3 Yuniesky Betancourt, 3B

Brewers infielder Yuniesky Betancourt entered play Thursday 0 for 10 in his last three games but went 1 for 3 with a walk in his team's 7-1 loss to the Pirates.

Betancourt had actually went hitless in six of his seven games heading into Thursday. The solid performance gives him a .239/.268/.455 line with eight home runs in 142 plate appearances. He'll attempt to build upon Thursday's game when the team faces the Cardinals this weekend.

I know some of my colleagues have been naysaying Yuniesky Betancourt's Fantasy value, and I understand the arguments behind their criticism.

Betancourt is obviously playing above his head, and he will probably turn back into a pumpkin before long. But that does not mean he cannot provide value to Fantasy owners right now.

The truth is Betancourt is the type of player who is much more respectable in Fantasy circles than in real life. He has never been more than a 1.6 WAR player and his on-base percentage is consistently horrendous, so if I was a Brewers fan I would be pretty peeved that my team could not find a better option at first base. But for Fantasy purposes, we have a player who never strikes out and is dialed in. What's not to like, at least in the short term?

Betancourt is not going to keep hitting the ball over the fence one out of every five times he hits a flyball, but he is clearly locked in at the plate right now with four home runs in the last eight games. Nobody wasted a high draft pick on Betancourt, so the temptation to hang on to him when things turn south shouldn't be too great. That's the way it should be.

For now, I saw why not enjoy Mr. Yuni's wild ride? It's not like second base as a position is stacked with useful options, and the veteran is eligible there after playing most of his games there a year ago. Things will change before long, but wouldn't you rather have him on your roster than Brian Roberts or Gordon Beckham, both of whom are ranked above Betancourt in all three of our expert rankings for second base. When Betancourt starts to stink -- and I do think "when" is the appropriate word to use there -- Fantasy owners should waste no time letting him hit the scrap heap.