Eric Chavez may no longer be the elite player he once was, but he still has plenty of power in his swing.

Mixed League Options

Joel Zumaya – Relief Pitcher – Detroit Tigers – For those of you who don’t remember Joel Zumaya, he is famous for two things. Back in his rookie year he injured a ligament in his elbow, and had to go on the DL. But what made him famous was the cause; the injury came from playing too much Guitar Hero. And the other thing he is famous for? Well, that would be for throwing 100 MPH gas! Zumaya had Tommy John surgery over a year ago to repair his elbow, and is currently on a rehab assignment with an eye towards being activated before the end of June. Give the desperate nature of the Tigers bullpen, the team is likely to ramp up his use as soon as he is ready. When he is on, Zumaya strikes out hitters in bunches with that gas he throws, and will make a fine addition to your pitching staff. Grab him now, and stash him on your DL or bench for use down the road. You’ll thank me later.

Jesse Litsch – Starting Pitching – Toronto Blue Jays – The Yankees knocked Litsch around in his most recent start, but before that he had put together 16 shutout innings over two starts and had gotten his ERA down to 3.18. Even now with his ERA at 3.45 and his WHIP sitting at 1.24, Litsch is combining his pinpoint control with a talent for inducing ground balls to dominate hitters on his way to a record of 7-2. He doesn’t strike out a lot of batters, but he does know how to pitch, and playing for a team like Toronto ensures that he will garner some wins this season. In fact, Litsch should easily win 15 this season and could even get as high as 18 wins. Pick him up in your mixed league and use him when the match up dictates.

Eric Chavez – Third Baseman – Oakland Athletics – Multiple surgeries and whole lotta rehab, and Eric Chavez is finally back in action. His production has fallen off the last two seasons due to a host of ailments involving his shoulders and back, but the operations he finally had last fall (after delaying for a long, long time) were supposed to correct all of the problems and help Chavez right the ship. It seems like he has been around forever, but Chavez is only 31 years old, and should still have a few years left in the tank. He probably won’t be the player he was back in his most productive years, but there is no reason he can’t be among the elite third basemen again. For that reason alone, he is worth taking a chance on, especially if your fantasy team is in need of a power boost. Chavez is still quite capable of hitting 20 or more homers the rest of the way. He may be rested every couple of days at first, but the A’s desperately need his bat in the line up, so he will play as often as possible.