The likes of Robinson Cano, Dan Uggla, Rickie Weeks, Ty Wigginton, Kelly Johnson, Juan Uribe, Martin Prado and Howie Kendrick have made up for the fact that three of the preseason top five players at second base have suffered major injuries.

Twelve players who are eligible at second base in many leagues have hit at least nine home runs this season, 14 have compiled 35 RBI or more, and 11 have scored at least 42 runs.

This week, however, was not one for feel-good stories, puppies and long walks on the beach.

Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is on the disabled list with a broken left foot. The injury won't require surgery, but the 2008 American League MVP likely will miss about six weeks. That leaves his return in the Aug. 7 range -- the end of Week 18 of the regular season.

The Phillies' Chase Utley joined Pedroia on the DL on Tuesday, and Thursday it was disclosed Utley has a broken thumb that could sideline him for eight weeks. That might mean Utley will be out of your lineup through Week 21.

Then there's the case of Baltimore's Brian Roberts, whose infrequent injury updates get more gloomy each time. At best, he'll be back in August, but I wouldn't plan on Roberts helping you the rest of the season.

If you're among the affected, the players mentioned in the first paragraph were drafted or are long-gone waiver-wire acquisitions.

That leaves you searching for a bargain. Here are 10 players who could be decent starters in deeper mixed and AL- and NL-only leagues. All stats are through Wednesday:

1. Sean Rodriguez, Rays (owned in 22 percent of the leagues on ESPN.com): The third-year player earned regular at-bats by hitting .289 with four homers, 15 RBI, 12 runs, five steals and an .828 OPS in June.

2. Carlos Guillen, Tigers (40.7 percent): He moved to second base upon returning from the DL on May 28. The switch made Guillen relevant in fantasy again, as he batted .293 with three homers, 12 RBI and an .803 OPS in June. He's no longer a stolen-base threat, but Guillen can help you in batting average, homers and RBI.

3. Clint Barmes, Rockies (19 percent): He's playing shorstop in Troy Tulowitzki's absence, and he's a powerful option no matter which middle-infield spot you select. Barmes had 23 homers and 76 RBI in 2009, and he hit .313 with 14 RBI and an .858 OPS in 80 June at-bats. For the season, he has six homers and 38 RBI, but beware his batting average (.247).

4. Gordon Beckham, White Sox (37.7 percent): He's been a bust thus far -- .207 average, two homers, 20 RBI and 29 runs in 246 at-bats. In 2009, Beckham batted .270 with 14 homers, 63 RBI, 58 runs and seven steals in 378 at-bats. He seems to regaining that form of late. Beckham is 6-for-18 (.333) with five runs scored, one homer, two doubles, a triple and four RBI in his last six contests.

5. Mike Aviles, Royals (29.1 percent): He will be a boost to your batting average and runs scored, but not much else. Aviles, a career .300 hitter, batted .317 in May and .333 in June. But he hasn't homered since May 9 and has 12 RBI and two steals in 180 at-bats.

6. Freddy Sanchez, Giants (19.8 percent): A .299 career hitter, Sanchez has similar assets as Aviles. Since he was activated from the DL on May 19, he is hitting .291 with 18 runs, one homer, 19 RBI and zero steals in 141 at-bats.

7. Cristian Guzman, Nationals (29.4 percent): He's also eligible at shortstop, and was surprisingly productive in 2008 and '09 (combined averages of .301, eight homers, 54 RBI, 75 runs and five steals). Guzman struggled in June (.236) and has only one homer and 21 RBI on the season.

8. Felipe Lopez, Cardinals (3.5 percent): Since he is filling in for an injured David Freese at third base, Lopez likely would be a temporary aid. In his last four games, he is 7-for-16 (.438) with four runs. In 2009, Lopez batted .310 with nine homers, 57 RBI and 88 runs with Milwaukee and Arizona.

9. David Eckstein, Padres (4.6 percent): This would strictly be a desperation move. Eckstein is a decent hitter (.281) and might steal 10 to 15 bases (he has five this season).

One really long shot

Tribe shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera hasn't played second base since 2009, but he is eligible there in some leagues and his broken forearm caused many owners to drop him. He's available in more than 73 percent of the ESPN leagues.

He could return in late July -- just in time to help you for a month until Utley comes back.

For fantasy updates, follow Kevin Kleps on Twitter.

We'll go with an all-infield edition for this week's Pick Three -- a list that includes a pair of rookies.

As always, the trio are owned in fewer than 50 percent of the leagues on ESPN.com and should be an asset in deep leagues. All stats are prior to Tuesday.

Casey McGehee, 2B, Brewers (owned in 26.5 percent of the ESPN leagues): In his first full season in the big leagues, Rickie Week's replacement is batting .343 with six homers, 27 RBI, a .963 OPS and 23 runs scored in 134 at-bats. Since June 1, the 26-year-old McGehee is 37-for-96 (.385) with six homers, 18 runs and 24 RBI. He's versatile (20 starts at second and 17 at third), he's eligible at multiple positions and he's readily available. The only red flag I've noticed: A lack of power in the minor leagues. McGehee had 54 homers and batted .279 in 2,577 minor-league at-bats.

Gordon Beckham, 3B, White Sox (14.3 percent): The rookie is the White Sox's top prospect and needed all of 233 minor-league at-bats before getting the call to the big club. In 95 at-bats since, Beckham is batting .263 with three homers, 16 RBI and 14 runs scored. The latter stat line isn't very impressive, until you look at Beckham's numbers in his last 10 games (.385, six runs, two homers and eight RBI in 39 at-bats). The No. 8 overall pick in the 2008 draft is also eligible at shortstop in some leagues, and he's got a ton of power (in his brief minor-league tenure, he had 25 doubles, seven homers, 33 RBI and a .322 average in those 233 at-bats).

Skip Schumaker, 2B, Cardinals (13.1 percent): He's not going to hit many homers (14 in 1,080 major-league at-bats) and he'll be lucky if he reaches 50 RBI, but if you need help at second in deep leagues, he's a decent option. Schumaker is batting .302 and is on pace to challenge triple figures in runs scored. He also batted .302 last season, and he's hitting .429 with six runs scored and a 1.002 OPS in July.

"Rookie" Romero: Another first-year player is having a surprising amount of success -- Blue Jays lefty and 2005 first-round pick Ricky Romero. The 24-year-old has finally been noticed by fantasy owners after winning his last four starts, increasing his ESPN.com ownership percentage 21.1 percent to 38.2 in the past week.

Romero has allowed five earned runs in 28 1/3 innings, striking out 25, in that span. For the season, he's 7-3 with a 2.96 ERA and 66 K's in 79 innings. He's worth starting in deep leagues, but I would be slightly concerned about the following: In 81 starts in the minors, Romero was six games under .500 (16-22), had a 4.42 ERA and averaged 7.0 strikeouts per nine innings. Maybe he's figured things out. Or maybe the hitters will soon figure him out.

Closing numbers: One of this year's biggest fantasy surprises, Rays second baseman Ben Zobrist, has totaled 422 at-bats since 2008. In that span, he is batting .268 with 28 homers, 76 RBI, 75 runs and 11 steals. This season, Zobrist (who is eligible at second, shortstop and the outfield in some leagues) is batting .281 with 16 homers, 46 RBI, eight steals and a sensational .998 OPS in only 224 at-bats.

Zobrist's power is even more out of nowhere when you consider he had only 23 homers in 1,336 at-bats in the minor leagues.

Coming attraction: Later this week, we'll take a look at the fantasy All-Stars for the first half.