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.

Your drafts are over.

Hopefully you didn't attend one in person (yes, there are still some leagues that insist on drafting without a chat room) and witness That Guy Who Can't Seem To Keep Track of Who's Been Selected And Calls At Least Three Names Before He Gets To Someone Who's Available.

If you did, I felt your pain.

Anyway, let's get to our first waiver-wire picks of the season. As we did in football, players are selected who are owned in fewer than half of the leagues on ESPN.com, and we usually go much lower than 50 percent.

We'll start with the hitters and come back with the pitchers later in the week.

-- Russell Martin, C, Yankees (owned in 29.6 percent of the ESPN leagues): I realize he is a starting catcher in many leagues, which makes his low ownership percentage baffling. Regardless, Martin should be a considered a low-level regular in a 12-team mixed league after a 2011 in which he batted .237 with 18 homers, 65 RBI and eight steals. If Martin is available in your league, don't get too excited. He had only two quality months last season -- April (.292 with six homers and 19 RBI) and August (.286 with seven homers and 19 RBI). But the position he plays makes us devalue our definition of a fantasy regular.

-- Raul Ibanez, DH, Yankees (11.7 percent): Yes, he batted .245 in 2011, his lowest average since he hit .154 in 26 at-bats with the Mariners in 1997. But Ibanez did produce 20 homers and 84 RBI, and he's a dead-pull left-handed hitter playing in Yankee Stadium. That should help him get back some of the power he has lost the last two seasons (averages of 18 homers and 84 RBI, compared to norms of 28 and 108, respectively, from 2006 to '09). I wouldn't expect him to hit for a high average at age 39, but if you need power, Ibanez should be among the best of the available bats.

-- Ryan Doumit, C, Twins (3.1 percent): Chris Parmelee could be the Twins' regular first baseman, which would result in Justin Morneau switching to DH and could cut down on Doumit's playing time. I wouldn't worry too much, though, because Doumit can catch, play right field and fill in at DH, which should be enough for four starts or more per week. The reason he makes the cut here is you can play him at catcher, where his power (eight homers in 218 at-bats last season) is greater than his much more celebrated teammate (Joe Mauer). Doumit is a career .271 hitter who has norms of 20 homers and 81 RBI per 600 at-bats in the majors. In 2008, he looked like a future star (.318, 15 homers, 69 RBI, 71 runs and an .858 OPS in 431 at-bats). Now, he's a decent starting catcher in deep formats, and a must-start in AL-only leagues.

-- Zack Cozart, SS, Reds (7.6 percent): He batted .324 with two homers in 37 at-bats as a rookie, but what's much more impressive are Cozart's 2011 numbers in Triple-A -- a .310 average with seven homers, 32 RBI, nine steals and an .825 OPS in 323 at-bats. He was a second-round pick in 2012 and was ranked as baseball's No. 75 prospect by Baseball America entering the season. I wouldn't consider Cozart a starting shortstop in a 12-team mixed league, but he's a quality backup who could be a regular later in the season, and he should be a starter in NL-only formats.

-- Cody Ross, OF, Red Sox (11.2 percent): He will be the Red Sox's left fielder with Carl Crawford injured, and he should get plenty of at-bats in his first season in Boston. Ross batted .240 with decent power numbers with the Marlins in 2011 (14 homers and 52 RBI in 405 at-bats). In 2008 and '09, he averaged 23 homers and 82 RBI, and his 600 at-bat norms for his career are 25 homers and 91 RBI. He likely won't help you in batting average (.261 career), but Ross is a candidate to produce 20 homers and drive in at least 80 runs.

Too say it hasn't been a good start for fantasy's best catchers ranks somewhere between "Boy, Coach Taylor is getting a raw deal" and "Minka Kelly is nice to look at" on the obvious scale (and if you have no idea what I'm referring to, you need to give "Friday Night Lights" a chance).

Thursday, Pittsburgh's Ryan Doumit, who led all National League catchers with a .318 batting average last season, is having surgery on his right wrist and is expected to miss 8 to 10 weeks. The consensus No. 1 catcher entering the season, Atlanta's Brian McCann, is batting .195, hasn't driven in a run since April 12 and is adjusting to a new contact lens after being bothered by blurred vision in his left eye.

The AL's top-hitting catcher last season, Minnesota's Joe Mauer, is out until May because of a back injury, and the Dodgers' Russell Martin (a consensus top-three catcher prior to this season) is batting .245 with zero home runs and zero stolen bases after averaging 16 and 19.5, respectively, in those categories the previous two seasons.

Did we mention that the Cubs' Geovany Soto, who had 23 homers and 86 RBI en route to NL Rookie of the Year honors last season, is 3-for-26 (.115) with no extra-base hits?

Yes, it's been that bad.

If you drafted Doumit, are still waiting on Mauer (who is expected to return next weekend) or are just worried about the position in general, let's look at five catchers who might be available in your league (all five are owned in fewer than 50 percent of the leagues on ESPN.com). All stats are through Wednesday:

5. John Buck, Royals (12.8 percent): He's got the best numbers of the five (a .409 batting average and 10 RBI), but he has only played in six games (to teammate Miguel Olivo's eight), which limits his value significantly. Even the 2008 McCann could only be so effective playing 80 games a year.

4. Ivan Rodriguez, Astros (17.7 percent): He's a shell of his former self and no longer is a threat to hit more than 12 to 14 homers, but he's capable of batting .270 and driving in 55 to 60 runs.

3. Jason Varitek, Red Sox (24 percent): He was more dreadful than Joe McCoy (watch FNL, folks) last season, but he's shown some life early, hitting three homers in 39 at-bats. Like Pudge, Varitek's days as a fantasy standout are long gone, although I wouldn't be surprised if he was at least serviceable in deeper leagues the rest of the way.

2. John Baker, Marlins (23.4 percent): The 28-year-old batted .299 in his major-league debut last season, and he's off to a productive start in 2009 (.308, nine runs and nine RBI in 39 at-bats). Baker drove in 312 runs in 2,108 minor-league at-bats.

1. Yadier Molina, Cardinals (43.7): That percentage seems low, since he's a starter in every league in which I play, but if Molina is available in your league, acquire him. He's batting .340 with a .424 on-base percentage, and he drove in 56 runs and batted .304 last season.

And if you're really desperate ...

Doumit's backup, rookie Jason Jaramillo, has four hits in 14 at-bats. The 26-year-old, a second-round pick by the Phillies in 2004, has decent minor-league numbers (.271, 29 homers, 213 RBI in 1,747 at-bats), but he's not much of a power threat. ... The Nationals' Jesus Flores, 24, drove in 59 runs in 301 at-bats last season, and he has an impressive 89 RBI in 519 big-league at-bats in his career. The not-so impressive number: Flores' career batting average in the minors: .250.