When it comes to fantasy baseball there are four rules that everyone should follow:

Pick two related categories and punt them Never draft closer’s in early rounds In a daily lineup league, don’t carry bench bats Your DL spots should never be empty

Those are not the only rules and there will be people who disagree with them but they are rules that you should live by. I can write tons of words on why those are important rules and in the off season I just may, but, since the first three rules are mostly impossible to implement this far into the current season this post will be about the last rule: Your DL spots should never be empty.

The DL is to a fantasy team what the minor leagues are to an MLB team; a way to manage depth. To put that another way, if you have an empty DL slot, there is surely a player available who can take that spot with no consequence to your current roster while giving you an insurance policy and a chance to catch lightning in a bottle. In the worst case, you drop the player when they come off the DL. In the best case you have a replacement player ready if one of your regulars gets hurt and you just might find yourself with a player who turns out to be very relevant. Let’s all say this together: “I will never leave my DL slots empty!”

Now that everyone has agreed to rule number four the question becomes “who should I fill my DL slot with?” Below are four players you should consider if you have an empty DL slot.

Before I get started, in order for a player to make this list they had to fit the following criteria:

They are reasonably expected to return with in the next three weeks

They have less than 70% ownership on Yahoo

They have had some amount of fantasy value in the last two years or they had prospect hype

There are three players who were right on the 70% ownership cusp that are worth looking for in your league but not worth discussing since only 30% of readers will find them available. Those players are: Alex Gordon, Christian Yelich and David Wright. If they are available, add them now, if they are not, consider one of the following four.

Wil Myers – OF – 42% Ownership – Late August / Early Sept

Myers is an outfielder who came to the majors with a ton of hype. After a promising rookie campaign (.293/.354/.478), Myers had a very disappointing 2014 (.222/.294/.320) fueled by a high K% and a low BABIP. Traded to the Padres for the 2015 season Myers appears to have had his offense return. In 35 games before heading to the DL Myers hit .277/.327/.459 by cutting down his K% and having his BABIP rise to more normal levels.

Myers is currently swinging a bat but has yet to begin his minor league rehab so an exact return date is unknown at this time. Myers Steamer projections for the remainder of the season are .252/.317/.418 but with a .296 BABIP. If you believe Myers can maintain a BABIP closer to league average those projections feel low.

Denard Span – OF – 41% Ownership – Late August

Span is the player on this list that has the highest floor in terms of fantasy value. While Span isn’t going to fill all fantasy categories he should be a good bet to produce numbers near his career averages (.287/.353/.394) while scoring runs at the top of the Nationals lineup and stealing bases.

On Sunday, Span was cleared to begin a rehab assignment. While an official time table has not been set out, the Nationals are in need of his bat so it would not be surprising to see him back in about a week. Span’s Steamer projections for the remainder of the season are .285/.341/.391. Span has actually had a slash line above .302/.355/.416 with 42SB in his last 206 games (all of his ‘14/’15 games) so I would bet on him outperforming his projections.

Sean Doolittle – RP – 34% Ownership – Late August

Doolittle’s fantasy value will depend entirely on his role when he returns to the majors which has not been announced. The bet here is that he will assume the closer’s role. In 2014 as the A’s closer Doolittle accumulated 22 saves with a 2.73 ERA and an awesome 12.78 K/9.

Doolittle has already made three rehab appearances so his return to the majors should be soon. Steamer projects Doolittle to pitch to a 2.66 ERA with a 10.08 K/9 once he returns which seems about right. Oakland has only accumulated 20 saves in total so although Doolittle should get all of the opportunities to close, there may not be many opportunities. Still, if you want to take a shot on a closer, he’s your guy.

James Paxton – SP – 29% Ownership – Start of September

Paxton is one of the highest upside players on this list. I think of Paxton as the Jaime Garcia of the Mariners, which is to say he is very good when he pitches but can’t ever seem to stay healthy. Paxton has a career ERA of 3.05 and a K/9 of 7.20 but he has only managed to pitch a total of 156 ⅓ innings.

Paxton recently completed a 45 pitch bullpen session and is scheduled to pitch in in a simulated game on Tuesday the 18th. Paxtons next step should be rehab games and considering that he got up to 45 pitches in his bullpen, he may not need to many rehab starts before making his return to the majors. Steamer projects Paxton to pitch the remainder of the season with an ERA of 4.10 and a K/9 of 7.13. Steamer’s projection is based on a relatively low LOB% and high HR% compared to Paxton’s career averages so he is a good bet to outperform.

Three Honorable Mentions

Nori Aoki – OF – 28% Owned – 8/21 return

Poor man’s Denard Span. Not going to bring many extra base hits but will hit lead off with high avg/obp and some SB.

Steamer(R) – .282/.346/.373

Rick Porcello – SP – 26% Owned – Late August

ERA of 5.81 seems to be due to bad luck as his SIERA is 3.95. K/9 of 7.22.

Steamer(R) – 3.97 ERA, 6.7 K/9.

Derek Holland – SP – 13% Owned – 8/19

7.49 K/9 in his career with a 3.42 ERA in ‘13 (213in) and a 1.46 ERA in ‘14 (37in).

Steamer(R) – 3.82 ERA, 8.06 K/9

Which of the above players is the best bet to have an impact? Who’s missing from this list?

Photo credit: Keith Allison