MLB Fantasy News 2011

[HacheMan]

You gotta have faith

Matthew Berry

This past Monday night in San Francisco was a great night for you. Not that we've ever met, but if you're reading this column you play fantasy sports, and if you play fantasy sports you appreciated Monday night, even if you don't realize it yet.

I was in the Bay Area, along with many of my colleagues, for the Fantasy Sports Trade Association's annual summer conference.


I know. The idea of a fantasy sports conference sounds kind of nerdy and silly, and I'm not gonna lie: It's not the coolest gathering in the world. And it gets sillier- and nerdier-sounding when I tell you the conference kicked off with a Hall of Fame induction ceremony. But while you may scoff and make fun, it's really important to a lot of people who take fantasy sports seriously, and if they hadn't cared so much and worked so hard for many, many years, all of us would be playing a different game with different tools, and there wouldn't be nearly as many of us -- including maybe you -- who get to take so much joy from our hobby.


So we gathered Monday night to honor three people that most of you have never, ever heard of but without whose contributions, fantasy sports wouldn't be what they are today.


Wilfred "Wink" Wickenbach was inducted posthumously by his grandson. Wink, as his grandson noted he was known to his friends, was a limited partner of the Oakland Raiders. And in 1962, with the help of some friends, he created a game in which you drafted professional football players to imaginary teams and got points for those performances. The GOPPPL (Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Procrastinators League) was essentially the first league to play what we now know as fantasy football.


I never met Wink, but the other two who were inducted that night are dear friends of mine. Rick Wolf, currently a muckety-muck executive at NBC Sports, started his fantasy career at Prodigy (1987-95), where he was on the development team for Baseball Manager and the PRODIGY Network Golf Tour, two of the first online fantasy games. He has since worked for several other fantasy companies and also worked long and hard for the industry as a member of the FSTA, including serving as chairman during some of the toughest times the industry has faced.


And I was honored to be asked by Peter Schoenke of Rotowire.com to introduce him. Among the remarks I made about Peter that night were that, when he founded RotoNews in 1997 (with Jeff Erickson and Herb Ilk), he created the "What happened and what it means" news and analysis blurb for fantasy player news. Peter has also been a FSTA board member since 2000, and as the chair of the market research committee from 2001-10, he got the word out about just how popular our little game was: 32 million players strong in the United States and Canada, according to the organization.


On a personal note, both Rick and Peter are very important to me. Rick was one of my first bosses in the industry, and he was told to fire me multiple times. Rick always fought for me and defended me, long before it was popular to do so. He introduced me to many people in the industry and was a sounding board and adviser many times over the years as I was starting my own websites and trying to figure out how to navigate the sometimes insular, still small but growing fantasy sports industry.


When I wanted to try this idea I had for my own RotoPass.com site, Peter was the first to say "Sure" and agree to have Rotowire in the offering. With no track record as anything other than a writer, having Peter say yes was huge for me in terms of credibility when I presented my idea to other website owners, and as a result, I was set on a path of being able to make a living in fantasy sports. I don't know how my career would have turned out if Peter said no to me, and I certainly don't know how it would have turned out if Rick had given into pressure and not supported me in those early years.


Looking back on it, there was no reason for Rick or Peter to stick their necks out for me. I'm sure I caused more headaches than I solved, and on the business side, I had never run a site before, I had no track record and the idea of joining with a bunch of other competitive websites for RotoPass.com had a lot more risk than potential reward for Peter and his already established and successful site.


There was absolutely no reason to support me, yet they did. It doesn't always happen, but having complete and total blind faith, even when there is no reason to, can get rewarded. I like to think it did for Rick and Peter, and I know that it happens in fantasy baseball. I'm a longtime believer in the "back of the baseball card" theory -- that more often than not, a baseball player will do what he is supposed to do and put up stats similar to what you see him do year after year on the back of his baseball card.


And so, in honor of Rick and Peter, I present my blind faith list. Here's a bunch of baseball players that have really struggled this year and have so far failed to live up to their draft position. You're gonna have to give me some leeway here, and I've got no real statistical evidence to show to suggest they will turn it around.


Look, at some point, you have to just bail on guys and say it's not their year. And I have in some cases. I think the ship has sailed on Justin Morneau, I was down on Mat Latos before the season, my hate for Jason Bay is well-documented, and the wall has been well-acquainted with Derek Jeter for a while now.


But there are some guys out there whom my gut, my heart and my crossed fantasy fingers still believe in. Here are 15 of them.


Shin-Soo Choo, OF, Indians (Currently 201st on the Player Rater): Hey, at least he's stealing bases. He's too good a pure hitter to hit .236, and he's definitely getting unlucky. I also refuse to believe the Indians could have a much better year than anyone expects but that the only player who ends up not performing is the guy who was considered their best player at the beginning of the season.

Ted Lilly, SP, Dodgers (204): He's given up two earned runs or fewer in four straight starts. His ERA pre-All-Star break the last three years? 3.97. Post-All-Star break the last three years? 3.17. Don't worry. It'll get less stat-based and more gut-call-y going forward.


Hanley Ramirez, SS, Marlins (264): He's Hanley Ramirez. The consensus second overall pick in almost every fantasy league draft. You'll have to pry him from my cold, dead fingers before I bail.


Gordon Beckham, 2B, White Sox (303): Hit better than .300 in May and hit well in the second half last year. Wish he ran more, but he's just 24, and at some point Ozzie is gonna curse in a way that reaches Beckham.


Juan Rivera, 1B/OF, Blue Jays (325): As Peter Schoenke's Rotowire pointed out, he's hitting .325 as a first baseman this year, .230 as a DH and .167 as an outfielder. If Rotowire noticed it, can't the Blue Jays? Adam Lind can DH, right? Or can someone just tell Juan Rivera he's playing first base but he's doing it from the bench when Toronto is in the field? Anything? Work with me, people.


Alex Rios, OF, White Sox (443): Fair warning: You're gonna see a few White Sox on this list. He's usually a good source of power and speed, even if the average has been shaky. He's a career .277 hitter -- nothing amazing, but significantly better than the current .210 -- and he's always been streaky, so hey, maybe he's gotten the bad out of the way!


Will Venable, OF, Padres (449): At least he's back in the majors! That's something. Actually, despite spending some time in Triple-A and hitting just .220 this year, he still has 11 steals. And the nice thing about owning him (in just NL-only for now) is that you'll get all his home runs, since he hasn't hit one yet! Sigh. I continue to be tantalized by the power-speed combo and believe he'll hit for an average you can live with, rather than the one he's currently killing you with.


Casey McGehee, 3B, Brewers (451): The guy has been an RBI machine the past few years and continues to hit in the middle of a lineup that is currently top-10 in runs scored in major league baseball. If his manager still has confidence in him, so do I.


Ubaldo Jimenez, SP, Rockies (478): Anyone that has read me the last few years knows I am not rational when it comes to Ubaldo. And hey, he's now gone three straight starts without getting rocked! His K rate (still almost eight per nine) and the fact that he's gotten unlucky with his strand rate keeps hope alive.


John Danks, SP, White Sox (498): Another White Sox! The decline in K/9 is a bit disconcerting, but he's at least still usable as a spot starter, with a 3.10 ERA at home this year (and, ahem, 6.50 on the road). For the record, I'm not comfortable with how much faith I have tied into the White Sox in the second half. And -- gulp -- I'm not done.


Vernon Wells, OF, Angels (508): Look, I hate Vernon Wells. Always have, and when my Angels traded for him, I was not happy. He was on my preseason "hate" list, and I also pointed out his lack of back-to-back 20-home run seasons in my "100 Facts" column. But … he's not this bad. He's not gonna hit below the Mendoza Line, and he will hit for some power. And on the Angels, he can't help but wander into double-digit steals. He's been so bad, even I feel sorry for him, which tells me he's due to bounce back.


James McDonald, SP, Pirates (523): Last nine starts for my preseason sleeper? A 2.84 ERA with a 43-22 strikeout-to-walk rate in 50 2/3 innings. Sure, I'm picking a random slice of the season to make my point, but it's a gut-call column. Its more stats than you deserve.


Adam Dunn, 1B, White Sox (533): I'm not dunn with the White Sox yet! Get it? Sure, that joke is terrible, but it has to get better, just like Dunn, who despite hitting .183 on the year is still on pace for 68 RBIs, which is amazing considering no one is ever on base in Chicago. Look, I'm all in on the White Sox being a lot better than they've been, so what's one more? He seems to be showing signs of life, and I'm hanging tough.


Brandon Morrow, SP, Blue Jays (582): OK, I do actually have some stats to back this one up: a strikeouts-per-9 rate of over 10, a 5.63 ERA and a FIP (per FanGraphs) of 2.55. Yes, he is walking too many (over four per nine) but everything about him screams unlucky. I love Brandon Morrow and I don't care who knows it.


Brian Duensing, SP, Twins (625): More for AL-only, but another pitcher whom I think is much better than his record indicates. He's gotten unlucky, and getting Joe Mauer back helps the pitching staff much more than people realize. Pitchers love throwing to him, and I'm counting on both Duensing's luck reversing and Mauer's return to help him be the pitcher he was last season.


The first man in space, falling in love and my career are among about a billion things that would never happen without first having to close your eyes, ignore conventional wisdom and just hope. Here's to your fantasy team

 

[HacheMan]

Handcuff Craig Kimbrel, Jonny Venters

Tristan H. Cockcroft

To think, three short months ago, questions abounded in the Atlanta Braves' bullpen: Who would replace Billy Wagner, No. 5 all time in saves (422) and fantasy baseball's No. 1 reliever in 2010 per our Player Rater, as the closer?

Not only have the Braves found one answer since then but they've found two.


Remarkable as this stat is, it's true: Two members of the Braves' bullpen reside in the Player Rater top 10 among relief pitchers, Jonny Venters (No. 3) and Craig Kimbrel (No. 9). So, when it became clear this past week that there's once again a "closer controversy" in ATL, understand that it's much more of a positive than the one that bullpen endured in spring training.



TOP 75 RELIEF PITCHERS

Note: Tristan H. Cockcroft's top 75 relief pitchers are ranked for their expected performance from this point forward, not for statistics that have already been accrued.
<TABLE><THEAD><TR><TH style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Rnk </CENTER></TH><TH style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom">Player, Team <CENTER></CENTER></TH><TH style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Prev
Rnk </CENTER></TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>1 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Brian Wilson, SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>2 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>2 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Mariano Rivera, NYY </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>1 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>3 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Heath Bell, SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>3 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>4 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Neftali Feliz, TEX </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>4 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>5 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Carlos Marmol, CHC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>7 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jonathan Papelbon, BOS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>5 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>7 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Huston Street, COL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>8 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>8 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Chris Perez, CLE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>9 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>9 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Drew Storen, WAS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>11 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>10 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">J.J. Putz, ARI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>10 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>11 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Francisco Rodriguez, NYM </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>12 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>12 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Craig Kimbrel, ATL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>13 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Joakim Soria, KC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>25 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>14 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Francisco Cordero, CIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>14 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>15 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jose Valverde, DET </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>15 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>16 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Joel Hanrahan, PIT </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>17 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>17 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Leo Nunez, FLA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>13 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>18 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">John Axford, MIL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>16 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>19 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Kyle Farnsworth, TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>18 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>20 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jordan Walden, LAA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>20 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>21 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jonny Venters, ATL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>28 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>22 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Ryan Madson, PHI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>22 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>23 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Andrew Bailey, OAK </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>21 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>24 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Brandon League, SEA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>23 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>25 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Sergio Santos, CHW </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>19 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>26 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Kevin Gregg, BAL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>26 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>27 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Fernando Salas, STL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>24 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>28 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Mark Melancon, HOU </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>29 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>29 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Mike Adams, SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>30 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>30 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Matt Capps, MIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>27 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>31 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Daniel Bard, BOS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>32 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>32 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Eduardo Sanchez, STL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>31 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>33 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jon Rauch, TOR </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>38 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>34 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Tyler Clippard, WAS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>39 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>35 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Koji Uehara, BAL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>36 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>36 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Frank Francisco, TOR </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>35 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>37 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Sergio Romo, SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>42 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>38 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Sean Marshall, CHC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>40 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>39 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Brad Lidge, PHI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>37 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>40 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Aaron Crow, KC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>34 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>41 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">David Hernandez, ARI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>43 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>42 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Matt Guerrier, LAD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>33 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>43 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Matt Thornton, CHW </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>45 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>44 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Joe Nathan, MIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>46 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>45 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jonathan Broxton, LAD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>49 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>46 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Scott Downs, LAA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>50 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>47 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Luke Gregerson, SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>44 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>48 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">David Robertson, NYY </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>51 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>49 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jose Contreras, PHI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>47 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>50 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Ernesto Frieri, SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>48 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>51 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Grant Balfour, OAK </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>52 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>52 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">David Pauley, SEA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>55 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>53 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Louis Coleman, KC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>57 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>54 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Joey Devine, OAK </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>56 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>55 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Chris Sale, CHW </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>58 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>56 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Rafael Betancourt, COL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>63 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>57 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Wilton Lopez, HOU </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>65 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>58 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Brian Fuentes, OAK </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>59 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>59 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Joel Peralta, TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>60 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>60 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Hong-Chih Kuo, LAD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>62 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>61 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Octavio Dotel, TOR </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>61 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>62 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Joaquin Benoit, DET </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>68 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>63 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Matt Belisle, COL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>70 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>64 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Kenley Jansen, LAD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>75 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>65 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Javy Guerra, LAD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>66 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Darren Oliver, TEX </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>64 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>67 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Steve Cishek, FLA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>68 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jeff Samardzija, CHC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>69 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jason Motte, STL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>73 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>70 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jesse Crain, CHW </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>72 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>71 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Tony Sipp, CLE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>71 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>72 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Brandon Lyon, HOU </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>41 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>73 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Chad Qualls, SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>69 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>74 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Matt Lindstrom, COL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>67 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>75 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Fernando Rodney, LAA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>54 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>




Yes, this is a controversy for which you want a piece of the action.


Kimbrel's "problems" -- the quotes signifying that fantasy owners should hardly find a problem with 18 saves and 49 strikeouts, those ranking fifth and second among relievers -- date back to shaky back-to-back innings in April 29-30 games versus the St. Louis Cardinals. After blowing a save in the first contest, surrendering singles to Yadier Molina and Ryan Theriot and a sacrifice fly to Daniel Descalso, he absorbed the loss in the second, affording a Matt Holliday single and Gerald Laird RBI triple. At the time, questions again emerged about whether the Braves might return to a co-closership between rookie Kimbrel and sophomore Venters, which was manager Fredi Gonzalez's announced plan exiting spring training.


Kimbrel had been mostly stellar in his next 19 appearances, converting 12 of 14 save chances with a 2.95 ERA and 29 K's in 18 1/3 innings, but after he blew his fifth save of the season on June 8, those questions returned.


They all go something like this: How can the Braves, who fancy themselves contenders, continue to use Kimbrel to close over a guy such as Venters, who is the majors' leading reliever in ERA (0.44) and ranks second in WHIP (0.74) and fifth in opponents' batting average (.141)?


It's a fair inquiry because if save chances were always doled out to the most effective pitcher, there's no doubt Venters deserves the ball in the ninth. He's also highly ranked in some other categories of note: He's first among relievers in ground ball rate (80.4 percent), second in swing-and-miss percentage (38.2), third in holds (14, and tied for first in saves-plus-holds with 17) and eighth in well-hit average (.099). Looking at Venters' year-to-date stats, there's little doubt that he has been one of the best relievers -- and arguably the best -- in baseball. He also has a fastball that averages 94.4 mph and a filthy slider that, since the beginning of 2010, has limited opponents to .067/.102/.077 rates and has generated a 67.0 percent swing-and-miss rate, second-best among relievers in that time.


At the same time, Kimbrel possesses filthy stuff of his own: a fastball that averages 95.7 mph and a slider that has held opposing hitters to .154/.195/.179 rates. Like Venters, Kimbrel misses a slew of bats -- his 34.7 percent overall swing-and-miss rate ranking seventh among relievers -- and he's the one most scouts projected as the Braves' long-term answer at closer.


He's also the one the Braves appear more comfortable using in one-inning, full-inning situations -- which is what a modern closer tends to be -- as opposed to deploying at any moment, even in critical men-on-base spots. To that end, Kimbrel has, in his 55 career appearances, entered a game with men on only three times; he has entered in a no-out, none-on situation every other time. Venters, meanwhile, has entered with men on base in 23 of his 116 career appearances, 16 of those with men already in scoring position and, on five other occasions, mid-inning (meaning one or two outs). That could explain why Gonzalez was so bold as to throw a rookie into the fire initially despite his plan for a co-closership.


That co-closership appears to be the current arrangement, providing a healthy, open competition for the role looking forward. As Jason Grey wrote on Monday -- and an opinion with which I agree -- both remain worth owning, and handcuffing them is mandatory at this point.


But if I'm to make a gut call on who will save more games from today forward, I'm sticking with my preseason prediction: It's Venters. Invest in the skills.


The return of Joakim Soria



One week was all he needed.


Joakim Soria, one of fantasy baseball's most valuable closers the past three seasons, was reinstated as Kansas City Royals closer June 7 and, in three appearances in the role since then, has three shutout innings and five strikeouts and is 3-for-3 in save chances.


His abandoning the cutter -- a pitch he threw 53.4 percent of the time before losing his job -- is a significant reason for the turnaround. In six appearances since June 1, Soria has thrown a cutter on only 16 of his 125 pitches (12.8 percent of the time), and only three of his past 63 pitches (4.8 percent) have been cutters. Soria afforded hitters .385/.489/.564 rates through May 30 in the 50 plate appearances that ended with a cutter, and his overuse of the pitch also made his fastball more predictable and his overall command less sharp.


Soria's elevated walk rate -- 3.60 per nine this season, 2.25 in his past six outings -- is still a slight concern, and it's the one thing keeping him outside the top 10. Judging by the adjustments he has made, however, it's once again safe to hop aboard his bandwagon.

 

[HacheMan]

Minors: Devin Mesoraco profile, Top 11

Jason Grey

Cincinnati Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco's 2010 campaign illustrates why it sometimes pays to be patient with prospects, especially high draft picks. The 15th overall selection in the 2007 draft out of a Pennsylvania high school spent the first three seasons of his pro career failing to post even a .400 slugging percentage. However, things changed quickly last year.

Mesoraco, who turns 23 this weekend, posted a breakout season across three levels last year, putting up a .322 AVG/.377 OBP/.587 SLG stat line, and has carried over that offensive surge to 2011. He's hitting .329 with a .406 on-base percentage, 21 doubles and eight homers in 57 games at Triple-A Louisville. His .552 slugging percentage is good for second in the International League.
So what happened? Besides the fact I think we need to be patient with the development of catchers, better health was a key factor. Mesoraco spent his first three seasons dealing with multiple injuries to both thumbs, as well as an issue with his left wrist. Mesoraco told me this spring he also got a little more serious about his workouts and preparation, and adjusted mentally, as well.
"I think it was just my approach to every game. I wasn't getting so concerned over a single good at-bat or single bad at-bat. It was more just staying focused on the big picture," Mesoraco said. "In the past I put a lot of pressure on myself because I obviously expected a lot, and the results weren't quite there. At the end of 2009 I started to feel pretty comfortable with where I was at, and I started to gain some confidence. [In 2010], I knew it was about time to put up [some numbers]. I think I did a better job of not going after the 'pitcher's pitch' as much."

Obviously, mental adjustments can have benefits, and more confidence led to more aggressive swings, but Mesoraco's injury problems didn't allow him to show the same bat speed that helped get him drafted so high. As the bat speed returned, so did his ability to make contact yet still hit with authority.
Mesoraco also changed his hand positioning, dropping his hands to give him a better bat path and be more direct to the ball, resulting in him hitting the ball in the air more, which is obviously never a bad thing for a power hitter. It also helped him reduce the uppercut in his swing, allowing him to keep the bat in the hitting zone longer. The stocky right-handed hitter gets good leverage, uses his lower half well and gets good extension, and the changes helped him tap into his raw power better. I expect more of those doubles to turn into homers down the road.
The only thing Mesoraco has to watch regarding his swing now is being a little too anxious and not staying back on the ball. He sometimes gets out on his front foot. "I do get real aggressive to the pitch sometimes," Mesoraco said. "Whenever I'm real aggressive, bad things happen. I do have to watch that. Sometimes I don't know how to fix it, but it's gotten a lot better."
Mesoraco is still a work in progress defensively, despite solid athleticism for the position. I got an extended look at him during the Arizona Fall League, where he was having all sorts of problems just receiving the ball, in addition to throwing. He had 10 passed balls and four errors in just 18 games behind the plate, though he was reportedly battling a finger issue. The defensive numbers have been better this season, with just two errors and four passed balls in 57 games, though he has thrown out just 19 percent of opposing base stealers. Only Jesus Montero has a worse mark among starting catchers at Triple-A.
Mesoraco has the arm strength to post good pop times, but good throwing mechanics and accuracy aren't always there. He's always going to be an offense-first backstop, but I don't think he's in danger of being moved from the position.
Reds manager Dusty Baker was impressed with Mesoraco's bat even in the preseason, hinting even then that the club wouldn't hesitate to call upon Mesoraco if either Ramon Hernandez or Ryan Hanigan got hurt. Barring a trade, that's likely the only scenario that gets Mesoraco playing time this season, as the team is happy with its catcher tandem. However, Hernandez is a pending free agent, likely opening the door for Mesoraco next year.
Mesoraco projects to hit 20-plus homers in the big leagues. Unlike the two catchers who currently have the most homers in the majors, J.P. Arencibia and Miguel Olivo, who hit homers at the expense of batting average and on-base percentage, Mesoraco's solid pitch recognition and ability to make contact gives him a chance to hit for a decent batting average to go with his pop. He is the rookie catcher most likely to make an impact in 2012.

Top 11 for '11


The now-standard caveats: There's a certain throwing-darts-at-the-wall nature to determining a list such as this because there's no telling when a player will actually arrive on the scene. Who will get the summons obviously depends on a variety of factors, such as team needs, injuries and performance.
Thus, for the purpose of this list, I try to balance a prospect's upside with who is likely to get an opportunity in the near future. I look for potential paths to big league playing time, factor in service-time concerns and rank only players who: (1) are still rookie-eligible and (2) are not already in the major leagues. To highlight some different names, I'm also not including players such as Jerry Sands or Julio Teheran, who have already been in the big leagues this year but have been sent back down, nor players like Charlie Blackmon or Mike Moustakas, who have gotten the call in the past week or so.
Please note that this list is for 2011 fantasy value only, not for the long haul, so you won't see names such as Bryce Harper on it. Not yet, anyway. It spotlights players who could help fantasy teams this season, with no regard for 2012 and beyond. Season the list to your particular taste and your fantasy team's needs.
I tweaked my ranking method this week, putting a little more weight on how close a player is to being promoted. It can be difficult to predict when a player is going to get that big league summons, especially since there are so many variables in play. As I alluded to above, it's an inexact science. But those who appeared closest to the majors got a slight bump up this week.

1. Dustin Ackley, 2B, Mariners: Ackley is on his way to the big leagues; he will make his debut Friday. After correcting some mechanical issues that resulted in a slow start to the season, Ackley had a .445 on-base percentage and .605 slugging percentage with Triple-A Tacoma in May, and hasn't slowed down this month (.346 average, .538 slugging percentage in 13 games). For the season (at Triple-A), Ackley has a .303 average with nine homers, six steals and more walks than strikeouts. As far as what to expect from him, a .280 average with a good on-base percentage, doubles power and a handful of steals sounds about right, making him useful at a relatively weak fantasy position.
As I've mentioned in the past, scouts have had concerns about Ackley's ability to remain at second base over the long haul, but that doesn't matter for now, and I think his defense will be acceptable if he hits like he's capable of. For more on Ackley, check out this recent scouting video I put together on him earlier this week.
2. Desmond Jennings, OF, Rays: Jennings is getting on base with regularity at Triple-A (.377 OBP), and has hit nine homers and stolen 12 bases (in 13 attempts). Justin Ruggiano has been hitting for the Rays, which has allowed the team to wait a little longer with Jennings (which is partially necessary because his call-up last year has affected his service-time clock). Jennings had 89 steals combined in the minors in 2009 and 2010, and he has the on-base ability to make good use of that speed in the majors. He could be a category-changer in stolen bases when he arrives, assuming he'll play every day.
3. Brett Lawrie, 3B, Blue Jays: When Lawrie was hit on the hand by a pitch at the end of May, it was not thought to be serious. However, after the swelling went down, it was revealed that he had a non-displaced fracture that will keep him out of the lineup at least another two weeks, so we might not see him until after the All-Star break. It was bad timing because he was expected to be called up within a day or two of the injury occurring. We have to wait a little longer now, but he can still do plenty of damage in two and a half months. He would have ranked No. 2 on this list if not for the injury. (Note: He initially will be eligible only at second base in ESPN standard leagues when he arrives.)
4. Kyle Gibson, SP, Twins: The next opening in the Twins' rotation could go to Gibson. The 2009 first-rounder has fanned 74 batters and walked just 17 in 71 1/3 innings in 12 Triple-A starts this season, with a nice ground-ball profile to go with it.
5. Trayvon Robinson, OF, Dodgers: Will Robinson be the next player in the Dodgers' youth movement to get the call? He's hitting .306 with 14 homers and seven steals at Triple-A. Scouts felt he was pressing a bit in May when he thought he was on the verge of a call-up, but he has been on a tear in June. He's likely in the club's plans for the second half.
6. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Diamondbacks: A month ago, it was looking more like a late August/September timeframe for a Goldschmidt call-up, at best, especially since Juan Miranda was heating up at the plate. However, with Goldschmidt continuing to rake, D-backs general manager Kevin Towers said this recently to the Arizona Republic in reference to both Goldschmidt and Collin Cowgill (more on him below): "Leading up to the All-Star Game, that's when we'd probably have to decide to make moves. I think we're always looking for ways to improve the club, and the first place we're going to look is internal."
I posted a full scouting report on Goldschmidt back in May, addressing some of the concerns about him despite his phenomenal numbers in the minors.
7. Brett Jackson, OF, Cubs: Jackson has homered twice since he returned to action at Double-A after missing three weeks because of a finger injury. Cubs VP of player personnel Oneri Fleita recently told ESPN Chicago that Jackson could be ready for the bigs soon: "The beauty of Brett Jackson is he always had a good eye," Fleita said. "He takes his walks. He's always going to throw to the right base. He has a good foundation that will allow him to have success. If the opportunity comes up [for a promotion], why not?" Jackson has posted a .391 on-base percentage, a .465 slugging percentage and has stolen 13 bases in 44 games with Double-A Tennessee.
8. Collin Cowgill, OF, Diamondbacks: Cowgill, who has drawn Cody Ross comparisons from multiple scouts, has seemingly come out of nowhere to provide video-game numbers in a great batting environment at Triple-A Reno. If the club wanted more offense from its left fielder -- though starter Gerardo Parra has provided stellar defense -- Cowgill could be an option, even though he might not profile as a regular long-term. Cowgill has hit .369 with 12 homers and 20 steals this season, but just to provide context, his 1.047 OPS and .608 slugging percentage for the season are still just the 10th and 11th highest marks, respectively, posted in the PCL.
(Also, you might be wondering about former Diamondback Brandon Allen. Well, some folks in the organization have said privately that they are concerned he has too many holes in his swing. Another option if the club wants to look internally is old friend Wily Mo Pena, whose .739 slugging percentage leads the PCL, on the strength of his 21 homers and .356 batting average.)
9. Jason Kipnis, 2B, Indians: The Indians have stated they are looking for more punch out of their infield, and they did call up Cord Phelps, only to sit him about half the time. (He has even been sitting against right-handed pitching, which was not expected to be the case.) If they don't see enough out of Phelps in the short term, they might choose to make Kipnis -- their second baseman of the future -- the second baseman of the present. The left-handed hitter is hitting both lefties and righties, is batting .296 with seven homers and a .506 slugging percentage and is a perfect 10-for-10 in steals at Triple-A.
10. Neil Ramirez, SP, Texas Rangers: The 22-year-old former first-round pick skipped right over Double-A with no problems, fanning 62 batters in 56&frac23; innings over 12 Triple-A starts and posting solid numbers in a league in which balls are flying out of the park with regularity. General manager Jon Daniels has stated that Ramirez is on the club's radar screen for the second half.
11. Jacob Turner, SP, Detroit Tigers: I've struggled the past few weeks deciding who I've wanted to put in this last spot; there are several decent candidates for it. It might be a bit premature to put Turner here, but the Tigers (manager and general manager) said as far back as spring training that Turner was on the short list for the club's rotation depth this season, and the Tigers have never been afraid to promote prospects aggressively. Turner has struck out 64 with a 3-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio at Double-A, and could conceivably be promoted right from there if the Tigers need rotation help.

