Saves: 7






Other Appearances:
J.P. Howell (6) - Got his sixth save of the season after resting yesterday.
Mariano Rivera (19) - Rivera is pitching like the old Rivera and his 0.98 WHIP proves it.
Chad Qualls - Pitched a quiet inning.
Fernando Rodney - When will the Tigers stop bringing Rodney into a non-save situation. He gave up two runs on a two-run blast off the bat of Mark Ellis.

John Smoltz had his second start of the season interrupted by rain, but it was much better than his first. Smoltz only pitched four innings, but allowed just three hits, one run, and struck out two. I am still on the fence on what to expect from him this season, but this was definitely a step in the right direction. At this point in his career he is more of a fifth starter in your rotation or even an end of the roster kind of guy. As of right now, I would continue to start him, but keep expectations under control.

What can we expect from Johan Santana while the entire Mets' offense is on the DL? He must have so much pressure on himself to perform, that perhaps he will go into a funk as well. He has now lost three of his last four starts, and was less than stellar on Tuesday. Santana allowed four earned runs over six innings, walked four and struck out four. The walks are so not like Santana that you have to figure that the trend won't continue. If you have worries about Santana, take a look at his career second half numbers, that should make you feel better.

Joe Saunders has had a pattern of one good start, one bad start. Unfortunately for his owners, this was his turn to be a bad start. Saunders allowed eight runs over just 3.2 innings, walked five and struck out only two. He still is on pace to win 15 games, but given his second half last year, I'm not sure if he will reach that number. If you can get a good return for him in a trade, I would certainly consider moving Saunders. I still think he is good enough that I wouldn't just flat out drop him.

Bronson Arroyo got off to a pretty good start, but has been struggling badly of late. He gave up five earned runs on Tuesday, and has now allowed five runs or more in three of his last four starts. Arroyo is not a guy that I would hold on my roster unless your league has 16 teams or more. If Arroyo gets a matchup against a weak hitting NL teams I would give him a start, but other than that I would leave him in free agency.

Martin Prado had a great 4/5 game including the winning hit, but don't fall into the trap of picking up the hot hand. Prado has never really been a full-time player, and while he might be earning some playing time with his recent success, there is no way that it will continue. He is a fine part time player, but if he were to play everyday I guarantee his numbers will suffer. Leave him in free agency, that is where he belongs.

Ross Ohlendorff has now given up three runs or less in four of his last five starts after his Tuesday outing. He shut the Cubs out for seven innings and struck out eight batters. Ohlendorff is not anywhere near that kind of strikeout pitcher, as he only had 44 in his previous 89 innings. It was impressive that he was so good against the Cubbies, but this isn't a guy that I would pick up unless I was in an NL only league.

Gordon Beckham had his second consecutive three hit game, and his second consecutive two RBI game. The kid has a ton of potential that I have talked about in these articles before, and now he is starting to put it together some. I still don't believe that he is ready to be a consistent fantasy force, but all those Ofers that he took when he came up are likely behind him. He is worth having on your team (and in keeper leagues is a must have), but I just don't know that he will help you on a daily basis.

Mailing List

I'm not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don't get a request to join it. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an email to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others. The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc. This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefitted from the list. Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don't miss the "Fantasy Baseball Tonight" podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can't miss if you plan on winning your league.

Labels: bronson arroyo, gordon beckham, joe saunders, johan santana, john smoltz, martin prado, ross ohlendorff

I think the Phillies are going to come up with a new promotion. It will be Brad Lidge Night sponsored by Tums. Lidge did collect his 14th save, but as usual there was drama. Lidge gave up a bunt single, followed by a walk. The good news is he wiggled out of it, but boy he likes to make them interesting. Obviously, Ryan Madson can't get the job done, so it will take something monumental for them to take the job away from him. However, he will make you sweat and won't do any favors for your ERA or WHIP.

Tommy Hanson is really looking like the real deal. After his six shutout innings on Sunday, he now hasn't allowed an earned run in his last three starts against the Red Sox, Yankees, and Reds. His strikeout numbers have been a little lower than I had expected, but how can you complain about 4-0 with an ERA under 2.50? If Hanson can beat the Yanks and the Red Sox then you can feel free to start him against any opponent. He will likely come back to Earth a little bit, but he is showing that you were wise to hold him on your bench all that time.

David Price on the other hand continues to struggle some. Today he only allowed one run over 6.1 innings, but he still is having trouble with control, as he walked five batters. In five of his first seven starts in the majors, he has allowed two runs or less, so the walks aren't killing him as far as ERA is concerned. However, he usually doesn't go deep into the game, and his WHIP is over 1.50. You have to just hope that he is figuring it out and he will start to be the guy we figured he would be. The good news is they didn't take him out of the rotation when they brought back Scott Kazmir, so the Rays still believe that he can get hot and pitch well.

Ryan Sadowski had a pretty good start to his major league career, but his minor league numbers suggest that you shouldn't put too much stock into this. He did have a pretty good record in the minors, as he was 13-6 over the past year and a half, but his ERA was over 4.50. He was a pretty decent strikeout pitcher down on the farm, but he wasn't a guy who was highly thought of. If he has another couple good starts, perhaps you can think about him, but right now he isn't worth a look.

Alexei Ramirez homered today for the fifth time in the last eleven games, and you can't deny any more that the guy is back on track and is someone that you can count on. I was very tempted a couple of times to let him go or trade him cheap during the first two months of the season, but boy am I happy that I didn't and you should be too if you were patient. He hit his tenth homer of the season, and I believe that he is a lock to go 20/20 again.

Francisco Liriano won his second consecutive start, so maybe he just needs to pitch against National League teams. Liriano allowed just two runs over seven innings and struck out six. The best news may be that he only walked one guy. Until I start seeing him do this against American League teams that he will face more often, I'm not ready to put too much stock in this win. I am hopeful still because I like the guy, but I am not ready to say that he is back.

Matt Palmer may have improved his record to 7-1, but he hasn't been impressive his past couple times out. Palmer was the beneficiary of great run support to get the win, as he allowed six earned runs over just five innings and didn't strike out a batter. He's been decent most of the time and could be used against weaker teams, but I don't believe that he is a guy that you start every time out.

Chad Gaudin is a guy you can target if you really need strikeouts, but just be careful how much stock you put in him. Gaudin won his second straight start to raise his record to 4-6 with a dominating performance against the Rangers. He allowed just one hit over eight innings and struck out nine. Gaudin now has 75 Ks in just 70 innings. He isn't a rookie, and has bounced around the majors, last making an impact in Oakland. He is an OK pitcher, but his ERA of just under 5.00 should tell you exactly what to expect from him if you play him on a regular basis.

