Chances are if you’re reading my top-five waiver wire pick-up list you’ve clinched a playoff spot in your fantasy league. To which I say, “excellent work my friend.” If you happen to just be perusing through and got smoked during the regular season in your league, now might be a good time to grab a pen and some paper and start taking notes on how to be a champion for next season. Being a champion is not all about smack talk and growing a sweet beard, it’s about playing smart and keeping an eye on players who are peaking at the right time. Without further ado, here are five solid pick-ups to keep you in the game.

Omar Infante Detroit Tigers 2B

Things are starting look a little shaky offensively for the Detroit Tigers now that Miguel Cabrera is having difficulty staying healthy and Prince Fielder’s ability to come up in crunch time has been stagnant. Lucky for the Tigers they have plenty of other guys who are primed and ready to step in. Guys like Omar Infante. Infante has been having a quietly good year, which is quite the surprise considering that his previous six years in Detroit were less than amazing. On the season Infante is batting .322 with nine home runs and 44 RBI. Just in the last 14 days he’s crushed three of those home runs, brought in 14 runs and hit an impressive .354. Infante also doesn’t strike out much, so expect a pretty decent on-base percentage out of him too.

Brett Gardner New York Yankees OF

Chances are Alfonso Soriano is not sitting on the free agent wire, so you might want to go with the next best thing, Brett Gardner. The New York Yankees are intently doing whatever they can to make the playoffs, which means that hard-nosed leadoff-man Gardner will be playing a lot of old school baseball to get you points. In the last 14 days Garner has hit .358 and scored 13 runs for the pinstripes. He’s also knocked in nine runs and has the speed to swipe a bag or two if needed. In short, the dude is a sparkplug on offense.

Joe Kelly St. Louis Cardinals SP, RP

Do you know what Joe Kelly has done more over the last 30 days than any of the last six Cy Young winners? Dominated. In his last five starts he’s maintained a quality start in each while posting a 1.47 WHIP and a 2.29 ERA. Kelly could stand to work on his WHIP, especially considering the fact that he’s not a big strikeout guy, but he gets the job done.

Mark Buehrle Toronto Blue Jays SP

Despite a rough start with a self-destructive team, Mark Buehrle has been a bright spot over the last 30 days in an otherwise disappointing season. Like Kelly above, Buehrle has notched up five quality starts, a 2.01 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP and 30 strikeouts. Buehrle is a fast worker with not a lot left to gain other than to play spoiler for anyone he faces.

Denard Span Washington Nationals OF

Since the Washington Nationals got rid of Roger Bernadina Denard Span has been playing out of his mind with a .372 average, three home runs, nine RBI, 17 runs scored and three stolen bases. He’s also hit for 58 total bases during that span which is pretty incredible for a guy batting leadoff. The Nationals are still in the playoff hunt, barely, but are not about to go off quietly into the night. With Span continuing to spark the offense and Jayson Werth backing him up, it may just be the recipe for success for your fantasy team.