at the earliest), Rich Hill, CHC, Chad Billingsley, LAD, Jeff Francis, COL, Bartolo Colon, BOS, Manny Parra, MIL, Wandy Rodriguez, HOU, Joba Chamberlain, NYY (will be a starter soon, is he available to you?)

For more, you can visit my site . I also accept emails about adds, drops, trades, keepers, whatever at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. How am I doing? Since I haven’t been with the Office too long, any feedback would be appreciated.