12 Eric Chavez, 3B

With another three hits, including a triple, Monday at Colorado, the Diamondbacks' Eric Chavez is hitting .343 with a .984 OPS this year -- numbers good enough to make him the 15th-best third baseman in Head-to-Head leagues so far. Unfortunately, the way the Diamondbacks use him, he has no hope of climbing those rankings. But don't take my word for it:

"You'll find if I do it [play him more] he will wear down a little bit and probably have medical problems," manager Kirk Gibson said after Monday's game. "We can't afford that."

Not only does Chavez sit against lefties, but he never plays more than two days in a row. With all those limitations on him, he pretty much has to hit .343 with a .984 OPS to make any sort of impact in Fantasy. As good as he is, he won't keep that up.

Last week, the Diamondbacks faced a string of right-handed pitchers, so Eric Chavez saw more action than usual. In his 19 plate appearances, the left-handed Chavez went 9 for 17 with two walks, one home run and five RBI, and he racked up a season-high 21 Fantasy points.

Chavez almost never faces lefties, but in Fantasy Week 9 (May 27-June 2), that won't be much of a problem. The Diamondbacks are scheduled to face at least five righty starters in their seven games, and if Yu Darvish starts one of Monday's doubleheader games for the Rangers instead of Martin Perez, that makes six. The veteran third baseman crushed right-handed pitching last season, and he is outdoing himself this year with a .360/.418/.629 split.

It's hard to find a long-term roster spot for Chavez, since he sits against lefties, but if your mixed league team isn't getting much production from third base, he's worth a pickup for the coming week.

Diamondbacks third baseman Eric Chavez recorded multiple hits for the fourth time in six games and the sixth time in May Monday at Colorado. He finished 3 for 5 with one run, one triple and one RBI.

Chavez is batting .571 (12 for 21) in his last six games, sending his average skyrocketing from .282 to .343. He's batting .467 (21 for 45) in 14 May games (11 starts), while adding one home run, one triple, six doubles and 10 RBI in that span. Chavez came into May batting .241.

Since consulting with a specialist about his health in New York in mid-April during a road series against the Yankees, Diamondbacks third baseman Eric Chavez has been thriving offensively. He's batting .347 since the mid-April series, with five home runs, seven doubles and 17 RBI in that 24-game stretch.

"I was having trouble getting the bat through the zone (early in the season)," Chavez said to The Arizona Republic. "I was just kind of sputtering a little bit. I knew on the schedule that I was going there (New York), so I felt comfortable that I was going to go in there and get some good work. Talking with (the training staff), they were all on board with one of them coming to see what happens so they could do what we’ve been doing. It’s really helped out."

Chavez said the key to him remaining successful is making sure he doesn't push himself too hard.

"Recovery is a big part of what I need to do," Chavez said. "Gibby (manager Kirk Gibson), he’s communicated with me. What do you want to do? What should we do? How should we handle this? He’s been really good about it, too."

Diamondbacks third baseman Eric Chavez continued his solid run Friday against the Marlins, as he went 4 for 5 with a home run and two RBI in a 9-2 win.

Chavez has three straight multi-hit games, with five RBI, two walks and two extra-base hits during that span. He has raised his batting average to .337, while receiving the majority of his playing time against right-handed pitching.