Fantasy Baseball's Dirty Half-Dozen: Outfielders

(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Well, we could try to talk about catchers this week, but I promise you—there aren't more than a couple who are flying under the radar right now, certainly none who can keep it up, and anyone worth keeping is long since gone.

So let's jump to the only set of positions we havne't discussed so far: outfielders. And boy, what an odd year it's been for THIS slot in your lineup.

Carlos Quentin just isn't hitting the way we want him to—a bad foot'll do that. Manny's—well, you know about Manny. People in India know about Manny. And Grady Sizemore's bat needs a hat to keep warm.

So you need something to boost your production for these guys, and no one's willing to trade you Adam Jones or Carl Crawford. Here, again, are six guys who are way under-owned in most Yahoo! and ESPN leagues.

We lead off in Minnesota, where amidst the snow and ice, no one can ever find you.

Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota Twins (Available 88 percent Yahoo!/92 percent ESPN leagues)

Jason Kubel,  Minnesota Twins (57 percent Yahoo!/52 percent ESPN)

Denard Span, Minnesota Twins (36 percent Yahoo!/54 percent ESPN)

I can't believe my eyes. People left and right are struggling past the infield dirt, and the Twins are hiding not one, not tow, but three outfielders who arguably rank in the Top 30 this year and are less than 50 percent owned. If you're in a 12-team or deeper league, at least one of these guys should be on someone's team, and yet, chances are, they're not.

Cuddyer and Kubel are the guys you want if you're having a power outage Cuddyer is hitting .275 (.836 OPS), Kubel a scorching .336, with an OPS over .900. Cuddyer's got six big flies to Kubel's five, and their run production (Cuddyer: 26 runs & 25 RBI, Kubel 22 and 23) would be a welcome addition to any fantasy club.

Span is another little-known name that Minnesota has groomed right up to the big-league level. In his first full season in the majors, Span's picked up right where he left off in his part-time role the last couple of years, tagging the ball at a .299 clip.

While Span isn't likely to hit more than ten homers in any year, he's already hijacked nine bases, scored 23 runs, and knocked in 20. I wouldn't be surprised to see 30 steals and a .300 AVG from the 25-year-old Span, plus 80 each scored and driven in.

Kubel, on the other hand, is likely to endure a slide at some point this year; he's hitting well above his .275 career average. Even so, Kubel is the poor man's Hunter Pence, despite the fact that they were nearly indistinguishable statistically in 2008 (outside their SB production, of course). I can see Kubel going for 20 or so HR and a MINIMUM of 80 RBI, with 100 well within reach.

The Twins have been nursing Cuddyer back to health the last couple of seasons, so his numbers have been less than spectacular. But right now, Cuddyer's not hitting above his head like Kubel is (Cuddyer's career average is .269), but it seems that his power has improved.

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