Among the Mynci, the number of transactions ranges from zero to 57.

At zero is the last place Canned Corn. At 57 is the eighth place Maniacs. Does this mean anything at all? Probably not. The first place Excelsiors have six transactions total.

What predicates a lot of movement, secondary to owner impatience, is a specific weakness at a particular position. The most likely problem, after a shallow starting pitching staff (a future topic), is a hole in the infield.

This point brings me to Brandon Funston’s Red Hot Corner skinny this week. Funston mentions two infielders to grab: Edwin Encarnacion and Ryan Theriot.

This won’t be much help for most fantasy owners. Both of these players are at over 50% ownership in Yahoo and ESPN leagues. In the Mynci both players were draft picks. In most leagues, likely free agent infielders (those below 50% ESPN ownership) range from the wildly inconsistent to the flat-out mediocre:

C. Ramon Hernandex (28.3%), Mike Napoli (27.4%), Jason Kendall (21.6%) 
1B. Richie Sexson (34.6%), Adam LaRoche (24.1%), Aubrey Huff (22.4%)
2B. Placido Polanco (43.8%), Mark Ellis (33.4%), Erick Aybar (29.7%)
3B. Troy Glaus (47.2%), Ty Wigginton (23.0%), Jorge Cantu (17.0%)
SS. J.J. Hardy (46.8%), Christian Guzman (42.8%), Erick Aybar (29.7%), Clint Barmes (23.4%)

The short story is that if you need help in the infield, especially the right side of the infield, you’re in trouble. If you don’t need help, you might want to consider an insurance policy, assuming players like Encarnacion and Theriot are still available. Do you really need that fifth outfielder?