NOW THAT SPELLS RELIEF

Take a look a the top prospects to deliver value as closers, setup men, and long relievers in the game at this point of the season.

John Grabow, RP, PIT

Looking at Grabow's career, no one would have expected him to have a sub-2.00 ERA and 1.03 WHIP with four vulture wins at this point in the season. His hit rate has been a career low so far, which likely feeds into those numbers heavily. Still, he appears to have harnessed his control and would be in the mix for saves should anything happen to Matt Capps. Capps owners should consider adding Grabow for insurance and LIMA help in hopes he can keep it up.

Doug Brocail, RP, HOU

Brocail is having a solid season so far, and he earned his second save of the year on May 24. His K-rate has somehow jumped back up after a few sub-par seasons, and it's completely within reason that he could finish the year with a sub-3.00 ERA and respectable WHIP. He also serves as fill-in closer for Jose Valverde, which will be useful when Jose needs a night off. Valverde has a spotty history of control problems, which he flashed earlier in the season. While it's unlikely he'll lose the job given the price the Astros paid for him, it is not completely impossible. Brocail makes a stellar handcuff, and solid speculative add otherwise heading into June.

Dan Wheeler, RP, TB

Troy Percival has done well as the closer this season, but the first chink in the armor just appeared on May 21 when Percival revealed he has a sore hamstring. This came after he gave up an ER in two consecutive saves, which could have been tied to the hamstring issue or not. Either way, Al Reyes isn't ready to take on ninth-inning duties if anything befalls Percival, so Wheeler is the guy to own until further notice.

Joey Devine, RP, OAK

With Santiago Casilla sitting on the DL for up to eight weeks, Devine moves up to the main setup role and closer-in-waiting for the As. Yeah, Alan Embree, who filled in for Huston Street in 2007, is available and could enter the mix, but Devine is the better option for Oakland. Even better, he can add a lot of help in strikeouts (28 K in 21.1 IP) and ratios (1.27 ERA and 1.03 WHIP), and possible wins (3 vulture wins so far). I'd consider him in even smaller mixed leagues with those numbers.

CALL-TO-ARMS

Need some starting pitching? Look no further:

Joba Chamberlain, SP/RP, NYY

Savvy fantasy GMs have been holding onto Joba all season in anticipation that he would be starting by mid-season. Well, mid-season has come early, as he is being stretched out to be a starter as we speak. If your league is sleeping on him, you shouldn't. He'll be better in a starting role than he was in the bullpen, and now is the time to pounce in pretty much all formats.

Jorge Campillo, SP/RP, ATL

With John Smoltz officially moving to the bullpen in Atlanta, the team decided to give Campillo a shot at the rotation. He was originally a starter but had his first opportunity in the bigs cut short, leaving his first ever start with Seattle in 2005 with an elbow injury that led to Tommy John surgery. Campillo has pretty filthy stuff by all accounts, and his K/9 of 7.8 so far in 2008 fully supports that notion. Atlanta has a solid offense (4.8 runs/game), so their SPs will get wins. One caveat: be sure the finger blister that forced him out of his last start won't be a recurring problem before adding him.

Jesse Litsch, SP, TOR

Litsch has been remarkably good this season, posting a 3.57 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP in nine starts, winning six of those games. His most recent start was a CG shutout against KC, which is still impressive for a second year starter even against the lowly Royals. Beware of those 9 HR in only 58.0 IP so far, especially in the Blue Jays' batter-friendly home park, which will put an upward drag on his ERA if it keeps up. Still, Shawn Marcum found a way to perform respectably with 27 HR in 159.0 IP in 2007, so perhaps Litsch can harness some of the same tricks. I'd expect similar numbers from Jesse when we look back at 2008: 4.00-4.15 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and around 115 strikeouts.

Chad Billingsley, SP, LAD

As of April 24, Chad's season looked awful with a 6.53 ERA and an 0-4 record. Since that day, he has been dominant, giving up only a total of 7 ER in his next five starts (32.0 IP for a 1.97 ERA). He still has spotty control some nights, but I can't argue with his adeptness at digging his way out of binds lately. See if someone lost patience and add him if he sits out there on the wire. Surely you can use a guy with a 10.3 K/9 rate on your pitching staff.

