Looking for a last-minute edge as you prepare your weekly lineup? The Week Ahead gives you the latest scoop Monday morning. For in-depth lineup advice, be sure to check out the Baseball Planner .

Fantasy owners looking for productive players until week's end should target those on teams still in close playoff races, most notably the American League West, National League West and NL wild-card chases. That means look to players on Anaheim, the Chicago Cubs, Houston, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco and Texas, since none of those eight teams is more than 2½ games out of a playoff spot entering play Monday.

Among those who have already clinched or are close to nailing down a playoff spot: St. Louis has the NL Central title and league's best record wrapped up; Atlanta has the NL East title and should clinch the league's No. 2 playoff seed by midweek; the N.Y. Yankees have clinched a playoff spot and should clinch the AL East and league's best record by midweek; Minnesota has the AL Central title and should earn the league's No. 2 playoff seed before the weekend; and Boston should clinch the AL wild card early in the week. Expect those five teams to be most focused on getting themselves prepared for the postseason in the season's final week.

Changes among this week's two-start pitchers:

  • Anaheim will skip Aaron Sele in the rotation for the pair of key series at Texas and Oakland this week, giving Bartolo Colon, Kelvim Escobar and Jarrod Washburn each two starts. All three are worth using in AL-only formats, and Colon in particular is a must-start based on his strong second-half numbers.
  • Arizona's Brandon Webb could get a second start Sunday against San Diego if the Diamondbacks use him and Randy Johnson on four days' rest.
  • Cincinnati continues to employ a six-man rotation, so Brandon Claussen should be the team's only two-start pitcher this week, starting Monday at the Chicago Cubs and Sunday against Pittsburgh. Avoid him except in larger NL-only leagues.
  • Colorado will give Jamey Wright the start Tuesday at Los Angeles, meaning he'll also be in line to pitch Sunday at Houston. Jeff Francis will pitch just once this week, Wednesday. Avoid both pitchers even though they're pitching on the road.
  • Florida will use Ismael Valdez on three days' rest Tuesday at Montreal, but the team will likely finish out the week with a five-man rotation, meaning he and Josh Beckett will be the team's only two-start pitchers. Both are useful Fantasy options.
  • Los Angeles will start Edwin Jackson and Kazuhisa Ishii on Monday and Tuesday against Colorado, meaning each should start twice this week, with the second turns coming in the critical weekend series against San Francisco. Consider using either pitcher in NL-only leagues, but be forewarned the Dodgers aren't thrilled about using them in critical late-season games, so you shouldn't be either.
  • Milwaukee will use Jorge De La Rosa in Tuesday's game at Arizona and presumably in Sunday's season finale at St. Louis. He's a risky Fantasy starter since one of his turns will be against the potent Cardinals, even though that team has already clinched a playoff spot.
  • Minnesota will save Terry Mulholland presumably for later in the week to get its rotation set for the playoffs, so Kyle Lohse will start Tuesday's game against the N.Y. Yankees and possibly also Sunday's game against Cleveland. Lohse is only useful in AL-only formats, especially since he's not guaranteed two starts.
  • San Diego will start Brian Lawrence Tuesday against San Francisco after David Wells had his last turn bumped by a day due to a sinus infection. It's possible both pitchers could start twice this week, each pitching once at home against the Giants and once in Arizona, but Lawrence is the only one guaranteed two starts.
  • Tampa Bay is going with John Halama instead of Doug Waechter Tuesday against Boston and Sunday at Detroit. Neither pitcher is a recommended Fantasy option.

Jose Guillen has been suspended by the Angels for the remainder of the regular season and postseason due to his actions after being lifted for a pinch runner in this past Saturday's game. There are no further details on the specifics of his offense, but his Fantasy owners should consider adding Jeff DaVanon, who stands the best chance at playing time in left field in the season's final week.

Oakland might skip Mark Mulder's final turn in the rotation Friday against Anaheim, according to the San Jose Mercury News. Joe Blanton could get the start in his place. Mulder has been pitching poorly of late, and he's a risky Fantasy option going up against this potent offense even if he does make his regularly scheduled start.

Manny Ramirez left this past Sunday's game as a precaution due to his previous hamstring issues, according to the Boston Globe. He should be fine to play this week, but, since Boston's magic number to clinch the wild card is two, expect him to get more rest than is traditional in the season's final days.

