Erick Aybar is playing his way into the Angels lineup on a regular basis.

We are just four weeks into the 2008 season, and already a couple of managers in one of my fantasy leagues are throwing their hands in the air and declaring this a lost season.  All I can think is – You must be kidding!! It is still way too early to panic, or worse yet, throw in the towel. There are a myriad of ways to tweak the performance of your team through acquisitions off the waiver wire and trades. Even managers that find themselves in last place now can find their way out of the basement with a few smart moves.  And really, the point at which you start to take a hard look at player performance does not arrive until players have reached the 100 at-bat plateau, a threshold that your everyday players will likely cross over the next week or so.  There is nothing magical about 100 at-bats, but I like to see a hitter batting around where he is expected to be by that point, or at least see his numbers trending in the right direction.  If you find yourself needing some assistance locating players on the waiver wire who can help your team, you have come to the right place. A survey of the major fantasy game hosts revealed the following gems available on waivers in many leagues:

Carlos Quentin – Chicago White Sox – Outfielder – The Pale Hose acquired Quentin from the Arizona Diamondbacks after he spent the majority of the 2007 injured and unproductive. The Snakes grew impatient after Quentin showed incredible promise by mashing at every level of the minor leagues. He is once again showing promise at the start of this season, not so much in his average, which is .241, but in his peripheral numbers. Of utmost importance, Quentin is exhibiting the patience at the plate that made him so successful in the minors, as evidenced by the 10 walks he has against 10 strikeouts. The power has returned as well, with 6 of his 14 hits going for extra bases. Finally, his BABIP (batting average on balls in play) is below his batting average at just .227, a sign that his current batting average will almost certainly rise. The White Sox just assigned Jerry Owens to the minors, a vote of confidence from the team for Quentin, who will continue to see regular at bats as the starting left fielder.  He has 30 home run, .300 average upside and will not disappoint, so if he on your waiver wire, go pick him up.

Erick Aybar – LA Angels of Anaheim – Shortstop – The Angels had been using Aybar in a platoon of sorts with Cesar Izturis until Howie Kendrick was placed on the DL with a hamstring injury. Now Izturis is filling in at second base, and Aybar is starting every game at short, and making the most of the opportunity.  Over the last two weeks he batted .391 to raise his season average to .356, and he has been getting the green light to steal from Mike Scioscia, and been successful in two of three steal attempts. Aybar stole an average of 30 bases per year in the minors, including 51 in 2005, so he has speed to burn. If he continues to get on base at his current .367 clip, he should easily reach double digit steals, and could end up with 25 or more for the season if the regular playing time continues. The current test is important because if he plays well while Kendrick is out, he could end up getting more regular playing time than Izturis when Kendrick returns.  Either way, Aybar will give your team a speed infusion if you need it, so grab him now and enjoy the ride for as long as it lasts.

Ryan Ludwick – St. Louis Cardinals – Outfielder – First of all, Ludwick is no youngster. In fact, he is 30 years old. The reason you may not have heard of him is that he has spent the better part of the last nine years toiling the minors, with occasional trips to the bigs for the Rangers, Indians, and now the Cardinals. Last season was his longest at the major league level, an opportunity created when the Cards lost most of their outfield to injury.  Ludwick held his own during that period with an average of .267, 14 home runs and 52 RBI in just 303 at-bats. After a red hot spring, the Cards decided to keep him in the Show, and he’s responded with a batting average of .365, 4 home runs and 12 RBI in his first 17 games. Nothing in his history indicates that this is real, yet he looks like a different hitter at the plate, walking more, striking out less, and generally exhibiting better plate skills. The power always was, and continues to be very real, so he should continue to mash. Pick him up and ride his hot streak for as long as it lasts, but keep an eye out for the first signs of a slump.

Todd Wellemeyer – St. Louis Cardinals – Starting Pitcher – Wellemeyer was penciled in for this column last week, but after looking into his history, I decided that I needed to see another good performance before recommending him. Would you believe he went out and threw seven strong innings, gave up just one run on four hits, struck out six and only walked two? Well, that is exactly what he did, and what he has done in all but one of his starts. It looks like pitching coach Dave Duncan has taken yet another career reliever and turned him into a viable starting pitcher. The only big concern at this point is how long Wellemeyer can keep this up, as he never pitched more than 80 innings in a season. For now, pick up Wellemeyer and enjoy the strikeout rate of 9.11 Ks per 9 IP, and ride his great performances for all they are worth.