If At First You Don't Succeed: Try One of These Carlos Pena Fantasy Replacements

There’s no questioning the loss that many owners are feeling due to the abrupt conclusion to Carlos Pena’s season.  Despite the low batting average, he was the AL leader (and third in the major leagues) with 39 HR.  To date, he is one of only six major league players to reach the 100 RBI mark.

Replacing him is going to be impossible, but here are a few names that may be available on your waiver wire:

Shallower Formats

• Paul Konerko (owned in 68 percent of Yahoo Leagues, 91 percent of CBS Leagues) - He’s had a renaissance of sorts, already at 25 HR to go with a .282 batting average.  He’s not the perfect solution, thanks to low runs scored (65), but he has the potential to get hot in the power department and make up for the loss.
• Adam LaRoche (owned in 42 percent of Yahoo Leagues, 70 percent of CBS Leagues) - We have discussed it many times, he is a pure second half player.  He’s hitting .314 with nine HR since the All-Star Break (he had just 12 HR in the first half), and could have another hot spurt in store for owners. 
• Chris Davis (owned in 43 percent of Yahoo Leagues, 60 percent of CBS Leagues) - We all know he’s got the power and right now he’s back getting the AB to try and show it.  He was said to have altered his batting stance in the minors, which could have altered his power, but time will tell.  Just remember the show he put on last July, hitting eight HR in 99 AB.
• Billy Butler (owned in 37 percent of Yahoo Leagues, 69 percent of CBS Leagues) - I know the power is always a question, but he is hitting .299 with 17 HR and 72 RBI.  He hit two home runs yesterday and could be used as a short-term fill-in, paired with another player.  If he’s hot now, however, you are going to want to ride him for a bit.
• Other Options if you are not looking for someone with 1B eligibility include Michael Cuddyer (54 percent in Yahoo Leagues, 87 percent in CBS Leagues), Jason Kubel (62 percent of Yahoo Leagues, 84 percent of CBS Leagues), Josh Willingham (34 percent in Yahoo Leagues, 69 percent in CBS Leagues) and Ian Stewart (37 percent in Yahoo Leagues, 67 percent of CBS Leagues).

Deeper Formats

• Mike Jacobs (eight percent of Yahoo Leagues, 27 percent of CBS Leagues) - He hit over 32 HR last season and considering that you’ve been enduring the poor average of Pena all season, he really doesn’t do much damage there.  He had two seven home run months in 2008, so there is hope that he catches fire over the last four weeks.
• Randy Ruiz (one percent of Yahoo Leagues, three percent of CBS Leagues) - He likely isn’t eligible at 1B and is dealing with his own injury issues, but he’s not expected to miss a significant amount of time.  He hit 25 HR in 458 AB at Triple-A this season and if he stays healthy and gets AB, has the potential to produce some big numbers.  He’s the ultimate flyer, as he hasn’t been in the line-up everyday, but if you are desperate he’s worth looking at.

What do you think?  If you are a Pena owner, who are you looking to replace him with?

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