I was amazed at how undervalued David Ortiz was in three of the drafts in which I participated prior to the season.

Maybe owners forget about him when they look over their rankings during the draft because the Red Sox designated hitter doesn't have another position.

Or maybe it's times such as these that scare most of you away.

Ortiz and the Red Sox will play three games at Philadelphia to close Week 6 of the fantasy season -- this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

That's three games in which Ortiz likely will be limited to pinch-hitting duties.

That's three games that could result in you benching a player who is batting .348 with seven homers, 25 RBI, 24 runs and a 1.026 OPS in 132 at-bats.

I wouldn't sit Ortiz unless you are loaded with utility options. The reason: The Red Sox play a pair of home games against Seattle, followed by two contests at Tampa Bay prior to the weekend, meaning Ortiz will still get four starts this week. Combine that with the likelihood he will get two or three at-bats in Philly as a pinch hitter, and Big Papi should, at worst, compile 18 to 20 at-bats this week.

If you go by Ortiz's season numbers, he would tally roughly seven hits, a homer, four RBI and four runs in 20 at-bats.

Start him.

Let's look at how the May 18-20 interleague schedule will impact other notable American League hitters:

-- Adam Dunn, White Sox: The White Sox play three games across town at Wrigley Field this weekend, likely meaning Dunn will play at least one game at first base. I would sit him because of his batting average (.250) and horrifying strikeout numbers (50 in 120 at-bats), but if you need power, you should keep playing Dunn. The big slugger has 11 homers and 26 RBI.

-- Kendrys Morales, Angels: He's been strictly a DH this season, and he's batted .313 in his comeback from a scary leg injury in 2010. The problem: Morales has mediocre-to-poor numbers everywhere else -- three homers, 11 RBI, 10 runs and a .791 OPS. Combined with the Angels' three games at San Diego's pitcher's haven (Petco Park), Morales is a risky play in most weekly leagues. Sit him.

-- Ryan Doumit, Twins: Doumit has played a combined 21 games at catcher and right field this season, so the Twins' weekend series at Milwaukee won't affect him as much as other part-time designated hitters. In deeper leagues, I'd keep him in my lineup at catcher. Doumit has four homers and 21 RBI on the season, and he's driven in nine runs in his last eight games.

-- Jesus Montero, Mariners: Seattle plays at Coors Field this weekend, which could limit Montero to about five games this week. But he's played enough at catcher (13 games) and provided sufficient pop (five homers and 17 RBI) to start him behind the plate in deep mixed leagues and AL-only formats.

-- Michael Young, Rangers: Don't even think twice. The Rangers will find a spot in their lineup for at least two of their three games at Houston for Young, who has played first, second and third base this season.

Aside from David Ortiz and Billy Butler, there isn't much of a reason to draft a designated hitter.

Yes, we have the Rangers' Michael Young ranked first below, but that is only because DH is his primary position. In fantasy, he should be eligible at first and third base, and you might even be able to play Young at second, where he appeared in 14 games last season.

Obviously, you're likely much better off playing the .338 hitter in the infield than having him eat up your utility position. That leaves us with Ortiz, Butler and ...

Kendrys Morales?

You might remember Morales from 2009, when he caught our attention by hitting .306 with 34 homers and 108 RBI. You likely recall him from 2010, when he was having another productive season (.290, 11 homers and 39 RBI in 193 at-bats) before he fractured his ankle in a celebration that followed his walkoff grand slam.

Last month, The Sports Xchange reported Morales has looked impressive in batting practice. The Angels clearly would love him to return to health, giving them an everyday DH and lineup protection for Albert Pujols.

If that's the case, Morales is a very interesting late-round fantasy pick. For now, though, we're skeptical -- he hasn't played since May 29, 2010. Then there is Mark Trumbo, who had 29 homers and 87 RBI as a rookie for the Angels last season.

With Pujols at first, there are only so many available at-bats for the likes of Morales, Trumbo and Bobby Abreu.

If Morales is healthy, he should be the regular, with Trumbo filling a utility role as a backup DH, first baseman and possibly even at third. Because Morales hasn't played in nearly two years, we'll give Trumbo a slight nod for now.

Note: All players are ranked at the positions at which they are expected to spend the most time in 2012, not all positions at which they are eligible. ... Stats are from 2011.