Other notes:

[+] Enlarge

<CITE>AP Photo/Kathy Willens</CITE>Jesus Montero is just not getting it done at Triple-A.



• Where's Jesus Montero on this list? Well, the Yankees catcher prospect isn't doing anything offensively or defensively to force the issue, even with the club's recent injuries. He's posting only a .338 on-base percentage, not hitting for much power, and, as I mentioned above (in my scouting report of Mesoraco), he's the worst catcher at Triple-A in terms of throwing out base stealers. Meanwhile, teammate Jorge Vazquez has hit 20 bombs, but striking out in a third of his plate appearances at Triple-A hasn't helped his case for a call-up. I included Vazquez last week because I wanted to at least mention him, but he doesn't appear to be in the Yanks' plans for now, so he dropped off the list.
• Red Sox pitcher Kyle Weiland dropped off the list, too, simply because contractual obligations to Andrew Miller led to Miller getting the call to the big leagues. The Red Sox reportedly will juggle six starting pitchers for now, which means Weiland will have to wait a bit longer.
• Where is Lonnie Chisenhall? Though I am high on his lefty stroke over the long term, he's hitting just .250 and slugging under .400, in part because he has been inept versus lefty pitching thus far (.174 AVG, .304 SLG). There likely isn't much short-term fantasy potential here even if he does get a look.
• I included Jacob Turner, but what about two other Double-A fireballers, St. Louis' Shelby Miller and Arizona's Jarrod Parker? It's not out of the realm of possibility that we see either or both of them in the second half if their respective clubs' rotation depth is tested further. As such, they might make my Top 11 as others get promoted and taken off of it. But I think it's more likely these two pitchers will make their impact in 2012. Parker is averaging fewer than five innings per start at Double-A. Another big Double-A starting pitching prospect, the Yankees' Manny Banuelos, is averaging the same. If another Yankees prospect, Dellin Betances, gets the call, it might be for a bullpen role.
• Besides Mesoraco, the Reds have a host of players at Triple-A who could see big league time in the second half, from outfielder/first baseman Yonder Alonso to outfielder Dave Sappelt to shortstop Zack Cozart to utility man Todd Frazier. However, manager Dusty Baker loves his veterans, and I've stopped trying to guess what he'll do with the team's left-field situation.
• Dayan Viciedo is technically not a prospect anymore after his big league time last year, but he has made some small strides with his approach this season. There is talk that he might supplant Juan Pierre in the White Sox lineup at some point in the near future after converting to right field. Despite the strides he has taken and good results in a small sample size last season, I'm still skeptical about his ability to consistently hit in the big leagues, especially against pitchers who can change speeds well and spin a decent breaking ball.
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[HacheMan]

Mmm Bop: Hanson Scratched
Braves right-hander Tommy Hanson registered a 3.33 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 173 strikeouts over 34 starts last season, pitching his way into the rung of baseball's elite fantasy pitchers. He has continued that theme of dominance here in 2011 with a 2.48 ERA and 89 strikeouts through his first 83 1/3 frames.

Unfortunately, it's all going to be put on hold for a bit.

The Braves announced Thursday evening that Hanson has been scratched from his scheduled Friday start against the Rangers due to shoulder tendinitis and that 21-year-old prospect Randall Delgado will take the mound in his place.

The hope is that Hanson is only dealing with a routine case of shoulder soreness and will be ready to return on his next turn through the Atlanta rotation. But there's no way of knowing for sure. He'll be evaluated over the next two or three days before the Braves make a decision.

Delgado, a native of Panama, was ranked as the 35th-best prospect this past winter by Baseball America and has posted a 3.54 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 73-plus innings this season with Double-A Mississippi. He fanned 162 batters in 161 innings last year between Single-A and Double-A. Friday's major league debut will come against a dangerous Texas lineup and should be avoided for fantasy purposes, but Delgado is a guy worth monitoring for the future. The Braves have a surplus of quality young arms.

This is Friday's edition of the Daily Dose, and it's heavy on injured pitchers...

* Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz was pulled after throwing just 81 pitches Thursday against the Rays due to tightness in his lower back. He surrendered only two Tampa Bay hits in five quality innings and possesses a healthy 3.48 ERA through 14 starts this season, but the back problems that crept up on him in late May are not going away. With Andrew Miller arriving in the big leagues early next week, the Red Sox may go ahead and skip Buchholz's next turn in the rotation as a precautionary measure. A little mid-June break could be good for the talented 26-year-old.

* White Sox starter Jake Peavy made a highly successful rehab appearance on Thursday night with Triple-A Charlotte, racking up nine strikeouts while throwing six scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits. Manager Ozzie Guillen told reporters on Wednesday that Peavy might require more than one rehab start, but the 30-year-old right-hander pitched so well in his debut that we get the feeling he might be cleared to return to the major leagues next week. Peavy has obviously struggled to stay healthy since donning a White Sox uniform, but he has a 0.97 WHIP and a 20/4 K/BB ratio in 29 innings this season and is a must-start when not on the disabled list.

National League Quick Hits: Braves veteran Chipper Jones is day-to-day with a groin strain … Adam LaRoche underwent season-ending surgery on his left shoulder Thursday in the nation's capital … Cardinals third baseman David Freese is aiming to begin a minor league rehab assignment early next week … Brandon Beachy allowed just one run Thursday in a five-inning rehab start at Triple-A Gwinnett … Danny Espinosa hit a walkoff three-run homer Thursday to help the Nationals finish off a sweep of the Cardinals … Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez blew his second save of the season Thursday in an extra innings loss to the Braves … Matt Holliday returned from the disabled list Thursday and homered in his first plate appearance … St. Louis setup man Eduardo Sanchez has been placed on the disabled list with a sore shoulder … The Phillies signed Tim Redding to a minor league contract … Geoff Blum has begun taking batting practice and is aiming to return from the disabled list in early July … The Mets have not ruled out taking a chance on left-hander Scott Kazmir … Cardinals utilityman Nick Punto is aiming to begin a rehab assignment next week … The Cardinals reportedly have interest in left-handed reliever J.C. Romero … Zack Greinke was shelled for six earned runs Thursday in a loss to the Cubs … Chris Snyder and his wife were victims of a recent road rage incident … The Astros released catcher Max Ramirez.

American League Quick Hits: The Twins activated catcher Joe Mauer from the 60-day disabled list … Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon notched his 13th save of the season Thursday in a win over the Rays … A's second baseman Mark Ellis will begin a minor league rehab assignment this weekend at Triple-A Sacramento … Adrian Gonzalez recorded his 61st RBI in Thursday's victory over Tampa Bay … White Sox DH Adam Dunn is expected to play some outfield during interleague play … C.J. Wilson fanned 10 batters Thursday in an eight-inning start against the Yankees … Jed Lowrie could be headed for the disabled list with a shoulder injury … Franklin Morales is nearly ready to return to the Boston bullpen … Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge has been cleared to begin a minor league rehab assignment … Gio Gonzalez battled through a flu-like illness and struck out 10 batters Thursday in a victory over Kansas City … Max Scherzer earned his ninth win of the season Thursday in the Tigers' win over the Indians … Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie is scheduled to undergo an MRI on his back Friday … Darren O'Day threw a successful live batting practice session Thursday and is nearing a return from the disabled list.

 

[HacheMan]

Unfamiliar Foes

Interleague play is in full swing for the upcoming week, with each club across the majors facing unfamiliar foes. Keep an eye on American League teams playing in NL parks and vice versa, as the switch in DH rules will affect playing time for certain folks.

Each MLB team gets a day off, so the two-start pitcher crop is a bit lighter than usual. There's only a handful of truly appealing options scattered across both leagues, so you may want to go fishing in the "Decent Plays" category, as well as the streamer suggestions.

The Tigers are scheduled to face four lefties in six games, so maybe Ryan Raburn (829 career OPS vs. LHP) can finally get it going.

Going Twice...



American League

Strong Plays
Ricky Romero: @ATL (Hudson), @STL (McClellan)
Jered Weaver: @FLA (Sanchez), @LAD (Kershaw)
Josh Beckett: SD (Moseley), @PIT (Morton)

Decent Plays
Derek Holland: HOU (Happ), NYM (Gee)
Jeff Niemann: @MIL (Narveson), @HOU (Happ)
Doug Fister: @WAS (Hernandez), @FLA (Sanchez)
Ivan Nova: @CIN (Cueto), COL (Nicasio)
Josh Outman: @NYM (Gee), @PHI (Halladay)
Carl Pavano: @SF (Bumgarner), @MIL (Narveson)
Gavin Floyd: CHC (Zambrano), WAS (Hernandez)
Jake Arrieta: @PIT (Morton), CIN (Cueto)

At Your Own Risk
Luke Hochevar: ARI (Saunders), CHC (Zambrano)
Brad Penny: @LAD (Kershaw), ARI (Saunders)
Fausto Carmona: COL (Nicasio), @SF (Bumgarner)

National League

Strong Plays
Madison Bumgarner: MIN (Pavano), CLE (Carmona)
Roy Halladay: @STL (McClellan), OAK (Outman)
Dillon Gee: OAK (Outman), @TEX (Holland)
Clayton Kershaw: DET (Penny), LAA (Weaver)
Anibal Sanchez: LAA (Weaver), SEA (Fister)
Johnny Cueto: NYY (Nova), @BAL (Arrieta)

Decent Plays
Livan Hernandez: SEA (Fister), @CWS (Floyd)
Dustin Moseley: @BOS (Beckett), ATL (Hudson)
Charlie Morton: BAL (Arrieta), BOS (Beckett)
Chris Narveson: TB (Niemann), MIN (Pavano)
Juan Nicasio: @CLE (Carmona), @NYY (Nova)
Carlos Zambrano: @CWS (Floyd), @KC (Hochevar)
Tim Hudson: TOR (Romero), @SD (Moseley)

At Your Own Risk
Kyle McClellan: PHI (Halladay), TOR (Romero)
J.A. Happ: @TEX (Holland), TB (Niemann)
Joe Saunders: @KC (Hochevar), @DET (Penny)


Streamer City



The following pitchers are generally available in over 50 percent of fantasy leagues and have favorable match-ups this week:

American League

Wednesday, 6/22: Edwin Jackson vs. CHC
Jackson has generally been effective lately, especially at home, and merits a look against the cross-town rivals.

Friday, 6/24: Carlos Carrasco @ SF
The young righty has notched 15 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings, including seven shutout frames at Yankee Stadium in his most recent turn.

Friday, 6/24: Scott Baker @ MIL
Baker has looked increasingly sharp lately, and is coming off a complete game victory against the Rangers.

National League

Thursday, 6/23: Chris Capuano vs. OAK
Capuano has three quality starts in his last four turns, while the A's have scored four or fewer runs in nine of their past 10.

Thursday, 6/23: Jason Marquis vs. SEA
The veteran right-hander has been very steady for the Nats this year, and matches up well at home against the M's.

<!--RW-->


Total Games



American League

6: BAL, BOS, CWS, CLE, DET, KC, LAA, MIN, NYY, OAK, SEA, TB, TEX, TOR

National League

6: ARI, ATL, CHC, CIN, COL, FLA, HOU, LAD, MIL, NYM, PHI, PIT, SD, SF, STL, WAS


Lefty/Righty Breakdown



American League

BAL: 6 vs. RHP, 0 vs. LHP
BOS: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
CWS: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
CLE: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
DET: 2 vs. RHP, 4 vs. LHP
KC: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
LAA: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
MIN: 3 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
NYY: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
OAK: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
SEA: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
TB: 3 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
TEX: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
TOR: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP

National League

ARI: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
ATL: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
CHC: 3 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
CIN: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
COL: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
FLA: 6 vs. RHP, 0 vs. LHP
HOU: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
LAD: 6 vs. RHP, 0 vs. LHP
MIL: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
NYM: 2 vs. RHP, 4 vs. LHP
PHI: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
PIT: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP
SD: 6 vs. RHP, 0 vs. LHP
SF: 5 vs. RHP, 1 vs. LHP
STL: 3 vs. RHP, 3 vs. LHP
WAS: 4 vs. RHP, 2 vs. LHP


The Infirmary



You can get a full listing of injured players at Rotoworld's Injury Page, but here's the latest on a few prominent players who have been out of action:

Alfredo Simon: Out until late June
Kerry Wood: Out until late June
Justin Morneau: Out until late June
Derek Jeter: Out until late June
Bartolo Colon: Out indefinitely
Freddy Sanchez: Out indefinitely
Jeff Niemann: Returning this week

 

[HacheMan]

CoJack back in Prime Time?
CoJack is Back? That story and others are explored in this week's Week That Was.


Connor Jackson: Conor Jackson had a good night in the battle of the Bay, stroking three hits and knocking in a run to help the A's beat the Freak and the Giants. If you watch the box scores closely, you will see that new manager Bob Melvin has penciled "CoJack" into the lineup quite often. Simply stated this is a buying opportunity. Daric Barton is not doing the job, Hideki Matsui is hardly lighting it up, Josh Willingham cannot stay on the field, and quite simply, the A's cant score. So, why not let CoJack try and prove he is all the way back from Valley Fever. If you are in a deep league, CoJack could prove to be your lightning in a bottle. Who knows, if he gets really hot, he might even say "who loves ya baby".


Mike Leake: Mike Leake was pretty good last night, giving up three runs on five hits in seven innings. Since the beginning of this month, the Reds youngster has a sterling 2.48 ERA and 17/2 K/BB ratio. Simply put – buy! He is all of 23, but he already has a full season under his belt and has shown real maturity in the way he has turned up the heat this month. The bad news is that he gets my Yankees next time out. The good news is that he will get the Cubs, Pirates, and Astros quite often during the rest of the season. Buy!


Dustin Ackley: In news that should shock no reader of this column (or frankly any fantasy column), Dustin Ackley has arrived in Seattle from the minors and will play every day. The good news is that Ackley has shown great eye and great patience in the minors (117/130 K/BB ratio over 918 plate appearances). The bad news is that he hit just .263 at AA and just .273 at AAA last year. Thus, Ackley is a work in progress. Those in deep leagues should take a shot. Those in 12 team mixed leagues should look elsewhere. Not only is Ackley not ready to star, he plays on a poor offensive team in a pitcher's park. Of course, no matter what Ack does, Adam Kennedy owners should realize that the ride is over.

Brett Myers: Rumors reported on this site and others noted that the Astros are willing to deal Brett Myers before July 31. Really? Wow, what a shock. Ok seriously, there are fantasy lessons to be learned (or at least repeated) from this unsurprising little tidbit. First, if you own Myers, this could be great or a disaster. If you are in a league that forces you to lose him if he is dealt to the AL, well, you may be SOL by July 31. On the other hand, if you can keep his stats, you may well have a pitcher who goes from a team who doesn't score for him to a team that will (hmmm, Yankees maybe?). The other lesson to be reiterated here is the old T in SMART stands for team. If the Astros were good, they would not consider dealing Myers. Thus, you would not be at risk of him moving leagues and possibly (depending on your league rules) losing him completely.
Doug Davis: Doug Davis, yes that Doug Davis, looked like Greg Maddux Friday, hurling 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball to beat the Yankees. What to do with this information? Ignore it. For some reason that I cannot explain, but know to a moral certainty to be true, the Yankees have trouble hitting soft tossing ineffective pitchers that they have not seen before. Coming into Friday, Davis had and ERA over 5.00 and a WHIP over 1.65. Indeed, over the last three years, Davis, has compiled an ERA over 4.50 and a WHIP well above 1.50. Bottom line – if you own Davis, carp about how he slayed the mighty Yankees and move him for whatever you can. If you are considering adding Davis for his next start at U.S. Cellular, well go splash some cold water on your face and think again.


Josh Harrison: Josh Harrison did something very few accomplish this week. He avoided the DL despite having the dreaded oblique injury and continued his hitting ways. The Bucs temporary 3B went 1-3 with an RBI in his first game back Thursday. Over the last 10 days, Harrison is 9-25. This is no fluke as he hit an even .300 last year at AA. There will be a logjam when Pedro Alvarez returns. However, Harrison is playing now and hitting, so ride the ship. If he keeps hitting, they will find a way to keep playing him.


Jesus Guzman: In what was probably a little notice item, the Pods called up Jesus Guzman from AAA and cut Jorge Cantu. As far as Cantu, it is hard to see him emerging somewhere else and hitting this year. He has now failed with both Texas and S.D. The more interesting play for deep NL-only players is Guzman. Before the call up, Jesus was raking at a .332 clip with 8 dingers and 57 RBI in 63 AAA games. While his glove at 3B and in the OF leaves a lot to be desired, the Pods need O and he can flat out hit. He missed last year with injury but before that, he hit .321 in AAA in 2009 and .363 in AA in 2008. He may just get splinters in SD but what do they, or you, have to lose by taking a flyer. Speculate.


Edwin Jackson: Edwin Jackson lost yesterday, but really did not pitch that badly. Jackson gave up 4 runs over 6 2/3 innings but struck out eight and walked none. So far, his numbers are not pretty but not as bad as people think -- 4.47 ERA (not great and not terrible in this day and age) but 73K/30BB in 87 innings is not too shabby. Jackson has great stuff and had a terrific second half last year. Pitching is hard to find and sometimes you have to gamble. I would gamble here if I needed a jolt in the standings.


Now, before we get to our old anchor man, allow me to reflect a moment and give a well deserved shout out to one of Rotoworld's own. On Monday night, I was had the distinct honor and privilege of introducing Rotoworld's and NBC's Rick Wolf at his induction into the Fantasy Sports Trade Association Hall of Fame. According to the FSTA, over 32 Million Americans enjoy fantasy sports. That means that there are 32 Million of you out there that should be thanking Rick. Without his tireless effort on behalf of the industry, its members and all of you who play, the game and hobby you love so much would not be the same and may not even exist at all. Sirius/XM will broadcast the ceremonies so you can hear them in full if you want. Suffice it to say that it really was a great night and one of those rare occasions where the good guys really did finish first. Congratulations Rick and to Rotowire's Peter Schoenke (another giant in the industry and all around good guy). This recognition and induction was so richly deserved. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of it.


And now back to player evaluation and strategy with this from the baron of the bottom of the page -- Schultz says: "Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Derek Holland, Matt Harrison and Colby Lewis. Think back to the beginning of the year and recall how you would have ranked those five pitchers. (For this little thought experiment, we're going to ignore the fact that Chamberlain was slotted into a set up role). Most likely, you had both Yankees ranked higher than the Rangers. After all, the Yankees had been overprotective-mother crazy with coddling Hughes and Chamberlain, making sure their tender young arms weren't worked too hard. If they could have wrapped them in bubble wrap and posted "Fragile!! Important Cargo," they probably would have. Meanwhile, in Arlington, the Rangers were going old school, treating their young pitchers like men instead of China dolls and making them pitch deep into games and challenging them to pitch while tired. With Hughes struggling to regain his fastball, Chamberlain on the shelf until late 2012 and the Rangers starters racking up complete games, it might be a signal as to where the scales are tipping. The conventional wisdom has always instructed roto-owners to be wary of young pitchers that threw a lot of innings the year before. However, I posit that any statistics backing up that theory are tainted by the corollating effect of hitters having more tape of a young pitcher in their second year. Nolan Ryan's way of thinking may be ushering in a new age that changes the way we evaluate the prospects of starting pitchers.

The other game-changing shift in the pitching world may bafflingly be found within the bone marrow of Bartolo Colon. After years of irrelevancy, the rotund ex-Indian has found new life after receiving stem cell injections into his pitching elbow. Colon's recent resurgence is no fluke: prior to injuring his hamstring this past weekend, his fastball had movement that had been missing for years and he looked very much like the Cy Young winner he once was. Since I doubt it's anything unique about Colon's bone marrow - and wouldn't that be funny if it was and he became a stem cell stud horse for injured pitchers - roto-owners should keep an eye out for those hurlers that opt for this treatment in the future.

Since my Dad is among our column's readers; Happy Father's Day!!"


Response: Hmmmm. Well, while I agree that young pitchers are coddled too much and too often, I think there is a different explanation for the Hughes, Chamberlain debacle – indecision and whimsy. The Yankees kept shifting these two gems from the pen to the rotation and back and back again. I have little doubt that the see-saw caused or at least contributed to their issues. So, I would argue that when you see teams mess with young arms (see Feliz, Neftali) rather than make a decision and stick to it (see Papelbon, Jonathan), that is when you should see warning signs.


Final Note: Happy Fathers' day to all those dad's out there, including those who have been dads for a long time – mine and Mr. Schultz especially, as well as those that have only been dads for a couple of weeks like my buddy, ESPN fantasy star and NFBC partner Nate Ravitz. I hope you all have a wonderful and restful day (and get to watch some good baseball too!)

 

[HacheMan]

NL Notes: Coghlan's Downfall
The Marlins weren't going to fire Edwin Rodriguez. They couldn't bench Hanley Ramirez. They had no one they could use to replace Javier Vazquez or Chris Volstad.

So on Friday it was Chris Coghlan who got the heave-ho. He was demoted to Triple-A after hitting .230/.296/.368 in 269 at-bats this season.

And that's not a good line. However, Coghlan's struggles were strictly a result of him being horrible against lefties. Versus righties, he was hitting .278/.347/.454 in 194 at-bats, making him an above average regular about 70 percent of the time.

It'll be interesting to see how the Marlins intend to replace that. Emilio Bonifacio's OPS against right-handers is .652, 149 points lower than Coghlan's .801 mark. Veteran DeWayne Wise, who took Coghlan's spot on the roster, has a career OPS of .650 against right-handers (which is actually much better than his .588 mark against left-handers).

But the Marlins were 3-18 this month, so apparently someone had to go. And now the team is even worse off because of it.

At least it's only temporary. Coghlan will probably be back in two or three weeks, and maybe some low-pressure at-bats against lefties will do him some good. He certainly needs to be held on to in NL-only leagues. Maybe Wise will have a little short-term value in the meantime, but he really is pretty terrible.

National League notes

- Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson named Juan Miranda his primary first baseman at the end of the spring, but he's obviously never really warmed up to the former Yankee. As of Friday, Miranda had started just 33 of the team's 70 games. The decision to release Russell Branyan seemed like just the break Miranda needed to solidify his job, but Gibson has recently gone to Xavier Nady more and more, even against right-handers.

It doesn't seem entirely fair. Miranda is hitting just .235 in 132 at-bats this season, but that comes with a .784 OPS. The NL league average for first baseman this year is a .795 OPS. Nady has just a .683 OPS in his 124 at-bats.

Furthermore, the Diamondbacks are 21-12 with Miranda in the lineup, compared to 17-20 the rest of the time.

Still, Miranda isn't anything special. He's 28, and he's never going to be anything more than a platoon player. So if Gibson isn't happy with him, the Diamondbacks should probably just move on now.

But who to move on to? 25-year-old Brandon Allen has been terrific in Triple-A, hitting .299/.421/.525. He came up last year and hit .267/.393/.400 in 45 at-bats down the stretch, and he really should have been given more consideration for a starting job this spring.

Then there's 23-year-old Paul Goldschmidt, the minor league home run leader with 21 bombs for Double-A Mobile. He is hitting a remarkable .338/.458/.667 in the Southern League.

