Late Season Fantasy Baseball Help

With so much of the season in the books and many teams having packed-in the year for fantasy football, there are going to be players who fly under the radar who could still help teams in dogfights in various categories.  One of those is Tampa Bay Ray Rocco Baldelli who made his return from a mitochondrial condition that sapped his energy and ability to recover from exercise.  If he is fully recovered, he could add some pop and speed over the remaining 40+ games.  Would 6 HR and 5 SBs make a difference for most fantasy teams?  No, but any of the five hitting categories could be separated by the slimmest of margins and a pro-rated 20/20 player could make the difference.

Washington Nationals' HR leader Lastings Milledge hit is 12th HR of the year.  Like Baldelli, Milledge can be a difference maker at the margins.  He is likely available thanks to his disappointing 1st two-thirds of the season.  So far this August, he is hitting 400/462/800 over 35 ABs with 4 HRs and 2 SBs.

The marquee piece of the Johan Santana trade this winter, CF Carlos Gomez, stole three bases this weekend.  For those who checked out after his zero steal July which basically ended Gomez' hopes of fantasy contributions, this burst of speed could mean he is back as a major fantasy category contributor.  To boot, he received a reprieve when RF Michale Cuddyer was lost for the season with a broken foot.  Prior to that, the writing on the wall said Gomez was out of a major league job as Denard Span has easily won an everyday job in the Twins' outfield.

One final player who can help in the stretch run is Tampa Bay Ray prospect David Price.  He was promoted to Triple-A this weekend and could be making his major league debut before the end of this month to make sure he is post-season eligible.  For those looking to preserve ratios for the final month, Price would be perfect as he will be monitored closely and should contribute Ks even in a limited role.