Injuries play as big a role in fantasy sports as anything else does, but people often forget about those lost to injury, especially over a 162-game grueling season. We have named quite a few players that may have been forgotten, but will make a huge impact going forward. Enjoy!

10-Team Leagues

Eduardo Nunez, SF 3B, SS, OF (75% ownership), FAAB Bid - $23 – Fresh off the disabled list, Nunez seems poised to continue his excellent play from the first half for the stretch run of the season. Before his injury, he was hitting .361 in 14 June contests, with a .948 OPS and a .402 wOBA. But that’s all just a bonus as Nunez’s real trick of the trade is stealing bases, as he’s swiped 17 thus far this season. Nunez is a definite trade candidate and might even elevate his play if he’s in fact dealt to a contender.

Eduardo Rodriguez, BOS SP (49% ownership), FAAB Bid - $16 – People always seemingly forget players that go on the DL and E-Rod seems like one of those guys. He’s had an extremely nice campaign thus far posting a 3.54 ERA, 9.59 K/9 and a wimpy .301 wOBA against. He’s also been extremely good in the hard contact department barely giving up any at 28.8-percent. Picking up a solid SP3 at this point in the campaign is a hard task, but Rodriguez is just that with the potential for more.

Tommy Kahnle, CWS RP (13% ownership), FAAB Bid - $15 – The way things are trending in Chicago, David Robertson will be on a different team sooner rather than later, leaving an opening in the ninth inning. Kahnle has been lights out this season and has been missing bats at an outstanding rate. He has a 42.3-percent K-rate and a 14.91 K/9 mark. Nate Jones would have likely been the more superior option but he’s lost for the season with a season-ending arm injury. Kahnle is the best option the Sox have. Especially in 10-team formats where you have plenty of depth, Kahnle is an excellent stash.

12-Team Leagues

Vince Velasquez, PHI SP (35% ownership), FAAB Bid - $13 – Velasquez is in a similar boat to the aforementioned Eduardo Rodriguez as he’s going to soon return from the DL as a somewhat forgotten man, only difference is E-Rod has pitched way better this season. Despite his struggles, Velasquez’s ability to miss bats is still an elite talent of his as he’s struck out 53 batters over 50 innings. He’ll likely return this week so if you don’t feel good picking up immediately wait one start to see how well he performs.

Jason Heyward, CHC OF (13% ownership), FAAB Bid - $10 – With everyone healthy, the Cubs have a surplus of options that can play the OF, but Heyward is the most gifted of them all. After a dreadful month of may which saw him hit .222, Heyward has shown some signs of life in June and July hitting .263 and .259 respectively. Now that he’s healthy, we might see him run a little more as he’s stolen just one measly base on the year. Heyward is making hard contact 40-percent of the time in July, so that should be a sign that some of the line drives he’s been hitting into gloves should start finding some green grass.

Byron Buxton, MIN OF (24% ownership), FAAB Bid - $9 – We’re beginning to see what we’ve been waiting for with Buxton for quite some time thus far in July. He’s hit .387 this month so far and is working on a nice six-game hitting streak as well. We’ve yet to see the raw power stroke he showed at the Minor League level, but his speed has definitely been on display. He’s nabbed 16 steals to this point in the campaign, which puts him on track for 30 or so. If Buxton’s bat remains hot, he’ll put himself in an ever better position to steal even more bags going forward. There’s a reason he spent three straight preseasons as the number one or two top prospect on everybody’s list.

15-Team Leagues

T.J. Rivera, NYM 1B, 2B, 3B (2% ownership), FAAB Bid - $2 – Rivera has been sneaky good of late and hasn’t gotten much recognition for it. He only has five home runs on the year but three of them have come during his current nine-game hitting streak he’s riding. During that same streak he has nine RBI and four multi-hit games. Couple his recent red-hot play and the fact he’s three-position eligible and you’ve got yourself a nice fit in all NL-only formats and leagues with middle and corner infield positions.

Garrett Cooper, NYY 1B (0% ownership), FAAB Bid - $0 – We’d suggest this pickup in AL-only formats, but Cooper has some serious skill. He’s finally shown his first signs of being a power-hitter as he belted 17 homeruns at Triple-A this year in the Brewers organization. Cooper wasn’t even ranked in the Brewers top-30 prospects before the year, so he’s definitely began to make a name for himself. The Yankees are still uncertain about Greg Bird’s future and Chris Carter is gone, so the only competition at 1B is Ji-Man Choi who won’t play against LHP and Austin Romine who the Yanks will use cautiously because he’s their backup catcher.

*ownership percentages courtesy of Yahoo

** FAAB bids based on $100 budget