It certainly wouldn't be very fair for the Diamondbacks to bypass Allen again. He has nothing left to prove in Triple-A, while Goldschmidt has yet to receive an at-bat at the level. Still, there has been more speculation lately that Goldschmidt could be the choice. Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers recently said that he could be added around the All-Star break.

Either way, Miranda's days with the Diamondbacks may be numbered. He's out of options, so it wouldn't be surprised to see him flipped for a possible bullpen arm at some point within the next few weeks.

- Charlie Blackmon stole bases in five straight games for the Rockies and is now getting talked up as the team's possible long-term leadoff man. That looks like a reach, though. Blackmon did hit .337/.393/.572 in Triple-A this year, but that was Colorado Springs and he was never nearly so exceptional previously. Plus, he's just not that fast, which is why the Rockies moved Carlos Gonzalez back to center field when they placed Dexter Fowler on the DL. Blackmon was a center fielder initially as a pro, but the Rockies switched him to right this year. I view Blackmon as a tweener: he doesn't quite have the glove for center or the power for a corner. He should be a nice fourth outfielder and a decent enough stopgap when he's needed to start regularly against right-handers. Since he has Coors Field working in his favor and he is running like crazy at the moment, it's worth trying him in mixed leagues. However, he probably won't have any lasting value. He's just a good basestealer, not a great one, with 31 successes in 43 attempts in 143 minor league games over the last two years.

- Ian Stewart is back in Triple-A Colorado Springs' lineup after missing time with a strained hamstring and is hitting .318 with five homers in 11 games this month. It isn't likely to happen next week, but the Rockies need to give him another chance sometime soon. Ty Wigginton is far from an ideal option as an everyday third baseman. Unless something changes between now and then, Eric Young Jr. will likely be sent down when Stewart returns.

- The Tommy Hanson injury news is scary, even if the Braves have indicated that there's no structural damage in his sore right shoulder. The hope is that he'll be back at the end of the month. With Brandon Beachy (oblique) not yet ready to return, the Braves called on Randall Delgado to make a spot start Friday. The plan was for Beachy to make one more rehab start next week, but that might be scratched now. Watch the news this weekend to see if he'll be worth activating in NL-only leagues this week. The 21-year-old Delgado doesn't figure to make more than one additional start regardless. He's a big-time talent, but he's probably at least a year away.

- With Jonathan Broxton (elbow) about to begin a rehab assignment, Hong-Chih Kuo (anxiety) ready to come off the DL and Vicente Padilla (neck) potentially done for the year, the Dodgers' closing situation is as interesting as ever. No one currently in the team's bullpen has more than one save and the Dodgers aren't carrying many leads into the ninth, so there's not really anyone there worth using in mixed leagues at the moment. It's hard to imagine the Dodgers rushing Kuo into save chances given that he's overcoming the yips, so it may well be Broxton's job to lose once he's ready to return.

- Perhaps Scott Rolen is finally poised to be useful in mixed leagues after a disappointing first two months. Although he missed some time recently with strep throat, he has six extra-base hits and eight RBI in his nine games this month.

- Homer Bailey (shoulder) was awfully shaky in both of his rehab starts for Triple-A Louisville. On Thursday, he allowed three runs and 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings. His velocity was just fine, according to reports, so the Reds might go ahead and activate him this week anyway. Still, the safe play for fantasy leaguers would be to keep him reserved.

- The Brewers aren't currently planning on putting Shaun Marcum on the DL with the left hip flexor strain he suffered Friday, but it looks like he could miss his start this week. Marco Estrada would be the favorite to fill in. Triple-A Nashville's Mark DiFelice is another possibility.

- Carlos Zambrano says he'll waive his no-trade clause, and with the Cubs seemingly unlikely to get back into contention, there is a pretty good chance he'll be moved this summer. All it should take is some team willing to take on most of the approx. $28 million he's due through the end of next year, a total that will shrink to about $24 million by the time the trade deadline rolls around.

The Yankees have often been linked to Zambrano, though concerns about how he'd handle New York -- also a reason why they didn't make a big offer for Zack Greinke over the winter -- still make them an unlikely suitor. Ryan Dempster could well be more to their liking. Texas would make sense, though the Rangers would probably want the Cubs to pick up quite a portion of that salary. That wouldn't be a bad idea for the Cubs, given that the Rangers have some intriguing young pitching to offer in return. He'd be a potential difference maker in the NL West for the Diamondbacks or Rockies, but neither of those teams figures to come up with the money.

- Darwin Barney's knee injury wasn't particularly bad news for the Cubs. He was no longer playing well enough to justify all of the at-bats he was getting, and the team is probably better off going with Blake DeWitt and Jeff Baker at second base. Those two are both worth playing in NL-only leagues at the moment. DeWitt will get more starts, but Baker is the superior option anyway. Barney might not be back until after the All-Star break.

- Roy Oswalt is battling, but there's still no sign of his velocity returning to where it was at the start of the year and he looks like nothing more than an average pitcher right now. Mixed leaguers should think about sitting him when he doesn't have favorable matchups. His outing next week comes against St. Louis, so he's a mediocre play.

- The Astros are getting prepared to sell, but there isn't going to be a whole lot worth buying unless Hunter Pence is put up for bids. A casual mention of Brett Myers and Jeff Keppinger being available by MLB.com's Bill Ladson started the rumor mill swirling Friday, but it shouldn't have been taken as big news. The Astros blew it by keeping Myers last summer and signing him to a two-year, $23 million extension. Unless he starts pitching better, no one is going to want to be on the hook for his $11 million salary next year. Keppinger has use as a nice bench player or a stopgap second baseman; he's very likely to be moved before the deadline. My guess is that Pence and Wandy Rodriguez will stay, but it's not a lock in either case.

- When the Astros do trade Keppinger, they'll likely give Matt Downs a try as a starting second baseman. Downs, who was claimed off waivers from the Giants last year, has been a pleasant surprise with a .280/.389/.547 line in 75 at-bats this season.

- I would bank on Dillon Gee's numbers starting to suffer against AL lineups over the next couple of weeks. He's done awfully well relying on cutters and changeups so far, but with no legitimate breaking ball to help with strikeouts, I'd still say he's likely a fourth starter at best. Mixed leaguers can take advantage of his start against the A's coming up, but I think he'll start fading soon.

- Jason Bay isn't really driving the ball with any authority at all, but he has shaken off a couple of benchings with five hits in his last three games. At least it makes him a better play in NL-only leagues.

- The Pirates are giving new acquisition Michael McKenry a look as a starting catcher with Chris Snyder (back) and Ryan Doumit (ankle) on the DL. He'll strike out too much to hit for average, but he does have a little pop, which should give him some short-term value in NL-only leagues. He's a better bet than Dusty Brown to help teams over the next few weeks.

- Some have wondered why the Pirates didn't call up former No. 1 pick Tony Sanchez instead of trying Brown and now McKenry behind the plate. Sanchez, though, is slugging just .337 in Double-A. He does have a decent .367 OBP, and his defense continues to draw nice reviews. Still, Double-A is where he belongs at the moment.

- The Padres gave up on Jorge Cantu just as the DH games were starting, deciding to try Jesus Guzman instead. Guzman, 27, was tearing up left-handed pitching in Triple-A and hitting .332/.423/.529 overall. He was viewed as a deep sleeper when he signed with the San Francisco prior to the 2009 season, but the Giants decided he was too much of a liability defensively to be of any use. The Padres had him playing mostly third base in Triple-A, with the occasional start in the outfield. It doesn't seem likely that he'll carve out a real niche during his time with the club.

- Orlando Hudson (groin) is expected to come off the disabled list on Sunday. Logan Forsythe will likely be sent down to make room.

- It doesn't bode well for Pat Burrell's chances of remaining a Giant that the team couldn't even find room for him in a DH lineup Friday against the A's. Unless he gets hot, he seems likely to be jettisoned when Brandon Belt comes off the DL, and right now, manager Bruce Bochy doesn't seem interested in even giving him the chance to heat up.

- There's a slight chance the Giants will get Mike Fontenot (groin) back before the end of the week. Belt (wrist) is likely two weeks away, and it appears that the plan is for Barry Zito to return to start one of the games in a doubleheader on June 28.

- The Cards got healthier with Matt Holliday and Kyle McClellan returning last week. Now both David Freese (hand) and Nick Punto (forearm) are set to begin rehab assignments this week. Punto will be back first, but that shouldn't matter much to fantasy leaguers. Freese is probably going to be activated right around the 1st of July, and he'll reclaim the third-base job from Daniel Descalso.

- It sounds like the Nationals' Rick Ankiel could go back on the disabled list with a strained intercostal muscle. Gregor Blanco has finally started hitting in Triple-A -- he's at .275/.408/.525 with four steals in 40 at-bats this month -- and he could soon get a look in center field. It may depend on whether Roger Bernadina's last four games are the start of a hot streak or just a mirage. He's gone 8-for-17 with two homers to raise his OPS from .628 to .706.

 

[HacheMan]

AL Notes: Waiting On Viciedo
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen reiterated Friday that he'll keep hamstringing his team by playing Juan Pierre in left field and letting him lead off. Apparently the only way that's going to change is if GM Ken Williams releases Pierre in order to make room for 22-year-old Dayan Viciedo on the roster.

Viciedo is hitting .393 in Triple-A this month and is up to .324/.369/.538 for the year. Strike zone judgment remains an issue, and Viciedo would be something of a liability defensively if handed the left field job. Still, the power figures to translate to the majors pretty well and it's hard to see how he could be a downgrade from what Pierre has given the team this year.

Plus, the White Sox would have Brent Lillibridge available as a fallback. All Lillibridge has done as hit .273/.375/.568 this year. Even as he's cooled off lately and taken a seat on the bench as a result -- he hasn't started since last Saturday -- he still has an .817 OPS in June.

So, we just need to wait and see if Williams decides to pull rank. Pierre is hitting .212/.281/.269 this month, and the White Sox have scored a total of two runs while losing their last three games. Something needs to be done, and if releasing Pierre is the only way to get him out of the leadoff spot, it's the move Williams needs to make.

American League notes

- Rant aside, Pierre has actually been a lot more valuable offensively than Alex Rios this season. The two players have .298 slugging percentages, and Pierre has a 60-point advantage in OBP (.318 to .258). Rios at least has his glove to fall back on, but 67 games into the season, his struggles can no longer be treated as a mere slump. I can't advise giving up on him in mixed leagues, yet I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel with the way he's swinging now. It's just weak at-bat after weak at-bat.

- It appears that the White Sox will activate Jake Peavy (groin) in time to start him Wednesday against the Cubs. There's been some speculation that they wouldn't go back to the six-man rotation they used before Peavy got hurt, but the current plan calls for them to stay the course. If they do drop a starter, it will probably be Edwin Jackson, even though he has a nice 3.51 ERA and 41/13 K/BB ratio in 51 1/3 innings since the beginning of May.

- The Mariners couldn't find a taker for Jack Wilson, but they brought up Dustin Ackley to play second base anyway. I don't see Ackley becoming a force in mixed leagues right away. Maybe he'll move up to the two hole if he gets off to a hot start, but runs and RBI will be hard for him to come by while he's hitting seventh. Wilson becomes the last man on the Seattle bench now, while Adam Kennedy will probably begin to cut into Chone Figgins' playing time at third.

- Mike Carp is getting most of his playing time in the DH spot since coming up, which makes one wonder how much longer Jack Cust's tenure in Seattle will last. Cust followed up an ugly April by hitting .276/.375/.447 in May, but he's just 2-for-23 so far during June. It wouldn't be surprising to see him get released within the next couple of weeks. I'm not certain Carp is an upgrade, but he does have pretty good power and he's worth adding in AL-only leagues.

- Two years ago, it looked like Felix Pie might be ready to break through and become a decent regular. He hit .266/.326/.437 in 252 at-bats for the Orioles as a 24-year-old in 2009 and .274/.305/.413 in 288 at-bats last season. Back on the bench once again as a result of the Derrek Lee and Vladimir Guerrero signings, he's hitting .253/.260/.313 in 100 at-bats this year. He's striking out less than usual, with just 15 K's so far, but only on Saturday, when he was called on to replace an injured Luke Scott, did he finally draw his first walk of the season.

Unfortunately, it looks like the Orioles have held on to him for too long. He might have some trade value for teams looking for center field possibilities a year ago, but I don't think anyone would give up a quality prospect for him now. Maybe the Nationals could give him a try; he's better defensively than Roger Bernadina, though the offense might be a wash. The Orioles could free up some additional at-bats for Nolan Reimold by moving him, but since Reimold isn't much of a center fielder and there's no one else around to back up Adam Jones, they might opt to keep him for the rest of the year.

- Brian Matusz's velocity was somewhat better Saturday against the Nationals, as he was more frequently at 87-88 mph with his fastball. Still, that's down significantly from the 90 mph he averaged with his heater last year. The hope is that his arm strength will come back the further removed he gets from the strained ribcage muscle that cost him the first two months. I still expect him to emerge as a solid mixed-league starter in the second half, but since he's not 100 percent, he's a shaky play right now.

- Jeremy Guthrie is iffy to make his start Tuesday because of a strained back. If he can't go, then Brad Bergesen will likely face the Pirates.

- Andrew Miller will make his Red Sox debut on Monday after striking out 10 over 5 1/3 innings in his final start for Triple-A Pawtucket. He's had a fine ERA all season long, but he walked 34 over 47 1/3 innings during April and May. This month, he has an exceptional 22/1 K/BB ratio in 18 1/3 innings. Miller's start this week will come in Clay Buchholz's place as Buchholz recovers from a back injury, but if he pitches well, he should stick in the rotation in Tim Wakefield's spot. Given his upside, he has to be picked up in AL-only leagues. It's not hard to imagine him walking five in 1 1/3 innings in his start Monday, but it's also entirely possible he'll spend the rest of the year as an above average starter.

- Carl Crawford's hamstring strain wasn't supposed to be too serious, but the Red Sox placed him on the disabled list anyway. With Mike Cameron struggling, Josh Reddick could get the majority of the starts in left field for now. He makes for a decent pickup in AL-only leagues. Darnell McDonald could also have a little value.

- Marco Scutaro will be Boston's starting shortstop for the next two weeks after Jed Lowrie was placed on the disabled list with a shoulder injury.

- I was looking forward to see if David Phelps could make it as the Yankees' fifth starter, but the team instead went out and signed converted outfielder Brian Gordon. Gordon used a slider as his second pitch when he got a brief look with the Rangers three years ago, but he's come up with a pretty good curveball since. That and excellent command of a 90-mph fastball allowed him to thrive in Triple-A for the Phillies. I don't think it will be enough to allow him to survive as a starter in the American League, and I wouldn't recommend him as a fantasy pickup.

- While there's been some talk of Jorge Posada perhaps coming into a game as a catcher, manager Joe Girardi doesn't intend to give him any starts there during interleague play. That's too bad, because with the way Posada has heated up, he's back looking like a nice mixed-league catcher.

- Eduardo Nunez should maintain a little value in AL-only leagues until Derek Jeter returns from his calf strain at the end of the month.

- Figuring they'd just pick a stopgap with Jesse Litsch (shoulder) about ready to begin his rehab assignment, I was quite surprised to see the Jays go to Zach Stewart as the replacement for Kyle Drabek last week. Stewart wasn't having a whole lot of success as a Double-A repeater, having gone 4-3 with a 4.39 ERA in 12 starts. Of course, the only reason he was in Double-A is because the Jays didn't want to expose him to the harsh conditions at Triple-A Las Vegas. That's also why they never put Drabek in Triple-A last year.

Stewart, the top property to come over from the Reds in the Scott Rolen deal, has a nice fastball-slider combination, but he still hasn't picked up a quality changeup. He began his pro career as a reliever, and while he does have potential as a starter, I think he is going to end up back in the pen. He might be a long-term closer, though. The Jays have decided to go slow with Litsch, so it looks like Stewart will make at least three more starts before his place in the rotation is reexamined. He's worth having stashed away in AL-only leagues, though I would take Miller over him.

- Jon Rauch hadn't blown a save since May 20, but Frank Francisco was manager John Farrell's choice to close on both Wednesday and Friday and got the job done both times. It's frustrating for fantasy leaguers, but Farrell is smart to ride the hot hand given that he lacks a true stopper at the back of his pen. Rauch, who took a loss on Thursday after entering a tie game and giving up two singles and a fielder's choice, is a little off at the moment and he lost his gig as a result.

- It's only 16 at-bats over six games, but the Indians have yet to get any production out of Cord Phelps since calling him up to challenge Orlando Cabrera at second base. If Phelps doesn't pick it up this week, maybe they'll try Jason Kipnis instead. Kipnis is hitting .328 with three homers this month and .298/.370/.517 for Triple-A Columbus overall. He's also 10-for-10 stealing bases. Kipnis, a converted outfielder, does struggle some at second base and may be left in Triple-A all year as a result. His bat is very promising, though, and he could emerge as a top fantasy second baseman down the line if he's able to stick at the position.

- Travis Hafner (oblique) returned Friday, but he's only looking at three starts this week as the Indians go on the road to play in San Francisco over the weekend. He's not expected to see any time at first base at all, even with Matt LaPorta (ankle) shelved.

- It sounds like Carlos Santana will get plenty of playing time at first base in LaPorta's place, opening up at-bats for Lou Marson behind the plate. Travis Buck could play first base the rest of the time, giving him value in AL-only leagues.

- The Tigers got creative to start interleague play, sticking Alex Avila at third base in order to keep both of their catchers in the lineup. Avila made an error, but it didn't sound like that'd stop Jim Leyland from trying the alignment again. Brandon Inge (mono) is due back sometime this week, but he won't necessarily be a full-timer at third base.

- The Royals sat Eric Hosmer, playing Wilson Betemit instead, on Thursday in anticipation of starting him every game this weekend in St. Louis. Manager Ned Yost apparently has no intention of giving Billy Butler any time in the field during interleague play. Now Butler is no Gold Glover at first base, but he did start 269 games there between 2009 and '10, plus eight more at the beginning of this season. To commit to him as a full-time DH and rob the Royals of their best hitter nine times per year makes very little sense.

- It looks like both Bruce Chen (ribcage) and Kyle Davies (shoulder) will rejoin Kansas City's rotation this week. Barring a poor showing Sunday, Danny Duffy seems likely to stick, so expect Felipe Paulino to return to the pen and Vin Mazzaro to head back to Triple-A.

- There's not a whole lot left to say about Scott Kazmir. Releasing him was the right move for the Angels, and as off as his delivery is right now, there's no hope that he'll be of use to a major league team within the next month. Maybe some pitching coach will get him straightened out to the point at which he could be an adequate fifth starter down the stretch, but his upside is mostly gone.

- There's no one in the Minnesota system capable of replacing Danny Valencia, so the Twins will stand by him even though he's hitting just .216/.278/.339 for the season. Luke Hughes is the team's next best option at third base, but Valencia is still the better bet offensively and Hughes would be a downgrade defensively. It's highly unlikely that they'll attempt to trade for a third baseman.

- Joe Mauer and Tsuyoshi Nishioka are back, but the Twins are expected to be without Jason Kubel (foot), Denard Span (concussion) and Jim Thome (quad) for at least another week. Justin Morneau (wrist) is eligible to return Saturday, but it'd be a surprise if he makes it back then.

- Oakland's Mark Ellis (hamstring) will return from the DL when eligible on Wednesday, but he shouldn't have a starting job waiting for him. The A's appear better off with Jemile Weeks at second base right now, what with Weeks hitting .361 with three triples and just two strikeouts in 36 at-bats to date.

- If Weeks does stay, then it could well be Daric Barton who goes. The A's don't have anyone else they're likely to send down. Barton is hitting just .211/.326/.263 and has been losing playing time to Conor Jackson. Jackson hasn't been so good himself at .265/.349/.331, but he'd be the everyday first baseman if Barton goes. I think that's probably the right move for Oakland; send Barton down for a few weeks and then hopefully trade Ellis to make room for him to return sometime around the All-Star break.

- Josh Willingham is day-to-day after aggravating an Achilles' tendon injury Friday. Mixed leaguers using him should turn to an alternative this week.

- While we've seen Ackley and Mike Moustakas promoted this month, the Rays have kept Desmond Jennings in Triple-A. The 24-year-old is up to .283/.378/.465 in 254 at-bats for Durham, and he's stolen 12 bases in 13 attempts. Still, the Rays held off all May long, even though Sam Fuld was really stinking up the joint, and now they have Fuld and Justin Ruggiano splitting time in left. It doesn't look like Jennings' opportunity will come before the end of June.

- Jeff Niemann (back) will make his return to Tampa Bay's rotation Monday against the Brewers. I'm kind of nervous about that one, but since he'll have two starts this week, he needs to be activated in AL-only leagues.

- The Rangers could soon give either Scott Feldman (knee) or Tommy Hunter (groin) a chance in Derek Holland's rotation spot. Holland flashes big-time talent, but he remains too inconsistent at age 24. Wednesday's loss to the Yankees marked three times in his last eight starts that he's walked at least five, and it was the fifth time this season that he's allowed at least five runs. He has a fine 5-2 record anyway, but the Rangers are 7-7 in his starts. While I doubt Feldman would prove to be an upgrade, the Rangers might as well give him a couple of starts to see if he can recapture his 2009 magic. If he fails, then he can be sent to the pen and Hunter can take over.

 

[HacheMan]

Interleague DH issues come into play

Adjust lineups accordingly as teams gain, lose DH for long stretches



On tap: Week 12 is the first of two comprised almost entirely of interleague games; Philadelphia Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals (Tuesday-Thursday) and Atlanta Braves at San Diego Padres (Friday-Sunday) are the only two intraleague series. That means six-game weeks for all 30 squads, and the fact that 20 of those teams will play Monday-Wednesday and be off Thursday means there might be some rotation shuffling before those weekend series.

The impact of the designated hitter -- or lack of it -- is always a significant fantasy storyline during interleague play. These American League teams will lose their DH due to all six games being played at National League parks:


Los Angeles Angels (@FLA-3, @LAD-3): They'll face two left-handed starters, so Bobby Abreu should sit those days, but Abreu might start at any of the three outfield positions in 2-3 of the others. Still, that's a sit in shallow mixed leagues.
Minnesota Twins (@SF-3, @MIL-3): The primary impact here is that the Twins won't have the DH to protect the fresh-off-the-DL Joe Mauer.
Oakland Athletics (@NYM-3, @PHI-3): At least two of their games are against lefty starters, so Hideki Matsui will sit those. He's expected to make two starts in right field, despite having not appeared in the field in 2011. Certainly he should sit in all fantasy leagues, having batted .211/.289/.447 so far in June.
Seattle Mariners (@WAS-3, @FLA-3*): Jack Cust -- who, like Matsui, has yet to play in the field -- sits, and Mike Carp and the defensively challenged Carlos Peguero will duke it out for left-field at-bats. Keep moving, nothing to see here.
Tampa Bay Rays (@MIL-3, @HOU-3): Johnny Damon played two of three games in left field in the May 20-22 series at Florida, but the fact that the Rays face three lefties in six games means he might sit on those days. Consider benching him.
Toronto Blue Jays (@ATL-3, @STL-3): Adam Lind is the name you care about, and the Blue Jays face four righty and two lefty starters. It might be obvious: Adam Lind gets the four at first versus righties, Juan Rivera the other two.


Note: Due to a U2 concert in Miami, the weekend Marlins-Mariners series will actually be played at Seattle's Safeco Field, but with the Marlins the "home team" and the games played under NL rules.


These AL teams will lose the DH for only three games:

Baltimore Orioles (@PIT-3, Mon-Wed): Vladimir Guerrero has yet to play in the field in 2011, so unless he sneaks in some games there in Washington from June 10-12, count on him only pinch-hitting in this series. A .283/.327/.391 hitter so far in June, Guerrero should be benched in most leagues.
Boston Red Sox (@PIT-3, Fri-Sun): David Ortiz could play first base, except that's Adrian Gonzalez's position, and Gonzalez is more valuable all around. But even given three starts, Ortiz is useful in AL-only and deeper mixed leagues.
Cleveland Indians (@SF-3, Fri-Sun): It's possible Grady Sizemore might sit the two games against lefty starters, because he can't touch them (.114/.200/.286 rates against left-handers in 2011).
Detroit Tigers (@LAD-3, Mon-Wed): The Tigers are considering using Alex Avila at third base, so there might not be much to worry about here. If Avila does sit, it'll only be because of the two opposing lefty starters. Still, he hits lefties.
New York Yankees (@CIN, Mon-Wed): It's difficult to imagine Jorge Posada starting at first base ahead of Mark Teixeira, so expect him to only pinch-hit.


These National League teams will benefit from the addition of the DH in American League parks. Number of games in AL parks listed first in parentheses:


Arizona Diamondbacks (6 games, @KC-3, @DET-3): Finally, a way for both Juan Miranda and Xavier Nady to start. The Diamondbacks could, however, rotate regulars at DH to open up a space for Willie Bloomquist.
Chicago Cubs (6, @CHW-3, @KC-3): Alfonso Soriano can be eased back in slowly as a DH, but there's nothing of note among the players who should receive additional at-bats as a result (Blake DeWitt types).
Cincinnati Reds (3, @BAL-3): Instead of a three-man rotation between Jonny Gomes, Chris Heisey and Fred Lewis in left field, now it's a three-man rotation at both left field and DH.
Colorado Rockies (6, @CLE-3, @NYY-3): Maybe DH winds up Jason Giambi's gig, but the Rockies would be smart to promote the hot-hitting Ian Stewart to eat up these additional at-bats.
Houston Astros (3, @TEX-3): Jason Bourgeois, come on down! Carlos Lee is a natural DH, opening up three starts for Bourgeois in left field.
New York Mets (3, @TEX-3): Carlos Beltran, at this stage of his career, is a natural DH, so who does that open right field for? Lucas Duda? Jason Pridie?
Padres (3, @BOS-3): Brad Hawpe, a .273/.362/.512 career hitter during interleague play, is the obvious choice to DH.
Washington Nationals (3, @CHW-3): Matt Stairs was born to DH, but Ivan Rodriguez might get the Friday start against lefty John Danks.


