The Stash Box: Cardinals Pitchers You Might Be Thinking About

Let's face it -- one of the real joys of playing fantasy sports is the satisfaction of feeling smug, even superior, to the other folks in your league. Take, for instance, last season when a given owner tried to add Ryan Braun or Tim Lincecum prior to their call-up, only to find them sitting on your bench. There's no doubt that you felt pretty superior when they undoubtedly posted something like, "I can't believe he's already taken!" (Of course, this assumes a free agent world – otherwise, the same reaction would occur after you bid on that player weeks before anyone else did.)

On the other hand, this can go a bit too far sometimes. This year, I drafted Cameron Maybin, sure that I had myself a great combination of young speed and power – and then he got sent down by the Marlins, and it's far from clear when he'll be back in the bigs. I've stashed Colby Rasmus on a team where I have a bench that justifies it, even though it's not clear if he'll play before September.

Of course, this doesn't just apply to fresh young faces -- the savvy fantasy player can also pick up and stash a veteran who is out on the DL for a sizeable part of the year. Many folks have been holding on to Francisco Liriano for just this reason. (I'm of the theory that this is a waste since he'll be able to contribute very little when he does return.) But who else is likely out there on your free agent wire, potentially providing some free benefits to you down the stretch? Well, it turns out the Cardinals have a rash of pitchers with some prior success that should be hurling in the bigs sooner than later. Let's look at them and decide whether they are worth your bench space.

Mark Mulder: Look, I'm only talking about Mulder at all because some people just don't learn. Look at his ERA's in his last two seasons – 7.16 and 12.27. Those aren't misprints, but they are horror shows. Sure, Mulder is the guy who won between 15 and 21 games every season between 2001 and 2005, but those days are simply long gone. There's no reason to much farther into it, because Mulder's upside ends somewhere around your ankles.

Chris Carpenter: On the other hand, 'Carp' has oodles of promise, enough that he's notched himself a Cy Young, which we hear is usually given out to pretty good pitchers. (By the way, if you want a trip back down Memory Lane, the pitcher he nudged out for that award? Dontrelle Willis.) However, he's on the way back from Tommy John surgery. He's been throwing pretty well according to Cardinals brass, and is currently slated to return in late July. Is he worth putting on your bench now for the last two months of the year? It says here that the answer is...yes. With extreme caution. The Cardinals are somehow managing to win games, and Carpenter should be able to put up decent stats in the limited innings he's likely to post. He's not going to anchor your team, but there's a chance he could be a good SP3 or SP4 for you before the end of the year on the cheap.

Matt Clement: And then there's Matt Clement. Somewhere along the way, I developed a soft spot for Clement, mainly because of the 215 strikeouts he notched for the Cubs back in 2002. But stare at his stats a little bit longer and it's hard to be too optimistic that he'll help your fantasy team whatsoever. Heck, it's a bit of a leap to determine whether or not he'll help the Cardinals. He should be back fairly quickly and – and take this more as a warning sign than something positive – he's available in 100% of leagues. He's recovering from right shoulder surgery (yeah, that's his throwing arm), and there's not a like to be optimistic here.