The Ballroom Dancing Wizard scopes out all of this week's best fantasy bargains!

AND NOW, A WORD FROM OUR WIZARD...

	Rafael Furcal is the top fantasy shortstop in baseball? Believe it. Icon SMI
	REACT: Send the BDW your Low Budget All-Star questions Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Make your case:

It's a bittersweet time in the SIKIDS.com Village. My little bird has learned to fly. The Fantasy Wizard's own apprentice, Duane from New Jersey, is all grown up. From now on he will have his own fantasy column: The Low-Budget All-Stars.

It seems like only yesterday that Duane was just a Ballroom Dancing Wizard working on his Lindy Hop. But I saw great promise in the young man and knew one day he could be a fantasy sports superstar.

So while you're waiting for the Fantasy Wizard's Friday mailbag, get your fantasy goods right here every Wednesday as Duane and baseball blogger Sarah Braunstein run down the top bargains in fantasy sports.

THE DUANE WAY

Hey guys! It's Duane from New Jersey, aka the Ballroom Dancing Wizard, aka "I hope David Stern isn't reading this." In case you forgot how the Low Budget All-Stars work... these are not the best players in fantasy baseball (or at least not all of them). DO NOT DRAFT ALL THESE PLAYERS! If you do, you'll end up losing your fantasy league and blaming me, like The Wiz does whenever he fails to live up to the Wizard Academy Headmaster's lofty expectations. No, the LBAS's are the best cheap players your fantasy dollars can buy. So, if you've spent most of your cash on big-name players and still need to fill out some holes on your roster, you can add one or more players from this list and still benefit from top-notch fantasy production. Got it? Let's go!

SP

Joe Saunders ($3,900,000), Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: His ERA has been on the rise since his dominant start to the season (currently at 2.61 and climbing), but Saunders is a solid plug-in at the back of your rotation.

Cliff Lee ($3,300,000), Cleveland Indians: Here's all you need to know about Cleveland's super-smooth lefty: he gave up three runs in six innings of work during his last start and his ERA for the season is still less than one run (0.96, to be exact).

RP

Huston Street ($3,700,000), Oakland A's: He's already notched 9 saves this season. That's as many as J.J. Putz ($6,300,000; 2 saves) and Billy Wagner ($5,200,000; 7 saves) combined.

Mark Hendrickson ($3,800,000), Florida Marlins: Remember my write-up about using starters as relievers (if you don't, check it out here... and shame on you for forgetting!)? Hendrickson may be the best starter/reliever on the market.

C

Paul Bako ($2,300,000), Cincinnati Reds: He's off to the best start of his 10-year career (.313, 3 HR, 11 RBI)... by far. His numbers could nosedive at any time though, so monitor Bako closely if you decide to pick him up.

Kurt Suzuki ($2,200,000), Oakland A's: Has yet to hit a homer, but Suzuki's numbers (.282, 10 RBI) are still solid by catcher standards.

1B

Conor Jackson ($4,400,000), Arizona Diamondbacks: His .411 OBP is 10th best in the National League. Five dingers and 25 base-knocks won't hurt your team's point production either.

Mike Jacobs ($4,100,000), Florida Marlins: His batting average is mediocre (.267), and he doesn't get on base much (a downright awful .292 OBP), but when he does make contact... well, he's not hitting singles (8 HR, 20 RBI).

2B

Jose Lopez ($4,000,000), Seattle Mariners: Blame for Seattle's poor offense can't be assigned to Lopez. He's among the team leaders in batting average (.295) and RBI (18).

Erick Aybar ($3,300,000), Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Solid, if not spectacular, in nearly every offensive category (.306, 13 RBI, .398 SLG).

3B

Jose Bautista ($3,950,000), Pittsburgh Pirates: Don't be scared off by that .235 batting average! Bautista's numbers have been on a steady incline since the first week of the season.

Jose Castillo ($2,600,000), San Francisco Giants: He hit .400 and drove in three runs in three games last week.

SS

Rafael Furcal ($5,750,000), Los Angeles Dodgers: He's the top shortstop (158 points) in fantasy baseball right now, and it may not be a fluke. Remember, Furcal was among the best shortstops in the game back when he was a member of the Braves. He's still only 30 years old.

Cristian Guzman ($3,500,000), Washington Nationals: He's got 102 fantasy points on the season, only two fewer than Jose Reyes ($7,400,000).

OF

Xavier Nady ($4,400,000), Pittsburgh Pirates: He's streaky and injury prone, but who cares? He's also got 30 RBIs, second-most in the NL.

Carlos Quentin ($2,800,000), Chicago White Sox: His numbers on the season are impressive (.271, 8 HR, 22 RBI), but be careful: Over his last 10 games, he's driven in only five runs.

Total cost of this week's Low Budget All-Stars: $57,000,000

But wait. There's more! For those of you who can handle another big-name player, regardless of cost, I present SIKIDS.com's new baseball blogger... drumroll, please... Sarah Braunstein! She'll provide further fantasy help every week by giving you a quick rundown on the hottest (and not-so-hottest) players in the league. Oh, and you can check out the latest installment of her blog, the Dugout Dispatch, right here!

WHO'S HOT, WHO'S NOT

Hot

Matt Kemp ($3,200,000), Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers are on a hot streak right now, having won nine of their last ten games, and no one has been more impressive than rightfielder Matt Kemp. In this span he's hit .419, with two home runs, 18 RBI and six stolen bases. The more your line up resembles Joe Torre's right now, the better your team will be.

Not

Eric Gagne ($4,500,000), Milwaukee Brewers: Could Eric Gagne be the biggest mistake of the off-season? Looks like the answer is yes. The Brewers spend $10 million on the guy and on Sunday he thanked them by blowing his fifth save of the season. At this rate he'll have 30 blown saves by the end of the season. Even more alarming, he has a 6.14 ERA, and three of his blown saves have come when his team has given him a lead of two or more runs.