Among other Week 12 storylines are two "reunions": Red Sox slugger Adrian Gonzalez faces his former team, the Padres, during their week-opening series at Fenway Park. Meanwhile, struggling Chicago White Sox DH Adam Dunn battles his ex-mates, the Nationals, during their weekend series at U.S. Cellular Field.


Reminder: For those of you in weekly-transactions leagues, first pitch of Week 12 is 7:05 p.m. ET on Monday. Here are this week's other scheduled first pitches by day: Tuesday 7:05 p.m. ET, Wednesday 12:35 p.m. ET, Thursday 1:05 p.m. ET, Friday 7:05 p.m. ET, Saturday 1:05 p.m. ET, Sunday 1:05 p.m. ET.


Quick click by section, if you're seeking advice in a specific area:
Projected starting pitchers | Pitching strategies
Team advantages | Hitting strategies
Weather report | Week 12 pitcher rankings


Projected starting pitchers




The chart below lists each of the 30 MLB teams' schedules and projected starting pitchers, and provides a matchup rating for each day's starter. Pitchers scheduled to start twice this week are in gray/beige boxes.


<STYLE type=text/css>.mod-inline td img {margin: 0px;}</STYLE>
<TABLE style="MARGIN: 0px; WIDTH: 100%"><THEAD><TR><TH style="WIDTH: 30px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Team</CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 14%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Mon
6/20</CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 14%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Tue
6/21</CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 14%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Wed
6/22</CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 14%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Thu
6/23</CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 14%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Fri
6/24</CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 14%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Sat
6/25</CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 14%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Sun
6/26</CENTER></TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@PIT
Arrieta
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@PIT
Guthrie
(RHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@PIT
Britton
(LHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CIN
Matusz
(LHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CIN
Jakubasks
(RHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CIN
Arrieta
(RHP)
P: 4</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>SD
Miller
(LHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>SD
Beckett
(RHP)
P: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>SD
Buchholz
(RHP)
P: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@PIT
Lackey
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@PIT
Lester
(LHP)
P: 9</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@PIT
Miller
(LHP)
P: 3</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CHC
Floyd
(RHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CHC
Buehrle
(LHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CHC
Jackson
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>WAS
Danks
(LHP)
P: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>WAS
Humber
(RHP)
P: 9</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>WAS
Floyd
(RHP)
P: 6</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>COL
Carmona
(RHP)
P: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>COL
Talbot
(RHP)
P: 2</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>COL
Tomlin
(RHP)
P: 2</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@SF
Carrasco
(RHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@SF
Masterson
(RHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@SF
Carmona
(RHP)
P: 3</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@LAD
Penny
(RHP)
P: 2</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@LAD
Scherzer
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@LAD
Porcello
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>ARI
Coke
(LHP)
P: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>ARI
Verlander
(RHP)
P: 9</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>ARI
Penny
(RHP)
P: 2</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>ARI
Hochevar
(RHP)
P: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>ARI
Francis
(LHP)
P: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>ARI
Paulino
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CHC
Mazzaro
(RHP)
P: 2</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CHC
Duffy
(LHP)
P: 3</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CHC
Hochevar
(RHP)
P: 4</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@FLA
Weaver
(RHP)
P: 10</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@FLA
Santana
(RHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@FLA
Pineiro
(RHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@LAD
Haren
(RHP)
P: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@LAD
Chatwood
(RHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@LAD
Weaver
(RHP)
P: 10</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@SF
Pavano
(RHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@SF
Blackburn
(RHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@SF
Duensing
(LHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@MIL
Baker
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@MIL
Liriano
(LHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@MIL
Pavano
(RHP)
P: 4</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CIN
Nova
(RHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CIN
Gordon
(RHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CIN
Garcia
(RHP)
P: 2</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>COL
Burnett
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>COL
Sabathia
(LHP)
P: 9</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>COL
Nova
(RHP)
P: 5</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@NYM
Outman
(LHP)
P: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@NYM
Gonzalez
(LHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@NYM
Godfrey
(RHP)
P: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@PHI
Moscoso
(RHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@PHI
Cahill
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@PHI
Outman
(LHP)
P: 7</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@WAS
Fister
(RHP)
P: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@WAS
Bedard
(LHP)
P: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@WAS
Pineda
(RHP)
P: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@FLA
Hernandez
(RHP)
P: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@FLA
Vargas
(LHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@FLA
Fister
(RHP)
P: 6</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@MIL
Niemann
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@MIL
Hellickson
(RHP)
P: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@MIL
Price
(LHP)
P: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@HOU
Davis
(RHP)
P: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@HOU
Shields
(RHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@HOU
Niemann
(RHP)
P: 5</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>HOU
Holland
(LHP)
P: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>HOU
Wilson
(LHP)
P: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>HOU
Lewis
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>NYM
Harrison
(LHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>NYM
Ogando
(RHP)
P: 10</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>NYM
Holland
(LHP)
P: 3</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@ATL
Romero
(LHP)
P: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@ATL
Stewart
(RHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@ATL
Reyes
(LHP)
P: 2</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@STL
Morrow
(RHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@STL
Villnueva
(RHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@STL
Romero
(LHP)
P: 6</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@KC
Saunders
(LHP)
P: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@KC
Kennedy
(RHP)
P: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@KC
Hudson
(RHP)
P: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@DET
Duke
(LHP)
P: 1</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@DET
Collmnter
(RHP)
P: 7</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@DET
Saunders
(LHP)
P: 2</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TOR
Hudson
(RHP)
P: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TOR
Minor
(LHP)
P: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TOR
Hanson
(RHP)
P: 10</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@SD
Lowe
(RHP)
P: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@SD
Jurrjens
(RHP)
P: 9</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@SD
Hudson
(RHP)
P: 10</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CHW
Zambrano
(RHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CHW
Garza
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CHW
Davis
(LHP)
P: 2</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@KC
Dempster
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@KC
Wells
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@KC
Zambrano
(RHP)
P: 6</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>NYY
Cueto
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>NYY
Wood
(LHP)
P: 2</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>NYY
Leake
(RHP)
P: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@BAL
Volquez
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@BAL
Arroyo
(RHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@BAL
Cueto
(RHP)
P: 6</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CLE
Nicasio
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CLE
Chacin
(RHP)
P: 10</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CLE
Hammel
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@NYY
Jimenez
(RHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@NYY
Cook
(RHP)
P: 3</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@NYY
Nicasio
(RHP)
P: 2</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>LAA
Sanchez
(RHP)
P: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>LAA
Vazquez
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>LAA
Hand
(LHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>SEA
Nolasco
(RHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>SEA
Volstad
(RHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>SEA
Sanchez
(RHP)
P: 8</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@TEX
Happ
(LHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@TEX
Lyles
(RHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@TEX
Myers
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TB
W.Rdrguez
(LHP)
P: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TB
Norris
(RHP)
P: 7</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TB
Happ
(LHP)
P: 7</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>DET
Kershaw
(LHP)
P: 10</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>DET
Billingsley
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>DET
Lilly
(LHP)
P: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>LAA
DeLaRosa
(RHP)
P: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>LAA
Kuroda
(RHP)
P: 9</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>LAA
Kershaw
(LHP)
P: 10</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TB
Narveson
(LHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TB
Greinke
(RHP)
P: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TB
Marcum
(RHP)
P: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>MIN
Wolf
(LHP)
P: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>MIN
Gallardo
(RHP)
P: 9</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>MIN
Narveson
(LHP)
P: 7</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>OAK
Gee
(RHP)
P: 10</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>OAK
Dickey
(RHP)
P: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>OAK
Capuano
(LHP)
P: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@TEX
Pelfrey
(RHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@TEX
Niese
(LHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@TEX
Gee
(RHP)
P: 8</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@STL
Halladay
(RHP)
P: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@STL
Lee
(LHP)
P: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@STL
Oswalt
(RHP)
P: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>OAK
Hamels
(LHP)
P: 10</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>OAK
TBD

P: 1</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>OAK
Halladay
(RHP)
P: 10</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>BAL
Morton
(RHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>BAL
McDonald
(RHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>BAL
Correia
(RHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>BOS
Maholm
(LHP)
P: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>BOS
Karstens
(RHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>BOS
Morton
(RHP)
P: 2</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>PHI
McClellan
(RHP)
P: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>PHI
Lohse
(RHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>PHI
Carpenter
(RHP)
P: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TOR
Westbrook
(RHP)
P: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TOR
Garcia
(LHP)
P: 8</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TOR
McClellan
(RHP)
P: 6</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@BOS
Latos
(RHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@BOS
LeBlanc
(LHP)
P: 1</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@BOS
Richard
(LHP)
P: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>ATL
Stauffer
(RHP)
P: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>ATL
Moseley
(RHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>ATL
Latos
(RHP)
P: 10</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>MIN
Bumgarner
(LHP)
P: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>MIN
Vogelsong
(RHP)
P: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>MIN
Lincecum
(RHP)
P: 10</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CLE
Sanchez
(LHP)
P: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CLE
Cain
(RHP)
P: 9</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CLE
Bumgarner
(LHP)
P: 8</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>SEA
Hernandez
(RHP)
P: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>SEA
Lannan
(LHP)
P: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>SEA
Marquis
(RHP)
P: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CHW
Zimmrmnn
(RHP)
P: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CHW
Gorzelanny
(LHP)
P: 3</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CHW
Hernandez
(RHP)
P: 3</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>P: The starting pitcher's matchup rating, which accounts for past history (three years' worth as well as past 21 days), opponent and ballpark. Ratings range from 1-10, with 10 representing the best possible matchup, statistically speaking, and 1 representing the worst.





Tristan's pitching strategies




• The Red Sox are probably happy they traded for Adrian Gonzalez, because that move depleted the opposing Padres' offense to the point that they have .231/.301/.335 team rates so far this season, which ranks them 29th, 29th and 30th in the majors. Advantage: Red Sox pitching, especially if you add in that the Pittsburgh Pirates, whom the Red Sox face during a weekend road series, don't rank much higher in those categories (.240/.312/.356). Andrew Miller is slated to make his Red Sox debut Monday, setting him up for a two-start week, and despite his 5.84 ERA and 1.74 WHIP during his five-year big league career, he's actually an AL-only sleeper accounting for those matchups. Consider this: Miller had a 22-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his past three starts for Triple-A Pawtucket, displaying a level of command he never showed in the majors (5.32 career walks per nine, 1.37 K's per walk). John Lackey, the only other Red Sox starter you'd question starting in fantasy, also warrants your attention during his start in Pittsburgh. He's 14-5 with a 2.96 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 29 career interleague games (28 starts).


• The Braves are the other team that benefits from facing the Padres, and they get a considerable pitching advantage in that their three-game series will be played at Petco Park. Opposing starters have 20 wins, 30 quality starts, a 2.36 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 8.05 K's-per-nine ratio in 40 turns at Petco this season, with the only one to allow more than four runs being Livan Hernandez (5 1/3 IP, 9 H, 6 ER on June 9). It's prime time for the three Braves starters assigned there -- Derek Lowe (Friday), Jair Jurrjens (Saturday) and Tim Hudson (Sunday) -- to buck their career trends at Petco; they have a 4.13 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in 14 games (13 starts) combined there. Mike Minor, the fill-in left-hander, is the one Braves starter who is a shaky fantasy play. He'll be matched up with the Blue Jays, who have the majors' leading OPS against lefties (.839); they're .292/.363/.475 hitters as a team against that side.


• Consider it good time for the Florida Marlins to be matched up with the Angels; the Angels are baseball's coldest team in June, averaging 2.54 runs per game with .227/.285/.308 team rates in 13 games, their .592 OPS dead last in the majors. Top that off with a three-game home series against the light-hitting Mariners and it's a "load-up" situation. Anibal Sanchez, a two-start pitcher who is 3-0 with a 3.18 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 9.93 K's-per-nine ratio in seven home starts this season, ranks among the most valuable individual choices for Week 12. Even Brad Hand and Javier Vazquez -- neither of whom has been consistently reliable -- are streaming considerations. The risky play: Ricky Nolasco, though a matchup with the Mariners is about the best bounce-back assignment a pitcher could get.


Also favorable: Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants
Also unfavorable: Mets, Padres, Yankees


For more insight into Week 12 pitching matchups, see my rankings for the top 75 starting pitchers, as well as every two-start pitcher, at column's end.



Team advantages




The chart below lists each of the 30 teams' total number of scheduled games, home games and games versus right- and left-handed pitchers, and provides a matchup rating for the week's games in terms of overall offense, offense for left- and right-handed hitters and base stealing. Matchup ratings for each individual game are listed under the corresponding date.


<STYLE type=text/css>.mod-inline td img {margin: 0px;}</STYLE>
<TABLE style="MARGIN: 0px; WIDTH: 100%"><THEAD><TR><TH style="WIDTH: 30px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Team</CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 12%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Games</CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 11%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Overall
Rating</CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 11%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Mon
6/20</CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 11%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Tue
6/21</CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 11%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Wed
6/22</CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 11%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Thu
6/23</CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 11%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Fri
6/24</CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 11%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Sat
6/25</CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 11%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Sun
6/26</CENTER></TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
3 home
0 vs. L
6 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 8
L: 8
R: 6
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@PIT
H: 8
L: 10
R: 3
S: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@PIT
H: 6
L: 6
R: 5
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@PIT
H: 5
L: 7
R: 4
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CIN
H: 6
L: 5
R: 8
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CIN
H: 7
L: 10
R: 2
S: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CIN
H: 5
L: 4
R: 7
S: 2</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
3 home
3 vs. L
3 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 7
L: 6
R: 6
S: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>SD
H: 3
L: 3
R: 3
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>SD
H: 9
L: 10
R: 7
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>SD
H: 6
L: 1
R: 7
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@PIT
H: 4
L: 1
R: 6
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@PIT
H: 6
L: 9
R: 3
S: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@PIT
H: 8
L: 10
R: 3
S: 7</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
6 home
2 vs. L
4 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 7
L: 8
R: 7
S: 2</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CHC
H: 5
L: 6
R: 3
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CHC
H: 5
L: 4
R: 6
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CHC
H: 8
L: 10
R: 8
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>WAS
H: 3
L: 5
R: 1
S: 2</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>WAS
H: 8
L: 6
R: 8
S: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>WAS
H: 8
L: 10
R: 6
S: 1</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
3 home
2 vs. L
4 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 3
L: 2
R: 5
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>COL
H: 6
L: 5
R: 7
S: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>COL
H: 1
L: 4
R: 1
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>COL
H: 6
L: 5
R: 7
S: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@SF
H: 3
L: 1
R: 4
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@SF
H: 2
L: 1
R: 3
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@SF
H: 3
L: 1
R: 6
S: 5</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
3 home
4 vs. L
2 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 5
L: 5
R: 6
S: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@LAD
H: 1
L: 1
R: 1
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@LAD
H: 5
L: 6
R: 5
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@LAD
H: 3
L: 6
R: 2
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>ARI
H: 9
L: 7
R: 10
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>ARI
H: 3
L: 5
R: 1
S: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>ARI
H: 8
L: 4
R: 10
S: 5</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
6 home
1 vs. L
5 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 6
L: 5
R: 5
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>ARI
H: 8
L: 4
R: 10
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>ARI
H: 3
L: 3
R: 4
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>ARI
H: 3
L: 4
R: 3
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CHC
H: 5
L: 8
R: 3
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CHC
H: 5
L: 6
R: 5
S: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CHC
H: 4
L: 6
R: 3
S: 6</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
0 home
2 vs. L
4 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 4
L: 5
R: 3
S: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@FLA
H: 4
L: 4
R: 4
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@FLA
H: 7
L: 10
R: 3
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@FLA
H: 5
L: 7
R: 5
S: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@LAD
H: 5
L: 4
R: 6
S: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@LAD
H: 3
L: 4
R: 1
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@LAD
H: 1
L: 1
R: 1
S: 4</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
0 home
3 vs. L
3 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 2
L: 1
R: 5
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@SF
H: 3
L: 1
R: 6
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@SF
H: 3
L: 1
R: 5
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@SF
H: 1
L: 2
R: 1
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@MIL
H: 4
L: 1
R: 5
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@MIL
H: 3
L: 3
R: 3
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@MIL
H: 6
L: 4
R: 6
S: 6</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
3 home
1 vs. L
5 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 7
L: 7
R: 7
S: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CIN
H: 5
L: 3
R: 6
S: 2</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CIN
H: 8
L: 8
R: 8
S: 1</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CIN
H: 7
L: 9
R: 5
S: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>COL
H: 2
L: 3
R: 2
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>COL
H: 7
L: 10
R: 3
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>COL
H: 7
L: 6
R: 8
S: 7</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
0 home
2 vs. L
3 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 1
L: 3
R: 2
S: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@NYM
H: 1
L: 1
R: 3
S: 1</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@NYM
H: 4
L: 5
R: 3
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@NYM
H: 4
L: 2
R: 5
S: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@PHI
H: 2
L: 4
R: 1
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@PHI
H: 6
L: 6
R: 6
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@PHI
H: 2
L: 3
R: 1
S: 5</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
0 home
1 vs. L
5 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 7
L: 8
R: 5
S: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@WAS
H: 7
L: 9
R: 5
S: 1</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@WAS
H: 5
L: 7
R: 4
S: 2</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@WAS
H: 6
L: 6
R: 5
S: 2</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@FLA
H: 6
L: 8
R: 5
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@FLA
H: 9
L: 10
R: 5
S: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@FLA
H: 4
L: 4
R: 4
S: 6</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
0 home
3 vs. L
3 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 3
L: 4
R: 3
S: 10</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@MIL
H: 6
L: 4
R: 6
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@MIL
H: 3
L: 7
R: 1
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@MIL
H: 2
L: 1
R: 3
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@HOU
H: 4
L: 1
R: 5
S: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@HOU
H: 5
L: 8
R: 1
S: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@HOU
H: 4
L: 2
R: 5
S: 8</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
6 home
2 vs. L
4 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 5
L: 4
R: 7
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>HOU
H: 5
L: 2
R: 6
S: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>HOU
H: 7
L: 5
R: 8
S: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>HOU
H: 6
L: 7
R: 5
S: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>NYM
H: 6
L: 7
R: 4
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>NYM
H: 5
L: 3
R: 6
S: 2</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>NYM
H: 1
L: 1
R: 4
S: 1</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
0 home
2 vs. L
4 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 3
L: 4
R: 5
S: 2</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@ATL
H: 2
L: 5
R: 1
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@ATL
H: 8
L: 9
R: 8
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@ATL
H: 1
L: 1
R: 1
S: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@STL
H: 6
L: 6
R: 7
S: 1</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@STL
H: 2
L: 1
R: 3
S: 1</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@STL
H: 5
L: 2
R: 6
S: 1</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
0 home
2 vs. L
4 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 7
L: 7
R: 6
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@KC
H: 8
L: 10
R: 4
S: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@KC
H: 8
L: 7
R: 8
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@KC
H: 6
L: 10
R: 3
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@DET
H: 3
L: 1
R: 5
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@DET
H: 1
L: 1
R: 1
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@DET
H: 9
L: 8
R: 10
S: 6</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
3 home
2 vs. L
4 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 5
L: 6
R: 5
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TOR
H: 4
L: 9
R: 2
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TOR
H: 7
L: 7
R: 7
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TOR
H: 10
L: 5
R: 10
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@SD
H: 2
L: 3
R: 1
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@SD
H: 6
L: 6
R: 5
S: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@SD
H: 1
L: 1
R: 1
S: 6</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
0 home
2 vs. L
4 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 10
L: 10
R: 9
S: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CHW
H: 5
L: 6
R: 4
S: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CHW
H: 6
L: 8
R: 5
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CHW
H: 7
L: 7
R: 7
S: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@KC
H: 10
L: 10
R: 7
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@KC
H: 9
L: 9
R: 10
S: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@KC
H: 8
L: 10
R: 4
S: 7</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
3 home
1 vs. L
5 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 9
L: 8
R: 10
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>NYY
H: 7
L: 5
R: 8
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>NYY
H: 7
L: 7
R: 7
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>NYY
H: 9
L: 10
R: 8
S: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@BAL
H: 7
L: 4
R: 7
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@BAL
H: 7
L: 8
R: 5
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@BAL
H: 7
L: 10
R: 3
S: 6</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
0 home
1 vs. L
5 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 8
L: 8
R: 9
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CLE
H: 8
L: 10
R: 6
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CLE
H: 10
L: 10
R: 8
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CLE
H: 9
L: 10
R: 7
S: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@NYY
H: 6
L: 5
R: 7
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@NYY
H: 1
L: 1
R: 1
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@NYY
H: 6
L: 5
R: 8
S: 5</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
6 home
1 vs. L
5 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 4
L: 5
R: 2
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>LAA
H: 1
L: 2
R: 1
S: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>LAA
H: 7
L: 10
R: 4
S: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>LAA
H: 7
L: 9
R: 5
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>SEA
H: 1
L: 2
R: 1
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>SEA
H: 5
L: 2
R: 6
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>SEA
H: 5
L: 8
R: 1
S: 3</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
3 home
2 vs. L
4 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 8
L: 6
R: 8
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@TEX
H: 9
L: 2
R: 10
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@TEX
H: 2
L: 1
R: 3
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@TEX
H: 7
L: 10
R: 1
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TB
H: 9
L: 7
R: 10
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TB
H: 7
L: 8
R: 6
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TB
H: 6
L: 7
R: 5
S: 8</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
6 home
0 vs. L
6 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 6
L: 6
R: 5
S: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>DET
H: 9
L: 8
R: 10
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>DET
H: 6
L: 7
R: 4
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>DET
H: 5
L: 7
R: 4
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>LAA
H: 3
L: 5
R: 2
S: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>LAA
H: 7
L: 8
R: 5
S: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>LAA
H: 1
L: 1
R: 1
S: 8</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
6 home
2 vs. L
4 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 3
L: 3
R: 5
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TB
H: 6
L: 7
R: 4
S: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TB
H: 3
L: 2
R: 4
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TB
H: 2
L: 1
R: 3
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>MIN
H: 5
L: 5
R: 4
S: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>MIN
H: 4
L: 1
R: 6
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>MIN
H: 6
L: 7
R: 5
S: 6</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
3 home
4 vs. L
2 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 6
L: 4
R: 9
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>OAK
H: 3
L: 1
R: 5
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>OAK
H: 5
L: 3
R: 5
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>OAK
H: 8
L: 6
R: 8
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@TEX
H: 8
L: 10
R: 7
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@TEX
H: 1
L: 3
R: 1
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@TEX
H: 9
L: 2
R: 10
S: 5</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
3 home
1 vs. L
5 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 5
L: 5
R: 7
S: 1</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@STL
H: 5
L: 2
R: 6
S: 1</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@STL
H: 8
L: 7
R: 8
S: 1</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@STL
H: 1
L: 1
R: 3
S: 1</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>OAK
H: 7
L: 10
R: 5
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>OAK
H: 6
L: 7
R: 4
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>OAK
H: 4
L: 1
R: 6
S: 4</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
6 home
3 vs. L
3 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 7
L: 7
R: 8
S: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>BAL
H: 6
L: 10
R: 2
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>BAL
H: 6
L: 8
R: 4
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>BAL
H: 6
L: 1
R: 8
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>BOS
H: 7
L: 7
R: 7
S: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>BOS
H: 2
L: 1
R: 3
S: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>BOS
H: 9
L: 10
R: 9
S: 10</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
6 home
2 vs. L
4 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 1
L: 4
R: 1
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>PHI
H: 1
L: 2
R: 1
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>PHI
H: 1
L: 1
R: 1
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>PHI
H: 2
L: 2
R: 2
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TOR
H: 6
L: 8
R: 2
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TOR
H: 4
L: 2
R: 6
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>TOR
H: 4
L: 9
R: 2
S: 5</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
3 home
1 vs. L
5 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 3
L: 6
R: 2
S: 10</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@BOS
H: 10
L: 10
R: 9
S: 10</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@BOS
H: 3
L: 4
R: 1
S: 9</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@BOS
H: 3
L: 6
R: 1
S: 8</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>ATL
H: 4
L: 3
R: 4
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>ATL
H: 2
L: 6
R: 1
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>ATL
H: 1
L: 5
R: 1
S: 5</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
6 home
1 vs. L
5 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 8
L: 8
R: 7
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>MIN
H: 6
L: 7
R: 5
S: 6</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>MIN
H: 8
L: 9
R: 6
S: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>MIN
H: 5
L: 1
R: 9
S: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CLE
H: 5
L: 6
R: 5
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CLE
H: 5
L: 8
R: 2
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>CLE
H: 9
L: 10
R: 6
S: 6</TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>

</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 total
3 home
2 vs. L
4 vs. R</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #f8f8f2; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>H: 3
L: 4
R: 3
S: 5</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>SEA
H: 5
L: 8
R: 1
S: 3</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>SEA
H: 2
L: 1
R: 2
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>SEA
H: 4
L: 2
R: 6
S: 4</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CHW
H: 5
L: 6
R: 4
S: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CHW
H: 3
L: 3
R: 3
S: 7</TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=middle>@CHW
H: 5
L: 6
R: 4
S: 8</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Some of the data used to generate this chart is derived from Baseball Musings' Day-by-day database.

H: Hitters' matchup rating, which accounts for the opposing starting pitcher's past history (three years' worth as well as past 21 days) as well as ballpark factors. L: Hitters' matchup rating accounting only for left-handed hitters. R: Hitters' matchup rating accounting for only right-handed hitters. S: Base stealing matchup rating, which accounts for the opponent's catchers' ability to gun down opposing base stealers. Ratings range from 1-10, with 10 representing the best possible matchup, statistically speaking, and 1 representing the worst.





