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You have questions, we have answers. The Answer Guys is an Insider service in which ESPN.com experts personally answer questions about your fantasy team. We present a few of the more challenging questions we've received from Insiders and our answers.

I am in an AL-only 6x6 (OPS and holds are the extra categories) league that is head-to-head and has eight owners. I have Frank Thomas in my DL spot, but Paul Konerko and J.J. Putz are available. Would you hold on to Thomas, or would you grab Konerko or Putz? My closers are George Sherrill, Joe Borowski and Brandon Morrow.
Andrew Lundberg

Dave: In a 6x6 league with holds, the value of saves as a category becomes less valuable. However, your motley crew of closers puts you in a tough predicament, so yes, I would grab Putz.

As good as Sherrill has been for the Orioles this season, there's always the chance that the rumors about him being moved to another team as a set-up man could come true. I'm not buying it myself, mainly because the O's really don't have anyone else to close out games outside of Sherrill, and it's not like the veteran lefty has raised the team payroll by millions of dollars with his services. The only way the Orioles trade Sherrill is if they fall completely out of playoff contention over the next month or so and then get their asking price met. I just wouldn't count on it, though, so you can feel pretty secure about Sherrill sticking around.

Meanwhile, Borowski's "Jekyll and Hyde" routine should concern you. The Indians won't be moving him out of the closer's role anytime soon, but his recent struggles and brutal attacks to your ERA and WHIP aren't worth the saves he's accruing. You can give Borowski a chance to improve, but I wouldn't let things get too out of hand.

Morrow is an excellent young arm for the Mariners and will be closing out games on a full-time basis in Seattle once Putz has moved on. For now, though, Morrow is only a stopgap option until Putz is healthy enough to pitch again, which won't be for at least another 3-4 weeks. Considering the overall makeup of your closers, picking up Putz is the right move here.

I have the No. 2 waiver claim in a 13-team, 5x5 league, and someone just dropped Delmon Young. Should I use the claim on him? His average after the All-Star break was pretty good last year.
David M. Rochko

Dave: It seems like Young has been in the majors for a decade now, doesn't it? Well, let's remember that he's only 22 years old and that this is only his second full season as a big-leaguer. I guess when you factor in the prospect buildup, Young has been in fantasy owners' minds for at least four years now. As soon as Baseball America rated Young as their No. 3 overall prospect in 2004, the talk really hasn't stopped. Unfortunately, more recent conversations about Young deal more with his sudden lack of power and RBI capabilities, and not about his potential as a 30-homer/30-steal hitter. It's not like we as fantasy owners haven't seen Young's power disappear before; he hit only one homer during July and August of 2007, and combined and finished with four total after the All-Star break.

It's obvious, Young still needs to grow into his prospect potential and he has a ton of maturing yet to do as a ballplayer. Will he put it all together over the second half of this season? Probably not, but he's definitely worth taking a chance and burning a No. 2 waiver claim on in a 13-team league. Young was recently benched for interleague games at National League ballparks this past week, which is likely the reason he was dropped in your fantasy league. However, he should be back in the starting lineup on Monday when the Twins host the Tigers.

I'm very curious to see what Young will do in the second half of this season, considering he was so solid, at least in the batting average category, after the break in '07. He batted .300 after the break in '07, and I could see a repeat of that this season. I wish I could also say that an improvement in batting average would translate into more power for Young, but that's not always the case. Still, his potential and 2007 splits are enough for me to recommend you snag him in a deeper league like yours. Go ahead and pick him up, David.

I've been holding on to Troy Tulowitzki for some reason as a reserve batter. I have Carlos Guillen, Orlando Hudson and Robinson Cano manning SS, 2B and MI, respectively. Should I drop Tulowitzki and pick up Mike Aviles?
Bren McCarthy

Dave: As tempting as it may be to grab Aviles for Tulowitzki, I would stick it out with the struggling Rockies shortstop. After missing as much time as Tulowitzki did this season because of his quad injury, his owners were expecting a better return after being activated from the DL. The question is: How patient should you be with Tulowitzki? I say his talent and skill level alone should be enough of a reason to hold on to him over the emerging Aviles. Aviles is an underrated option, but given your depth at the middle-infield positions, you can afford to wait on Tulowitzki. In fact, I would rather see you drop Hudson to grab Aviles, mostly because I expect Hudson to finish the season no higher than his three-year averages, and that's nothing special. I know Hudson offers you a backup at 2B, which is normally a good reason to hold him, but player-for-player, I'm willing to take the chance that Aviles will put up better numbers than Hudson from here on out. If you're willing to drop Hudson for Aviles, make the switch. But don't grab Aviles at Tulo's expense.

I'm having a tough time finding details and educated opinions for the rest of this season on the health of Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (finger). There are some sources that say he won't miss much time and some that say he could miss close to two months. Is Wainwright worth waiting on, or should I waive him?
Rocca

Dave: That's a great question, Rocca. The reason why you're having a difficult time finding details on Wainwright's return is because other pitchers suffering similar injures in the past have recovered at vastly different rates. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Wainwright tore the "pulley that holds the tendon to the bone in the middle third of his finger," which currently prevents him from doing everyday activities. So gripping a baseball is an impossible feat for him right now. The Post-Dispatch went on to say that Ben Sheets and John Maine both fell to similar finger injuries during past season. Maine took five and a half weeks to return from it in 2006, but Sheets took seven weeks to get back into action in 2007. And even worse, former big league pitcher John Thomson missed three months of time after he suffered a similar injury.

A lot will depend on Wainwright's resolve and ability to recover from the injury, but the best-case scenario right now is an early-July return, which would add up to a month of time missed for the young hurler. However, a more realistic return is the middle of July, which gives the swelling in his finger a chance to subside so Wainwright can continue to rehab the finger properly. I would hang on to him for at least the next few weeks so you can gauge his progress. There's no reason to expect him to miss the entire season unless further complications occur.

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