Where has the power gone for Nick Markakis? With just two days left in the month, Markakis has a grand total of ONE homer for the all of June. He did only hit twenty in 2008, so it isn't like he is way off his usual pace, but when he had five in May we thought he could top 25 for the year. It now appears that he will fall into the 20-22 range. He is still a .300 hitter and is a quality outfielder. He will get hot again, don't trade him off cheap.

Emilio Bonifacio stole another base on Sunday, giving him three on the weekend. He has gotten a hit in six straight games, and if you are DESPERATE for steals I would give him a try, but I think he will go into a tailspin again before too long.

Mariano Rivera owners should be petitioning their leagues to allow hitting stats for pitchers to count. Rivera was forced to bat tonight against the Mets and earned a walk with the bases loaded for his first career RBI. Francisco Rodriguez inexplicably walked the Yankee closer to force in a run, as you can just add one more blooper to the Mets' season. The fact that they are even close in the standings is a minor miracle between their injuries and many blunders in the field, on the basepaths, and with the pitching.

Mailing List

I'm not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don't get a request to join it. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an email to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others. The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc. This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefitted from the list. Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don't miss the "Fantasy Baseball Tonight" podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can't miss if you plan on winning your league.

Labels: alexei ramirez, brad lidge, chad gaudin, david price, emilio bonifacio, francisco liriano, francisco rodriguez, mariano rivera, matt palmer, nick markakis, ryan sadkowski, scott kazmir, tommy hanson

There were so many players that were candidates for this weeks Hot 8, many of which have already been included in previous weeks. Among these players that I still recommend you take a chance on or at least keep an eye on are Homer Bailey, Kevin Frandsen, Drew Stubbs, Kyle Blanks, Marcus Thames and of course Neftali Feliz. Feliz in fact has been moved to the bullpen in Oklahoma City this week in order to get him ready to pitch in the Rangers pen down the stretch this season. He can make a big impact in a late inning role for sure so be ready to make that move pretty soon.For this week however I decided to cleanse our palate so to speak and give you guys some new faces to The Hot 8. Though you will see one familiar face in this weeks version, his last appearance was way back in April so many of you had probably forgot about him by now. Get your pencils and scorecards ready, here is this weeks Hot 8:

THROWIN' SMOKE
1) Ricky Romero (LHP - Starter) -- Blue Jays -- Romero is once again on fire for the Jays after a stint on the disabled list and a couple poor outings. On the season he is 5-3 with a 3.20 ERA and 54 K's in 64 2/3 innings. Romero is a classic late bloomer who had been treading water in the minors the past four season before finally starting to get it late last year. He has found success in throwing both his curve and changeup for strikes early in counts which makes his mid-90's fastball much more effective and "heavy" to hitters. Although he has struck out 33 in his previous 5 starts, Romero is not to be considered a high strikeout guy. He has found a nice rhythm with his pitches and the consistency he had lacked in previous minor league seasons. Right now he is one of the hottest left handers in the league and needs to be a pickup and hold until he proves otherwise.

2) Kevin Correia (RHP- Starter) -- Padres -- I wonder how many of you out there have ever even heard of Kevin Correia before? I have been high on him for years now and he has not failed yet in letting me down. So, when putting together my sleeper list for this season I finally decided to cut the cord with Correia as he had proved himself to be nothing more than a 28 year old spot starter or long reliever. Not even half way into the 2009 season now and Correia is now the ace of the Padres pitching staff! At least until Jake Peavy returns that is. But nonetheless, Correia has made tremendous strides in recent starts as evidenced by his 4-1 record, 2.40 ERA, 29 K's and only 3 walks in his past five starts. He credits this turn around to improved use of his curveball, a pitch he hardly used before this season. He is also throwing much more changeups than he used to and is using his legs more which has really helped with his control. Credit Bud Black with fine tuning some of Correia's mechanics and allowing him to find his way this season. He is a must pickup right now and should be rode for as long as this run lasts.

MORE PLAYING TIME = FANTASY HEAT
3) Jake Fox (OF/3B) -- Cubs -- Fox will be eligible at 3B in the very near future as he's earned his time there by putting in a ton of extra work with Cubs infield coaches. Lou Pinella gushes when talking about Fox nowadays probably because he is the only Cub player who is hitting no matter who the opposing pitcher is, the weather conditions, the spot in the order or the situation at hand. The kid is just raking and has been pretty much all season long. He got a call up to the show after hitting a whopping .409/.495/.841 in AAA Iowa. Since the call he's hitting .349/.354/.605 with 2 HR's and 11 RBI. I believe Fox is the reason Pinella finally stood up to disgruntled OF Milton Bradley because if Bradley wants to cry and pout and be a problem, Fox could slide very nicely into the RF and lineup position that Bradley has been under performing in all season long. Whatever happens with Bradley, Jake Fox has been too productive to ignore and is going to get plenty of chances going forward for a team with big upside potential.

4) Brett Gardner (Outfield) -- Yankees -- Melky Cabrera's hot streak is over and thus Gardner has found himself back into prime action for the Yankees. On the season Gardner is hitting .293/.364/.427 and most impressively has 17 stolen bases in 19 opportunities. The more he gets in the lineup and produces at these current paces the more dramatic his value increases. Gardner very well could steal 40+ bases this year. He is currently available in 93% of Yahoo leagues but that number will tumble quickly with the realization that Gardner is seeing regular playing time once again in the Bronx. Any fantasy team that could use some speed or wants to keep it away from their opponent must find a spot for Gardner ASAP.

5) Casey McGehee (2B/3B) -- Brewers -- Let me be the first to say how stunned I am at the production the Brewers have gotten out of their 2B platoon of Craig Counsell and Casey McGehee. Shortly after Rickie Weeks was lost for the season I was asked about McGehee on an episode of Fantasy Baseball Tonight to which I said not to bother with him. I was and still kind of believe that Alcides Escobar will eventually get the call up and J.J. Hardy will see time at 2B but for now there is no more ignoring of what McGehee is doing. In his last 10 games he is 12-38 (.342) with 3 HR's 7 RBI and 8 runs scored. He is seeing time at both 2B and 3B for the struggling Bill Hall. Just about everybody I know including myself, are looking for middle infield help on their fantasy teams. For the short term, I believe McGehee is a guy that can help those of us who didn't get Ben Zobrist bridge the gap until better solutions evolve.

JUST A SPARK, BUT...
6) Wladimir Balentien (Outfield) -- Mariners -- One of the best "under the radar" young power hitters in the game. Balentien is set for a big increase in playing time due to Endy Chavez being lost for the season now. The Mariners went for an all defensive outfield this season. A very intriguing approach unless of course you play fantasy baseball. Balentien has hit 20+ HR's the past four seasons mostly in the minor leagues and also possesses the speed to swipe 10+ bases annually. He has got Sheffield-like bat speed and the ball just flies off his bat to all fields. He will never hit for a good average however and will strike out a whole bunch. With steady playing time the rest of the season there is no reason to think Balentien can't continue his streak of 20+ HR's and give you an occasional stolen base. He'll hit somewhere in the middle of Seattle's order also which will provide him good RBI opportunities as well.