Tristan's hitting strategies




• A quick look at the team OPS leaders in the month of June reveals some familiar names: The Red Sox (1st, .870), Yankees (2nd, .852), Rockies (6th, .763), Brewers (7th, .759) … but did you know that the Orioles currently rank eighth (.750)? That's largely due to the hot hitting of left-side infielders J.J. Hardy (.404/.462/.723 in 12 games) and Mark Reynolds (.243/.378/.703, 5 HR, 11 RBI in 12 games), but familiar fantasy names like Adam Jones, Luke Scott and Matt Wieters have also been productive so far in the month. The Orioles face nothing but right-handed starters, two of them with historically extreme platoon splits (Charlie Morton on Monday, Bronson Arroyo on Saturday), so look to the left-handers wherever you can: Nick Markakis, Scott and Wieters. But use any of the aforementioned righties as well.


• The Reds get a bit of favorable scheduling this week, facing the soft sides of both the Yankees' and Orioles' rotations; they'll battle both opponents' No. 5 starters (Brian Gordon, Chris Jakubauskas). All due respect to Yankees fill-in Gordon, who pitched well in his June 16 start, but he still allowed 12 baserunners in his 5 1/3 innings, which isn't going to fly most times out. Total the Reds' six scheduled opposing starters and they've got a 4.30 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 1.53 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2011, mediocre numbers in this year's pitching-rich game. Both of their catchers continue to hit despite splitting the starts almost evenly: Ryan Hanigan is a .333/.455/.333 hitter in 11 games in June, Ramon Hernandez a .333/.480/.389 hitter in six games in the month. And in Hernandez's case, he's a .318/.385/.564 hitter against right-handers, significant in that the Reds are scheduled to face five righty starters. In two-catcher leagues, both are worth considering.


• Avoid Cardinals hitters if you can, with the obvious exception of Albert Pujols. Pujols is a .308/.419/.788 hitter in the month of June; the rest of the team has .213/.271/.339 rates combined in 14 games. The healthy return of Matt Holliday helps, but this is a week when the Cardinals will face Phillies aces Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt, not to mention two talented Blue Jays in Brandon Morrow (Friday) and Ricky Romero (Sunday). Pujols and Holliday are musts -- that's regardless of matchup in any given week -- and Lance Berkman (6 HR, 12 RBIs in 12 games in June) is worth using in all but the shallowest leagues, but outside of those three, there isn't much here worth activating this week.


Also favorable: Cubs, Giants, Red Sox, White Sox
Also unfavorable: Blue Jays, Nationals, Twins



Weather report




Weatherproof games: Rays at Astros (3, Fri-Sun); Rays at Brewers (3, Mon-Wed); Twins at Brewers (3, Fri-Sun); Mariners at Marlins (3, Fri-Sun).



Tristan's Week 12 pitcher rankings: Top 75




Rankings take into account several factors: the pitcher's raw talent, historical and recent performance; number of starts; strength of opponent(s); and ballpark factors. Be aware that different leagues might emphasize different pitching statistics that could change these rankings slightly. These are based upon a fairly standard Rotisserie scoring system, like ESPN's.


1. Roy Halladay (PHI) -- Tue-@STL (McClellan), Sun-OAK (Outman)
2. Jered Weaver (LAA) -- Mon-@FLA (Sanchez), Sun-@LAD (Kershaw)
3. Clayton Kershaw (LAD) -- Mon-DET (Penny), Sun-LAA (Weaver)
4. Anibal Sanchez (FLA) -- Mon-LAA (Weaver), Sun-SEA (Fister)
5. Justin Verlander (DET) -- Sat-ARI (Collmenter)
6. Cole Hamels (PHI) -- Fri-OAK (Moscoso)
7. Cliff Lee (PHI) -- Wed-@STL (Lohse)
8. Josh Beckett (BOS) -- Tue-SD (LeBlanc)
9. Felix Hernandez (SEA) -- Fri-@FLA (Nolasco)
10. Jhoulys Chacin (COL) -- Tue-@CLE (Talbot)
11. CC Sabathia (NYY) -- Sat-COL (Cook)
12. Matt Cain (SF) -- Sat-CLE (Masterson)
13. Jon Lester (BOS) -- Sat-@PIT (Karstens)
14. Madison Bumgarner (SF) -- Tue-MIN (Pavano), Sun-CLE (Carmona)
15. Tim Lincecum (SF) -- Thu-MIN (Duensing)
16. Mat Latos (SD) -- Mon-@BOS (Miller), Sun-ATL (Hudson)
17. Shaun Marcum (MIL) -- Wed-TB (Price)
18. Tim Hudson (ATL) -- Mon-TOR (Romero), Sun-@SD (Latos)
19. C.J. Wilson (TEX) -- Tue-HOU (Lyles)
20. Ricky Romero (TOR) -- Mon-@ATL (Hudson), Sun-@STL (McClellan)
21. Tommy Hanson (ATL) -- Wed-TOR (Reyes)
22. Yovani Gallardo (MIL) -- Sat-MIN (Liriano)
23. Johnny Cueto (CIN) -- Mon-NYY (Nova), Sun-@BAL (Arrieta)
24. Erik Bedard (SEA) -- Wed-@WAS (Lannan)
25. Zack Greinke (MIL) -- Tue-TB (Hellickson)
26. Jair Jurrjens (ATL) -- Sat-@SD (Moseley)
27. David Price (TB) -- Wed-@MIL (Marcum)
28. Jaime Garcia (STL) -- Sat-TOR (Villanueva)
29. Clay Buchholz (BOS) -- Wed-SD (Richard)
30. Ryan Vogelsong (SF) -- Wed-MIN (Blackburn)
31. Chris Carpenter (STL) -- Thu-PHI (Oswalt)
32. Alexi Ogando (TEX) -- Sat-NYM (Niese)
33. Tim Stauffer (SD) -- Fri-ATL (Lowe)
34. Gavin Floyd (CHW) -- Mon-CHC (Zambrano), Sun-WAS (Hernandez)
35. Dan Haren (LAA) -- Fri-@LAD (De La Rosa)
36. Daniel Hudson (ARI) -- Thu-@KC (Paulino)
37. Jordan Zimmermann (WAS) -- Fri-@CHW (Danks)
38. Ian Kennedy (ARI) -- Wed-@KC (Francis)
39. Jonathan Sanchez (SF) -- Fri-CLE (Carrasco)
40. Roy Oswalt (PHI) -- Thu-@STL (Carpenter)
41. Carlos Zambrano (CHC) -- Mon-@CHW (Floyd), Sun-@KC (Hochevar)
42. John Danks (CHW) -- Fri-WAS (Zimmermann)
43. Philip Humber (CHW) -- Sat-WAS (Gorzelanny)
44. Jeremy Hellickson (TB) -- Tue-@MIL (Greinke)
45. Francisco Liriano (MIN) -- Sat-@MIL (Gallardo)
46. Ted Lilly (LAD) -- Wed-DET (Porcello)
47. Michael Pineda (SEA) -- Thu-@WAS (Marquis)
48. Dillon Gee (NYM) -- Tue-OAK (Outman), Sun-@TEX (Holland)
49. Bud Norris (HOU) -- Sat-TB (Shields)
50. Derek Lowe (ATL) -- Fri-@SD (Stauffer)
51. Hiroki Kuroda (LAD) -- Sat-LAA (Chatwood)
52. Randy Wolf (MIL) -- Fri-MIN (Baker)
53. Wandy Rodriguez (HOU) -- Fri-TB (Davis)
54. Doug Fister (SEA) -- Tue-@WAS (Hernandez), Sun-@FLA (Sanchez)
55. Ubaldo Jimenez (COL) -- Fri-@NYY (Burnett)
56. Scott Baker (MIN) -- Fri-@MIL (Wolf)
57. Gio Gonzalez (OAK) -- Wed-@NYM (Dickey)
58. Jake Arrieta (BAL) -- Mon-@PIT (Morton), Sun-CIN (Cueto)
59. Jason Vargas (SEA) -- Sat-@FLA (Volstad)
60. Carlos Carrasco (CLE) -- Fri-@SF (Sanchez)
61. Chris Narveson (MIL) -- Mon-TB (Niemann), Sun-MIN (Pavano)
62. Max Scherzer (DET) -- Tue-@LAD (Billingsley)
63. Matt Garza (CHC) -- Tue-@CHW (Buehrle)
64. James Shields (TB) -- Sat-@HOU (Norris)
65. Ryan Dempster (CHC) -- Fri-@KC (Mazzaro)
66. Carl Pavano (MIN) -- Tue-@SF (Bumgarner), Sun-@MIL (Narveson)
67. Chris Capuano (NYM) -- Thu-OAK (Godfrey)
68. Justin Masterson (CLE) -- Sat-@SF (Cain)
69. Zach Britton (BAL) -- Wed-@PIT (Correia)
70. Ricky Nolasco (FLA) -- Fri-SEA (Hernandez)
71. R.A. Dickey (NYM) -- Wed-OAK (Gonzalez)
72. Edinson Volquez (CIN) -- Fri-@BAL (Matusz)
73. Trevor Cahill (OAK) -- Sat-@PHI (TBD)
74. A.J. Burnett (NYY) -- Fri-COL (Jimenez)
75. Chad Billingsley (LAD) -- Tue-DET (Scherzer)



Two-start options for AL-/NL-only leagues:
J.A. Happ (HOU) -- Mon-@TEX (Holland), Sun-TB (Niemann)
Livan Hernandez (WAS) -- Tue-SEA (Fister), Sun-@CHW (Floyd)
Derek Holland (TEX) -- Mon-HOU (Happ), Sun-NYM (Gee)
Kyle McClellan (STL) -- Tue-PHI (Halladay), Sun-TOR (Romero)
Andrew Miller (BOS) -- Mon-SD (Latos), Sun-@PIT (Morton)
Jeff Niemann (TB) -- Mon-@MIL (Narveson), Sun-@HOU (Happ)
Josh Outman (OAK) -- Tue-@NYM (Gee), Sun-@PHI (Halladay)



No-thank-yous, among two-starts:
Fausto Carmona (CLE) -- Mon-COL (Nicasio), Sun-@SF (Bumgarner)
Luke Hochevar (KC) -- Tue-ARI (Saunders), Sun-CHC (Zambrano)
Charlie Morton (PIT) -- Mon-BAL (Arrieta), Sun-BOS (Miller)
Juan Nicasio (COL) -- Mon-@CLE (Carmona), Sun-@NYY (Nova)
Ivan Nova (NYY) -- Mon-@CIN (Cueto), Sun-COL (Nicasio)
Brad Penny (DET) -- Mon-@LAD (Kershaw), Sun-ARI (Saunders)
Joe Saunders (ARI) -- Tue-@KC (Hochevar), Sun-@DET (Penny)



One-start sleepers:
Mark Buehrle (CHW) -- Tue-CHC (Garza)
Kevin Correia (PIT) -- Wed-BAL (Britton)
Jeremy Guthrie (BAL) -- Tue-@PIT (McDonald)
Jason Hammel (COL) -- Wed-@CLE (Tomlin)
Matt Harrison (TEX) -- Fri-NYM (Pelfrey)
John Lackey (BOS) -- Fri-@PIT (Maholm)
John Lannan (WAS) -- Wed-SEA (Bedard
Randy Wells (CHC) -- Sat-@KC (Duffy)

 

[HacheMan]

Examining the M's: Ichiro is heating up

Eric Karabell


I readily admit that at this time a week ago I looked closely at the sagging statistics being provided by Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and wondered if the end was near. The great Ichiro, about as sure a thing as there has been for batting average reliability in the real and fantasy world over the past decade, was hitting .248, scoring fewer runs than even last season, not making all the plays in right field and being ripped by the local media. It sure looked like something was awry for the 37-year-old hit machine.

I own Ichiro in two leagues, one in which I have batting average and stolen bases pretty much figured out - thank you, Matt Kemp! - and had a trade offer for a pitcher I needed. I still declined the offer. Today, five consecutive multi-hit games and 21 batting average points later, with four stolen bases along the way, I'm pleased. You might be thinking, so what, I should have traded from excess anyway. But I view it as now I can get a better pitcher in a trade, or keep Ichiro and move someone else.


Suzuki was outside the top 50 outfielders on the ESPN Player Rater just one week ago, and because of his age, people simply assumed he was done. I even entertained the thought. Now he's 32nd on the Player Rater among outfielders, back on pace for 178 hits, 82 runs and 42 stolen bases. It does feel good to have the old Ichiro back.
It's not wise to bet against Ichiro. Perhaps the occasional day off is all he needs. Or maybe he just needs a bit more luck. For years, Ichiro's batting average on balls in play has defied logic. His career BABIP is over .350, a good 50-plus points above league average. This year it's .290. That doesn't mean it will go way up, and some of the many ground balls he's hitting -- he's hitting a higher percentage of them compared to past seasons -- will find their way to the outfield. But I wouldn't bet against it, either. I think he can still be a top-20 outfielder this season.
The Mariners are a terrific story, entering the weekend a half game out of first place in the AL West. A few days ago on the Baseball Today podcast, I compared these AL West contenders to last season's San Diego Padres, another upstart team that can't score runs but have the requisite pitching and defense to avoid losing streaks. I compared Michael Pineda to the Padres' Mat Latos. Pineda actually ranks the highest among all Mariners on the Player Rater, even above the great Felix Hernandez. The rookie struggled in his last outing, his first bogey of the season really, and he hasn't won in nearly a month, but I expect he'll pitch well at home against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night. Fantasy owners worry about a pending innings limit, and the Mariners acknowledge the right-hander will be treated carefully in the final month or two. I see this situation as similar to Latos in 2010; the Padres wanted to ease his workload, but they were in first place. They couldn't. So they kept him pitching, and Latos struggled in September. Perhaps Pineda will run out of gas, but I won't sell high in June for that reason. Just have depth in September.
Meanwhile, Erik Bedard is showing no signs of injury. He's been terrific, allowing only 11 earned runs in his past nine outings, going 4-0 with a 1.70 ERA and sub-1.00 WHIP. By July 4 he should make his 16th start, which would be his most since 2007! I know plenty of skeptics in the fantasy world that presume an injury is coming, but I'm thinking positively about him. And this guy always seems to pitch well when he's pitching. Finally, I own the underrated Jason Vargas and Doug Fister on numerous teams, colleague Tristan H. Cockcroft sings the praises of the rotation's depth on a regular basis and closer Brandon League leads the AL in saves.
Friday night will feature the debut of highly touted hitting prospect Dustin Ackley. He'll play second base and should hit second in the order, and while I'll stop a bit short of comparing his potential for the final three months to what the Florida Marlins' Chris Coghlan did in 2009 -- he led the majors in hits in the second half -- I do see similarities. They're lefty hitters with, at least for Coghlan at the time, a firm grasp of the strike zone. Coghlan just hasn't been the same since. Ackley is no lock to succeed, but I think he will be a top-15 second baseman the rest of the way, capable of hitting .300 with double-digit steals, justifying his place on the most-added list (his ownership is up 17.7 percent in the past week). The rest of the offense isn't great, but first baseman Justin Smoak leads the team in home runs and RBIs, and did so in May with four and 14, respectively, though he also hit .229 that month. I don't think he's officially Carlos Pena yet, but be aware if you own him, you might need an Ichiro-like player to balance his batting average. Smoak should hit 25 home runs, though. Left field has been a black hole this season, but Carlos Peguero has three home runs and 10 runs scored this month, and Mike Carp and Greg Halman interest me a tad for AL-only formats. Perhaps one of these guys will seize the job. Catcher Miguel Olivo ranks sixth on the Player Rater for the season at his position, buoyed by his 10 home runs. Hey, don't hate on the Mariners. It's not all as sad as what has happened to Chone Figgins.

 

[HacheMan]

King of Birds has Wounded Wing
We are just one more start at third base away from a new fantasy superstar: Albert Pujols, third baseman. With four games started at the position, he's now only one start away from that eligibility to his considerable portfolio in many leagues.

But, as always, were just one wrong move away from losing Albert Pujols, first baseman, from all leagues. A Sunday collision with Wilson Betemit while stretching for a throw left Pujols with a strained wrist that was visibly swelling after the game. Tests said that it wasn't anything worse, but his owners should be prepared to be without their stud corner infielder for a few days at least.

Pujols' news wasn't the only injury situation worth monitoring over the weekend, though. Not even on his own team. Lance Berkman missed Sunday because of a barking back and leg, which will happen when you move from first base to the outfield at his age. Joe Mauer returned from the DL and collected a hit and a walk in twelve plate appearances over the weekend. Just playing daily is an awesome sight for his owners. Carl Crawford went the other way, as he's now on the 15-day DL with his strained hamstring. It might only be for the minimum. Alex Rodriguez has been struggling recently, and might have a left shoulder injury of some sort to blame. He's getting older.

A little further down the list of stars, there were still some notable injury snippets. John Danks was hit in the head by a Stephen Drew line drive Saturday in the middle of a good start against a weak offense (that's three in a row now) but a CT scan came back negative and he should make his next start (a good one against the Nationals). Hunter Pence hurt his elbow, but it was only a simple sprain as well. In both of these cases, a sprain is a tear, but a minor one and this shouldn't lead to extended absences from either. Mike Stanton is out with an eye infection. The Florida outfield will look pretty wonky in the short-term, as Chris Coghlan informed his team of an ongoing issue with his knee and is headed to the DL.

* A few young players provided some interesting play over the weekend and deserve mention. Jemile Weeks collected three hits and a stolen base against the Giants Sunday and is making his case to keep the second base job even when Mark Ellis returns. Freddie Freeman has two home runs in the past two weeks and had one stolen by Nelson Cruz on Sunday. It's okay, the first baseman collected three hits anyway. Now that he's making adjustments and learning the majors, he looks like he could at least be a utility bat in most leagues. Danny Espinosa has bettered his plate discipline and is no longer striking out in a third of his at-bats. He's been hot of late, too, as his Sunday home run was his third home run in his last eight games. But his batted ball mix lacks the line drives that it needs in order to produce a decent batting average. If you can handle the poor average, his power and speed on the infield are useful.

* Justin Verlander headlined the excellent pitching over the weekend. His second complete game in a row just highlights how ridiculously good he is right now. It was just the Giants, but Trevor Cahill reminded us that he has the upside to combine strikeouts and groundballs galore when he held San Francisco to one run in eight innings with seven strikeouts and one walk. James Shields took advantage of an NL lineup by striking out ten in a shutout against the Marlins, and he's been excellent this year. Jair Jurrjens held the Rangers offense to one run in 5 1/3 innings and barely outdueled Alexi Ogando (one run, three strikeouts in five innings). Both guys are average groundball guys with average-ish strikeout punch and strong control. It's a package that can work, but they could also hit a little regression in the coming months. Francisco Liriano has pitched three times since he eschewed the pitch-to-contact approach his team was recommending. In those three games, he's struck out 24 batters in 20 innings. He's looking good again, even if allowing three runs to the Padres at home isn't a great effort. Wandy Rodriguez pitched six scoreless innings with six strikeouts and one walk Saturday. Even though it was only the Dodgers, he's an every-starter again. Scott Baker's eight shutout innings with ten strikeouts seem to suggest that he can maintain his new, nicer strikeout rate. Tim Stauffer only gave up one run against the Twins, and did it by not walking anybody and keeping the ball on the ground. He can keep doing that. Jason Vargas here? Yes, he threw his second shutout of the season by striking out six and only walking two Phillies. He's at least a spot-start when home and pitching against NL lineups. Bud Norris threw a ton of pitches (99) in six one-hit shutout innings against the Dodgers. With his strikeout rate, he's ownable in most leagues, but his control isn't always as nice.

* Sometimes the more marginal pitching performances are more important, though. Brandon Morrow's control problems have him on some wires, but with strikeout upside like he owns, he should be owned in most leagues. Just look at what he can do when he has his control, like he did Saturday when he pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings with six strikeouts and one walk against the Reds. Philip Humber continued his good work with two runs, five strikeouts and one walk in 7 2/3 innings in Arizona. He's been good, and has great control this year. He's also getting very lucky on balls in play and is more serviceable than exciting. Daniel Duffy hasn't been great so far, but he struck out nine Cardinals in 3 2/3 innings before a calf cramp felled him Sunday. That's the kind of upside that makes him worth owning in all keeper leagues and most deeper leagues. Dustin Moseley held the Twins to one run, but that's a poor lineup and he allowed Alexi Casilla his first home run of the season. He usually gets groundballs, but Sunday more of his contact was in the air. He doesn't strike people out (three in six innings against the Twins), but as long as he's limiting the walks he's a decent spot-start. Chris Volstad is striking batters out more, walking them less, and getting a decent amount of groundballs. Just about every fly ball is turning into a home run, and once they stop doing that, he'll have more games like Sunday's one-run four-strikeout seven-inning performance against the Rays. Still, he's more of a deep-leaguer because of muted upside. Rubby De La Rosa gave up five runs in 4 2/3 innings Saturday, but he's still striking people out. He'll need a little time to iron out the control to really get to that ceiling.

Some of the marginal guys are just not worth owning in most leagues. Josh Collmenter gave up three earned in seven innings against the White Sox and has been showing great control. The problem is that his fastball doesn't crack 88 and most of his strikeout upside comes from his funky delivery. He's a very risky add in any league. Carlos Villanueva has enjoyed Toronto, but going up against an NL lineup was especially tasty for the former Brewer. He only gave up two runs to the Reds, but he also only struck out three in seven innings. His control suggests that he could be passable all year, but he's been lucky on batted balls of all types and is a shaky bet to keep it up. Aaron Cook is available on most wires, but for good reason. He doesn't strike batters out and his walk rate the last couple of years hasn't been good enough. Then again, even if he controls the walks like he did Sunday (two in six innings) and gets his groundballs (11 to five), you can't expect much better results than he got (four strikeouts, four earned). He's mostly a pass. Tyler Chatwood held the Mets scoreless for seven innings, but he only struck out four and walked four, and gave up just as many fly balls as ground balls. Long-term, he has some ground-ball upside, but he's not a real sleeper and isn't a great prospect. His opponent Jon Niese gave up four runs and lost the game but is the more interesting own despite his own flawed ability to get strikeouts. Bronson Arroyo held the Toronto offense to one run in eight innings. He's been a little unlucky on fly balls, but he's a fly-ball pitcher in a bad park for those, and he very rarely manages even a decent strikeout rate. No thanks. Chris Jakubauskas held the Nationals to three runs in five innings. He even struck out six. Still, the Oriole is more of a stop-gap starter than a long-term piece, as his minor league numbers suggest. His opponent, Tom Gorzelanny, is also no more than a spot-start. And even without the DH, the American League lineup was too much for the lefty. He gave up ten hits in 4 2/3 innings and didn't strike a single batter out. Mike Pelfrey threw a complete game against the Angels but doesn't have the stuff, predictability or consistency to even be a spot starter.

* Bullpen alert! Javy Guerra completed a successful save in Los Angeles and he's indeed the man of the moment. Hong-Chih Kuo is up now, though, and once he can deal with high-pressure roles, he might close some too. Jonathan Broxton begins his rehab assignment Monday, and Kenley Jansen was just activated, so as always with the Dodger bullpen, expect change. At least we now know that Vicente Padilla is most likely gone for the year … Fernando Salas blew his second save of the season when he allowed a home run to light-hitting Alcides Escobar, but he limited the damage and got the win when Skip Schumaker took Tim Collins deep in the bottom half of the inning. That should allow him some more leash. Brian Fuentes got a save Sunday, but only because Andrew Bailey finally pitched back-to-back games Friday and Saturday and proved that he was the clear closer. Fernando Rodney is expected to be activated when eligible Friday, but Jordan Walden has job security for now. Joe Nathan pitched a perfect inning, struck out two, and most importantly, hit 93 on the gun. He could be back as soon as Friday. Oh, and Brandon Lyon's probably going to have season-ending surgery, to congratulations to all the Mark Melancon owners.

National League Quick Hits: David Wright took ground balls on his knees and had a limited workout Sunday -- he also said he felt good … Chipper Jones is dealing with a sore groin and will be day-to-day for now … Boston is destroying everyone right now, so don't worry that Yovani Gallardo gave up eight runs in three innings … Shaun Marcum (hip) had an MRI that show no structural damage but the team is not sure he'll make his next rehab start anyway … Ubaldo Jimenez was pulled Saturday from an okay start (three runs in five innings) because of a calf cramp that he says won't keep him out … Brandon Beachy (oblique) is on track to start Wednesday … Orlando Hudson (groin) is back and active, so Logan Forsythe was returned to the minor leagues … Jose Tabata missed Sunday with a sore left thumb but he should be back Monday … Nate McLouth returned from the DL and started in left field with Martin Prado out, so Jordan Schafer will retain his deep league value for a while still … Casey Blake (neck) returned to the starting lineup Saturday … Aroldis Chapman (shoulder) pitched two perfect innings in Double-A and should be back soon … Homer Bailey (shoulder) will make one more rehab start at least … Rick Ankiel (intercostal) will need a couple weeks to get healthy … Nick Punto (forearm) will begin his rehab assignment Monday … Reds' shortstop prospect Zach Cozart is scalding in Triple-A but his GM says he's not coming up real soon despite the offensive sinkhole the position has been in the majors for them … The Diamondbacks gave up on Sean Burroughs, waiving him and calling up Wily Mo Pena to play DH during interleague play … Rod Barajas is on the DL with a sprained ankle and A.J. Ellis is up … The Pirates might be interested in Scott Kazmir … The Braves signed Ruben Gotay and Chris Carter to minor league deals to give their system some depth.

