Kuzul

Fantasy baseball owners hoping to sneak underrated players with quality power and speed need look no further than Will Venable.The San Diego Padres right fielder will likely be overlooked, as is the case for three other similar players on this list.Your opponents' misses are your gain.These late-round steals offer fantastic versatility. They'll produce home runs and provide plenty of points through stolen bases.Patient, risk-taking owners will profit from Venable and more, while friends mistake bigger names as better talent.Here are the four guys who will be available and will round out your squad nicely. Will VenableVenable will be disregarded merely because of the team he plays for—the Padres are awful.Awful teams must be filled with awful players, right?Wrong!Venable hits a consistent .250, nothing overwhelming, but he'll still give you around 15 home runs and 50 RBI.Better yet, he'll net you 30 stolen bases.Decent numbers for a mid-round guy. Great numbers for ...

There’s no way around it or no easier way to put it.  A lack of offense has resulted in a lack of wins for the San Diego Padres. It was a welcoming site when Will Venable singled up the middle to put a run on the board in the Padres’ 3-1 loss against the Philadelphia Phillies and Roy Halladay Sunday.  Halladay fanned 14, coming within one out of their third shutout of the Padres during a four-game sweep at PETCO Park. The Padres have scored just three runs in their last 32 innings and besides scoring five runs in the second game of a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs Wednesday, the Padres have scored just four runs in their past six games. It should come as no surprise, then, that the Padres (8-14) are last in the MLB in runs scored (62) and batting average (.214). To put those numbers ...

The Padres were in the National League West driver’s seat for most of the 2010 campaign.  As we all very well know, a 10-game lull in August and September paved the way for the San Francisco Giants’ run to the World Series title. The Padres have a new look in 2011.  Their projected Opening Day lineup will feature six new faces, and Mat Latos will take the ball in an effort to solidify himself as a staff ace in his second full season. It will take a full team effort for there to be postseason baseball in San Diego.  Let’s take a look at five players whose productivity will pay dividends in 2011.Begin Slideshow

The San Diego Padres are simply too strong for the Cubs. The Chicago Cubs could not avoid the sweep by the NL West leaders Thursday afternoon.  Once again, their bullpen sank and a careless defensive play in the seventh inning put them down 5-3 in the series finale. Carlos Zambrano, the Cubs’ starter, did not have a stellar performance.  However, he managed to limit the Padres to one run and four hits in six innings.  Even though he walked far too many batters—giving six Padres free passes to first base—he got out of his jams, stranding runners one inning after another. Well...except in the second, when the Padres took a 1-0 lead.  He issued back-to-back walks to Yorvit Torrealba and Will Venable.  Chris Denorfia followed and loaded the bases with a single to shortstop.  One out later, Jerry Hairston, Jr. hit into a fielder’s choice that scored Torrealba from third. The Cubs scored ...

    Just because you’ve slipped behind in the Stolen Base category doesn’t mean you can’t catch up.  Here are some reasonably available SB threats.   Coco Crisp, OF, Oakland A’s If steals are what you’re looking for Coco is your guy. He had seven SBs over the past 15 days while hitting .250 with seven runs and one RBI. On the year he’s hitting .237 (which explains his 11 percent ESPN and 24 percent CBS ownership) with 14 SBs, 24 runs, three HRs, and 18 RBIs in 34 games.   Will Venable, OF, San Diego Padres Venable had four SBs over the past 15 days while hitting .179 with five runs, one HR, and six RBIs. On the year he’s hitting .231 with 18 SBs, 40 runs, nine HRs, and 38 RBIs. Will is owned in four percent of ESPN and 13 percent of CBS leagues.   Jason Kendall, C, Kansas City Royals Kendall had three SBs over the past 15 ...