Daniel Cabrera, SP, BAL

Wow, I never thought I'd be highlighting Cabrera in a waiver advice column, but damn his numbers look good (3.48 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 5-1 record). All signs point to a collapse in short order: 9 HR in 67.1 IP, 5.5 K/9, and history of high-WHIP, high-BB performances (4.8 BB/9 in 2007, 3.2 BB/9 in 2008). Ride him while he is hot in deep leagues, but don't invest too heavily in a guy who has never finished a season with an ERA below 4.52 nor a WHIP below 1.43.

SWINGING FOR THE FENCES

Lacking home runs? Stuck with a dearth of stolen bases? Here are some ideas to better shore up your offense.

Jerry Hairston Jr., 2B/3B/SS/OF, CIN

Hairston is in for a full-time gig now that Jeff Keppinger is out with a broken kneecap, an injury that will take some time to heal. Jerry is a good speed source off your bench (5 SB in his first 40 AB in May), especially given his outstanding four-position eligibility. Add him as a utility guy in 12-team and deeper formats, especially NL-only leagues. Given Keppinger's injury and his spotty history as a journeyman, Hairston might deliver more value than expected moving forward.

David Murphy, OF, TEX

I didn't see this one coming, but Murphy has had 116 AB in the past 30 days. Regardless of Marlon Byrd's return, it looks like Murphy is a solid pickup in the Rangers' outfield as long as he is on the field. After all, 6 HR, 4 SB, 19 doubles, and a .296 BA will come in useful as a backup OF in even 12-team leagues. His numbers look even better in May, with a .309 BA and four of those six HR as of May 23.

Randy Winn, OF, SF

The perennial unsexy roster-filler who won't hurt you, Randy Winn has been performing like he did back in his Mariners days with 2 HR, 8 SB, 25 Runs, and a .296 BA in 196 AB. If he gets his typical 580 or so AB, those numbers scale up to a passable (albeit unspectacular) 7 HR, 27 SB, and 86 Runs. In reality, I expect over 10 HR and less than 25 SB, but that's well worth the roster spot in NL-only and deep mixed leagues.

Fred Lewis, OF, SF

While we're covering the Giants' outfield, it would be irresponsible of me to overlook Fred Lewis. Lewis is currently on pace for very similar numbers to Winn, although his BA will end up closer to .275 than .300. His BABIP sits near .345, which would make me take pause if he didn't post a .287 BA in 2007 with the exact same hit rate. I have been using him in a 14-team experts league with very deep rosters, and he has been more than serviceable to this point in the season as a fourth outfielder.

Akinori Iwamura, 2B/3B, TB

I still can't figure Iwamura out, as he has been a hot and cold player since earning a starting gig with the Rays last year. Still, you can't ignore his May numbers of 2 HR, 9 RBI, 13 Runs, and a sweet .337 BA. Can he keep it up? Probably not. But still, he sports nice dual-eligibility and hits on an offense that is more talented than you may realize. Decent crapshoot in the deepest of leagues.

Frank Thomas, UTIL, OAK

When Toronto kicked him to the curb last month, a bunch of fantasy owners did the same. Then Thomas joined Oakland only to go homerless through May 18. Since that day, his power stroke has come back from wherever it was hiding, as he launched 4 HR in the next four games. We know the Big Hurt still has 25 HR power, even if he can only slot into your Utility position. But tell me something, who are you starting there? If they're a lock for another 18-20 HR, no worries, but if not, there's still something left it the tank for Frank.

Carlos Delgado, 1B, NYM

The reports of his demise have been greatly exaggerated, as Delgado is mashing in May with 5 HR in 80 AB. He started slowly as he always does, but Carlos is showing that the power is still there if you can stomach the low BA. Even better, his hit rate has been sitting under .245, so sooner or later some of those outs will start falling fair, so there's upside to his BA as well. If your 1B is stinking up the place, add Delgado post haste.