American League Quick Hits: Paul Konerko homered in the third straight game; Guess that wrist feels good ... Boston is calling up Andrew Miller and he should get at least a few starts with Clay Buchholz headed to the DL with his back issue; Miller has been good in Triple-A but his control still bears watching … Dustin Pedroia went from possible surgery to flaming hot; He homered and doubled Sunday … Nick Swisher had three hits Sunday, one a tie-breaking home run, and is playable again in most leagues … Phil Hughes hit 95 MPH and sat 92-93 on the gun during a rehab outing … Carlos Carrasco held the Pirates to one run over 6 1/3 with four strikeouts; If only he was striking out more batters he'd be a play in all leagues, but as is he's still valuable in deeper leagues … Alberto Callaspo (hamstring) should return Monday … Luke Scott was removed from Saturday's lineup with some back spasms, but should be available Monday after a day off … Matt LaPorta has a "mild" high ankle sprain will be out at least two weeks if not more, so Travis Buck will retain some value still … Michael Cuddyer has gotten some trade interest from Philadelphia, a move which could provide a welcome (if slight) boost to his power … Josh Willingham (Achilles) sat out Sunday and might not play until Wednesday … Cord Phelps hit a walk-off home run in the 11th Sunday, but with Orlando Cabrera playing better and Jason Kipnis coming up behind him, the odds are stacked against him going forward … J.P. Arencibia will play two of every three games until his thumb feels better … Danny Valencia (triceps) thinks he'll return to the lineup Tuesday … Aaron Hill hit a home run Sunday and is now hitting in the .250s instead of the .240s, yay … Travis Snider has been raking in Triple-A, but now he has a concussion after a bean ball and will be out a little while … There's gathering support for Dayan Viciedo to take Juan Pierre's spot in left field, but the manager on the field likes speed atop the lineup for now … Brandon Webb allowed six hits and four runs in two-thirds of an inning in Double-A … Kyle Davies had a mediocre rehab start, but it will be his final one before returning to the major league rotation … The Royals demoted Vin Mazzaro to make room for the returning Bruce Chen, so we won't have him to kick around any more

 

[HacheMan]

Trends: Bernadina Binge
SURGING

Charlie Blackmon, OF, COL

Stats: .378 avg (17-for-45) with six RBI and five steals in his first 12 major league games prior to a Monday night matchup with the Indians.

Bottom line: Sixteen of his 17 hits thus far have been singles, but aside from that, there's plenty to appreciate about Blackmon, who does indeed have some power (10 homers at Triple-A) and has only struck out three times in his first 45 at-bats. He's already owned in 21 percent of Yahoo leagues, but I wouldn't hesitate to add him if he's available in your mixed league right now.

Roger Bernadina, OF, WAS

Stats: .458 avg (11-for-24) with three homers, six RBI and a steal in his last six games.

Bottom line: Bernadina has shown a tendency to be pretty streaky during his limited time in the major leagues, but with a .333 average, three homers, three steals and a 918 OPS so far in June, he's obviously trending in the right direction. And given that he's owned in just three percent of Yahoo leagues, he should be out there if you're currently in need of an outfielder with some power-speed potential.

Follow me on Twitter: @MattStroup

Alcides Escobar, SS, KC

Stats: .512 avg (22-for-43) with a homer, seven RBI, 11 runs and six steals in his last 12 games.

Bottom line: It's truly a splendid hot streak, and I'm fully in support of adding Escobar in mixed leagues to see how long he can stay this scalding hot, but aside from some upside in steals (12 so far in 255 at-bats this season), there's not much cause for excitement about Escobar's long-term offensive potential. Even after his absurd recent output, his OPS (610) is basically identical to last year's 614.

Carlos Carrasco, SP, CLE

Stats: 3-0 with a 0.42 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 17/5 K/BB ratio in his last three starts (22.0 IP).

Bottom line: I'm tempering my enthusiasm a bit given that two of Carrasco's last three starts have come against the Twins and Pirates, but it obviously plays in his favor that he threw 7 1/3 scoreless innings against the Yankees in the Bronx last week. I still don't see him as a must-add given the low strikeout rate (49 in 79.0 innings so far), but the 24-year-old has the arsenal (highlighted by a strong fastball/slider combo) to continue being a useful option in mixed leagues.

Jason Vargas, SP, SEA

Stats: 2-1 with a 2.23 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 20/6 K/BB ratio in his last four starts (32.1 IP).

Bottom line: He's been a little bit hit or miss this season, but Vargas – who has thrown two shutouts in his last four starts – now carries a 3.75 ERA and 1.18 WHIP after posting a 3.78 and 1.25 last year. Wins and strikeouts will not be plentiful, but the 28-year-old can undoubtedly be an asset in ERA and WHIP in mixed leagues.

Juan Nicasio, SP, COL

Stats: 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 18/5 K/BB ratio in his first four big league starts (24.0 IP) prior to a Monday night matchup with Cleveland.

Bottom line: I can't yet fully endorse adding Nicasio in mixed leagues because I'm still expecting some inconsistency, but the 24-year-old showcased a pretty impressive fastball/slider/changeup combo en route to nine strikeouts in six innings against the Padres last week. And owners in deeper mixed leagues should definitely be keeping a close eye on his start against the Indians on Monday.

STRUGGLING

Jeff Francoeur, OF, KC

Stats: .125 avg (4-for-32) with no homers, three RBI and nine strikeouts in his last eight games.

Bottom line: Since hitting .316 with four homers and a 912 OPS in April, Francoeur has hit just .233 (40-for-172) since the start of May, drawing only two walks in his last 21 games. The good news is that he is still stealing bases effectively (four in his last nine games), and his nine homers, 43 RBI and 10 steals could potentially still net something in a trade if you market him properly. (Or maybe not, but I'm trying to be optimistic here.)

Rajai Davis, OF, TOR

Stats: 4-for-45 with no steals, two runs scored and a 1/14 BB/K ratio in his last 14 games.

Bottom line: It's probably quite tempting to drop Davis at the moment, but the base-stealing potential is simply too explosive to discard. Hopefully you've already got him benched, but I am expecting him to heat up and steal a bunch of bases at some point this summer, so be ready to throw him back into your lineup at the first sign that he's no longer hopelessly lost at the plate.

Editor's Note: For exclusive columns, rankings, projections and more, check out Rotoworld's MLB Season Pass.

Jonathan Sanchez, SP, SF

Stats: 4.71 ERA, 1.81 WHIP and a 15/19 K/BB ratio in his last four starts (21.0 IP).

Bottom line: Though he has held opponents to three earned runs or less in seven of his last eight starts, Sanchez has quietly been an absolute WHIP assassin of late. He still carries some value in mixed leagues because his ERA (3.71) and strikeouts (86 in 85.0 innings) remain solid, but I'm fully in favor of moving on in an effort to salvage your WHIP during the second half of the year. Don't shop Sanchez right now while he's struggling, but be ready to float some trade offers after he strings together a couple solid starts.

 

[HacheMan]

Will Ryan Vogelsong's success continue?

Jason Grey


With a performance thus far that includes not having allowed more than two runs in eight consecutive starts, San Francisco Giants right-hander Ryan Vogelsong has been one of the big stories of the first half.

Vogelsong, who will turn 34 next month, has posted a 1.92 ERA and 1.13 WHIP this season while taking over injured Barry Zito's spot in the rotation. Not bad for a pitcher who was cut by the Phillies from a minor league squad last year. (He finished the season in the Angels organization.) This after three seasons pitching primarily as a reliever in Japan, where he also had been sent to its minor leagues twice.
"I think it's just experience and maturity," Vogelsong said before his most recent outing at Arizona on Thursday. "I've been around a while. I make it a point to stay focused on each pitch and make sure that I'm ready mentally before I throw pitches, and that was something I never really understood or knew how to do before.

"The big thing is just being consistent; try and be solid every time out. I think before I was always looking for perfection every time and was pretty hard on myself, but I understand now that this is the big leagues and that's probably asking a lot. Just having consistent outings is what I'm striving for."
A fifth-round pick by the Giants in the 1998 draft, Vogelsong was sent to the Pirates in the Jason Schmidt deal. By 2007, he was in the Pacific Rim (Japan) after posting a cumulative 5.86 ERA in the major leagues. Stateside again last year, Vogelsong showed some strikeout ability, but control was an issue. However, he managed to hook on with the Giants this spring after a good winter-ball campaign in Venezuela before being thrust into their rotation out of necessity.
Vogelsong has been consistently throwing strikes and has shown his strikeout ability, fanning 7.4 batters per nine innings and posting a 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio this season. His delivery is a little more compact and cleaner than it was when he pitched for the Pirates. It's not a major change, but that little extra efficiency in his delivery, in addition to slowing down his tempo a bit, not only helps him throw more strikes but also allows him to command the ball better. That command has been the key to his surge.
Although Vogelsong can dial up a four-seamer to 93 mph when he needs to, he succeeds with a full arsenal that includes a two-seamer, curve, cutter and changeup. He gets that two-seamer in on right-handed batters and uses it to set up the curve, a much-improved pitch from his previous big league stint. It's a mid-70s offering that he sells well and can throw for a strike or bury low as a chase pitch. He'll also throw it to either lefties or righties. There are times he will hang it, but he has been very good about locating the pitch thus far. He has scrapped his true slider in favor of a cutter since his time with the Pirates, and his changeup is a useful pitch against left-handers that plays well off the two-seamer.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy calls it that veteran "savvy," but there's no mistaking that Vogelsong has shown a lot of what scouts call "pitchability" and a feel for his stuff. Although the two-seamer and curve are his key pitches, he mixes everything well, and going back to the mental aspect that Vogelsong talked about, he has the confidence now to throw all of them in any situation. As he puts, "[that's] something I don't think I had before."
When you put up the surface numbers that Vogelsong has thus far, there's obviously a bit of good fortune involved, with runners being left stranded and balls finding gloves. But that doesn't take away the fact that he has pitched very well thus far and can continue to do so.
Zito is on the verge of a return, but Bochy has made it clear that Vogelsong will remain in the rotation. "He'll go every fifth day," Bochy told the Contra Costa Times. "We might have to get creative here."
Unlike some other hurlers who have gotten off to surprisingly good starts, Vogelsong has a chance to have some sustained success, with his pitcher-favorable home park helping his cause. That success likely won't be at his current level of performance, but Vogelsong should still be good enough to be of use in deeper mixed leagues and NL-only play.

 

[HacheMan]

Absent Albert
If anybody can headline the Daily Dose on back-to-back days, it's Albert Pujols.

While the initial diagnosis of Sunday's injury was a sprained left wrist, we learned Monday that Pujols will miss 4-6 weeks with a small fracture in his left forearm. Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote late Monday night that Pujols will need four weeks in a soft cast, but it may be even longer before he begins baseball activities. As a result, we're likely looking at a return somewhere in the middle of August.

Things could have been much worse under the circumstances, but Monday's diagnosis is still a tough blow for fantasy owners considering that Pujols was finally back to being himself at the plate. He was batting .317/.419/.778 with eight homers, 14 RBI and a 1.197 OPS over 74 plate appearances in June prior to the injury.

It's hard to say that anybody "benefits" from Pujols' absence, but Lance Berkman is expected to move to first base while Colby Rasmus and Jon Jay will play everyday in the outfield. While losing Pujols hurts, this is actually a positive development for those of you worried about Berkman's durability.

If you're scrounging the waiver wire for Pujols replacements, Justin Smoak (.279 with four homers and .907 OPS this month), Mitch Moreland (.296 with nine homers in 216 at-bats this season) and the widely available Freddie Freeman (batting .297 with four homers and 19 RBI since the start of May) are some names to keep in mind in mixed leagues.

While fantasy owners hope Pujols can return with a vengeance, here are some more news and notes from a busy Monday around baseball.

- Hanley Ramirez isn't off to the best start with his new skipper Jack McKeon. He was benched Monday against the Angels because McKeon "didn't like the way he was running" during Sunday's game. Ramirez struck out in a pinch-hit appearance in the ninth inning (on an awful call by home plate umpire Dan Bellino) and is expected to return to the lineup Tuesday.

Monday's benching would bother fantasy owners more if Ramirez was actually producing, but he's batting just .200 for the season and is 2-for-19 (.105) since returning from the disabled list last Tuesday. It will be interesting to see just where he bats Tuesday, as McKeon prefers Emilio Bonifacio leading off and had Gaby Sanchez batting third Monday for just the second time this season. The struggling Ramirez was dropped down to the sixth spot on Saturday and Sunday.

- Red Sox manager Terry Francona said Monday that Adrian Gonzalez could play in the outfield for a couple games when the Red Sox begin a nine-game roadtrip in National League parks on Friday. It's a tough call for Francona, as he attempts to keep both Gonzalez and David Ortiz in the starting lineup during interleague play.

Gonzalez has only played right field once during his career as a member of the Rangers back in 2005. While this arrangement would help Ortiz owners, it's unlikely that the Red Sox will actually risk the health of their $154 million first baseman. Boston's lineup is still more potent than most, even without the presence of Carl Crawford and Gonzalez or Ortiz.

National League Quick Hits: Ryan Braun was scratched from Monday's lineup with an upper respiratory viral infection … Hunter Pence (elbow) hopes to return to the starting lineup as soon as Tuesday … Martin Prado (calf, knee) was recently cleared to begin upper body work, but he's not close to resuming baseball activities … Clayton Kershaw struck out 11 in a two-hit complete game shutout of the Tigers on Monday night … Tommy Hanson (shoulder) hopes he could return from the disabled list as soon as he's eligible on June 28 … Mike Stanton (eye infection) missed his third straight game Monday … Shaun Marcum (hip) threw about 25 pitches in a bullpen session Monday, but the Brewers have yet to decide whether he will start Wednesday … Michael Bourn stole his MLB-leading 30th base in Monday's loss to the Rangers … Chipper Jones (groin) hopes to return to the lineup Tuesday … Johnny Cueto was scratched from Monday's scheduled start with neck soreness, but is expected to go Tuesday … Johan Santana (shoulder) has resumed throwing off a mound … Craig Kimbrel has saved back-to-back games and hasn't allowed a run over his last five appearances … Charlie Morton has allowed 15 runs over his last three starts … Brandon Beachy (oblique) will be activated from the disabled list to start Wednesday against the Blue Jays … Jon Garland (shoulder) has yet to begin a throwing program … David Freese (hand) will begin his minor league rehab assignment Tuesday … The Dodgers are hopeful that Rafael Furcal (oblique) can begin a minor league rehab assignment next Monday … Jonathan Broxton (elbow) is set to begin a minor league rehab assignment Tuesday with Triple-A Albuquerque … The Rockies activated Dexter Fowler from the disabled list Monday and sent him to Triple-A Colorado Springs … Aroldis Chapman (shoulder) will make his final minor league rehab appearance Tuesday with Triple-A Louisville … Marlon Byrd (facial fractured) expects to begin a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa next Monday … Pirates general manager Neal Huntington indicated Monday that Ryan Doumit (ankle) will not return from the disabled list until late-July …

American League Quick Hits: Josh Beckett was scratched from Tuesday's scheduled start against the Padres due to illness … Adrian Gonzalez drove in three runs against his former team Monday and currently leads the majors with 67 RBI through 72 games … Miguel Cabrera will be given the day off Tuesday … Evan Longoria homered and tied a season-high with four RBI in Monday's win over the Brewers … Derek Jeter (calf) is expected to resume baseball activities this week … Brian Matusz (hamstring) could be pushed back from Friday's scheduled start against the Reds… Carlos Santana homered for the third time in his past four games Monday … Phil Hughes (dead arm) is expected to make his next minor league rehab start Friday with Double-A Trenton … Jeremy Guthrie (back) is on track to start Tuesday against the Pirates … Jed Lowrie will have his shoulder examined Tuesday by Dr. Lewis Yocum … Jeff Niemann (back) returned from the disabled list Monday and tossed six scoreless innings in a win over the Brewers … Andrew Miller allowed three runs over 5 2/3 innings in his first start with the Red Sox on Monday night … Andruw Jones was removed from Monday's game against the Reds for precautionary reasons after rolling his ankle… Mark Ellis (hamstring) is expected to rejoin the Athletics on Wednesday, but will likely return as a bench player … Travis Snider (concussion) is scheduled to see a neurologist Tuesday … Orlando Cabrera went 1-for-3 with a walk in his first ever start at third base Monday … Bruce Chen (shoulder) is expected to return from the disabled list to start Friday against the Cubs … Rich Harden (shoulder) struck six over three hitless innings Monday in a minor league rehab appearance with Triple-A Sacramento … Eric Chavez (foot) took batting practice on the field Monday for the first time since going on the disabled list in early May … Kevin Slowey (abdominal strain) is slated to throw a simulated game Wednesday …

 

[HacheMan]

Cole Hamels thriving thanks to cutter

Tristan H. Cockcroft


Maybe Chipper Jones was onto something.

You might remember this Buster Olney column from early May, in which Jones offered up one possible explanation for the decline in overall offense in baseball between this season and last: the cutter, which the Braves veteran described at the time as "the bane of my existence."


Although the overall major league numbers don't bear out Jones' claim -- pitchers as a whole have thrown cutters only 3.1 percent of the time and have held opponents to .266/.318/.404 rates with the pitch this season and last, compared with 2.8 percent and .262/.333/.418 in 2009 -- it's the individuals who have mastered the cutter who warrant our attention.


Take Cole Hamels, for example. Jones' frustration with the cutter could be attributed almost entirely to the one Hamels throws because Hamels developed the pitch before the 2010 season, and that's when the Hamels-Jones head-to-head statistics took a noticeable, and dramatic, turn:


Pre-2010: 26 PAs overall, .409/.500/.864 rates, 2 K's in 22 AB
2010-11: 13 PAs, .100/.308/.100, 4 K's in 10 AB


Those who might explain Hamels' hot start to 2011, and his No. 3 standing among starting pitchers on the Player Rater, as a product of luck -- they would cite his .266 BABIP -- are sorely mistaken. Hamels hasn't become a fantasy ace this season because he has been lucky. He has become a fantasy ace because he's a better pitcher today than two years ago, and the primary reason for his transformation is the 2010 addition, and subsequent 2011 mastery, of the cutter.


Hamels first experimented with the cutter liberally in 2010 spring training, and his initial results were mixed. Dividing up his 2010-11 by half-seasons, however, here's how his performance with that particular pitch has progressed:


2010 first half: 11.3 percent of total pitches, .289/.304/.689, 47 PAs, 17.0 Miss%, 39.5 GB%
2010 second half: 14.4 percent of pitches, .127/.200/.145, 60 PAs, 26.9 Miss%, 50.0 GB%
2011 first half: 19.8 percent of pitches, .188/.198/.247, 86 PAs, 19.1 Miss%, 59.7 GB%



TOP 100 STARTING PITCHERS

Note: Tristan H. Cockcroft's top 100 starting pitchers are ranked for their expected performance from this point forward, not for statistics that have already been accrued.
<TABLE><THEAD><TR><TH style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Rnk </CENTER></TH><TH style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom">Player, Team <CENTER></CENTER></TH><TH style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Prev
Rnk </CENTER></TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>1 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Roy Halladay, PHI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>1 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>2 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Felix Hernandez, SEA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>2 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>3 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Justin Verlander, DET </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>9 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>4 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Cole Hamels, PHI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>8 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>5 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jered Weaver, LAA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>5 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Cliff Lee, PHI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>4 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>7 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Tim Lincecum, SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>3 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>8 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Clayton Kershaw, LAD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>11 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>9 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jon Lester, BOS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>10 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">CC Sabathia, NYY </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>7 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>11 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">David Price, TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>13 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>12 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Zack Greinke, MIL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>12 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>13 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Josh Beckett, BOS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>19 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>14 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Matt Cain, SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>16 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>15 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Yovani Gallardo, MIL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>15 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>16 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Dan Haren, LAA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>14 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>17 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Anibal Sanchez, FLA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>23 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>18 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">James Shields, TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>27 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>19 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Shaun Marcum, MIL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>17 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>20 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jhoulys Chacin, COL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>20 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>21 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Daniel Hudson, ARI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>24 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>22 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Tommy Hanson, ATL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>10 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>23 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Josh Johnson, FLA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>18 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>24 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Mat Latos, SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>21 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>25 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Tim Hudson, ATL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>35 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>26 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Ubaldo Jimenez, COL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>22 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>27 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jair Jurrjens, ATL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>30 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>28 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Roy Oswalt, PHI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>25 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>29 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jaime Garcia, STL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>28 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>30 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Scott Baker, MIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>42 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>31 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">C.J. Wilson, TEX </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>36 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>32 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Ian Kennedy, ARI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>38 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>33 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Chris Carpenter, STL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>29 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>34 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jonathan Sanchez, SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>31 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>35 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Michael Pineda, SEA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>32 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>36 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jordan Zimmermann, WAS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>48 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>37 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Ricky Romero, TOR </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>47 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>38 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Ted Lilly, LAD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>34 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>39 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Matt Garza, CHC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>33 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>40 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Chad Billingsley, LAD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>26 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>41 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Trevor Cahill, OAK </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>37 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>42 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Gio Gonzalez, OAK </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>40 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>43 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Johnny Cueto, CIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>43 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>44 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Max Scherzer, DET </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>39 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>45 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Francisco Liriano, MIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>51 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>46 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jeremy Hellickson, TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>44 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>47 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Wandy Rodriguez, HOU </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>53 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>48 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Alexi Ogando, TEX </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>41 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>49 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Erik Bedard, SEA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>54 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>50 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Madison Bumgarner, SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>52 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>51 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Bud Norris, HOU </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>60 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>52 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">John Danks, CHW </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>61 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>53 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Hiroki Kuroda, LAD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>49 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>54 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Colby Lewis, TEX </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>46 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>55 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Ryan Vogelsong, SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>56 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>56 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Clay Buchholz, BOS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>50 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>57 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Ryan Dempster, CHC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>55 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>58 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Ricky Nolasco, FLA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>45 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>59 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Brandon Morrow, TOR </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>57 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>60 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Ervin Santana, LAA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>59 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>61 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Gavin Floyd, CHW </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>58 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>62 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Tim Stauffer, SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>65 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>63 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">A.J. Burnett, NYY </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>64 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>64 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Brett Myers, HOU </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>74 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>65 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Carlos Carrasco, CLE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>76 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>66 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Philip Humber, CHW </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>77 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>67 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Brandon Beachy, ATL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>75 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>68 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Carlos Zambrano, CHC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>73 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>69 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Derek Lowe, ATL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>63 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>70 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jason Vargas, SEA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>82 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>71 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Bronson Arroyo, CIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>66 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>72 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Zach Britton, BAL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>62 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>73 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Derek Holland, TEX </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>67 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>74 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Edinson Volquez, CIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>71 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>75 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Travis Wood, CIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>70 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>76 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Kyle Lohse, STL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>68 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>77 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Dillon Gee, NYM </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>78 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>78 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Randy Wolf, MIL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>81 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>79 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Edwin Jackson, CHW </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>79 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>80 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jeremy Guthrie, BAL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>80 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>81 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Justin Masterson, CLE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>69 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>82 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Bartolo Colon, NYY </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>84 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>83 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jake Peavy, CHW </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>86 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>84 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jake Arrieta, BAL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>88 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>85 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Doug Fister, SEA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>90 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>86 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Mike Leake, CIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>92 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>87 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">John Lackey, BOS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>96 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>88 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Matt Harrison, TEX </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>98 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>89 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Brian Matusz, BAL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>85 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>90 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Josh Tomlin, CLE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>83 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>91 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Kevin Correia, PIT </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>87 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>92 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">James McDonald, PIT </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>89 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>93 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Carl Pavano, MIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>94 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Aaron Harang, SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>95 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jason Hammel, COL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>94 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>96 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Kyle McClellan, STL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>97 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Charlie Morton, PIT </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>72 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>98 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Phil Hughes, NYY </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>99 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Mike Pelfrey, NYM </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>100 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jeff Niemann, TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>




Hamels' performance with his other offerings -- he throws a low-90s fastball, a curveball and a changeup -- also has improved in that time, which makes sense as the cutter has only helped deepen his arsenal. To that end, his OPS allowed with each of those pitches has dropped in each of his past three half-seasons.


A 15-game winner in 2007, 211-strikeout artist in 2010, and owner of a 3.09 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 2008, Hamels finds himself on pace to shatter all four of those personal bests in 2011: His paces are 20 wins, 229 K's, a 2.51 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. Those are Cy Young-caliber numbers but are hardly unrealistic (except maybe the always-unpredictable wins).


This is a pitcher who has improved his arsenal to take the step to the next level. He is a true fantasy ace.


Hamels isn't the only one, of course. Here are a few more pitchers whose recent mastery of the cutter has helped elevate their fantasy value long term. (Note: Obviously, pitchers such as John Danks, Roy Halladay, Dan Haren, Jon Lester, Shaun Marcum -- not to mention Mariano Rivera among relievers -- have long since mastered the cutter. The pitchers below are those you might not have known about.)


Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox: I've said on these pages for several weeks now that Beckett deserves our kudos for compensating for diminished velocity by becoming a better overall pitcher. His mastery of the cutter is what I'm referring to; opponents have .169/.222/.271 rates and a .119 well-hit average in 63 plate appearances that have ended with a cutter from him. Yes, he's for real.


Mike Leake, Cincinnati Reds: He flashed a cutter at times in his rookie season of 2010, throwing 139 of them, but he has thrown nearly that many (136) in just his past five starts combined since returning to the Reds' rotation. Perhaps that has contributed to his 2.31 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in those five outings, though the one caveat is that he's still struggling against left-handers (.315/.377/.463 rates allowed to them overall in those five games) -- a concern because the cutter typically would be used to neutralize lefties. Leake's rotation spot always seems up for grabs, especially with Homer Bailey on the mend, but his increased usage -- and success (.247/.263/.356 rates and a .164 well-hit average on cutters in 2011) -- of the cutter definitely makes him worth tracking.


C.J. Wilson, Texas Rangers: He didn't throw his cutter nearly as much as a reliever as he has since his move to the rotation a year ago, throwing it 11.2 percent of the time this season after 14.9 percent last. Opponents have .241/.308/.333 rates with a .142 well-hit average against his cutter since the beginning of last season; the latter number is third-best in baseball. He has proved reliable at this point.