7) Tyler Clippard (RHP - Relief) -- Nationals -- This is for those of you who email me all of the time looking for the closers in waiting. Clippard is a career minor leaguer who has found success this season in making a conversion from starter to reliever. He's spent most of his time in the Yankees organization and actually made a decent couple of starts for them back in 2007. For AAA Syracuse this year he was 4-1 with a 0.92 ERA and 42 K's in 39 IP while posting a 0.89 WHIP as well. The Nats are obviously desperate for some bullpen help and anytime Mike MacDougal is your closer the job is ultimately available. Clippard was once a top prospect but never really filled out his frame the way scouts would have liked. Still, his fastball/curveball/changeup has shown to be able to get people out at least in the short term.

THE NEXT HOT CATCHER PROSPECT
8) Angel Salome (Catcher) -- Brewers -- Salome is my favorite minor league hitter to watch. Anybody who has the MiLB.TV subscription like I do, please check out the Nashville Sounds and their tiny little free swinging catcher. Salome will drive hitting coaches crazy with his unorthodox style and pitch selection but he has amazing hand/eye coordination. I call him the right handed Ichiro and while nobody can quite do what Ichiro does, Salome is without question the poor man's version. He hit .360/.415/.559 last season in AA Huntsville and won a batting title. For a small guy (5'7"), he does have surprising power but is more of a slap type hitter who will spray the ball to all fields when he is right. Salome started out this season horribly but has caught fire lately hitting .400 with 2 HR's, 7 RBI and 10 runs scored in his last 10 games. Salome also has a plus arm behind the plate although he gets messy with his footwork at times which leads to a lower than expected caught stealing percentage for the youngster. Still, this is a prospect to be very excited about. He is not only productive but fun to watch and can fill a big need for a team that is right in the thick of the playoff race and has a great established offense. You will not find catchers who can hit .300 on the free agent market for long. This is why you'll need to make a play for Salome quickly if you want to upgrade yourself at this always thin fantasy position.

That is the Hot 8 for this week. What do you guys think? Post your comments below or email me at jeff@fantasybaseballsearch.com

Scott Kazmir returned to the Rays' rotation, and I have to say he pitched much better than I anticipated. Kazmir was struggling badly before he was placed on the DL, but his pitching line was pretty sharp on Saturday. Kazmir was his usual self, only lasting five innings, but allowed just two runs, walked only one and struck out five. While I expect Kazmir to be better than he was to open the year, I figured he would struggle in his first couple times to the mound. Regardless of whether he was good or not today, Kazmir is the kind of pitcher that you start every time out, regardless of the matchup. To make room for Kazmir the Rays sent Andy Sonnanstine to the minors, which is great news for David Price owners. It certainly seems like he was another candidate to be sent down.

A.J. Burnett has had a very up and down season for the Yankees, but today was what they expected when they handed out that contract. Granted the Mets have a ton of injuries, but Burnett was masterful none the less. He threw seven shutout innings, allowed just one hit and struck out ten. I don't believe that this is Burnett turning the corner, I still think that he will be very inconsistent and will have his share of difficult outings. On a positive note, he has been perfectly healthy so far in 2009.

For those of you who listen to the Tuesday podcast of Fantasy Baseball Tonight, you know I have been waiting for the start by Homer Bailey. I said he would stink, Jeff said pick him up. Now, he only allowed three runs in five innings, but Bailey walked seven. I stand by my position. DO NOT pick this guy up. Not every high ranking prospect always pans out, and I stand firm by my belief that Bailey will not be a successful Major Leaguer.

John Lackey finally pitched like the John Lackey that we know, and he is a guy that I think will round into shape and will begin to pitch better more often than not in the future. Lackey didn't allow an earned run over seven innings and struck out nine. Lackey has had some injury troubles in the past couple seasons, but when he is in there, Lackey is one of the more underrated pitchers in baseball. If you can get him kinda cheap I would think about making a move to trade for him, but if you have him, feel good that you should be getting more production from him in the future.

J.A. Happ had the performance of day though, making his fantasy owners Happ-y as he threw a complete game shutout against the Blue Jays. Happ allowed just five hits, didn't walk anyone and struck out four to raise his record to 5-0. He had a couple of rocky outings recently, so it was good to see him get back on track. To me Happ is the kind of guy that you can expect to give up three runs over six innings and strikeout four. That should be the average outing for him. Some will be better, some far worse, but overall he should be a useful pitcher to have.

Scott Podsednik continues to play for the White Sox, and he continues to produce. His four hit game on Saturday was his third straight contest with two hits or more, and all he needed was a triple for the cycle. I still don't have supreme confidence that he will be a reliable player all year long, but right now he is hot, and if you need batting average and stolen bases, Podsednik could be just the shot in the arm your team needs.

Nolan Reimold is perhaps my favorite rookie of the first half of the season. He hit his ninth homer of the year today, and continues to hover around the .300 mark. Reimold has been starting on every team that I own him on, and unless your outfield is unusually stacked, he should be starting for you as well.

I guess Pablo Sandoval wasn't happy about me saying that I didn't expect a ton of power out of him yesterday, because he went out on Saturday and hit two more homers. Sandoval is now up to 11 on the season to go with his .340 average. I was happy that I picked him for my guy in the 56 Game Hit Streak game on USA Today.com. He got my streak going again after it was broken by Curtis Granderson. Please join our group to see if you can do any better. Just follow the link above, and the private group is called Fantasy BBall 2nite and the password is fantasy.

Kyle Blanks drove in the first three runs of his major league career with a two double game against the Rangers. Blanks is one of the better power hitting prospects in the majors, but he has struggled to start his time with the Padres. Keeper league players will want to stash him on your bench, while seasonal players probably don't need to own him at this point.

Kazuo Matsui has hit in every game but two since returning from the Disabled List last week, and hit his first home run since the third game of the year. Matsui isn't the best option in the world, but if you have a need at second base or middle infield he could offer you a little help. He is traditionally a .280 hitter and has stolen 20+ bases in each of the last two seasons. He has a tough time staying healthy, but tends to be fairly productive when he plays.

Chris Davis hit his second homer in three days, and third in the last eight. He has also gotten his average above the Mendoza line, up to .212. Is this the start of the hot streak we all have been waiting for over the last three months? I am not ready to say that yet, heck I'm not even ready to take him off my bench yet. But he has my attention because of the power that he is capable of.

