Omar Infante

Traded as part of the deal that sent Dan Uggla to Atlanta, Omar Infante is a player who brings some intrigue to fantasy owners for 2011.

For owners in most formats, he will have eligibility at 2B, 3B and OF (in formats that require less than 20 games, he will also have SS eligibility), which instantly adds to his appeal. 

However, does he bring enough to the table offensively to make him a worthwhile choice?

Let’s take a look at his 2010 offensive production for the Atlanta Braves:

It’s slim pickings now that there are just eight teams left.  Naturally, since the pool of players dwindles significantly you have to be on top of your game to come out ahead.  Here are some guys that could be under-the-radar fantasy baseball contributors.

1.CJ Wilson, SP TEX

I can hear it now all over Braves Nation, "Omar Infante had better be starting every day next season." And while he has had a truly outstanding season, do not expect it to continue next year.

Now that I have 75 percent of Braves Nation ready to kill me, maybe I should explain myself.

Let me start off by saying that I have the utmost respect for Omar and his abilities as a player. I also believe he is the best super utility player in Major League Baseball.

It's one of the most amazing stories of the 2010 baseball season. Omar Infante, a career utility player, has stepped in a starting role with the Atlanta Braves and is threatening to become one of the most unlikely batting title winners in baseball history.

On July 30th, the Braves All-Star second baseman, Martin Prado, broke his finger sliding into home plate.   Prado landed on the 15-day DL and Infante was inserted into the starting lineup at second base.

The Atlanta Braves should think twice before they make a move that will weaken their chances at winning a second World Series title.

While nothing has happened yet, the stars are certainly aligned for Mr. May, Troy Glaus, to replace All-Star Omar Infante in the lineup at third base, which would bump Martin Prado back to second base.

Albert Pujols is once again defying the odds and shredding the history books while the young "Big Red Machine," Joey Votto, is establishing his reputation as one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball. Both have a legitimate chance of winning the first Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.

So we thought.

Last month, we were all scratching our heads laughing at the "fool," Charlie Manuel, for selecting super-utility man Omar Infante of the Atlanta Braves to the National League All-Star team.

During Monday night's St. Louis Cardinals loss to the last-place (and worst record in baseball) Pittsburgh Pirates, Albert Pujols was 3-for-5 with a double, raising his batting average to .322.

I know this stat is not important to saber heads (please bear with us), but for this argument it is imperative.

In the old days, ballplayers were expected to go out there and fight tooth and nail for all nine innings, or however long it took to beat the opposing team to dust. Come hell or high water, you got your hind parts out there and played.

But no longer. Even without injuries, nobody ever plays every inning of every game any more.

With the news breaking on Thursday that Chipper Jones was done for the 2010 season and, potentially, his career with a torn ACL, the Braves found themselves without some sense of certainty at the hot corner for the first time in nearly sixteen years.

Mark Twain once said: "A round man cannot be expected to fit in a square hole right away.  He must have time to modify his shape."

In the Atlanta Braves recent win over the Houston Astros, longtime third baseman Chipper Jones tore his left ACL and will need season-ending surgery to repair it.

Right off the bat, this leaves the Braves (and Jones) with many questions. While the long term question facing Jones may be about retirement (which I go into more detail about here), the short term focus for Atlanta is on finding a capable replacement for Chipper.