September Call-Ups: N.L. Hitters

Part three of four of my scintillating series, covering the fringe players who are on reserve lists in deep N.L.-only leagues and may - or may not - be worth activating.

Marlon Anderson: Anderson was activated off of the DL on September 1 and still hasn't picked up an AB for the Mets. He will barely play until the Mets clinch or are eliminated.

Rogeravin Bernadina: Bernadina's super fast, with 42 steals between the majors and the minors this year. The bad news is that his plate discipline stinks and eroded this year every time he moved up the ladder. He's got a better chance than most of the players on this list of making an impact, though, as he could see some playing time for the non-contending Nats. He's worth a low level risk if you want to roll the dice on some swipes.

Luke Carlin: He's the Padres third-string catcher, and is only up to provide depth with the expanded rosters.

Tony Gwynn Jr.: He'll mostly be a pinch hitter/pinch runner/defensive replacement down the stretch for the Brewers.

Micah Hoffpauir: Between AAA and the majors, Hoffpauir has put up some absurdly crooked numbers. Still, he's a 28-year-old minor league lifer who is buried behind Derrek Lee. He might be a high risk/high reward play for the last week of the season if the Cubs clinch early, but is a longshot to offer a serious contribution in 2008.

Joe Koshansky: It's hard to argue with Koshansky's AAA numbers this year: a 980 OPS with 71 extra-base hits, including 31 HR. But Koshansky benefited greatly from Colorado Springs, with an OPS about 300 points higher, despite the fact that he hit nearly an equal number of HR at home as he did on the road. His best hope for playing time is if the Rox get eliminated and he gets some starts in the last week. He's got power, but is starting to look like a Quad-A type, and the Rockies probably won't play him much at all this month.

Brent Lillibridge: He's only 24, but Brent is starting to look like the Lillibridge to nowhere. Touted by Baseball Prospectus this winter as a better option than Yunel Escobar, Lillibridge regressed incredibly at AAA, putting up a horrendous 638 OPS in 355 AB. He might get the odd start here and there, but his disturbing lack of power makes him not worth it. He does have some speed, but this again would be more of a desperation play than anything else.

Ronny Paulino: He showed nice doubles power in his return to AAA, but the Pirates seem to have wisely given up on the idea that Paulino is going to help them all that much down the road. He hasn't played yet since his call-up, and Raul Chavez actually looks like he's ahead of Paulino on the depth chart at the moment.

Argenis Reyes: He'll back up Luis Castillo and Jose Reyes in a pinch for the Mets. He has a little speed, no pop, and doesn't figure to have any Roto value.

Nick Stavinoha: Yet another guy on this list with nice AAA numbers, a low BB/AB rate, and a poor chance to contribute significant AB down the stretch for your team. He'll mostly pinch hit and get a start or two a week at best. He does have power, but is a bottom-of-the-barrel option nonetheless.

J.R. Towles: He might still be a solid contributor down the road at catcher, but the Astros are still playing like they have a legitimate shot at making the play-offs, so I wouldn't expect to see Towles get too much action. He's a good play for next year if he's sitting out in the free agent pool, though the Ed Wade regime will have to admit that the time for playing for the present is long past in Houston and start thinking about tearing it up and letting the kids like Towles play.