Labels: a.j. burnett, Chris Davis, homer bailey, j.a. happ, john lackey, kazuo matsui, kyle blanks, nolan reimold, pablo sandoval, scott kazmir, scott podsednik

J.J. Hardy has been picking it up a little bit as of late, and hit his seventh homer of the season on Friday. Hardy has averaged hitting .280 with 25 homers over the past two seasons, but hasn't looked like the same guy this year. However, this was his fourth multi-hit game in the last ten days, so while he is hitting just .221, that is an improvement from the .207 he was hitting on June 14th. I believe that he will continue to improve and could definitely approach 20 home runs this season.

Pablo Sandoval is far surpassing my expectations with his offensive game this season. I expected him to be a guy who hit for an OK average, without much power. Now, while nine home runs isn't exactly Ruthian, when you pair that with an average over .330, he is putting together a nice year. I still believe his value lies in leagues where he is catcher eligible, but even as a corner infielder or utility player, you could do much worse. I wouldn't sell high on him. His average will obviously fall, but I don't predict a huge dropoff.

I know I talk about him every night, but when he stops hitting, I'll stop talking. Jake Fox was a triple short of the cycle for the second consecutive day. Even with the chance to DH him, Manager Lou Pinella started him at third base again, and again he didn't make an error. The way he is hitting I am hopeful that he will continue to play after interleague is over. We will find out after this weekend.

Geovany Soto homered for the fourth time in a week, giving his fantasy owners hope that he will be able to repeat last year. He has also raised his average nearly 25 points in the last ten games, and he is now a viable fantasy player again. If he is for some incredible reason available in your league, definitely pick him up immediately. If you have owned him all season, it appears your patience is paying off.

Jeremy Sowers was once one of the Indians higher ranking pitching prospects. Several years later, he has never come close to living up to the hype. Over the last six weeks Sowers has been better, but unless you are in a 20 team or A.L. only league, you still can't pick him up. Sowers allowed just two runs over seven innings, and has now allowed three runs or less in six of his last seven starts. However, outside of tonight when he struck out six and walked only one, his control has been atrocious. In his previous eight outings he walked 21, against only 18 strikeouts in 39 innings.

Ricky Romero had another dominant start, and he hasn't allowed more than three runs in an outing since returning from the Disabled List. On Friday he threw seven shutout innings, allowed just two hits, walked only one, and struck out seven. I think that he has some value as a end of the rotation kind of guy, but his less than stellar minor league numbers at the higher levels continue to weigh on my mind. I actually did pick him up in one league for a two start week, but I'm not holding on to him. I am gaining more confidence, but not total confidence yet.

Xavier Nady will undergo Tommy John Surgery and will miss the remainder of the 2009 season. Nady was on a rehab game but felt pain in that elbow during a throw in the third inning of a game the other day. Two innings later he was out of the game, and now his season is over. If you were stashing him on your DL slots, it is time to let him go.

Roy Halladay declared himself ready for his start on Monday. Be sure to have him activated in time for that start if he is on your team.

Mailing List

I'm not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don't get a request to join it. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an email to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others. The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc. This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefitted from the list. Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the "Fantasy Baseball Tonight" podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.

Joey Votto was just a triple short of the cycle, as he looks like he is back from his injury issues and should absolutely be back in your lineups. Votto has the ability to hit for some power, and will also give you a great batting average. He should hit .310-.320 and will give you 20-23 homers even with the games that he missed.

John Smoltz completed his comeback from offseason surgery, but the Washingotn Nationals hit him up pretty good. Smoltz pitched five innings and allowed five runs. On a positive note, he only walked one and struck out five. He is coming back from a bad injury, and he is over 40 years old. He will likely improve the more he pitches, but at his age and coming back from an injury is troublesome. Hold him for another start or two. Don't give a knee jerk reaction on one start.

Jordan Zimmerman continues to impress me more each time he takes the mound, and had his way with the Boston Red Sox over seven innings. It was only the second time he has pitched that deep into a game, and he struck out six while only walking one. Zimmerman has now allowed just one earned run in three straight starts, and should be on a roster in every league right now. In keeper leagues, he is becoming more valuable by the day.

Alex Rodriguez has been frustrating both Yankee fans and fantasy players. Perhaps Thursday was the first step of him breaking out of that funk. A-Rod had two singles and a homer, and he drove in four runs. He is so much better than the .223 average he has, so really try to stay patient. He might not be 100% still, as he rushed back from the hip surgery. I believe he will improve as the season goes on, and will likely hit .280 or better.

Jake Fox was able to DH today so his glove wasn't an issue, and he connected on his first major league home run. He also singled and doubled, and is proving that he will have no problem hitting in this league. Now, if he could either get traded to the American League so he could DH, Fox would be a major player. He has been starting most days now, and the more starts he gets, the more value he holds. See what happens when they leave the American League parks. If Fox keeps playing, you will want to have him.

Sean West bounced back after a couple of tough outings to restore some confidence with his fantasy owners. He is one of the better pitching prospects in Florida, but I don't see him being dominant this year by any stretch. He will likely win close to ten games, but he is walking a few too many, and not striking enough out. I still like West as a guy at the end of your roster.

As we talked about it on the Tuesday edition of the Fantasy Baseball Tonight podcast, but now it is official. The Reds will recall Homer Bailey to start on Saturday. He has only allowed two runs in his last five starts, and is on total fire. However, Bailey has been in the majors a handful of times, and I have ABSOLUTELY no faith that he will succeed in this start, or in any other that he makes. Unless you are in an NL-only league, or are desperate for a spark, I wouldn't touch the guy.

OK, it's Thursday and it didn't rain which means I had a softball game tonight. It was a bit of a laugher as we took over the lead in our division with a 4-3 record after an 11-4 victory. Before the game was over, I had my parents there, a co-worker, and my wife with both girls at the field (which is rare). I played third base tonight, and it was UGLY. Now, mind you it was just my fourth game ever there, and my first in over a month. A hot shot got past me that I might have been able to get to. The only other play I got was a slow roller with a fast guy running. I got to the ball and should never have thrown it, but of course I rushed it and threw it away. At the plate (which is the only part I really care about, I don't like defense) I was 3/4 with two RBI. I had a solid single past the shortstop that drove in a run in the first. Popped up to center in my second at bat after I almost got a cue shot to drop down the first base line, but it was JUST foul. That would have been another double. But all in all a great game, and we will play two games next week because of the neverending rain here in New York.

Mailing List

I'm not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don't get a request to join it. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an email to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others. The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc. This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefitted from the list. Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the "Fantasy Baseball Tonight" podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.

Jhonny Peralta homered for the second time in three games, and now looks like he might be rounding into shape. He homered for the second time in three games, and now has eight hits in his last five games. He still has a ways to go to get anywhere near the stats he had last season, but ne no longer looks like someone you should drop. In fact, if you need shortstop or third base help, Peralta should be a solid option going forward.

