Scouring the Wire

Anybody can tell you some superstar players to buy low on, but what happens if you're not looking to make a trade? What happens when you're simply trying to fill in some holes off the waiver wire? Have no fear, as today I'm going to look at players owned in less than half of most standard public leagues and go position by position. Without further adieu...

Catcher

Catcher is the shallowest position and is usually the hardest to address off the waiver wire, though it can be done. For starters, John Buck is widely available and has excellent power for a catcher. He won't help in batting average a whole lot and RBIs and runs are hard to come by in KC, though. If you're looking for the latter, Johnny Estrada or A.J. Pierzynski could be more your style, playing in better line-ups. And watch out for Jarrod Saltalamacchia...the kid has been raking and could force Atlanta to give him more time at 1B when McCann gets healthy.

First Base

The position of sluggers. Usually lots of decent depth here, though the gap between the elite and the has beens is often large. Still, you could do worse than target a guy like Casey Kotchman, who should provide a great batting average and moderate power, ala Lyle Overbay. Adam LaRoche is slowly starting to hit the ball a little better, though I've never liked him as a great source of batting average. And finally, Dmitri Young has started hitting a hot bat as well...however, if you're considering him as an option, you're probably not winning your league. A sleeper to continue watching is Ryan Garko in Cleveland. That line-up is potent from top to bottom and he should get plenty of runs and RBI chances.

Second Base

Kaz Matsui and Brendan Harris are very uninspiring options at second base, but both have been raking. Matsui should provide you with some decent speed and Harris with some power. I'd still rather prefer the following two options: Josh Barfield is also in that Cleveland line-up and has really started hitting well after a horrible start. Look for moderate power and speed with a decent average the rest of the way out. The other option to consider is Dustin Pedroia in Boston. He's not going to give you much speed or power, but he should have a decent average and he has been batting nearer the top of that line-up lately, which should mean bunches of runs.

Third Base

I remember an article in SI about 10 years ago that talked about the lack of depth at 3B in baseball. Well...no more. The position is so deep that solid fantasy option such as Mark Teahen, Eric Chavez, Scott Rolen and Chad Tracy are all available. Each has his flaws, though Chavez has been hitting well. Tracy is coming back from injury and could provide value, though I probably prefer Teahen of all the options. A bit of a sleeper is Edwin Encarnacion...the kid can smoke the ball when he wants to and has been playing much better since an ill-advised (on the Reds behalf) demotion to Triple A.

Shortstop

The drop off in shortstop value is steep. You basically NEED a top 10 guy to compete. If you're desperate you're left with options such as Brendan Harris, Dustin Pedroia, Felipe Lopez, Bobby Crosby or Stephen Drew. Pedroia is probably the safest option, while Drew has the highest ceiling and plays in a pretty good offense. Hopefully you have your top 10 guy.

Outfield

Outfield is deep. You can usually get by without having elite outfielders if you focus on outfielders with specialized talents (a power guy, a speed guy, etc.). So what are we left with if we need to address this problem? Well, Mark Teahen, J.D. Drew and Pat Burrell come to mind immediately. All three have the ability to hit a baseball well. Drew and Burrell have struggled, but if either heats up for any length of time, watch out. If its speed your after, Corey Hart is your man. He's seeing more and more time at the top of the Brewers order and is simply producing. Another name to keep an eye on is Reggie Willits in Anaheim, though he may not see enough playing time with healthy bodies returning. As for some young guys to keep an eye on: Matt Kemp was recently brought back and he could produce decent power numbers if he gets playing time. I also like Chris Young (Ari) as a power speed combination, but I think next year will be his coming out party.

Starting Pitching

Chances are, any decent starting pitcher is owned in your league. Depending on how you're fairing and the format of your league, you may want to consider cycling through starters to increase your strike-outs, saves and wins, will likely forfeiting ERA and WHIP. Anyways, here's some players to consider.

Joe Blanton - not a huge strike-out guy, but has decent ERA and WHIP.
Mike Mussina - Could start pitching better as the Yankees turn things around.
Gil Meche - Nothing fancy, but has been more effective than predicted.
Ervin Santana - Great K potential, really struggling on the road. Could have a solid second half.
Daniel Cabrera - Frustrating to own but puts up lots of K's.
Javier Vazquez - Underrated...decent K's and his WHIP is lower than I expected.
Mark Buerhle - Overrated in fantasy, but still rosterable in some leagues.
Josh Johnson - Coming back from DL, looked decent in rehab.
Yovanni Gallardo - Brewers uber-prospect. Look for him to either shine or get lit up.

Closers

Chances are, not many closers are available on the wire, so instead we'll look at could-be-closers that should still have some value as a RP.

Rafael Soriano - Bob Wickman is old. Soriano has dirty, dirty stuff.
Joakim Soria - Pitched effectively when Dotel was out. Could return to closers role via Dotel trade or injury.
Jonathan Broxton - Next in line behind Saito.
Scot Shields - I'm surprised K-Rod still has his arm attached. Shields is next in line and might valuable as is.
Joel Zumaya - More long term thinking here. Todd Jones is a bad pitcher.
Eddie Guardado - Returning from DL. Will be a factor in a messy Reds bullpen.
Jorge Julio - Expect Fuentes to be traded by the deadline...may hand reigns over to overrated Julio.
Casey Janssen - With Accardo struggling, Janssen could see some time at closer.