We’ve reached the point in the season when IL spots take on far less significance.

“Already?” you ask. Already, I say.

Yes, the second half has barely begun, but “half” in that context is only colloquial. By game count, less than 40 percent of the season remains, and while you may think that’s plenty of time for a player to recover and contribute, it leaves little margin for error. It allows for little runway if the returnee is showing rust early or if he’s simply still building up, which is often the case for starting pitchers. And at least in Head-to-Head leagues, the entire month of September, if not a little earlier, is devoted to the playoffs, so by the time you get some of those IL stashes back, your team may already be done for.

Of course, those concerns apply mostly to players going on the IL now, putting them at the start of their recovery. A number of high-profile IL stashes are on the verge of returning, beginning with the top three names on this list.