David Huff had his best start as a pro on Wednesday, as he threw eight shutout innnings against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had been showing some improvement, allowing just three runs in each of his last three previous starts. He was ranked as the eighth best prospect in the Indians organization coming into the year, but struggled at AAA in '09. He wasn't an elite strikeout pitcher in the minors, but his stats were fairly impressive. In pieces of four seasons he was 20-9 with a 2.95 ERA, with 229 strikeouts in 253 innings. Huff is worth a flier if you are in need of starting pitching, or could be a good spot starter against favorable matchups. At worst, at least keep your eye on him.

There are a handful of Toronto Blue Jays that I don't believe in, no matter what kind of season they are having. Marco Scutaro hit his sixth homer of the season, but it was his first since April 30th. His career high in homers is nine, and while I expect him to eclipse that, he won't do it by much. He has rarely been a full time player in his career, He is certainly not peaking at age33. Rod Barajas has had a few good seasons in his career, but he is another guy who has generally been a part of a platoon during his major league career. He hit his seventh home run of the season, but if he is able to get past 15 I will be very surprised. Scott Rolen has a longer track record of success, and his his fifth home run of the year. It isn't that I don't have faith in Rolen's abilities, but he hasn't played more than 115 games in the past two seasons. As he gets older I don't gain more confidence that he will be on the field all year long.

David Price did not pitch well again, and I'm not sure exactly what is his issue. Price allowed five earned runs (ten total) over 4.1 innings, walked two, and struck out two. He is now 1-2 on the year, with an ERA just under 4.50. He is not going deep into games, he is walking too many and not striking out enough. Seasonal leagues I might try to capitalize on his name and see if you can still get a great trade for him. You likely will have at least one person who is drooling over his potential. Not saying he won't live up to the hype, but if it isn't a keeper league, the risk is limited. I still wouldn't consider dealing him in a keeper league. The ceiling is just too high.

Tommy Hanson threw 5.1 shutout innings against the Yankees on Tuesday, but he continues to struggle with his control. He did strikeout four, which is good, but walked five.......not so good. However, Hanson is now 3-0 with an ERA just over 3.00 in his first four starts. Do I need to tell you to keep starting him no matter of the matchup? I didn't think so.

Chien-Ming Wang was likely good enough to remain in the rotation again, but he fell to 0-6 on the season after allowing three runs over five innings and struck out four. Wang was not horrible, but not great by any stretch, and it is hard to say what New York should do with him going forward. This is a guy who has won 19 games twice in his career, so you have to believe that there are better days ahead of him, but from a fantasy perspective you can't keep him on your team right now. The guy fantasy players all want in the rotation, Phil Hughes, threw two hitless innings in relief of Wang, and continues to pitch well no matter what his role is.

Matt Wieters connected on his second home run, and is now hitting .262 on the year. He has driven in six runs in his last five games, and is starting to look like he might be worth all the hype that he was given before the season started. In my opinion, he is someone that you can even count on now, even in seasonal leagues and I would feel good with him as my only catcher. I believe that he will soon be the star he was projected to be.

Hideki Kuroda has never been a guy that I have had much confidence in, but he nearly threw a complete game on Tuesday. He was one out away from finishing the game, but when he allowed a run he was removed from the game. Kuroda is now 2-3 on the year, with an ERA just under 4.00. He is getting far more strikeouts in 2009 than he did last year, but he isn't someone that I would keep on my roster. He could be an OK start against the Pirates, Nationals, or Padres, but not a guy I hold on my roster.

Troy Tulowitzki hit two homers tonight, one day after I endorsed him as a solid shortstop on an everyday basis. Hopefully you jumped on him if it was possible yesterday, but if not, today's action should give you enough confidence to make the move. He is now up to twelve homers on the season.

Again, there will be no post on Wednesday, as I am traveling to Citi Field to see my Cardinals take on David Wright and a bunch of guys I've never heard of. OK, maybe that's not true, but have you seen the lineup the Mets are forced to play with all of their injuries? I almost feel bad for them, but not really. We are all fighting for playoff spots, and if the Mets lose a few extra games, perhaps that's enough for the Cards to get the wild card if they can't win their division.

I also will be missing the Wednesday edition ("The Big Show") of the Fantasy Baseball Tonight podcast, but this is certainly not one that you should miss as the great Cory Schwartz will be a guest on the show. For those of you new to the site, Cory is from mlb.com and always doles out great information. Definitely a must-listen, and I'm disappointed he will be on the week I am out. So, check it out, go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru to listen at 10pm EST Wednesday.

Mailing List

I'm not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don't get a request to join it. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an email to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others. The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc. This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefitted from the list. Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the "Fantasy Baseball Tonight" podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.

Labels: chien-ming wang, david huff, david price, hideki kuroda, johnny peralta, marco scutaro, matt wieters, rod barajas, Scott Rolen, tommy hanson, troy tulowitzki

Saves: 6








Other Appearances:
Kerry Wood (9) - Wood got hammered again in a 5-4 win. He gave up two hits and a run. His ERA now stands at 5.68 and he is one of the three worst closers in the majors.
Jason Frasor (2) - Got his second save of the season with a easy inning. Its looks like Gaston is going with Frasor, but Accardo was not available with a sore hamstring.
Matt Lindstrom - Lindstrom got lit up for three runs on four hits. It wasn't even a save opportunity.
Mike Gonzalez - Pitched a perfect inning against the cold Yankees.
Rafael Soriano - Pitched a near perfect inning against the very cold Yankees.

Troy Tulowitzki continues to look like the guy we knew his rookie year, and I am now endorsing him as someone that you can confidently put in your daily lineups. Tulo had two more hits today, giving him a hit in ten of his last eleven games and has 14 total hits over than span including three home runs. It took a long time for me to consider him again, but if he is somehow available certainly pick him up.

Jake Fox got another start tonight, this time in left field for the Cubs, and he collected another two hits, and again didn't commit an error. If Fox is able to get regular playing time, he is certainly worth a look. The kid can hit, there is no question there. He just needs the opportunity to start, and that is dependent on his glove.

Omir Santos was 4/4 for the Mets, and his fantasy value continues to be a question mark. It is obvious to everyone that he is the Mets' best option as a catcher, but for some reason they still give Brian Schneider his share of starts. Schneider hit a three run homer yesterday, but he is a joke offensively. I have a situation in one league that I was in need of a catcher, and although I like Santos, I was forced to choose Kurt Suzuki because of the uncertainty of who will be behind the plate in New York.

Ryan Ludwick homered for the second time in four games, and perhaps is getting back to the pace he was on before his injury. I think it is safe to assume he won't reach 37 homers again this season, but barring injury he should make a run at 30 again if he can stay healthy and hitting. I don't think he will get his average near the .299 he hit last season, but it will be better than the .240 he is currently at. Look for Ludwick to finish the season in the .270 range.

