Last Minute Fantasy Baseball Pickups

Are you anxious for the 2011 baseball season? Been reading every player and team update related in any way to your fantasy baseball team? It happens. Every fantasy squad has one or two questionable players who blur the line between the waiver wire and belonging on a roster.

The key here is flexibility. There's no reason to remain loyal to a player unless he has proven himself capable and productive. Inevitably, every season a few players slip through the cracks and end up having a huge fantasy impact seemingly out of nowhere. Identifying those players is no easy task but there's no harm in trying.

Here are seven players to help you get started that should be available on the waiver wire in mixed leagues.

1B Justin Smoak, Seattle Mariners (19.7% owned)
FFToolbox Stat Projection: 73-21-74-1-.264

Fantasy terminology lends itself to the situation surrounding Smoak. Heading into 2010, he was the hot ticket fantasy sleeper with the plus power potential for the Texas Rangers. After an underwhelming season, he's largely forgotten by the fantasy masses. Now that the dust has settled, Smoak finds himself in Seattle as the team's prime power producer. What is encouraging for fantasy owners is that he's drawing more walks this spring (9 BB in 60 plate appearances) which shows better plate discipline. With the spotlight off of him, the potential is there and for those who need to add more power, he's a good fit.

RP Jose Contreras, Philadelphia Phillies (4.2% owned)
FFToolbox Stat Projection: None available

Phillies closer Brad Lidge will miss roughly the first three to six weeks of the season. With that, Contreras is thrust into the closer spot which should translate into a flurry of saves. Contreras' best days have passed him by but at a volatile position like RP, getting saves whenever or however you can is paramount. Keep an eye on his performances and the daily reports following the team in case he loses the job overnight.

3B/2B/1B Ty Wigginton, Colorado Rockies (32.4% owned)
FFToolbox Stat Projection: 66-18-65-1-.268

Wigginton has tremendous value considering he plays all three bases and has previously played outfield in his career. Colorado has one of the youngest outfielder trios in the game and inevitably, those guys will take games off so he may add OF eligibility at some point during the year. Wigginton's spring numbers are very good (7-3-14-0-.304 in 20 games) and when you consider who is ahead of him at first base (Todd Helton), third base (Ian Stewart) and second base (Jose Lopez), there is a lot of potential for injury between those three players which provides Wigginton a lot of opportunities to play.