We take out weekly look at middle infielders every Wednesday. All
stats and notes are through games of Tuesday, Aug. 30.

When tackling the task of the potential September call-ups, we
discovered something pretty important: The true impact Fantasy players
are already in the big leagues.

The Nats' Ryan Zimmerman is a rare call-up who will get added to the 40-man roster. (Provided to SportsLine)

Guys like B.J. Upton and others still could help a Fantasy team
in crunch time, but it seems 2005 has been the year of the rookie and
all the impactful minor-leaguers have already been called up. With a
so-so free-agent crop on tap this winter and a slew of teams in the hunt
around the trading deadline, a stale market forced franchises to find
answers from within. Read: Oakland, Atlanta, New York (both), Anaheim,
et al.

So, what usually is a frenzy of top arrivals in September, looks more
like AL-only and NL-only roster fillers and fliers for us right now.

There are still some sleepers to be gobbled up in the coming weeks, but
their potential Fantasy impact is limited to playing time.

Working off the MLB.com 40-man rosters -- because teams tend to avoid
adding top prospects to the 40-man roster this time of year, if they can
avoid it -- here is our look at those who could get a September call-up
among middle infielders:

Cast your vote here!

Bleacher Banter

Tracy, N.H.: Now that Nomar Garciaparra is healthy, should
I start him over Jhonny Peralta or keep Nomar benched?

E.M.: While they both hold similar Fantasy potential because of
their pop, the Indians are in the thick of a pennant race and will ride
the bat of their emerging No. 3 hitter here on out. Garciaparra's Cubs
have folded their tents and will begin evaluating players for 2006, so
he is no certainty to play every day. Nomar is a free agent, by the way.
Anyone facing this choice should start Peralta over Nomar in all leagues
going forward.

Steve Gerkin, Orlando, Fla.: I was thinking about dropping
Geoff Jenkins and/or Tony Clark for Mike Jacobs and/or
Clint Barmes. I have Miguel Tejada at short and just picked up
Jose Reyes at second (dropping Mark Grudzielanek). Catchers
are Michael Barrett and Bengie Molina. My best chances of
gaining ground are in HRs and RBI.

E.M.: Go for it. Barmes is a top prospect who will play every day
in his return late this week, while Jacobs has been thrown right into
the fire and has good pop for a catcher. We say they are more for depth,
though, as your starters are solid.

Alex Tzoumas, New Hyde Park: I am in a 12-man keeper league in
which everyone keeps four players each. I'm definitely keeping A-Rod,
but with guys like Adam Dunn, A.J. Burnett and Eric Gagne, I
have no room to keep Felix Hernandez or Jhonny Peralta.
(Gagne because my league's points award closers like him.) Do you think
Peralta or Hernandez should be in my list?

E.M.: I rarely ever bother with keeper questions this time of
year, especially when you're talking about someone like Gagne, who will
at least some portion of 2006 (and perhaps the whole year). Also, you
never know where Burnett could wind up in free agency. At this point you
cannot keep Gagne because of the uncertainty of his recovery. Also,
imagine if you decide to keep Burnett and then he goes and signs with
the Reds? Peralta and Hernandez should be in your mix over those two
question marks, but any number of events could unfold between now and
2006.

You can e-mail your Fantasy Baseball middle-infield questions to
bleacher@commissioner.com. Be sure to put Attn: Middle Infielders
in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state.
Be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we cannot
guarantee personal responses or answers to all questions.