THE rash of banged- up All-Star talent has wrecked the title hopes of many fantasy teams, never mind those “real” Major League teams. By the way, ever notice how you often care more about what place your fantasy team is in than you do your favorite Major League team?

Anyway, look at this list of DL’d players:

Catcher: Javy Lopez, Orioles – Placed on the 15-day DL with a broken hand, Lopez was having another solid campaign. Sal Fasano, a relatively useless fantasy player, replaces him.

First base: Jeff Bagwell, Astros – Lost season after right-shoulder surgery at the beginning of May. Lance Berkman made his fifth appearance of the year at first Friday, but Mike Lamb has gotten the majority of Bag’s playing time. Lamb has solid power numbers, but a poor .200 average going into the weekend.

Second base: Mark Loretta, Padres – Tore a ligament in his left thumb sliding head first into first base. Silliness. Damian Jackson takes his place, and is at least worth a glance. Those six stolen bases could prove valuable.

Third base: Scott Rolen, Cardinals – On the DL with a strained left shoulder. Abraham Nunez and John Mabry have adequately filled in at the St. Louis hot corner. They have nearly identical stats, but nothing to get excited about. There has to be a third baseman available on the wire from another team if you’re a Rolen owner.

Shortstop: Nomar Garciaparra, Cubs – Cubs trainers say Garciaparra’s groin tore off the bone. What is he, a delicious baby back rib? Honestly, the Cubs may have lucked out here. Garciaparra’s injury gave them a reason to put Neifi Perez in the lineup every day. His .316 BA, 6 HRs, 25 RBIs, 25 runs and four SBs are worthy of a serious look.

Outfield: Vladimir Guerrero, Angels – According to reports, Guerrero (shoulder) can pick up a bat tomorrow. The versatile and valuable Chone Figgins has played in his stead. Figgins is probably already taken in most leagues, and rightly so.

SP: Rich Harden, A’s; Mark Prior, Cubs – The A’s aren’t thrilled with Harden’s healing process. Seth Etherton had picked up Harden’s starts, but bad performances got him bumped in favor of Ryan Glynn. Glynn got the loss Friday, but piched admirably (7 IP, 3 ER, 6 K’s). Bad luck continues to plague Prior, who got nailed by a comebacker last week. Glendon Rusch, Sergio Mitre, and Jon Koronka continue to pitch at the back of the Cubs rotation while Prior and Kerry Wood are on the shelf. Only Rusch deserves to be on your team.

RP: Troy Percival, Tigers – Good thing Detroit didn’t trade Ugi Urbina in the offseason like it was rumored. Urbina has performed splendidly for Percival (elbow), giving up just one run in 11 innings while notching eight saves and a win.

E-mail: mforde@gmail.com