In the Daily Fantasy world, it’s “What have you done for me lately?” and with good reason. In the season-long game, we should also be thinking this way as well as we head down the stretch through the dog days of August and into potential September playoffs. You have to forget about injuries and forgive bad performance. You even have to embrace the unbelievable and be open to adding players that can help put your over the top. Here are some names in the middle infield that need to be on your radar who can contribute to your cause. They’ve been heating up at the right time, and some may even be on your waiver wire.

1) Jonathan Villar SS MIL

Villar started out this year as a nice late round flyer in season-long leagues who might be a one category contributor. Well, his 45 steals have been the best in the NL (tied with Billy Hamilton) and he’s added a 30 batting average over nearly five months to boot. He still plays in obscurity and has limited power, but he’s been on a tear of late. Over his last seven games, Villar is hitting over .450 with an OPS over 1.200 and six steals. Far too often we think about the player with big names and long resume’s. Villar has neither, but he’s proven that his 2016 is for real and if you can acquire him in any format he could be a difference maker. He’s worth a big trade investment, especially in head to head roto formats.

2) Brandon Phillips 2B CIN

It’s been another ho-hum, quietly productive year for the veteran Brandon Phillips. Recently, he’s been on fire hitting .480 with twl. homers, 8 RBI and two steals. Phillips has moved to the fifth spot in the Reds order since the departure of Jay Bruce and he’s already taken advantage of those RBI opportunities. Older players are perennially dismissed and discriminated against. However, they are exactly the type you can count on to finish out a season without fading like so many youngsters. Phillips is a sneaky good addition to any roster right now.

3) Logan Forsythe 2B TB

Many experts were high on Forsythe this year after his 2015 breakout. Unfortunately injuries haven’t allowed him to repeat those stats and he’s been a frustrating player to own in 2016. Things might be turning for Forsythe as he’s hitting .400+ with a +1.000 OPS over the last week. He displayed a nice power/speed combination last year and actually finished strong in the second half of 2015. If this is the beginning of a repeat scenario, you’ll want to be buying shares of Forsythe early and often.  

4) D.J. LeMahieu 2B COL

LeMahieu will always be a slave to his home splits. But in straight roto formats who cares? He’ll pull down the cumulative stats you need to make a difference in the standings. His stolen base pace is behind last year, but he’s hitting .324 overall with a career high .860 OPS. Over the last week it’s been impossible to keep him off the bases (.500+ OBP over the last 8 games). Guys who get on base fill the box score. There are certainly more coveted “names” out there at second base. However, if you’re looking to cash in a star for some talent to fill out your roster, D.J. should be a prime target in that return package.

5) Devon Travis 2B TOR 

He started the season late due to an injury, but he’s really picked things up of late. Travis has 3 home runs in his last 30 AB’s with a .433 BA and .450 OBP over that span. In 2015 everyone kept waiting for Travis to stop hitting, but it took an injury to get him out of the Toronto lineup. Now that’s he’s shaken off the rust, Travis once again is looking like one of the better middle infield bargains in fantasy. The home ball park is a positive as is his hustling style of play. Travis’ talent crosses all formats and styles of fantasy.

Joe Pisapia (@JoePisapia17) is the seven-time best-selling author of the Fantasy Black Book Series for baseball and football and hosts Fantasy Sports Tonight on Sirius/XM Fantasy Sports Radio.