Travis Ishikawa homered for the third time in four games, and looks like he may begin to live up to some of his preseason expectations. Ishikawa always showed good power in the minor leagues, even thought it didn't quite translate in the majors to this point. In a 48 game stint at AAA last season, Ishikawa hit 16 balls in the seats. He is certainly worth a look, and in deeper formats, I would pick him up right now. I don't know if this will last, but I think it is worth taking a chance on at this point.

There will be no post on Wednesday as I will be traveling down to Citi Field to see my beloved Cardinals take on the crappy Mets. No offense Mets' fans, just gotta talk a little trash. I'll be the guy down there in the Cardinals hat and Pujols jersey. A real classic pitching matchup as Brad Thompson should be opposing Fernando Nieve.

Mailing List

I'm not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don't get a request to join it. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an email to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others. The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc. This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefitted from the list. Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the "Fantasy Baseball Tonight" podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.

A special Happy Father's Day goes out to all of the readers who have children, hopefully your wife/girlfriend/kids spoiled you today. I had a very nice day today with a nice new shirt/tie combo for work along with a book that I have been wanting. My wife was also generous enough to take me and the kids to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner for a nice meal of spicy fried foods and beer. What else can a Dad ask for? We also had a nice meal with my parents last night, as they were going to be out of town today. My father has been an incredible influence in my life, as well as a fantastic father. He is truly the reason that I am doing this today, as he instilled both a love of sports and competitiveness in me from an early age. But even more than that, the support that he has given me throughout my life can never be paid back (or the $$$$, sorry Dad), and I am forever grateful to have such a man in my life. If I am able to be half the father that he has been, I will be very proud of myself. I love you Dad, and I could never thank you enough!

C.C. Sabathia left his start with tightness in his biceps in the second inning on Sunday. He was examined during warmups, got one guy out, but after allowing a hit he was removed from the game. The team has termed him day to day, and they say there are no tests planned. When you give a guy $20+ million and he comes out of the game, I'd be willing to bet that there are some tests in Sabathia's future.

Ryan Howard was released from the hospital after spending consecutive nights there with flu symptoms. Howard was able to provide a pinch hit homer in last night's game, but did not play today. The Phils have an off day on Monday, and you would think that he should be back in the lineup by Tuesday.

Casey McGehee is still playing in place of Rickie Weeks, and the kid is hitting. He hit his second homer of the year, and has 17 hits in his last nine games. I suppose as long as he keeps producing, he will keep playing. McGehee was not a top ranking prospect, so I'm sure there is a stat correction coming in his future, but if you need some middle infield help in the short term, McGehee appears to be worth a look.

Mark Buehrle is having another one of those ho-hum Mark Buehrle kind of years. He threw seven shutout innings on Sunday against the Reds, and raised his record to 7-2. Now there are two reasons, in my opinion, that Buehrle never gets fantasy love. One is he will never win 20 games. His career high is 19, but that was a long time ago. He usually wins between 12-15 games. The second is that he doesn't get a lot of strikeouts. Last season he had just 140 in 218 innings, and he is on a similar pace this year. However, while a lot of us love the lure of the rookies and the potential of the next big thing, a guy like Buehrle at the end of your rotation is likely more help. But hey when is Neftali Feliz coming up? I'll pick him up!

Brandon Phillips left the game early yesterday with pain in his fractured thumb, but was able to play today. Phillips has a hairline fracture in his tuhumb, but never hit the Disabled List. He did not get a hit today, but did drive in a run with a sacrifice fly. I was worried that he might be out a few games again, but it appears that he is tough as nails and is safe to put back into your lineups.

Ricky Romero had his fourth straight good start after coming back from the DL, and he is looking like someone that you can count on each time out. Romero's minor league statistics were nothing to get excited about, so if he starts to go south, don't be surprised and have a backup plan ready. However, the more and more he pitches, the more confidence that I gain in him.

Jeremy Guthrie was great on Sunday, allowing just one run over seven innings against the Phillies. It seems that Guthrie generally pitches well, even against good competition. Somehow though, his statistics just aren't very good. Even with the win on Sunday, his record is 5-7. His ERA is 5.09, while his WHIP is 1.37. He isn't even getting many strikeouts, as he has just 55 Ks in 86 innings. He isn't a bad option at the end of your rotation, but I just have never been a big fan of Guthrie.

Khalil Greene homered for the third straight game, and then was hit with a pitch and had to leave. He was 4/7 since coming back from the Disabled List due to social anxiety, but was hit on the ankle with a pitch the at bat after hitting the homer. Greene has long been a guy with plenty of power potential, but couldn't hit for any kind of average whatsoever. Even if he is able to play tomorrow against the Mets, I still wouldn't be picking Greene up unless you are desperate for help at either shortstop or third base.

With his two home runs on Sunday, Albert Pujols now has 26 homers to go with 27 strikeouts! Who is the best hitter in the game right now? Is there even a question?

Just when you started to feel good about Gil Meche, he goes out and does this. Meche got tattooed by Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals. There is no shame in getting crushed by Pujols, as you can see above, most pitchers have been for years. But nine runs over 3.1 innings? After six straight starts of two runs or less, you had to figure that something like this was possible. The next start is the important one for Meche. Hopefully, he can get right back on track and pitch effectively again. But Gil Meche isn't Johan Santana, my guess is the next one or two outings aren't that great. I'm not saying nine runs again, but he won't see the seventh inning.

Who in the world does Michael Cuddyer think he is? After 64 games of the season, he is nearly halfway to his career high of 24 homers when he connected on number eleven on Sunday. He has driven in three runs in his last four games, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see him get up to 90 RBI. As long as he can stay healthy, Cuddyer is looking like a solid fourth outfielder, and he could move up farther from that.

Cubs' power hitting prospect Jake Fox is back in the majors and they actually trusted him with a starting spot today. Fox played third base, and the good news is he drove in three runs with a double. The even better news is that he didn't commit and error. If Fox can prove that his glove is up to the task, perhaps he will see more starts.

Even though he lost, Dallas Braden has now allowed three runs or less in seven straight starts. He might not have a great record (5-6), but he generally has been good all year, with a 3.26 ERA. The low strikeout numbers are probably what is holding him back from full fantasy ownership, but if you catch an injury or have someone you want to drop, give Braden a look to see if he fits what you need.

Kevin Kouzmanoff continues to drive in runs, even if he can't really get his batting average to a respectable place. Kouzmanoff hit his ninth homer of the season on Sunday, and has driven in 14 runs in his last ten games. I am still not quite believing that he is going to keep this up, but it is possible. He was a pretty highly touted prospect, showed great power in the minors, and his batting average was always in the .300 range. He is a guy that I had a lot of hope for three years ago, perhaps it is going to come to fruition now. I wouldn't bet on it just yet, but keep an eye on him.

Alex Rios got my hit streak back on track on the USA Today's 56 Game Hit Streak. I am very close to paydirt as that extended my streak to two. Please join our group with the link above. The private group is called Fantasy BBall 2nite and the password is fantasy.

