Finding Manny's Fantasy Replacement

When you lose a star like Manny Ramirez in fantasy leagues, there is no "quick fix." You're either going to make a trade to fill the glaring hole, or you play mad scientist with waiver-wire options to tide your team over. I've always been a fan of the latter before resorting to the block. Luckily, there are seven players available who are capable of giving your team the needed power in mixed leagues. Not Manny-type power, obviously, but enough to mitigate the damage for a few months. And if that's not up your alley, we've got some trade targets, too.

Let's take a peek inside the barrel of pop ...

Hot Off the Wire

Jack Cust, OF, Athletics -- Cust has already proven he can top the 30-homer plateau, yet many owners bailed on him after a rough April. It's time to look now because Cust is heating up. His grand slam sparked the A's on Thursday and he's hitting .385 in May. If you can sustain the average hit, he's a fine replacement.

Jose Guillen, OF, Royals -- Ditto here on the slow start. Guillen is batting .409 in May with six RBI. He doesn't have the power upside Cust does, but Guillen should hover around 20 jacks and 90 RBI if he stays healthy. And he won't hurt you in batting average. He's like Manny Lite.

Mike Jacobs, 1B, Royals -- I was surprised to see how many leagues he's available in. Granted, you may have to do some lineup shuffling if you had to plug an outfield spot instead. He's up to five homers and seven doubles. Expecting around 25 homers and 80 RBI by year end is realistic.

Adam LaRoche, 1B, Pirates -- LaRoche gets dropped in leagues every year. And every year he comes back to align with the back of his baseball card. He hasn't dipped below 20 homers and 78 RBI in four years. Dog him if you want, but that kind of consistency deserves a fantasy roster spot.

Kendry Morales, 1B/OF, Angels -- He's still available in over half of standard mixed leagues. Five of his home runs this season have come over his last 13 games, including two this month. Morales has the potential for a 30-home run season and should continue to bat in the heart of the Angels' lineup.

Jason Kubel, OF, Twins -- Talk about a dream lineup situation: Kubel gets to bat behind Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Last year's totals of 20 home runs and 78 RBI put him on the fantasy map, and I think he'll build on that as the season progresses. Just be prepared for inconsistency mixed with the big games.

Russell Branyan, 1B/3B, Mariners -- Seven bombs already from Branyan? We all may be waiting for the bottom to drop out, but what if it doesn't? As long as he hits them out of the park here and there, the Mariners will continue to pencil him in the middle of the lineup, batting average woes aside. Don't forget he actually hit 12 homers in only 132 at-bats last season.

Finding Bats for Sale

Magglio Ordonez, OF, Tigers -- You won't find an All-Star outfielder much cheaper. He's currently hitting .225 with just two jacks and 12 RBI. Last three years? He's topped 20 and 100 in each. Go for the fantasy robbery and don't look back.

David Ortiz, DH, Red Sox -- I think Ortiz owners are getting so worried that they're practically trying to give him away. Dangle a flavor-of-the-month player and see if you can snag him. There's no guarantee he gives you anything more than 20-25 home runs, but you can't knock a good discount.

Carlos Delgado, 1B, Mets -- We always wait for an aging slugger to finally break down. Delgado told everyone to keep waiting last year while he smacked 38 balls out of the park. Even though you shouldn't expect that kind of output again, you want to be on board when he goes on a power binge sooner or later.

Travis Hafner, DH, Indians -- He's dirt cheap right now. The DL stint for shoulder soreness shouldn't give you that "uh oh" feeling just yet. As of now, it's still just expected soreness, and Hafner's bat was impressive before it.