A special case



Jason Vargas, Seattle Mariners: Here's where pitch tracking becomes a matter of debate; PitchFx shows that Vargas is throwing his slider more often (17.9 percent of the time in 2011, up from 9.3 in 2010), but many accounts classify the pitch a cutter. Whatever you choose to call it -- let's go with PitchFx's choice of "slider" here -- Vargas' use of the pitch has made quite a difference. He has allowed .254/.299/.349 rates and a .127 well-hit average in his 67 plate appearances that ended with a slider, helping explain his 3.75 ERA and 1.18 WHIP to date. With Safeco Field backing him, he might maintain those ratios.


The sleeper



Phil Hughes, New York Yankees: He was leaning on his cutter quite a bit to make up for diminished fastball velocity before landing on the disabled list -- he threw it 19.8 percent of the time -- but it was the addition of a cutter to his arsenal in 2009 that helped him stick permanently at the big league level. When Hughes' fastball reaches the mid-90s, his fastball/curve/cutter combo can be tough for hitters to handle. He hit 95 mph with his fastball in his Sunday rehabilitation start, and if he can remain near that number, he might be due for a huge second half.


Three up



Scott Baker, Minnesota Twins: Back-to-back-to-back wins have vaulted him into the top 40 overall among starting pitchers on our Player Rater, and, with his skill set, Baker is a good bet to finish around his current No. 31 ranking. He's 11th among qualified starters in strikeouts per nine innings (8.64) and 12th in strikeouts per walk (3.67), and he's a fly-ball pitcher (43.6 percent rate, 16th highest) who resides in one of the most appropriate venues for that type, Target Field. Baker might be susceptible to rougher matchups in bandbox ballparks; he's the kind of pitcher you might want to avoid in, say, a start at New York's Yankee Stadium or Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field. But, with those rare exceptions, he sure looks like a pitcher you'll be happy to own even in mixed leagues.


Carlos Carrasco, Cleveland Indians: After beginning the season in a bit of a funk, Carrasco has restored much of his preseason breakout potential in his past few turns. He has three consecutive wins with a 0.42 ERA and 0.78 WHIP, but, more importantly, his strikeout-to-walk (3.40) and ground ball rates (62.1) are right in line with his 2010 numbers of 2.71 and 57.8. It's that potential that makes him a candidate to top his own rotation in terms of fantasy value; he's already third among Indians starters for the year and is easily tops on the team in the past 30 days on our Player Rater. Hot starters such as Justin Masterson and Josh Tomlin might have overshadowed Carrasco in the early weeks -- Carrasco remains available in more than 75 percent of ESPN leagues -- but he'll earn his due credit soon enough.


John Danks, Chicago White Sox: He was mentioned above as a master of the cutter, and, in what is a three-start winning streak, Danks' cutter has been every bit as effective as ever. He has limited foes to .176/.222/.176 rates and a .059 well-hit average in 18 plate appearances in that span that ended with the pitch. Although Danks' June 6 (versus Mariners) and 11 (versus Oakland Athletics) matchups might cause some to dismiss his numbers in them, his outing this past Saturday at Arizona -- against an Arizona Diamondbacks offense that typically thrives at home -- should have begun to sway them back. Danks has top-25 starter potential when he's "on," and right now he seems "on" again.


Three down



Chad Billingsley, Los Angeles Dodgers: Not every cutter thrower is thriving. Billingsley relies on it almost as often as anyone; he has thrown the eighth-most cutters in 2011 (250) and has thrown it eighth-most often (16.7 percent of the time) among qualified starters. He also is effective with it: Opponents have batted .164/.254/.200 in the 65 plate appearances that have ended with it, his .454 OPS allowed third best in the majors. But, if you've been watching Billingsley lately, his arsenal hasn't fooled anyone the past two turns as he has allowed 13 runs on 22 hits and five walks in 8 2/3 innings combined against the Reds and the Colorado Rockies. Chalk those up to the matchups if you wish, but Billingsley's command has wavered and his results are especially poor. We keep waiting for him to take the next step; he keeps giving us just-outside-the-top-25 numbers.


Fausto Carmona, Indians: Oh, how maddeningly inconsistent Carmona can be. After a disastrous Opening Day start (3 IP, 11 H, 10 ER) sent any possible Carmona owners running for the hills, the right-hander regained the trust of many with a subsequent six-quality-starts-in-seven-tries stretch of a 2.22 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. Those who hopped aboard his bandwagon -- and I know many of you did -- were promptly "rewarded" with a streak of eight consecutive non-quality starts, in which time his ERA is 8.87 ERA and his WHIP 1.66. Yes, his schedule has been treacherous (SEA, @CHW, BOS, @TOR, TEX, @NYY, @DET, COL) and his team's support practically nonexistent, but if any Indians player deserves blame for their funk, Carmona is high on the list. He's the American League's leader in losses (9) and in earned runs (66). There will be times when he's helpful, but trust him for lengthy stretches at your peril.


Charlie Morton, Pittsburgh Pirates: Is the magic gone? Morton, whose 5.23 K's-per-nine and 1.43 K's-per-walk ratios hinted that regression was soon in order, appears to have hit that regression period his past three outings. Including Monday's nightmare (2 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 6 ER), he has allowed 17 runs (15 earned) on 26 hits in 11 innings in his past three starts, especially disconcerting because he hasn't even reached that pesky Red Sox matchup yet; it'll come this weekend. Morton, unfortunately, is the type of pitcher who has to keep the ball down and hit every spot to thrive like he did in the season's early weeks. He's not the kind of pitcher who can be asked to contend for a 3.00 ERA. No, more likely, Morton is a matchups type whose final ERA will be in the 4s.

 

[HacheMan]

Bumgarner better than record indicates

Jason Grey


On Monday, I discussed the success Ryan Vogelsong has had since taking a place in the San Francisco Giants rotation. However, his teammate, Madison Bumgarner, has had his own success this year. The 21-year-old lefty enters his Tuesday start against the Minnesota Twins having put together a streak of 10 straight quality starts.

That streak, a level of consistency that owners in head-to-head formats can especially appreciate, shows that Bumgarner has pitched better than his 3-8 record would indicate.


On the surface, there doesn't appear to be a ton of growth in Bumgarner's game, especially when compared to how he finished last season, but there have been some small steps that give the southpaw a good chance to keep things up going forward.


"I just wanted to try to be more consistent [this season]," Bumgarner said. "More consistent with all of my pitches, be able to throw them to a spot, and repeat the delivery better."

Bumgarner's velocity has bumped up a tick this season, a good sign for a pitcher who has had to deal with questions about his radar gun numbers in each of the past two years. He now sits more consistently in the 91-94 mph range. His hard slider has become more of a weapon this year, with its tilt absolutely neutralizing left-handed hitters. While Bumgarner's overall strikeout rate remains just under seven batters per nine innings, as it was last season, and his walk rate sits a notch higher at just over 2.5 batters per nine, his strikeout-to-walk ratio against lefties balloons to 9.5-to-1. Left-handed hitters are also slugging just .236 against him and have not homered all season, thanks in large part to that slider.


In fact, Bumgarner has allowed just four homers total in 14 starts, a number that certainly plays a large part in putting quality starts on the board. His ground ball profile and home park help in that regard, but Bumgarner is also legitimately a tough pitcher to barrel up on.


He's been going to that slider a bit more this season at the expense of his changeup. "I've never thrown that many changeups," Bumgarner said, "but it's better than it's been before." I agree with that assessment and think he should go to it more often than he does, especially against right-handed batters, and think that perhaps a better pitch mix can provide for some further growth. I get that a pitcher in his early-20s probably doesn't want to throw what he views to be his fourth-best pitch that much (Bumgarner also throws a curve to go with the slider that he likes to use as a chase pitch) and that if he's going to get beat, he would prefer it comes on one of his primary offerings, but maybe the change's relative lack of use has caused him to not have as much feel or confidence in it as he should. He would benefit in the long run, and with his strikeout rate as well, by incorporating it a bit more.


Bumgarner mentioned repeating his delivery a little better, and there are still some small strides that can be made in that area. When his mechanics are off, he throws a little too much across his body, going a little too much toward the first-base dugout instead of staying on line with the plate. A touch more consistency with that can also boost the strikeout-to-walk ratio.


Still, fantasy owners will take what Bumgarner is doing right now just fine, and I expect him to continue to be a solid starting-pitching option, posting a lot of quality starts for the balance of the year. Despite the win-loss record and lack of monster strikeout total, Bumgarner is a quietly effective option at the back of a mixed-league pitching staff.


Other notes:




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• Nick Markakis' back-to-back seasons of declining homer totals and slugging percentage haven't been difficult to notice, and this year he hasn't been providing the batting average, either. I don't have any answers to the power outage other than speculation that his approach has been part of it, that he's been too aggressive in going after pitches he can make contact with rather than waiting for something he can pull strongly to right field. Sometimes having extreme contact ability can lead to a player perhaps being a little too aggressive, and pitchers will recognize that and challenge the hitter off the plate more, leading to weaker contact. That's been the book on Markakis recently.


That's the best I can come up with and it's certainly not the whole story, but Markakis still has his uses in mixed leagues and head-to-head play if he is hitting for batting average, thanks to his role as a lineup fixture. I just acquired him in a deep AL-only league this weekend in what I viewed as maybe my last chance to buy low on a player who has been known to be a very streaky hitter. Although he's hitting just .265 with five homers, he's in the midst of a 10-game hitting streak in which he's posted 17 hits to raise his average almost 30 points. No, that Markakis that was a fantasy stud in 2007 isn't coming back, but the 27-year-old can still provide some value, even if the power never gets out of the teens range again.


• Freddie Freeman struggled to make adjustments in his first month in the big leagues, hitting just .217. "Obviously, pitchers [at this level] know where your weaknesses are," Freeman told me last month. "They find your holes and they don't miss their spots very often. I have some timing things in my swing, so they're pitching me in, and then soft away."


Freeman also had some mechanical issues in his stroke that involved not staying upright enough. When he's going right, Freeman uses his inside-out stroke from the left side to make hard contact up the middle and to the opposite field. However, Freeman was bending his upper half over a bit to try to keep his swing closed, and he would wind up having to completely fly open if he wanted to get to the pitch on the inner half, or else cut his swing off, limiting his power. His stance and swing has looked a bit more consistent recently than when I saw him in May, and his bat is staying in the hitting zone a bit longer. He's hit .314 and slugged .500 over the past month with 10 doubles and three homers, so hopefully he can stay in rhythm with his setup and batting stroke.


There are owners out there looking for an Albert Pujols replacement on Tuesday, and while I'd look at Justin Smoak first to see if he's available in your league, Freeman has at least made himself an option as a temporary replacement in mixed-league formats.

 

[HacheMan]

Crawford on DL; good news for Freese

Stephania Bell

With the St. Louis Cardinals' loss of Albert Pujols drawing top billing in the injury news Monday, some other injury-related news may have floated under the radar. That is, of course, unless the players connected to those injuries are on your fantasy roster.

Carl Crawford, OF, Boston Red Sox: Crawford made an early exit from Friday's game with a strained left hamstring, as he pulled up while running to third on an infield single in the first inning. Despite the news that Crawford's injury was a Grade 1 (minor) strain, the team took no chances and placed him on the 15-day DL the next day. Given that he has to run the bases and run in the outfield, the risk of aggravating the injury if he rushes back is high. Crawford is on the disabled list for only the second time in his career; the first absence was in 2008 for a hand injury. The team is hopeful that Crawford will only require the minimum stay.
Shaun Marcum, P, Milwaukee Brewers: Marcum left last Friday's game early with what was later termed a left hip flexor strain. As for why he left after just one inning, Marcum said, "I didn't want to take a chance of hurting it worse or actually doing something where I'm missing more time." An MRI taken over the weekend reportedly revealed no significant injury and Marcum threw again Monday. According to the Brewers' website, Marcum threw what pitching coach Rick Kranitz referred to as a "great" bullpen and if he continues to feel good Tuesday, Marcum should make his next scheduled start on Wednesday.
Marcum is the second right-handed pitcher in recent weeks to have a hip flexor strain in his lead leg. St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle McClellan recently came off the 15-day DL following a similar injury. According to the Cardinals' website, McClellan believes his particular style of throwing, being "very aggressive on that hip," contributed to the strain he placed on the joint. He spent his recovery time working on making adjustments in that delivery to try and offload the hip. His first outing following his return wasn't fantastic but there were no reports of his hip giving him trouble.
David Freese, 3B, St. Louis Cardinals: Freese suffered a broken bone in his left hand when he was hit by a pitch in early May but has been steadily making good progress in his recovery. He underwent surgery after the injury to stabilize the fracture and has been quietly, successfully carrying out his rehab efforts. Tuesday marks a big step forward, however, as Freese is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Freese indicated he could rejoin the Cardinals by late June if all goes well. Freese was originally projected to be absent potentially as long as three months, so a sooner return would be welcomed by him and his teammates. Just last year, however, Freese had the misfortune of suffering a second injury while already out on the disabled list, so he knows better than anyone to take it one day at a time. Still, the Cardinals could use some good news right about now, and Freese's near return just might be it.

Phil Hughes, P, New York Yankees: After a difficult spring when his velocity seemed to have vanished, Hughes appears to have found it again, or so it seems. Hughes underwent a battery of tests to determine whether there was any medical condition responsible for the drop in his velocity, but they yielded no significant findings. And so he simply restarted his season.
The do-over seems to be going much better. Hughes has looked good in bullpen sessions but this week marked a new test. Hughes had his first rehab outing Sunday, delivering 4&frac13; innings for Class A Staten Island. The most encouraging news from that day was Hughes' ability to maintain the velocity on his pitches, staying in the low to mid-90s throughout. According to the New York Daily News, manager Joe Girardi was encouraged. "His velocity was good, the velocity on his cutter was good," Girardi said. "It just seems that his arm strength is back." Hughes is due for another couple of rehab starts, at least, but appears as if he could be making his way back to the rotation relatively soon, perhaps in early July. It's difficult to know what to expect long term, especially since Hughes' condition was so puzzling even to those around him. Right now, everyone is just enjoying the fact his ship seems to be righted.
Quick hits

• Other Red Sox in the injury news: Staff ace Josh Beckett was scratched from his Tuesday start as he deals with what manager Terry Francona referred to as "intestinal turmoil." It's surprising Francona doesn't have a similar condition dealing with all the ailments his team has faced recently. Just this past week, pitcher Clay Buchholz (back) joined Crawford on the DL, as did Jed Lowrie, who is now headed west for a consultation with Dr. Lewis Yocum. Lowrie has been trying to play through a sore left shoulder (injured in a collision with Crawford in late May) but last week described a sensation of the shoulder slipping in the joint.
• Atlanta Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson is reportedly feeling better. Hanson was placed on the DL with inflammation in his throwing (right) shoulder. An MRI showed no significant injury, but the Braves opted to rest him proactively. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the team hopes to have him back when eligible on June 28. Meanwhile teammate Brandon Beachy will start Wednesday in place of the injured Hanson. Beachy has been out for more than a month with an oblique strain but said he felt no discomfort after going five innings in a rehab start last week. Once recovered, the re-injury rate for obliques is generally low. If Beachy can deliver a couple of strong outings without incident, this will appear to be behind him.
• Ubaldo Jimenez had a cramp in his right calf Saturday, which ultimately forced him out of the game in the sixth inning. Afterward, Jimenez told the Denver Post that he was "a little bit sore" but did not sound overly concerned.
• The New York Mets' David Wright (stress fracture, back) and Ike Davis (bone bruise, ankle) are both scheduled to be evaluated later this week. Newsday reports Wright played catch Sunday and fielded grounders on his knees. He is sounding optimistic that his healing has progressed enough to earn him clearance to resume baseball activities. Meanwhile Davis is expected to undergo a follow-up evaluation on Wednesday. The hope is that his ankle will have recovered enough for him to tolerate a running progression. Before Davis was placed back in the walking boot, his attempts at running were limited by severe pain.

 

[HacheMan]

Reyes Negotiating? No Way

Jose Reyes had a notably quiet day at the plate (just his third 0-for-5 and only his 15th hitless game of the season as his average "plummeted" to .336 in the midst of a 2-for-17 stretch), but there was bigger-picture news on the Reyes front on Tuesday.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Reyes has told the Mets that he's not interested in negotiating a new contract mid-season. It's not a major surprise, but does point things decisively in the direction of two scenarios: Reyes either being dealt elsewhere at the deadline, or Reyes finishing out the season with the Mets before hitting free agency. Either way, the 28-year-old (54 runs, three homers, 29 RBI and 26 steals) is obviously ready to exploit what will no doubt be a wild bidding frenzy this offseason, with a Tuesday report in the New York Daily News confirming that Reyes openly discusses his intentions to get a contract in excess of $100 million.

On the same day that the Cardinals officially placed Albert Pujols (forearm) on the DL and recalled Mark Hamilton, Pujols told MLB.com that he's hoping to beat a timetable that has him expected to be out until August, saying that the pain in his fractured arm has already decreased. This has the sound of a player simply being as optimistic as possible in the wake of a significant injury, but it is worth noting that Pujols has healed quickly after injuries in the past.

Shaun Marcum (whose first name I very frequently attempt to spell "Shawn") will start against the Rays on Wednesday, but since he's not yet 100 percent recovered from his hip injury, he'll be evaluated on an "inning by inning" basis after the third inning. That makes Marcum a risky start, but he's probably worth using in a matchup against the hit-or-miss Tampa Bay offense.

Hanley Ramirez didn't make a good impression on new Marlins' manager Jack McKeon this week, getting benched on Monday for showing up late in McKeon's first game back with the team. However, Ramirez was back in the lineup Tuesday and made a statistically diplomatic effort to apologize to the manager, going 2-for-4 with his 13th steal as the Marlins won for just the second time in June (and the first time since McKeon came out of retirement). In other Florida news, Mike Stanton (eye infection) returned to the lineup and went 3-for-4 with two RBI.

Brandon League left Tuesday's game with two outs in the ninth after being hit in the leg with a comebacker, and in his absence, David Pauley came on to give up a walk-off, three-run homer to Wilson Ramos. An update on League's status should be available at some point during the day on Wednesday.

Updates on some Yankees arms: Bartolo Colon (hamstring) played long toss on Tuesday, but won't be ready when his 15 days are up and may not be back until closer to the All-Star break. Meanwhile, Phil Hughes (arm) is expected to make two more rehab starts before returning in early July, and Rafael Soriano (elbow) will soon begin a throwing program, but is expected to be out until at least mid-July.

Wily Mo Pena has annihilated minor league pitching this year (.363 average, 21 homers at Triple-A) and joined the D'Backs as their starting DH on Tuesday, promptly drilling an absolute missile of a solo homer in his season debut. There are no guarantees of playing time beyond Arizona's current AL road trip (which has five games remaining as of Wednesday), but Pena is at the very least worth an immediate look in NL-Only leagues.

Jemile Weeks went 1-for-3 with two walks, two steals and three runs scored on Tuesday, upping his average to .362 and OPS to 974 in 47 at-bats. However, things get slightly complicated now with Mark Ellis (calf) slated to be activated Wednesday. Bob Melvin told the San Francisco Chronicle that "If Jemile is here, he's going to play some," but Ellis could steal some starts from Weeks, or even worse, could force the 24-year-old back to the minor leagues for now (though that latter scenario seems less likely).

Follow me on Twitter: @MattStroup

Pitcher injury notes: Jonathan Broxton (elbow) allowed one run in one inning at Triple-A Tuesday and is set to pitch again Thursday before being reevaluated … Joe Nathan (elbow) threw a scoreless inning at Triple-A and could be back as soon as Friday … Scott Feldman (knee) made his third rehab start at Triple-A and could potentially return this weekend … Brad Lidge (elbow) threw a successful bullpen, but isn't expected to be back before the All-Star break … Charlie Morton will have his next start skipped due to fatigue … Josh Beckett (illness) is expected to start Saturday.

Position player injury notes: Brian Roberts was told by a concussion specialist that he needs more rest and will be reevaluated in two weeks … Derek Jeter (calf) played long toss Tuesday and is expected to take over the leadoff spot from Brett Gardner upon his return (which he's aiming to do before the end of June) … David Freese (hand) went 1-for-3 with a double in his first Triple-A rehab game and could be back as early as next Monday … Marlon Byrd (facial fractures) reportedly could begin a minor league rehab assignment next week, but may still be several weeks away from returning … Ryan Braun (viral infection) returned to action, going 1-for-3 with two RBI … Laynce Nix left early Tuesday with a sore right Achilles and is considered day-to-day … Chipper Jones (groin) returned to the lineup and went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Position player injury notes (part 2): Darwin Barney (knee) hit on the field Tuesday as he targets a return early next month … The Giants are hoping that Brandon Belt (wrist) can begin a rehab assignment next week and return in early July … David Wright is scheduled to have his back examined Thursday … Hunter Pence (elbow) missed a fourth straight game Tuesday and may sit out until Friday … Josh Willingham (Achilles) is expected to sit out again Wednesday … Luke Scott (back) returned to the starting lineup, going 0-for-3 … Placido Polanco is day-to-day after being hit on the left hand by a pitch … Brandon Inge (mono) homered twice at Triple-A and could be activated on Friday … Mike Napoli received a cortisone injection for his injured left oblique.

Miscellaneous notes: The Yankees and Reds were rained out, with a day-night doubleheader scheduled for Wednesday … Bud Black showed little concern over Anthony Rizzo's slow start at the plate, telling the North County Times that "He's going to play" ... The Rockies have talked to Dexter Fowler about abandoning his weaker left side to hit exclusively right-handed, but Fowler reportedly doesn't intend to abandon switch-hitting … The slumping Gordon Beckham was out of the starting lineup for a third straight game Tuesday, but is expected to start Wednesday … Cory Luebke (3.23 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 43/15 K/BB ratio in 39.0 innings) is joining the Padres' starting rotation, making him worth an immediate add in NL-Only leagues.

Editor's Note: For exclusive columns, rankings, projections and more, check out Rotoworld's MLB Season Pass.

Notable pitching: Zack Greinke struck out a season-high 10 in seven innings, pushing his K/BB ratio to 80/9 in 60 1/3 innings … Dillon Gee walked six in four innings en route to his first loss this season … Madison Bumgarner gave up eight runs on nine hits in just 1/3 of an inning … Mike Minor was impressive against the Blue Jays (seven innings, one run, eight K's), but was sent back to Triple-A after the game with Brandon Beachy (oblique) slated to start Wednesday.

Notable hitting: J.J. Hardy homered for the seventh time in June and ninth time on the season … Jason Bay went 3-for-3 and homered for the first time since May 13 … Seth Smith hit his seventh and eighth homers of the season to boost his OPS to 925 … Paul Konerko homered for a fifth straight game (his 21st of the year).

 

[HacheMan]

The Ax(ford) is Bringing Heat

Write (or read) enough about baseball and you've probably seen the word 'fastball' only about a billion times. It can get old.

And yet there are many different ways to name the old four-seamer. We should push ourselves and push our baseball thesaurus as far as it will go without breaking the binding. We can be less boring about it.

So as part of that effort, we'll name this week's tiers after synonyms for fastball. All rankings are subjective anyway, so it should come as no surprise that we'll be assigning my favorite words to the best closer tiers. Let's push our vocabularies!


Tier 1: Elite (4) (AKA: The "Cheese" Tier.)


Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees
Jonathan Papelbon, Boston Red Sox
Brian Wilson, San Francisco Giants
Heath Bell, San Diego Padres

Cheese gets top billing because it begets so many more nicknames. Cheddar, Gouda and even Limburger can be used once the 'cheese' is induced. This even allows the writer to link varieties of cheddar to the player via ethnicity or name. Is there another synonym for the fastball that is as versatile?
Is Brian Wilson's WHIP enough to push him out of this tier? After walking 15 batters combined in April and May, he's corralled his cheddar a little better in June. But, still, four walks in three-quarters of a month does not mean he's suddenly painting the corners. He does have awesome stuff, and that probably contributes to his control difficulties. But it also means that we have a top-tier closer with a WHIP over 1.40. And it's not like he owns a strikeout rate like Carlos Marmol. We'll see if he continues making progress or if he's just going to walk guys all year. It's a worthy thing to watch.


Tier 2: Rock Steady (7) (AKA: The "Heat" Tier.)


Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves
Joel Hanrahan, Pittsburgh Pirates
Huston Street, Colorado Rockies
J.J. Putz, Arizona Diamondbacks
Carlos Marmol, Chicago Cubs
Jose Valverde, Detroit Tigers

John Axford, Milwaukee Brewers

This is a fun word to use for fastballs because a) it's kind of a reference to a fun movie and b) I'm pretty sure that I would be able to actually, you know, feel the heat if a fastball blew by me. It's a very evocative nickname.
J.J. Putz had a bad week. He's probably not feeling the heat, though. Yes, he blew a save (now three of his last five chances) and gave up three runs in his last two innings (four in his last four). But! He still hasn't walked a guy in June. Call it a slight luck regression that should stop soon if he's fully healthy.
The next time someone tells you that elite closers are worth paying for, it might behoove you to point out that there are two cheap closers knocking on the door and demanding entry into the top tier. Craig Kimbrel overcame a slight stumble early in the month and now has not allowed a hit or a run in five straight appearances. Over that time, he has 12 strikeouts against three walks in five innings. Crazlebeans. Now we dub the three-strikeout perfect inning the "Kimbrel" and move on to Joel Hanrahan, who has a Kimbrel of his own this year and has really cut down on the walks. He's lights-out and with every Neftali Feliz save, he's safer. It's less likely he'll be traded if he makes himself more expensive with his play.
And, really, if we can have Brian Wilson in the elite tier with a 1.4ish WHIP, then we can put John Axford in this tier with a similar WHIP. He has 44 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings! Sure, he's walked a batter in about half of his appearances, but he's got the flame-thrower.


Tier 3: OK options (7) (AKA: The "Mustard" Tier.)


