Every year at every draft, by the time the closing rounds arrive, your players list is a shredded mess as you search for those last picks to finish your nearly completed roster.  A lot of owners inevitably throw their hat in the ring for that budding prospect they believe only they know about, or that faded star that they have a hunch is bound for rediscovering his glory days, which he will not.  You’ll drop that player by April 30^th.

I say take a different route and draft to stash.  By this I mean pick a player you know that when healthy is talented and will produce.  It’s a win-win for you because once your league is set up, you can use the free spots used from those DL grabs to get the useless prospect and worthless star of yester-year that you were going to use your picks on anyway.

Here are three pitchers who you should target with your final picks of your draft that can undoubtedly help your team for the second half push to the playoffs and perhaps put you over the top to win it all!

Brandon Beachy – SP – Atlanta Braves

Injury: Elbow – Tommy John Surgery

Status: As of March 13^th

Beachy has already thrown off of a mound seven times, doing so with no setbacks.  He isn’t incorporating all of his pitches yet and is not going at full speed but this is very encouraging.  Once healthy, the 26 year old will rejoin the Braves rotation and if he regains the form he presented before his injury, he will provide a huge boost to your fantasy rotation. If your rotation is already stacked, he affords you the opportunity to use another established pitcher as a trade chip for a position player for an area or stat you need help with.

Expected Return Date: June 15th-30th

Cory Luebke – SP – San Diego Padres

Injury: Elbow – Tommy John Surgery

Status: As of March 13^th

Luebke has been shut down the last two weeks after a minor setback with discomfort in his surgically repaired elbow, however should be resuming his throwing program in a few days.  He is still on the 12 month timetable which means his return date is still slated for mid-season.  Once the 28 year old southpaw makes his return, he will immediately be vaulted back towards the front of the Padres rotation and is expected to provide the same low WHIP, low ERA, and solid SO numbers that fantasy owners were teased with when he moved to the rotation in 2011, and his pre-injury performance in 2012. Pitching in the spacious PETCO Park doesn’t hurt him either.

Expected Return Date: July 20^th – All Star Break

Michael Pineda – SP – New York Yankees

Injury: Shoulder – torn labrum

Status: As of March 13^th

Michael Pineda missed the entire 2012 season after he had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.  On March 12^th Pineda threw his longest bullpen session this Spring, roughly 35 pitches.  The key to this session was he started throwing his slider, which means the Yankees are confident enough in his arm’s progression to allow him to throw breaking pitches, which are the most taxing on a pitcher’s arm.  Once he returns he will enter the back end of the Yankees rotation.  Fantasy owners should be reminded that Pineda was the valued piece the Yankees were willing to trade Jesus Montero to the Mariners for, so they have high expectations for him.  When healthy he can be dominant and miss a lot of bats, as he proved in 2011 with Seattle, particularly the first half of the season.  The 24 year old should be back in July, taking into consideration how conservative the Yankees are with bringing players back from injury.

–          Missed entire 2012 season

 Expected Return Date: July 20^th – All Star Break