Mailing List

I’m not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don’t get a request to join it. For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an email to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others. The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc. This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefitted from the list. Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.

Labels: albert pujols, alex rios, brandon phillips, c.c. sabathia, dallas braden, gil meche, jake fox, jeremy guthrie, kevin kouzmanoff, khalil greene, mark buehrle, michael cuddyer, ricky romero

First and foremost, Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there! Yeah, I know that it feels like just another day to us, but soak it in while you can. Take some time today or if you're like me and stuck working (you call this work?), set aside some time during the week to spend quality time with the kids. Go ahead and take them to a ballgame, or the race track or to a nearby field or park to play. It's OK to do something you want to do today but include them and let them see why you love going to these places so much and how much fun it can be. Time goes bye so fast and before you know it all you'll get for Father's Day is a phone call that you know they felt obligated to make.For this special Father's Day edition of The Hot 8, I have decided to include a BONUS player who should be able to make a quick impact for your fantasy team. But you'll have to read all the way to the bottom to find out who that bonus baby is...

RED HOT...RIGHT NOW
1) J.P. Howell (LHP - Closer) -- Rays -- Howell is slowly starting to distance himself from the other Rays relievers in the bid to earn manager Joe Madden's trust to finish games. Howell is 2-2 with a 1.93 ERA, 3 saves, 41 K's in 32.2 IP and a 1.10 WHIP. He had been used primarily as a lefty specialist the past two seasons but has seen plenty of time and actually has been more effective versus righties this season. As it stands now, Howell is the one who will get the most chances to saves games for the Rays going forward. His only real competition may wind up being career minor leaguer and strikeout ace Winston Abreu. Howell is a much safer closer choice than a Mike MacDougal or Kerry Wood and he has more upside than a Matt Lindstrom or Jason Frasor. So, take a moment...open a new window or tab and pick up Howell right now.

READY TO IGNITE
2) Neftali Feliz (RHP - Starter) -- Rangers -- I told you a couple of weeks ago that I will put Feliz in The Hot 8 every single week until either the Rangers call him up or his ownership gets above 5% in Yahoo and CBS leagues. Since neither has happened yet here is yet another cry for you to go out and get Feliz while you still can. Since last week Feliz has been roughed up twice in starts for AAA Oklahoma City and his numbers are now looking more pedestrian than when I began this campaign a few weeks ago. But that doesn't affect the most important reasons on why he will get the call to Arlington soon. First of all he has amazing stuff. As one trusted scout told me several weeks ago, ""His fastball is best when coming from a three-quarters arm angle where it reaches 96 MPH with sharp inward bite to right handers. Then he'll hit you with a sharp tight spinning curveball that has great break down. His changeup is major league ready also registering at anywhere from 83-87 MPH with fade making it devastating when looking fastball." The second reason on why you should make the play for Feliz is that the Rangers, as always, need pitching. There is no way they can fight the temptation of what Feliz can bring to the table during a stretch run for the AL West division title or a World Series run. This will be the last week I push Feliz on you though. If you guys don't see the possibility of what Neftali Feliz can bring to the Rangers AND your fantasy team by now then I doubt you ever will. Enjoy second place!

3) Kyle Blanks (1B/OF) -- Padres -- As I prepared for the Thursday edition of Fantasy Baseball Tonight, I did some promotional emails and the such touting a couple of prospects I was going to go into detail with on a segment we call The Farm Report. One of those players was Kyle Blanks to which even my co-host responded with a resounding, "Who?" A day later Blanks was on a plane to San Diego to join the major league club. In my usual tour through minor league boxscores and video highlights this week I happened to notice that Blanks was all of a sudden playing left field. He is actually a pretty good defensive first baseman and a top prospect for the Padres so the move really stood out. I figured that they were getting ready to bring him up and let him play some OF and DH in the next few weeks to see what he could do and that is exactly what happened. Blanks is a huge beast with plus natural power in his right handed swing. He stands 6'6" tall and weighs a solid 285 lbs and can hit the ball a country mile. What makes him even more dangerous is that he has a great eye for the strike zone and is willing to take a walk or hit the ball up the middle or to the opposite field to get on base. I said on Thursday that he reminds me of a young Frank Thomas and the similarities are scary. Adrian Gonzalez and Kyle Blanks are the future middle of the Padres order for sure and if Blanks can get off to a decent enough start these next few weeks he may never see minor league ball again.

ON FIRE!
4) Juan Rivera (Outfield) -- Angels -- I have been waiting and waiting for Rivera to cool off these past few weeks and it just hasn't happened yet. I have never been a big Rivera fan, going all the way back to the hype surrounding his clutch playoff hits for the Yankees back in 2002. Now seven years later he is for the first time resembling the player we were promised all those Octobers ago. He is currently hitting a nice .312/.353/.509 with 10 HR's and 36 RBI in 218 AB's this season. He has kept the Angels offense afloat for the past month while they have been struggling to find the right lineup mix and replacements for their struggling younger players. If the regular playing time holds up which at this point is a no brainer, he is likely to match or exceed his career high in HR's (23) and RBI (85) both set in 2006. You can never really count the Angels out so if they are to get back into the playoff race they will have to do so behind the big bats of Torii Hunter and Juan Rivera. Since he is still available in 65% of fantasy leagues right now, it is time we all stop ignoring and start fanning these flames.

5) Marcus Thames (Outfield) -- Tigers -- If you are looking for some power and so many of us are these days, then Marcus Thames is your guy. He is finally fully recovered from a severe rib cage strain suffered in spring training and has been tearing it up of late. In his last 10 games he is hitting .370 with 4 HR's 9 RBI and 5 runs scored while getting steady playing time with the benching of Magglio Ordonez. Thames is one of the best pure power hitters in the game but it consistently undervalued by fantasy players. Even in part time duty, he is sure to get close to 20 HR's and 50+ RBI with big upside if and when he sees full time action as he has the past couple weeks.

WHERE THERE'S SMOKE...
6) Kevin Frandsen (2B/SS) -- Giants -- Frandsen is about to be recalled from AAA Fresno and will right away become the starting 2B for the Giants. The demotion of Emmanuel Burriss cleared the way for Frandsen who is hitting a whopping .335/.383/.517 this season is AAA. While he doesn't possess the speed or pure athletic ability of Burriss, Frandsen will provide another steady bat in the Giants everyday lineup something that is desperately needed. Frandsen has always been a good contact hitter who puts the ball in play much of the time and has decent gap to gap power. With such few options available to us at middle infield positions I suggest grabbing Frandsen now before the vultures swoop down and pluck him from your grasp.