Jordan Walden, Anaheim Angels
Francisco Rodriguez, New York Mets
Francisco Cordero, Cincinnati Reds
Drew Storen, Washington Nationals
Chris Perez, Cleveland Indians

Andrew Bailey, Oakland Athletics
Leo Nunez, Florida Marlins

Comment:
Mustard doesn't have as many varietals as cheese. It's spicy, so the heat/speed connection is there, but it's not as versatile, in a literary sense. Still, it works.
We're not moving Francisco Rodriguez to the bottom of this tier because he blew a save by allowing a home run to a little-used backup in Atlanta. We're dropping him to the bottom of this tier because his team continues to languish and management continues to tell everyone that's he's available for a song and dance. Keep Jason Isringhausen close.
On the other hand, Leo Nunez moves down primarily because of his recent performance. He's blown three of his last five chances and seems to blow up once a week on average. He's still got an excellent strikeout-to-walk ratio, but he's inconsistent and he makes his owners worry.
Andrew Bailey is finally looking healthy and has pitched eight innings so far this year. He's no longer limited from back-to-backs even if Grant Balfour got a strange four-out, four-run save Tuesday night. Bailey also has seven strikeouts in those eight innings. Chris Perez has pitched 27 1/3 innings and has 18. Looking at Perez' 2.63 ERA, you might be forgiven for thinking of him as an elite closer. But it's just not right. He's like the Tim Hudson of relievers - everything looks good but there's a secret portion of the game that's just missing. Like eating a decent turkey swiss but someone forgot the mustard, know what I mean?



Tier 4: Question marks (7) (AKA: The "Bullet" Tier.)


Neftali Feliz, Texas Rangers
Sergio Santos, Chicago White Sox

Joakim Soria, Kansas City Royals
Kyle Farnsworth, Tampa Bay Rays
Brandon League, Seattle Mariners
Matt Capps, Minnesota Twins
Fernando Salas, St. Louis Cardinals

Comment:
"Bullet" is evocative. Straight fastballs certainly make one think of bullets. They can probably hurt as much as bullets when you get hit. But it's not very specific - couldn't a slider be a bullet? And also, the violence. The violence!
One scoreless appearance is not enough to feel that comfortable about Sergio Santos, even if he did strike out two and didn't walk a batter. Two straight scoreless outings, with five strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings does work a little better. Neftali Feliz is also closer to moving up because he's been better in June. In seven outings this month, he has eight strikeouts… and only one walk. Even better, the velocity is back and those bullets are flying again.
Joakim Soria has also re-found some of his missing velocity and is looking much better these days. He saved a game last week and now has seven strikeouts in his last six innings. He also only allowed five baserunners. He should continue to rise.
Fernando Salas, though, deserves to sit on the precipice a while longer. He still has three strikeouts for every walk, but he also has been scored up on in five of his last ten outings, and three of his last five. He's given up a couple home runs in the past week alone. Really, you never know with Tony LaRussa, he might just create his next closer the same way he found Salas. Kyle Farnsworth has hit a similar rough patch, but he's allowed three runs in his last four appearances and it's probably just a bump in the road. He's actually been improving his strikeout rate in June (11 strikeouts in 10 innings). And he's only walked two ballers all year! He would move up if we just didn't have the rest of his career as an argument against.

Read more about the most volatile closer situations on the next page.

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Tier 5: Rollercoaster rides (5) (AKA: The "BB" Tier.)


1st Chair: Ryan Madson, 2nd Chair: Jose Contreras, Philadelphia Phillies
1st Chair: Kevin Gregg, 2nd Chair: Koji Uehara, Baltimore Orioles
1st Chair: Mark Melancon, 2nd Chair: Wilton Lopez, Houston Astros

1st Chair: Frank Francisco, 2nd Chair: Jon Rauch, Toronto Blue Jays
1st Chair: Javy Guerra, 2nd Chair: Blake Hawksworth, Los Angeles Dodgers

Comment:
I guess a slow fastball might be a BB, or a straight one. But if it had any more giddyap, it would be a bullet. And a BB looks like a walk. All so confusing.
This tier is really shrinking as teams settle on closers. Even the situation in Philadelphia probably deserves to be in the tier above. The guy who couldn't close games now only has one blown save on the year and Brad Lidge is still a ways away. The possible sunset on his value is more worrisome than, say, Brandon League's, and that makes up the difference in tiers. David Aardsma has had two setbacks this year, and Brad Lidge is mostly moving along in his rehab with a slight bump or two in the road.
You could also say that Kevin Gregg doesn't belong down here. He has an ERA in the threes and has only blown four saves. But he has 23 strikeouts against 19 walks and is a fly-ball pitcher in Camden Yards. The home runs could start flying at any moment, and if one of those walks is on the bases, the saves might as well fly with them. Koji Uehara is a better pitcher, and if Gregg strings together a few blown saves, things will change.
The argument could even be made for Mark Melancon to move up. With Brandon Lyon most likely out for the year once he undergoes biceps tendon surgery, his role is relatively safe. Since becoming the closer in June, he has only had three save chances but has been successful in all three. He's also struck out ten against two walks in eight June appearances. That improvement in his strikeout ratio bodes well for him especially.
Toronto is our first real pick'em situation. Jon Rauch might be the closer right now, but he hasn't completed a save since June seventh. He's also given up four runs in his last four outings. Frank Francisco still has the better BBs, meaning his fastball is faster and he also walks more batters. Well, he also has the last two saves. So he's probably the closer. Now that the home runs aren't flying out of the park every outing, he's been decent. In June, he has given up one earned run with six strikeouts against three walks. If you had to bet on one to keep the job all year, it's Frankie Frank.
Los Angeles is even more of a mess. Javy Guerra got the last save - June 19th against Houston - but he's not the greatest pitcher. In six and a third June innings, he only has two strikeouts against two walks. He's probably a temporary solution, but with Vicente Padilla out for the year, Jonathan Broxton still rehabbing, and Hong-Chih Kuo dealing with a mystery confidence issue, who knows what 'temporary' means.

<CENTER>* * * * * * * * * *</CENTER>


Injured

David Aardsma, Seattle Mariners (elbow)
Brad Lidge, Philadelphia Phillies (shoulder)
Jonathan Broxton, Los Angeles Dodgers (elbow)
Vicente Padilla, Los Angeles Dodgers (neck)
Joe Nathan, Minnesota Twins (elbow)

Comment:
Not a ton of news here. The biggest, both literally and figuratively, might be that Jonathan Broxton is on his rehab assignment currently and could be on the major league roster by the weekend. Also of note is that Joe Nathan pitched a perfect inning and touched 93 MPH over the weekend. Both guys could be closing as soon as this weekend, with Broxton ahead by a nose, or a belly.

The Deposed:
Fernando Rodney, Los Angeles
Ryan Franklin, St. Louis
Brandon Lyon, Houston

We told you last week to expect Brandon Lyon on this list shortly, and now he's here. We could put him on the injured list, but he's headed for season-ending surgery and wasn't all that great to begin with. Ryan Franklin fixed a mechanical flaw last Friday or something. He's still not a great pitcher, and he wasn't even used during a nightmare nine-run eighth inning Tuesday night. Trever Miller, Jason Motte, Brian Tallet, Miguel Batista and Maikel Cleto were all used instead.

<CENTER>* * * * * * * * * *</CENTER>

The Steals Department

He's hitting .252 with one home run and is known for his glove first, but Alcides Escobar is heating up. Over the last two weeks, he's got nearly a .500 batting average with five steals. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that he could easily hit .275 with twenty-plus more steals going forward. In mixed leagues, that's more of a Middle Infield type of play, but Ian Desmond and Erick Aybar owners might want to take notice that there's a guy that could spell their starting shortstop for a little while. Ryan Theriot owners? They could even make the switch straight up. A nice batting average is only worth so much if the guy isn't hitting home runs or stealing bags.

Maybe we can drop the pre-amble when it comes to the deep league options. Often, we have to point out in this space that the player is flawed. For example, Chris Getz has no power at all. He might be lucky to hit one home run this year. And he doesn't *quite* play every day. And his combination of skills might not beget better than a .270 batting average going forward. But you know what, maybe we don't need all that. The fact of the matter is that, in deep leagues, all you really need to know is that he's a living, breathing major-league regular that has speed. That mediocre batting average, plus another 10-to-15 stolen bags, works in some leagues. And if you're in those leagues, you probably don't need the whole pre-amble about his flaws.

 

[HacheMan]

Santana, Morse pick up the pace

Some slow-starting hitters finally starting to live up to lofty expectations



Tristan H. Cockcroft

It's easy to forget this today, but eight short weeks ago (and in a few instances even more recently), fantasy owners were in an all-out panic about a few slow-starting players. While we constantly stress on these pages that you should be patient with your most significant draft-day investments, time and time again, people tend to get impatient in April, itching to make judgments off tiny, tiny statistical samples.

We -- the fantasy community -- can be an awfully reactionary bunch. We'll do it in April and we'll even do it in June, but that there's a difference today that wasn't present then: A player's season stat line looks a heck of a lot different in June than it did in April because of the many, many weeks that preceded it.


Yes, I am referring to the phenomenon of the full-season pace.


Let's face it, a player's full-season stat line -- and resulting pace -- is probably the most-cited set of numbers when it comes to making judgments about him. We can safely say, for instance, that so far Curtis Granderson has been a better power source than Mike Stanton, because Granderson has five more home runs (21-16) than Stanton. We might even use those facts to deduce that Granderson is a better power source than Stanton, and that includes the whole from-today-forward angle that's so important in fantasy. (For the record, I prefer Stanton, albeit only slightly.)


But for some reason, those judgments tend to take on equal weight no matter what point we are at in the season. For example: In April, we might have judged that Jonny Gomes, who had six home runs and 14 RBIs through the first 18 days of the 2011 season, was a trustworthy fantasy option. Meanwhile, if we treated Miguel Olivo, who has seven homers and 15 RBIs in the month of June, the same way, it'd be considered awkward. Those sample sizes are practically identical, but the reason for the difference, and our hesitance with Olivo, is his four homers and 29 RBIs in April and May, which keep his full-season paces at more modest 24-75 numbers.


Conversely, we seem to have given slow-starting Carlos Santana a harder time than deserved, because thanks to his .228/.358/.395 rates, six homers and 24 RBIs in April and May, he'll be spending the remainder of the season just trying to get his full-season pace numbers in line with most of our preseason projections.

It's Santana upon whom I'll focus today: When we're talking about a player with considerably more skill than, say, a Gomes or Olivo, why can't we be selective about the sample sizes we care about? Just throwing this out there: In his past 25 games, Santana is a .287/.387/.506 hitter with four home runs and 10 RBIs. If we used those to generate a full-season pace, he'd finish with these encouraging "power" numbers: 26 home runs, 45 doubles.


Santana's actual paces in those categories: 23 homers, 29 doubles.


If it's OK for us to make rash judgments about players in April, who at the time might have had as little as 15 games' worth of stats backing them up, why isn't it OK for us to make similar judgments in June? Back in the April 12 "60 Feet 6 Inches," I suggested that drawing conclusions off small sample sizes was fair in fantasy: "If you're to cherry-pick your samples, you're going to need some other type of supporting evidence. Conversely, if you're to dismiss samples, you'll need some reason to believe the numbers are fluky."


Today, let's do that, because there are a lot of players like Santana who are suffering from unexpectedly miserable starts to 2011, yet whose performance in the past few weeks is actually the far greater future indicator.


In Santana's case, it appears to be a case of his becoming more aggressive. During that 25-game hot streak, he has swung 38.8 percent of the time and chased pitches 19.9 percent of the time, and managed .320/.426/.600 rates against fastballs; those numbers are right in line with his encouraging rookie year of 2010: 38.7 percent swing rate, 20.6 chase percentage, .266/.430/.481 against fastballs. Now compare those to Santana's performance before May 27, the date this hot streak began: 31.6 percent, 13.5 percent and .177/.327/.326 rates.


Being that he's a catcher, a position that often requires a longer adjustment period for a young player -- hello, Matt Wieters -- Santana's recent rebound seems more in line with what you should expect looking forward. He's again a top-five fantasy backstop; but that so-so full-year pace might actually make him a bargain.


Michael Morse, Washington Nationals: Matthew Berry and I were both very much on this bandwagon in the preseason; though he projected 25 homers and I hedged a bit with a 20-homer expectation. Unfortunately, Morse wound up a tremendous disappointment in the season's early weeks, managing .258/.286/.351 numbers and only two homers in 36 games through May 21. The very next day, however, he made the first of what has been 28 consecutive starts at first base, a position that is now solely his, with Adam LaRoche out for the season. During that time, look at Morse's numbers: .351/.415/.739 rates, 11 home runs, 32 RBIs. Even with his miserable start, he's on pace for 29 homers and 95 RBIs. His hot streak, by comparison, projects to 64-185 numbers.


Morse isn't about to challenge for the single-season records in homers and RBIs, but 30 and 100 might actually be shortchanging him at this point. Consider this: He's a .293 hitter with 31 homers and 94 RBIs in 576 plate appearances in his three-year Nationals career. He also projects to 391 PAs in 89 games (the number the Nationals have remaining), using merely his numbers during his 28-game hot streak. Even if we're conservative and say 350, that means another 19 homers and 57 RBIs are coming. A 20-60 player from today forward? He sure could be.



TOP 125 HITTERS

Note: Tristan H. Cockcroft's top 125 hitters are ranked for their expected performance from this point forward, not for statistics that have already been accrued.
<TABLE><THEAD><TR><TH style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Rnk </CENTER></TH><TH style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom">Player, Team <CENTER></CENTER></TH><TH style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Prev
Rnk </CENTER></TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>1 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Ryan Braun, MIL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>3 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>2 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Adrian Gonzalez, BOS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>4 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>3 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Matt Kemp, LAD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>5 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>4 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jose Bautista, TOR </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>2 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>5 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Miguel Cabrera, DET </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>7 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Joey Votto, CIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>7 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jose Reyes, NYM </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>11 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>8 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Robinson Cano, NYY </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>8 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>9 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Carlos Gonzalez, COL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>10 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>10 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Alex Rodriguez, NYY </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>9 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>11 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Troy Tulowitzki, COL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>13 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>12 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>14 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>13 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Mark Teixeira, NYY </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>15 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>14 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Curtis Granderson, NYY </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>16 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>15 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Prince Fielder, MIL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>18 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>16 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Justin Upton, ARI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>19 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>17 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Josh Hamilton, TEX </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>22 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>18 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Andrew McCutchen, PIT </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>21 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>19 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Dustin Pedroia, BOS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>33 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>20 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Hanley Ramirez, FLA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>17 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>21 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jay Bruce, CIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>20 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>22 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Matt Holliday, STL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>35 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>23 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Evan Longoria, TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>24 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>24 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">David Ortiz, BOS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>31 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>25 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Rickie Weeks, MIL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>28 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>26 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Adam Lind, TOR </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>46 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>27 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Paul Konerko, CHW </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>34 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>28 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Nelson Cruz, TEX </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>23 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>29 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Ryan Howard, PHI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>27 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>30 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Kevin Youkilis, BOS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>29 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>31 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Drew Stubbs, CIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>25 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>32 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Mike Stanton, FLA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>30 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>33 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Carl Crawford, BOS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>12 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>34 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Hunter Pence, HOU </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>26 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>35 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Michael Bourn, HOU </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>37 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>36 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Elvis Andrus, TEX </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>32 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>37 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Chris Young, ARI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>43 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>38 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Ryan Zimmerman, WAS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>52 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>39 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Chase Utley, PHI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>49 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>40 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>36 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>41 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Shane Victorino, PHI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>42 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>42 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">David Wright, NYM </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>41 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>43 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Adam Jones, BAL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>54 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>44 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Ian Kinsler, TEX </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>39 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>45 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jimmy Rollins, PHI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>48 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>46 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Victor Martinez, DET </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>45 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>47 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Carlos Quentin, CHW </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>51 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>48 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Brandon Phillips, CIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>38 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>49 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">B.J. Upton, TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>40 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>50 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Adrian Beltre, TEX </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>47 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>51 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Brian McCann, ATL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>67 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>52 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jason Heyward, ATL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>62 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>53 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Alexei Ramirez, CHW </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>44 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>54 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Shin-Soo Choo, CLE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>56 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>55 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Albert Pujols, STL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>1 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>56 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Michael Morse, WAS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>69 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>57 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Ichiro Suzuki, SEA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>58 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>58 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Ben Zobrist, TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>61 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>59 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Andre Ethier, LAD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>59 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>60 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jayson Werth, WAS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>53 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>61 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Mark Reynolds, BAL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>68 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>62 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Corey Hart, MIL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>55 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>63 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Carlos Santana, CLE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>80 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>64 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Joe Mauer, MIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>63 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>65 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Lance Berkman, STL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>72 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>66 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Starlin Castro, CHC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>75 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>67 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Gaby Sanchez, FLA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>71 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>68 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Pablo Sandoval, SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>50 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>69 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Neil Walker, PIT </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>60 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>70 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Danny Espinosa, WAS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>82 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>71 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Stephen Drew, ARI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>57 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>72 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Billy Butler, KC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>77 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>73 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Brett Gardner, NYY </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>81 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>74 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Michael Young, TEX </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>70 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>75 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Carlos Beltran, NYM </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>73 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>76 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Alex Rios, CHW </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>92 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>77 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Colby Rasmus, STL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>74 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>78 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Michael Cuddyer, MIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>110 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>79 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Kelly Johnson, ARI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>85 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>80 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Brennan Boesch, DET </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>108 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>81 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Alex Gordon, KC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>96 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>82 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Coco Crisp, OAK </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>78 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>83 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Rajai Davis, TOR </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>64 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>84 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Eric Hosmer, KC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>65 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>85 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Angel Pagan, NYM </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>121 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>86 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Aramis Ramirez, CHC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>91 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>87 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Bobby Abreu, LAA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>66 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>88 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Miguel Montero, ARI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>89 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>89 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Adam Dunn, CHW </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>76 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>90 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Dan Uggla, ATL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>79 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>91 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Nick Swisher, NYY </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>109 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>92 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">J.J. Hardy, BAL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>112 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>93 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Logan Morrison, FLA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>94 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>94 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Delmon Young, MIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>111 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>95 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Derek Jeter, NYY </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>102 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>96 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jhonny Peralta, DET </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>104 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>97 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Nick Markakis, BAL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>103 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>98 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Aubrey Huff, SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>90 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>99 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Martin Prado, ATL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>83 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>100 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Vladimir Guerrero, BAL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>93 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>101 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Alex Avila, DET </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>114 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>102 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Alfonso Soriano, CHC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>106 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>103 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Johnny Damon, TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>86 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>104 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Denard Span, MIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>99 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>105 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Howard Kendrick, LAA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>84 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>106 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jose Tabata, PIT </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>97 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>107 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Carlos Pena, CHC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>108 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Matt Joyce, TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>87 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>109 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Vernon Wells, LAA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>110 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Juan Pierre, CHW </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>88 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>111 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Erick Aybar, LAA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>95 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>112 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Michael Brantley, CLE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>101 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>113 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Ian Desmond, WAS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>98 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>114 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Roger Bernadina, WAS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>115 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Carlos Lee, HOU </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>124 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>116 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Torii Hunter, LAA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>125 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>117 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Andres Torres, SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>118 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>118 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Austin Jackson, DET </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>119 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Justin Smoak, SEA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>115 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>120 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Aaron Hill, TOR </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>121 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Domonic Brown, PHI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>119 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>122 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Grady Sizemore, CLE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>107 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>123 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Jeff Francoeur, KC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>124 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Mike Moustakas, KC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>113 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>125 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">Melky Cabrera, KC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>




Adam Lind, Toronto Blue Jays: That burgeoning power source we all witnessed in 2009 appears to be back, at least if you account for his performance since his June 4 return from a back problem; he's a .361/.429/.787 hitter with eight home runs and 18 RBIs in 17 games since that date. Frankly, though, he was slugging even before that, and that is largely the reason you should buy this hot spell. Another reason: Lind is a .320/.352/.500 hitter in his 54 plate appearances against left-handers in 2011, fixing what was a major problem area for him a year ago, when he managed miserable .117/.159/.182 rates in 145 PAs against them.


The Lind of 2009 was a 35-homer, 114-RBI man. The Lind we've seen since April 26 -- including the missed time due to injury -- projects to 24 more homers and 56 more RBIs. So why can't we say the 2009 Lind is back?


Brett Gardner, New York Yankees: Gardner's fantasy value point isn't the equal of Santana's, or Morse's, or Lind's, and I've openly questioned his appeal at times this season. But if you've hopped aboard this bandwagon, there's every reason to believe you won't hop off the rest of the year, at least not if you regard him as mostly a steals/runs player, not an all-around standout. Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long deserves much of the credit for Gardner's rebound; Long helped Granderson become a star the past calendar year and he has helped the speedy Gardner improve his hitting skills the past several weeks, to the point that Gardner is a .346/.427/.513 hitter in his past 27 games.


The big change: Gardner has become more aggressive, swinging at 13.3 percent of first pitches during that 27-game span, up from 9.0 percent in his first 39 contests and 7.4 percent in 2010. That had been a weakness of his; he would sit back and try to work walks and pitchers were adapting to that. Gardner isn't about to bat significantly north of .300 the rest of the year, and manager Joe Girardi still seems to fear using him against left-handers -- despite his .286/.390/.343 rates against them in 2011 -- but a .280 average and .375 on-base percentage is possible, and that'll provide him plenty of chances to challenge for the steals lead from today forward, not to mention tally a healthy runs total in this lineup.


Three up



Brennan Boesch, Detroit Tigers: So which is it: Is Boesch merely a first-half player,or, at age 26, has he finally arrived as an every-week fantasy option for the remainder of the year? I'll throw the numbers out there: On the morning of June 22 last season, Boesch was hitting .337/.384/.617 with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs in 47 games, but batted just .208/.283/.294 with four homers and 31 RBIs in 86 games from that point forward. On the morning of June 22 this year, he's a .298/.358/.482 hitter with 10 homers and 38 RBIs in 68 games. It's up to you whether you believe; I do. Besides the fact that he's a 26-year-old sophomore, meaning that his rookie-year second half might have been mere adjustment period than harbinger of things to come, Boesch has one most interesting strength: He's a .339/.406/.441 hitter against left-handers, meaning no platoon worry whatsoever. He's no top-25 hitter, but he's definitely a mainstay in your lineup.


Alcides Escobar, Kansas City Royals: To think that just two short weeks ago, Escobar was shaping up as one of the worst every-day players in baseball, with a horrendous .472 OPS in 60 games through June 6. He was swinging at everything, with his 51.9 percent swing rate 18th among qualified hitters and his 38.4 chase percentage (swings at pitches outside the strike zone) 10th, and barely doing anything with the balls he did put into play. But in 12 games since that date, Escobar has nine multi-hit efforts, a .512/.543/.744 hitting line and six stolen bases, which can be attributed to the high on-base percentage. Could it be that he's finally adapting to the new league, something that even the great Adam Dunn can't yet claim? Perhaps, which is why owners in desperate need of steals might want to take a look. Escobar should provide little else than that one category, but his value in it is strong; he's actually seventh in steals among shortstops (12) for the entire season, despite his miserable production the first two months.


Danny Espinosa, Washington Nationals: We stressed during the preseason that Espinosa would be a streaky hitter, and a streaky hitter he has been. Right now, however, he's in the midst of one of those hot streaks; he's a .287/.348/.590 hitter with nine home runs, 24 RBIs and five steals in his past 33 games. Still, you can break his 2011 down into three separate "streak" periods: the 20-game hot streak to begin the year, during which time he hit .281/.364/.484 with 15 RBIs in 20 games; the 23-game cold spell that followed it, during which he had .125/.231/.288 numbers in 23 contests; and this hot stretch. The total package might not amount to anything more than a .250 batting average, which presents problems for fantasy teams, but keep in mind that he's on pace for 29 homers, 98 RBIs and 18 steals. That has a place in every league, even if it means you sit him in a mixed league when cold.


Three down



Gordon Beckham, Chicago White Sox: It's getting more and more difficult to be patient with him, and the White Sox certainly appear to have lost their patience. They've now benched him for three consecutive games, primarily due to his .188/.264/.333 stats in the month of June, numbers that hint he's actually regressing in terms of performance. Owners in shallow mixed leagues have long since passed the point of patience; Beckham is owned in only 63.1 percent of ESPN leagues, which might actually be too many. Any pro-Beckham case is centered around one somewhat arbitrary fact: It was at this precise time of the year in 2010 that he turned a lost season around, as he batted .310/.369/.516 in 67 games from this date forward. Maybe the three-day "breather" will help him get there -- he wouldn't be the first such success story -- but the smart play is to keep Beckham reserved or on waivers and monitor him for progress in the coming weeks.


Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins: Two hits and a stolen base Tuesday represent a step in the right direction, but Ramirez has a long way to go to restore his first-round draft-day stock. Even with it he's a .174/.269.217 hitter with only one extra-base hit, a double and two steals in eight games since his return from the disabled list. In addition, he's now surrounded by clubhouse controversy: new Marlins manager Jack McKeon benched him Monday, reportedly because he missed a team meeting. Fresh blood at the helm could be a positive for Ramirez, and this isn't a signal for his fantasy owners to unload him on the cheap. But he's got work to do, and right now is, simply put, not first-round material.


Anthony Rizzo, San Diego Padres: From rookie hype to rookie bust, all in the course of just two weeks? I've said we're a reactionary bunch, and I maintain that the Padres would be smart to stick with Rizzo through his big league adjustment period, and that fantasy owners might yet get useful numbers out of him in time. One piece of supporting evidence: Kyle Blanks, a former top Padres prospect, was a .188/.316/.344 hitter in his first 27 big league games, before exploding with .298/.385/.643 numbers, eight homers and 15 RBIs in his final 27 contests in 2009. Still, if you play in a mixed league, you cannot sit through Rizzo's adjustment period, and if you can't bench him, it's not unthinkable to cut him. (Just make sure you monitor him closely for signs of improvement if you do.)


New position eligibility



The following players have become eligible at new positions -- it's 10 games to qualify at a new spot -- in ESPN standard leagues during the past week: Jeff Baker (1B), Conor Jackson (1B), Scott Sizemore (3B), Chris Stewart (1B) and Omar Vizquel (2B).