Slowly, but surely, fantasy owners are plucking two of our free agent fixtures — Rangers’ designated hitter Hank Blalock and Twins’ outfielder Denard Span — off the waiver wire. Neither has made the huge splash it takes to drastically increase ownership in standard leagues, but both have been, and will continue to be, steady and solid.

Upside is always a theme in the hunt for viable waiver wire candidates, and that pursuit is noted below with the inclusion of young outfielders Dexter Fowler and Matt Laporta and third baseman Mat Gamel, who has yet to even make his 2009 debut.

Those young, risky candidates are countered with veterans Cristian Guzman and Russell Branyan, who are backing up their respective reputations with solid starts to the ‘09 season. Guzman is hitting for average (.368), and Branyan is swinging for the fences (7 HRs in 20 games). Read more »

Scouring the waiver wire for free agent recommendations is a task. There are a few distinct groups of hitters, and we’re charged with finding 10 who are not just quality players, but who comprise a well-rounded group to help as many fantasy owners as possible. Cry for us - it’s not easy being fake fantasy baseball experts.

The first group of hitters is the obvious, guys who should be owned in all leagues but, for some reason, are not. Blue Jays second baseman Aaron Hill anchors this group, but actually just crossed the 50 percent ownership threshold today. Read more »

Two games represent exactly 1.2345679 percent of a Major League season, but you’ve just gotta take notice of what Florida Marlins third baseman Emilio Bonifacio has done in that amount of time. He leads the majors with three stolen bases, six hits and four runs scored and has even knocked in four runs. Bonifacio may or may not have a ton of staying power, but at this point, just go get him and think about that later.

Bonifacio is a speed threat who qualifies at second base and third base and hits leadoff for a productive offensive team, the type of player that must be added in all leagues. Maybe the kid doesn’t keep setting the world on first with his stick – his minor league numbers were good, not great – but Bonifacio is sure to keep running and wreaking havoc. Read more »