It’s week 12 of the Major League Baseball season. If by now you haven’t cut the dead weight from your team, you pretty much deserve to lose in your league. If at this stage in the game you’re not sure who your dead weight is, well, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s a list of the Top-five guys you SHOULND’T have casting a dark cloud over your chances of fantasy baseball dominance.

Dan Haren Washington Nationals SP

It’s not really customary to write in the first person for this assignment, let alone write about a player that I’ve already had on my drop list earlier in the season (week 4); however, after noticing that roughly 60 percent of all leagues still own Dan Haren, I had to say something. Haren has become a $14 million a year blight in the Nationals rotation. The last game he won came on May 9th against the Detroit Tigers. Only twice in his last seven starts has he not received a loss. Just trying to help.

Mark Teixeira New York Yankees 1B

Speaking of guys who make a majority of most teams’ payrolls, Mark Teixeira has been in traditional early-season form with his robust .151 average. This is one of the few times where anyone can say that the Yankees might be better off starting Lyle Overbay at first base. Perhaps the gun is being jumped a little too hastily; after all, he is averaging one home run every five games. In case you’re trying to do the math he’s hit three in 15 games. You might want to consider Adam Lind as a more suitable option.

Trevor Cahill Arizona Diamondbacks SP

Trevor Cahill is yet another pitcher who has fallen victim to post-Oakland Athletics pitchers’ trauma like Haren above. He has four losses in his last five starts, giving up 22 earned runs in the process. Somewhere deep down is a great pitcher, but not in the National League. Cahill’s best games have generally come against American League teams during interleague; however, Cahill won’t exactly have anymore opportunities like that for the rest of the year.

Alex Avila Detroit Tigers C

One could easily argue that Alex Avila would be a good person to drop considering the fact that he just hit the 15-day DL, but you could also was a DL spot on your roster for the same reason. No, dropping him all together would be much more suitable. Avila is only hitting .172 with five home runs and 13 RBI. Those are pretty unfathomable numbers considering the fact that he has a ton of protection in the lineup with the likes of Torii Hunter, Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera hitting in front of him.

Kyle Lohse Milwaukee Brewers SP

It’s too bad the Brewers were out a draft pick this year as they could have taken any young phenom who would be putting up a better fight than Kyle Lohse has. For a guy who held out for more money his 2-6 record including five losses in his last nine starts is unacceptable. Realistically the Brewers would have been in a better position to have a Juggs pitching machine on the mound rather than seeing their future take a step back in the wrong direction.