Rank, player, team R-HR-RBI-SB-Avg.
1. Michael Young, Rangers 88-11-106-6-.338
2. David Ortiz, Red Sox 84-29-96-1-.309
3. Billy Butler, Royals 74-19-95-2-.291
4. Mark Trumbo, Angels 65-29-87-9-.254
5. Kendrys Morales, Angels DNP
6. Johnny Damon, free agent 79-16-73-19-.261
7. Travis Hafner, Indians 41-13-57-0-.280
8. Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays 70-17-55-8-.272
9. Vladimir Guerrero, free agent 60-13-63-2-.290
10. Adam Dunn, White Sox 36-11-42-0-.159

Key stats: Young's power went down in 2011, but his batting average and RBI were career highs. If he can reach his 2009 and '10 level of 22 and 21 home runs, while keeping his average well above .300 (it dipped to .284 in 2010), he is a fifth-round steal and undervalued on many sites.

PREVIOUS: Catchers, first basemen, second basemen, shortstops, third basemen

NEXT: Outfielders

Normally, this is the position that features the players you start at a utility position because they aren’t eligible anywhere else.

Depending on your league’s rules, that might not be the case this season, thanks to Adam Dunn’s move to Chicago, and the Rangers and Angels forcing Michael Young and Bobby Abreu, respectively, to regular designated-hitter duties.

The trio might join David Ortiz and Vladimir Guerrero as players only eligible at DH, unless your league allows you to start a player at a position at which he played a certain amount of games the year before.

If so, Dunn is obviously more valuable at first base, and he might play enough games there in 2011 to be eligible anyway. Young should play enough in the infield to be eligible at multiple positions, but Ortiz, Abreu and Ortiz likely will be relegated to DH-or-nothing status, depending on how highly touted Angels rookie Peter Bourjos fares as the everyday center fielder. The latter’s presence in the lineup has bumped Abreu from a corner outfielder to designated bat.

Another potential dilemma is the Twins’ Jason Kubel, who batted only .249 last season, struggles to hit lefties, doesn’t have a regular outfield position and has Jim Thome around to take away at-bats at DH. Kubel — who batted .300 with 28 homers and 103 RBI in 2009 — is worth a look late, but should be drafted as a reserve.

On to the rankings:

Rank, player: R-HR-RBI-SB-Avg.
1. Adam Dunn, CWS: 85-38-103-0-.260
2. Michael Young, Tex: 99-21-91-4-.284
3. David Ortiz, Bos: 86-32-102-0-.270
4. Bobby Abreu, LAA: 88-20-78-24-.255
5. Vladimir Guerrero, Bal: 83-29-115-4-.300
6. Jason Kubel, Min: 68-21-92-0-.249
7. Jorge Posada, NYY: 49-18-57-3-.248
8. Hideki Matsui, Oak: 55-21-84-0-.274
9. Manny Ramirez, TB: 38-9-42-1-.298
10. Travis Hafner, Cle: 46-13-50-2-.278

Preseason top 100 players (4): Dunn (52), Young (67), Ortiz (83), Abreu (98).

Short hops
Adam Lind has moved from DH to first base in Toronto, and Johnny Damon is now an outfielder in Tampa Bay. ... Ortiz has had at least 30 homers and 100 or more RBI in six of his last eight seasons. ... Posada is expected to spend most of his time at DH because of the Yankees’ signing of Russell Martin and the grooming of uber-prospect Jesus Montero as the backstop of the future. ... Ramirez has compiled only 617 at-bats the last two seasons, but his numbers in that span are very good (.293, 28 homers, 105 RBI, 100 runs). ... The Tribe’s Hafner has batted .259 with a combined 34 homers and 123 RBI the last three seasons.

NOTE: Statistics are from the 2010 season. ... Players are listed only at the positions at which they are expected to spend the most time in 2011.

THIS WEEK: Shortstops, Thursday; third basemen, Saturday; designated hitters, today.

LAST WEEK: Catchers, March 7; first baseman, March 8; second baseman, March 9.

NEXT WEEK: Outfielders, starting pitchers, relievers and overall top 100.

It's the time of year for which fantasy freaks have been waiting.

What, you thought I meant football draft day?

We'll let the king of all fake sports sit idle for a couple days while we gear up for Week 23 of the baseball season, which usually marks the start of the playoffs.

Let's celebrate with a start and sit list, based mostly on players who were recently traded or returned from injuries or waivers.

All statistics are through Wednesday unless noted.

Start 'em

-- Scott Kazmir, SP, Angels: He lost his Angels debut on Wednesday, but through no fault of his own (6 1/3 innings, one run, eight strikeouts). He's 8-8 with a 5.68 ERA, but he strikes out a lot of batters (99 in 117 1/3 innings), he's now pitching for a team that leads all of baseball with a .288 batting average, and he is on pace to get two starts next week.

-- David Ortiz, DH, Boston: He's in another cold spell (3-for-18 with one RBI and five strikeouts in his last five games) and he's batting only .227 for the season, but consider the following power numbers. Since June 1, Big Papi has 21 homers and 61 RBI in 271 at-bats. He will get hot again, and I wouldn't want him on my bench when he does.