Jim Thome appears questionable for the final week of the season due to a recurrence of the chest injury he suffered Sept. 15, according to the Philadelphia Daily News. He will be examined Monday, so keep in mind the risk involved in using him this week. If Thome does miss any time, Ryan Howard would step in as the Phillies' everyday first baseman.

T H E   H O T   L I S T
Here are this week's hottest players, with their regular-season statistics from Sept. 6-26:
Rocco Baldelli, OF, Tampa Bay
.312 AVG, 5 HR, 17 RBI, 5 SB, 12 R in 19 games
Tony Batista, 3B, Montreal
.299 AVG, 9 HR, 25 RBI, 2 SB, 16 R in 20 games
Adrian Beltre, 3B, Los Angeles
.368 AVG, 3 HR, 16 RBI, 3 SB, 8 R in 18 games
Aubrey Huff, 3B, Tampa Bay
.378 AVG, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 1 SB, 12 R in 18 games
Jason Isringhausen, RP, St. Louis
1 W, 7 SV, 2.25 ERA, 0.750 WHIP in 8 games
Derek Jeter, SS, N.Y. Yankees
.378 AVG, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 0 SB, 21 R in 20 games
Ryan Klesko, OF, San Diego
.451 AVG, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 2 SB, 13 R in 18 games
Mike Mussina, SP, N.Y. Yankees
3-0, 1.55 ERA, 0.862 WHIP, 31 K in 4 starts
Joe Nathan, RP, Minnesota
5 SV, 2.35 ERA, 0.652 WHIP, 22 K in 10 games
Jake Peavy, SP, San Diego
3-2, 2.36 ERA, 1.165 WHIP, 41 K in 5 starts
Aramis Ramirez, 3B, Chicago Cubs
.342 AVG, 8 HR, 16 RBI, 0 SB, 15 R in 21 games
Carlos Silva, SP, Minnesota
4-0, 1.42 ERA, 1.184 WHIP, 9 K in 4 starts
Terrmel Sledge, OF, Montreal
.353 AVG, 5 HR, 20 RBI, 1 SB, 7 R in 17 games
Miguel Tejada, SS, Baltimore
.329 AVG, 6 HR, 20 RBI, 0 SB, 14 R in 19 games
John Thomson, SP, Atlanta
4-0, 1.00 ERA, 1.074 WHIP, 24 K in 4 starts
T H E   C O L D   L I S T
Here are this week's coldest players, with their regular-season statistics from Sept. 6-26:
Miguel Batista, RP, Toronto
3 L, 3 SV, 10.64 ERA, 2.727 WHIP in 6 games
Ron Belliard, 2B, Cleveland
.120 AVG, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 0 SB, 2 R in 14 games
Craig Biggio, OF, Houston
.211 AVG, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 0 SB, 5 R in 18 games
Shawn Chacon, RP, Colorado
2 L, 1 BS, 7.50 ERA, 2.333 WHIP in 6 games
Jose Contreras, SP, Chicago White Sox
0-2, 11.94 ERA, 2.365 WHIP, 17 K in 4 starts
Scott Hatteberg, 1B, Oakland
.169 AVG, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 0 SB, 8 R in 19 games
Richard Hidalgo, OF, N.Y. Mets
.138 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 0 SB, 5 R in 17 games
Eric Hinske, 3B, Toronto
.158 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 0 SB, 4 R in 16 games
Mark Mulder, SP, Oakland
0-3, 8.27 ERA, 2.032 WHIP, 11 K in 4 starts
Russ Ortiz, SP, Atlanta
0-2, 9.92 ERA, 2.204 WHIP, 10 K in 4 starts
A.J. Pierzynski, C, San Francisco
.161 AVG, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 0 SB, 2 R in 16 games
Reggie Sanders, OF, St. Louis
.160 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 SB, 6 R in 17 games
Victor Santos, SP, Milwaukee
1-3, 11.02 ERA, 2.020 WHIP, 9 K in 4 starts
Omar Vizquel, SS, Cleveland
.130 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 SB, 2 R in 15 games
Craig Wilson, 1B, Pittsburgh
.172 AVG, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 0 SB, 8 R in 17 games