Here are my “12 and 40” guys for the rest of the year. Good luck with them. Remember, you don’t want to trade to acquire these guys directly, but get them either from the waiver pool or as a throw-in during a larger deal.

Ross Gload (1B, KC) – So Mike Sweeney might be done for the year and Ryan Shealy is injured. Billy Butler is the DH and, other than Alex Gordon, it seems wide open for Ross Gload to get many at bats manning first base. While he might end up on the better side of a platoon, a good run at the plate will give him full-time at bats. Gload was in the center of the KC lineup during the start of the year before getting injured, so he could get a good deal of RBI opportunities. He’ll likely cost you almost nothing to get as well. Note that he has no track record of performance so this projection is based on how well he does in July since if he slumps early on, he might not get another opportunity. A purely speculative pick.

Shea Hillenbrand (1B, FA) – As of this writing, Hillenbrand has not yet landed with a team. If he does hook up with the Yankees, he is immediately a favorite to go 12 and 40 since Joe Torre will play him a lot. Let’s face it: Torre likes the “known”. While he’ll tell you ten days in a row that Andy Phillips (or Josh Phelps) is his starting first baseman, he likes the security of Miguel Cairo. With Shea Hillenbrand on the roster, he is a known quantity. Recall that Hillenbrand was at 12 HR and 39 RBI in 81 games with the Blue Jays last season before his infamous “play for yourself” comment.

Jason Kubel (OF, MIN) – While you’d like the see the Twins go out and get themselves a solid DH and/or a power-hitting corner outfielder (as well as a third baseman), the reality is that they don’t do that. Thus, the young Kubel could make a name for himself in the second half of the season with a strong performance. I’d much rather invest in Kubel than some over-the-hill aging slugger who has lost bat speed.

Jay Gibbons (OF, BAL) – Yeah…I seem to highlight Gibbons a lot. He hit two homers last week and all he needs is consistent at bats to be productive. The problem is that his batting average is so poor (0.212) that it makes it easy not to play Gibbons when you look at his stats. The All-Star Break came at the wrong time for him. He needs to get out of the box quickly to help out during the second half.

Marcus Thames (OF, DET) – The advantage that Sean Casey has over Marcus Thames, at least at the plate, is he bats left handed. Craig Monroe, however, has no such advantage over Thames. Monroe is slugging 0.388 while Thames is slugging 0.519. Monroe hasn’t hit a home run since June 1st. If Detroit makes a change and inserts Thames into the lineup on a more consistent basis, watch out! He’ll hit homers and knock in runs. He may not help your batting average, though, but you should have other players for that.

Bobby Kielty (OF, OAK) – Kielty gets thrown in the mix for OF/DH at bats. Since he is nominally a switch-hitter, he could see at bats against right-handed pitching, but that is a long shot. However, if he is productive against lefties, the A’s will ride the hot hand (or bat, in this case). I wouldn’t look to acquire Kielty, but if you have a long reserve list, you should think about placing him on there. He does have pop and, in the right circumstance, knock out double digit homers in half a season.

Frank Catalanotto (OF, TEX) – This one is going to be tough to reach for Lil’ Cat since he only gets to hit off right-handed pitching. But…hitting in the Texas lineup in Arlington during the summer will be beneficial. He’s been hitting fifth a lot and maybe he’ll get to bat behind (or in front of) Mark Teixeira, which could help on both accounts. Either way, look for a better second half than first half.

Juan Rivera (OF, LAA) -- Do not forget about Rivera. He could be back in early August and the Angels traditionally do not make an external move to bring in players during the trade deadline. Thus, Rivera could get plugged in at DH or LF and provide an offensive spark. He is streaky and could reach those 12 and 40 numbers in two months worth of at bats.

Gerald Laird (C, TEX) – In the same way that Lil Cat will benefit from the summer in Arlington, so can Laird. The Texas catcher does have pop in his bat and could finish up strong during the second half. I can envision a deal where you send, say, John Buck to a team and get back Laird and a pitcher. If you can pull that off, go for it.

Have a question or comment for Don? Email him at donvisco@sportsgrumblings.com.