Over the past couple days, there have been a slew of significant injuries to fantasy studs - three 1st or 2nd round hitters and two top closers.  This roster destruction creates opportunity.  Here is a lst of those five along with where I see the fantasy opportunity.

C Victor Martinez Cleveland Indians -  VMart injured his elbow to compound the lingering hamstring injury he suffered on Opening Day.  Kelly Shoppach immediately becomes a John Buck-esque fantasy option - double digit pop with a .250ish AVG.

OF Alfonso Soriano Chicago Cubs - Soriano is back on the D.L. with a broken hand.  2B Mark DeRosa moves to the OF.  His near-.900 OPS means he is likely rostered in most leagues. 2B Mike Fontenot takes over for now.  If the Cubs decide to recall Eric Patterson, and play him, he could be a sleeper for cheap steals.

1B Albert Pujols St. Louis Cardinals - The season opened with fantasy players worrying about Pujols' elbow and now he has hit the D.L. with a strained calf.  Joe Mather and Chris Duncan are the main beneficiaries.  OF Ryan Ludwick is going to hit 3rd so he could see an uptick in RBIs if he continues to hit.

Closer J.J. Putz Seattle Mariners - Putz was pulled mid-inning with right elbow pain.  Brandon Morrow took over and closed out the game.  he is the leader for saves, but be wary.  He had been shut down recently with a sore shoulder.  I can see the M's utilizing a committee to close games if Putz is out for a significant amount of time.

Closer Rafael Soriano Atlanta Braves - Want an idea of what the Mariners' save distribution could look like if Putz returns to the D.L.?  Look at the Braves.  Since Soriano went on the D.L. on April 7th, more than two months ago, Manny Acosta leads the Braves in Saves with three.  Soriano returned from the D.L. two weeks ago, he notched two saves.  Four other players have a save.  Expect Mike Gonzalez to return from the D.L. and Tommy John surgery and immediately become the seventh Braves relieve rto notch a save.

Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus has confirmed that the 11:30 AM press conference by the Atlanta Braves is to announce that John Smoltz is finished for the season.    Smoltz looks like a sure-fire Hall-of-Famer.  If only he could get Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine to retire after this season....

With this news, fantasy players will scramble to get Rafael Soriano into their line-ups.  I'm not completely sold on his health, though.  Adding Manny Acosta is a smart move as manager Bobby Cox said he'd be splitting the closer duties amongst Smoltz, Soriano and Acosta. 

This was just a day ago, but I can't help wondering about the inclusion of a third pitcher in a  closing committee.   This seems to signal the health of Smoltz and Soriano are shaky, no?  You'd think closing every other save would be enough recovery time, right?

A sleepr for saves is Mike Gonzalez who could be up within a week or two.