I'm Your Pusherman by J. Ellet Lambie

Pssst.

Yeah, you...come here for a minute. I got something I want to show you.

Now listen, I know why you’re here, you know why you’re here so there’s no need to be squemish about this. You’re jonesing, I can see it all over your face.

That fantasy baseball team of yours is in trouble. You’re sweating for a .300 hitting middle infielder, or maybe a cheap RBI man. Don’t worry, I got your hookup.

What’s that? You need OPS, baby I got all the OPS you need, and cheap. Home Runs, Wins? I got it all. Oh you want steals, the heroin of fantasy baseball itself...yeah, I gotcha covered.

I know your roster is tight, you don’t have much to trade, that’s cool. You just need a little something on the cheap to get you through until your guys come off the DL? I’m talking free agent pool fixes here.

These cats are all available in at least 50 percent of Yahoo standard leagues.  So just tell your fantasy baseball pusher-man what you need and let me ease your pain.

 

RBI’s

What do Casey Kotchman, Michael Cuddyer and Nick Johnson have in common? They each have 20 RBI in the last month and are widely available at the touch of your add/drop button.

Cody Ross has 33 Rib Eyes on the year and 18 since May 6...he’s available in 87 percent of Yahoo standard leagues.

Your looking for something younger? Ok, be that way - Gerardo Parra has 17 RBI’s in the last month, Andy LaRoche has 16. Both should play regularly going forward and have high ceilings. Parra is owned in 3% of Yahoo leagues, LaRoche 8%.

 

Batting Average

So all those Adam Dunn/Chris Davis types are dragging down your average eh? Try a little Aaron Rowand.

He’s hitting .366 in the last month and .302 on the season. He’s a career .284 hitter two years removed from a .309 season in which he also hit 27 bombs and drove in 89 runs. He’s available in 84% of Yahoo leagues.

Randy Winn and Adam Kennedy are both hitting .340 over the last month. While neither is in my opinion a good long-term fix, either can get you through for a month or so until you get someone on your DL back or can pull off a trade.

They have something else in common...they are both available in 83 percent of Yahoo leagues.

You want the real sneaky stuff….ok, take a look at Christian Guzman. He’s a .333 hitter entering Saturdays game with 19 multi-hit games (out of 40 played) and seven games with three hits.

If he can stay healthy you can plug him in for .300 + all summer long. He’s available in 59 percent of Yahoo leagues.

 

Wins

That pitching staff got you down? Let me see what you got there...damn, that is ugly. It’s cool, I can fix that too. Now don’t freak out when I mention this name, you promise? OK.

Carl Pavano.

Calm down, calm down. The former Yankee bust has six wins on the season and four in the last month. He has a 56 to 15 K to BB ratio to boot.

He makes me nervous too, I get it, but he’s out there in free agent land in 81 percent of leagues and has more wins in the last month than guys like Jake Peavy, Johan Santana and Josh Beckett.

Matt Palmer of the LA Angels is 5-0. Who? Exactly—if you don’t know him neither do the opposing hitters. His little run will come to an end at some point when hitters figure him out or when the regular starters get back to form, but until then he’s a short-term boost. You can pick him up in 79 percent of Yahoo leagues.

Scott Feldman of the Texas Rangers is owned in 9 percent of Yahoo leagues. He himself owns five wins against zero losses...sound familiar?

He hasn’t given up more than three earned runs in any of his eight starts so far. Yeah, he’s unproven and a bit risky, but sometimes that’s what it takes to find a diamond in the rough.

 

OPS

I’m gonna give you a real under the radar guy right up front, don’t tell anybody though - Andruw Jones. His .949 would be among the AL leaderboard if his 90 at-bats qualified.

With Josh Hamilton out for who knows how long expect the reclamation project to get swings in Arlington in the summer heat, where the ball flys like it has a passport. He’s owned in 5% of Yahoo leagues.

Lyle Overbay quietly has a .942 OPS and is also available in 95% of Yahoo leagues. Josh Willingham is the owner of a .926 OPS and is owned in 4% of leagues. I got one more for you, it’s kinda sneaky though.

Travis Hafner.

Fresh off the DL and available in 73% of Yahoo leagues, Hafner posted a .931 OPS before his shoulder acted up again. I know he’s a humongous injury risk, but he’s also a guy who has mashed at a high level before.

He’ll hit in a hitter friendly ballpark and if he fails, you can cut him loose and forget we ever talked about this. One downside, he’s a DH so your options to fit him into your lineup are limited.

 

Steals

Michael Bourn has 19 steals (and a .302 average) and is available in 50% of Yahoo leagues. Willy Taveras has 12 swipes and is owned to the tune of 47%. I like Bourn, a little, I don’t like Taveras, but either can get the job done.

Brett Gardner, Dexter Fowler and Emmannuel Burriss all have 11 steals and are all available in 90% or more of Yahoo leagues. Gardner will fight for playing time going forward, but Fowler and Burriss should see regular at-bats.

Nyjer Morgan also has 11 steals, he’s owned at a 30% clip. His teammate Andrew McCutchen, recently called up from AAA to fill the Nate McClouth void, stole 10 bases in 49 minor league games this year and has a track record of ripping off bags at a high rate. He’s available in 80 percent of Yahoo leagues.

 

Home Runs

Nolan Reimold has displayed a better power stroke at the big league level than super-phenom teammate Matt Wieters.

He has five so far in 69 at-bats since his mid-May call up. He’s a solid all around young player that is available in 93 percent of Yahoo leagues.

You could look to guys like Mike Jacobs and Jason Varitek. Both have 10 bombs at this point, but a little baggage in the batting average column as well. I think Jacobs has the ability to hit 35, but doubt he will this year.

Varitek is playing way over his head in the power category so buyer definitely beware, although he is a catcher, which makes him a rare find. Jacobs is owned in 17 percent of Yahoo leagues, Varitek 34 percent.

Remember when I mentioned Josh Willingham earlier? In addition to the OPS prowess he has eight home runs in the last month. Only nine guys in baseball have more over that span. As previously discussed he’s available in 96 percent of Yahoo leagues.

Jason Giambi and the aforementioned Michael Cuddyer each have seven ding-dongs in the last 30 days. I think Cuddyer is the more well-rounded option going forward, if he can stay healthy. He’s available in 55 percent of leagues, Giambi 78 percent.

Now don’t you feel better? You don’t have to be ashamed to come see your pusher man when you get that fix. I’m here for you baby, all day and all night. Now let’s start the music and get outta here the right way.

Hazaa

If you have a pressing fantasy need I missed feel free to drop me a line at [e-mail] or leave your question below, I’ll do my best to get back to you quickly.