Want a player with next year in mind? Don Visco says Nick Swisher should be one.

We are into the dog days of summer now. Baseball is slowly moving off the lead story at both ESPN and in the minds of fantasy sports players. Only a select few are concerned about the Jason Kubel injury, but most owners know that Thomas Jones was hurt in Jets’ camp on Sunday. However, I fall into the former camp and, if you are reading this, so do you.

If you are out of the race and in a keeper league, right now is the most important part of the year for you. What you do in your “dump deals” is what can set you up for a successful next season. For example, I had won my “home” league’s championship in 2005, but suffered through some injuries, bad luck and (admittedly) poor trades to sink my season last year. However, in August, I targeted some good, inexpensive players in trades which set me up this season (and I am in front of the league by five points as of this writing). Who did I go after? Alexis Rios, Kevin Youkilis, Brian Roberts and Joe Crede. The first three, I really liked. Crede I didn’t, but he was cheap and I thought I could flip him during the off-season for something better (since he had a good year)…which I did.

Thus, this column will highlight a few players that you might think about acquiring if you are towards the bottom of the league and are looking for next year. Obviously, I am not aware of the cost of these players in your league or other restrictions, so if a player is too expensive in your league, you can pass on him. Also, if a player is much cheaper that you expect and he’s had a good year (even though you don’t like him), I’d think about that player as well since, odds are, someone in your league will have something you like in trade (during the off-season).

Jason Kubel (OF, Min) – This one couldn’t have worked out better for you. Kubel is now hurt and, thus, would be an easy get. He’s probably either floating around in the free agent pool (or will be) or is a buck or two. However, he is still young (25) and hits lefty. Minnesota really has nothing pushing him on the roster or in the minors and they are likely losing Torii Hunter at the end of the year. If you can stick Kubel in your lineup next year for cheap, he is a reasonable bet to give you a nice return on investment. At worst, he does what he is doing this year (0.250 average, 10 HR), but the upside is certainly there.

Yuniesky Betancourt (SS, Sea) – Betancourt is not a patient hitter. He is up there hacking, as is evidenced by the fact he is 89th out of 91 AL qualified hitters in pitches seen per plate appearance. However, Betancourt doesn’t see a lot of pitches since he doesn’t need to; he makes a lot of contact and, thus, (by definition) won’t see as many pitches in an at bat. Betancourt only strikeouts in less than 12% of hit at bats, which is a very low percentage. At any rate, Betancourt is young, plays every day and has emerging power (he’s already equaled his home run total from last season). He probably is a $1 or $2 player in your league and has the potential for 15 – 20 home runs with a helpful average next year. Once again, I’d rather take a shot at a very cheap Betancourt than having to spend $35 for stats that Miguel Tejada put up four years ago.

Nick Swisher (OF, Oak) – Swisher hit 35 home runs last year…but only has 14 this season and is day-to-day now with a hamstring injury. His stats look depressed from the previous season and, thus, it will make him an easier target for you. Swisher is a big power source and is as patient as any player in the game. He will likely be one of those players who can range between mid-20’s and upper-30’s in homers over the next several years. If he is cheap enough, I’d inquire with an eye towards 2008.

Joe Mauer (C, MIN) – When you send your emails out inquiring about Mauer, emphasize he only has five homers this year. Then name the players in your league with more homers that Mauer. Use a line like, “I can get Mauer’s ‘power’ from Raul Casanova…and then some”. At any rate, Mauer was seen taking balls at first base over the weekend. At some point he’ll transition from behind the plate as Minnesota tries to get his bat in the line-up when he isn’t catching (and not at DH). As we all know, catcher is a tough spot to fill. This might be the cheapest you can acquire Mauer over the next five years (or more).

Casey Kotchman (1B, LAA) – Kotchman has had a very good year, but his stats are somewhat depressed. He has only nine home runs and 47 runs scored, which is not good at first base. However, he splits time with Robb Quinlan and has only 47 at bats against lefties the entire season. He would be a good candidate to graduate to full-time at bats next year and to, possibly, hit third in the Angels lineup (he’s spent the season in the fifth, sixth, and seventh slots). Whatever the case, his stats aren’t overwhelming and he probably came cheap at the draft. He is definitely a guy to target good things for as soon as 2008.

By the way, I am not putting any pitchers on this list. It really needs to be an ace for me to keep a pitcher going into the following season (except, of course, closers). The strategy for handling pitching in rotisserie baseball is easy: either get ace pitchers (Johan Santana, John Lackey, etc.) or just work in middle relievers until some good pitchers (with poor performance) avail themselves to you in a trade or in the free agent pool. I mean, the top 12 guys in the AL in RBI are players you would have to have paid, at worst, good money for (re: Mike Lowell) in the draft, and Lowell is on the low-end. The top 12 pitchers in ERA in the AL contain four guys that likely weren’t even drafted (Fausto Carmona, Brian Bannister, Jeremy Guthrie, and Shaun Marcum). Good luck with that.

Questions and comments may be sent to donvisco@sportsgrumblings.com.