Dustin Pedroia, Placido Polanco (he’s eligible at second), and worst of all (because he was my 1st rounder in two separate leagues) Chase Utley, who is now out 5-6 weeks. They’ve all gotten injured very recently, and they’ve all been very viable fantasy options this year. As always, there are things you can do to help yourself while you wait for these guys to heal. All is not lost, you can find a ton of players on the waiver wire. Even better, there are some dudes who do the same stuff as the players you lost (just not as well, clearly). I’ve found them and given you two guys for each of the aforementioned victims of what I’ve dubbed The Great Second-Base-Tastrophe of 2010.

The Dustin Pedroias

Sean Rodriguez – Tampa Bay Rays
Rodriguez came into Spring Training and, simply put, tore it up. Then the season started. He wasn’t even a little bit good, and lost himself any playing time he earned in March. Now he’s back and, simply put, tearing it up again. In the past month he’s hit .302 with 4 homers and 15 RBI while stealing 5 bases. That puts his power numbers actually ahead of Pedroia, but the HR to SB ratio is similar with a high average (Dustin has 12 homers and 8 steals, while hitting .292). Unfortunately for Rodriguez, these numbers may not keep up. He’s got a staggering 86 point difference between his average and his BABIP and he’s walking only 1 time per every 10 K’s. Imagine Mark Reynolds striking out 200 times in a season but only walking 20. Ya, that bad. I’d ride out his hot streak for now, but be prepared to drop him when the tides turn.

Clint Barmes – Colorado Rockies
Barmes has been playing shortstop in Troy Tulowitzki’s absence, but he’s eligible at second so he counts. Clint has hit .300 with 2 homers, 16 RBI and 2 steals this month, and is going to force himself into the lineup once Tulo is back (in place of Jonathan Herrera, at second). The metrics tell us he’s even been a little unlucky this year, with a BABIP of .269 against a .283 career number. That should improve, as his BB/K rate is at an all-time high of 0.43, compared to his lifetime mark of 0.29. Barmes will continue to rake and should only get better once Troy Boy comes back. Get him now, you may even end up keeping him.

The Placido Polancos

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