-- Jon Garland, SP, Dodgers: Another pitcher who should benefit from a trade to a better team, only in Garland's case, it's a much better team. He entered Thursday night's start against the Diamondbacks, his former team, under .500 at 8-11 with a 4.29 ERA. But he was 3-1 with a 3.89 ERA and an uncharacteristically high 26 strikeouts in 39 1/3 innings in August. He won't help you in the K department (figure only one per two innings), but he should start twice next week and is worth a chance in deeper leagues.

-- David Wright, 3B, Mets: Thursday was his third game back after a scary beaning incident. For some reason, his power has fallen off (eight homers after hitting a combined 89 the previous three seasons), but you know he will hit for a high average and steal an occasional base -- goofy new helmet and all.

-- Carlos Marmol, RP, Cubs: His new role -- closer -- seems to be the one he should have had all along. Since taking over for Kevin Gregg, he has four saves in as many opportunities the last two weeks. In those four save chances, Marmol threw four scoreless innings and struck out seven. In the last three years, he's fanned 286 batters in 219 innings, an average of 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings. All of which makes the Cubs' offseason choice of Gregg over Marmol all the more curious.

-- John Smoltz, SP, Cardinals: His two-game run of prosperity with the Cards ended Thursday, when he gave up four runs in six innings to the Brewers. Smoltz yielded only one run in 11 innings in his first two games with St. Louis, striking out 15 while walking only one. That was a stark contrast to his dog days in Boston -- 2-5, 8.33 ERA and 59 hits allowed in 40 innings. He's another two-start Week 23 possibility worth a look in deeper leagues in which you play more than five starting pitchers.

Sit 'em

-- Brad Penny, SP, Giants: He was great Wednesday in his Giants debut (eight shutout innings), but that shouldn't overshadow an August in which he was 0-3 with an 8.31 ERA in four games with Boston. Prior to signing with the Giants, he was 2-7 since the beginning of June, and he isn't a great source of strikeouts (91 in 139 2/3 innings this season).

-- Jim Thome, position unknown, Dodgers: Talk about a strange trade. The Dodgers -- pardon me for a moment while I state the obvious -- wouldn't be able to use a DH until the World Series, yet they acquired an American League slugger who hasn't played the field regularly since 2004. Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said Thome "will be used exclusively as a power bat off the bench." Translation: We're going to kill the fantasy value of a player who has 23 homers and 74 RBI in 345 at-bats. If you're a James Loney owner, I would worry that Thome will steal at-bats from the 25-year-old regular first baseman every three days or so, especially since Loney is 22-for-98 (.224) since August.

-- Joba Chamberlain, SP, Yankees: The Joba Rules must include a line that reads: "Like Mike Shanahan in football, we hope to drive as many fantasy owners nuts as possible." Chamberlain threw all of 35 pitches in three innings before being pulled Sunday, this after he was started on regular rest, after the Yankees initially stated he would be held out longer. In his last two starts, Chamberlain has thrown a combined seven innings, and he hasn't tossed more than 96 pitches in his last three contests. He's barely averaging more than five innings per start for the season, and with the Yankees' conservative nature with the 23-year-old, he should only be used in very big leagues in which you can still play him at reliever.

-- Alfonso Soriano, OF, Cubs: He had a cortisone shot in his bothersome left knee Sunday, and he returned to the lineup Thursday after sitting Wednesday. Regardless, he no longer is much of a stolen-base threat (nine in 116 games), and he's batting only .243 with a .732 OPS.

-- Adrian Beltre, 3B, Mariners: He was activated from the disabled list Tuesday after, um, a testicle injury, and is 0-for-7 since returning. His season numbers aren't much better: .270, five homers, 32 RBI, 10 steals and a .674 OPS in 345 at-bats. Unless you really need a third baseman, Beltre should remain on your bench.

-- Jose Guillen, OF, Royals: This one might be more obvious than the Dodgers/DH reference. Guillen returned from the disabled list this week, only to have his knee brace cause tightness in his hamstring, forcing him to leave Wednesday's game. He's a decent source of power who is available in most leagues (nine homers and 40 RBI in 281 at-bats), but he's also a .242 hitter with a .681 OPS.

-- Nate McLouth, OF, Braves: This decision is much more difficult than Guillen. McLouth, who has already had a setback in his rehab from a hamstring injury, was expected to play in a Class A game Thursday and hopes to rejoin the Braves this weekend. He's a decent power hitter (15 homers and 56 RBI in 395 at-bats) who steals bases (17). But his average is below average (.258), and I'd be hesitant to put him in my lineup for the postseason and then have him get shut down again.

Coming Friday: One final Pick Three for the baseball season.