7) Drew Stubbs (Outfield) -- Reds -- This is one of the most exciting minor leaguers I have seen the past few seasons. Stubbs is an all out player who gives it everything he's got in every game and in every at-bat. For those who have not seen him play yet, you will enjoy the heck out of Drew Stubbs. He has the ability to be a superstar in this league. His best skill is his amazing speed. He has 100 stolen bases in just 3 1/2 minor league seasons. He also has made great strides in taking walks and hitting the ball on the ground in order to get himself on base. I believe in the big picture, Stubbs can hit close to 20 HR's a season as well as he has a big enough frame and is strong through the zone. Early in 2008, he made an adjustment in widening his stance which helped him make more solid contact but seems to have sacrificed a bit of power. Either way he is the Reds CF of the future without a doubt. The more Willy Tavaras struggles, the more likely the prospect unfriendly Dusty Baker will be to finally give Stubbs a chance. We could see him as early as July 1st or at late at September 1st but when he finally makes it, he will bring a smile to any fantasy player that needs some speed.

SIMMERING
8) Luis Valbuena (2B/SS) -- Indiana -- It could be just the wind at Wrigley Field but Valbuena put on a clinic this weekend and has been as hot as anybody this past week. He hit .421 this week with 3 HR's 7 RBI and 5 runs scored. Valbuena was traded to the Indians in the offseason after playing so well in a stretch for Seattle last season that he pushed Jose Lopez over to first base. He is a stocky guy who will surprise people with his quick bat speed and ability to work the count and make contact. Has the power to hit over 12-16 HR's in a season of steady playing time. He's got average speed but is not much of a base stealer. It will be interesting to see what happens when Asdrubal Cabrera comes back in a week or so but in the short term give Valbuena a shot in your middle infield spot.

BONUS BABY!!
John Smoltz (RHP - Starter) -- Red Sox -- Everybody and their brother is recommending picking up Smoltz as he is ready to make his first start for the Red Sox this week. I am not very high on Smoltz, though pitching for the Red Sox alone makes him fantasy relevant. We are all speculating on what the Red Sox do with their 7 starters going forward. That's right, I said 7 starters. Have you SEEN what Clay Bucholz is doing in AAA Pawtucket? Dice K is going to take a break for now which is actually good news for all Boston starters. A 6 man rotation would hurt each of their fantasy values as less starts mean less numbers. I think Smoltz will start out hot for the Sox. But this is not a situation I trust for the long term. Smoltz age, arm troubles and bullpen experience are all factors in him possibly not being a durable fantasy starter. Ideally, he is the perfect pitch and ditch candidate but with so many homer Red Sox fans out there that is a very unlikely scenario for most fantasy leagues.

That is the Hot 8 for this week. What do you guys think? Post your comments below or email me at jeff@fantasybaseballsearch.com

Josh Beckett has officially caught fire. He has now won six of his last seven decisions, and with the complete game shutout tonight, has not allowed even a run in four of his last six starts. He now also has 88 strikeouts in 91 innings, so he is really helping you in that category as well. Beckett is really prone to wild streaks, so this could turn around and he could get cold again. However, he is one of the more talented pitchers in baseball, so continue to start him with confidence.

I was going to write about Luis Valbuena yesterday, but decided against it at the last minute. Apparently, he didn't like that so he went out and got my attention today. He had three hits on Saturday, including two home runs, his third in the last two games. In the last four games he has eight hits and has driven in seven runs. Yahoo lists Valbuena at 5'10" and 190 pounds, but I have also seen him listed at 165 pounds. Those are not the kind of dimensions that scream power hitter to me, so you shouldn't be expecting this to continue. In a short term injury situation, or if you have a spot where you just pick up the hot guy, I think Valbuena qualifies. He is not the second coming of Hanley Ramirez however.

Jhonny Peralta had his third consecutive two hit game, and his first homer in over two weeks. All of you know I came into the season with big hopes for Peralta, and they have now switched to high hopes for Peralta after the All-Star Break. He has only had small spurts of production this season, so if he is out there, I couldn't say that I would send you running to the waiver wire. I do think that he will outperform Mr. Valbuena above, so if they are both out there I would consider him first, unless you just want to play the hot guy.

James Shields had one of the better starts of his season on Saturday against the Mets, but it was interrupted by rain. He had only thrown 87 pitches through seven innings when the game was delayed, and likely would have kept going. But he did allow only one run, didn't walk a batter, and struck out four. I have been down on Shields this year, as he hasn't seemed like the same pitcher he had been the past couple of years. You can say that about the entire Rays rotation. But he is definitely capable of having an outing like this most times he goes to the mound. He should be better than he has been this year, perhaps this is the start of a nice roll.

Mat Gamel has started to get regular playing time, and he is showing what his bat is capable of. He hasn't been knocking the ball out of the park, but he is definitely hitting. He was 2/3 today with a triple and two walks, and has seven hits in the last five days. I would definitely like to see him start to drive the ball over the fence, and drive in some runs, but it is good to see him making contact. The power will be arriving shortly if they keep him out there.

Delmon Young is starting to grab my interest just a little. The former elite prospect who has yet to get anywhere near his expectations. But he does have three hits in the last two games, and hit his second homer of the season on Saturday. Now don't take this as advice to run out and grab him. However, sometimes rookies struggle to find their way when they initially come up to the majors. Perhaps this is the start of Delmon settling in and he will start to be productive.

Congratulations to Gordon Beckham on his first major league home run. The kid is hitting more and more, and has started to sneak into my thoughts of actually starting him in the two leagues I own him in. In daily transactions I would likely try to find a spot for him, but I don't think I trust him enough yet for those of you who only set your rosters once a week. That could possibly change in recent times.

Scott Podsednik is back with the White Sox, back to the top of the lineup, and back to hitting and stealing again. He has spent the past few seasons mostly in the trainer's room, but right now he is healthy and back to his old ways. This is a guy who stole 212 bases over a four year span from 2003-2006. However, it wasn't just injury that limited his playing time in recent years, he wasn't effective much when he was in there. If you need speed or have a rotating spot he might be worth a shot, but I am not drinking the Kool-Aid on Podsednik just yet.

FINALLY!!!!! Russell Martin got that goose egg out of his home run category, now if he can only get his batting average out of the .240s perhaps he could be worth the draft pick you spent on him. I'd say hopefully he will improve when Manny comes back into the lineup, but it wasn't like he was doing good then either. Keep him in your lineups though, Martin is better than this, there should be a hot streak in his future.

Frank Francisco will be activated from the Disabled List, and hopefully this time it is for good. However, Manager Ron Washington did say that he wouldn't use Francisco as a closer right out of the chute. So, if you see him in the seventh or eighth inning in his first couple of outings, don't freak out or think he's lost his job.

Diasuke Matsuzaka will be skipped his next time through the rotation I guess to give him a little more rest to see if he can get straight again. Matsuzaka will also be examined by team doctors to be sure that nothing is wrong with him. Hold your breath Dice-K owners. I'm not saying something is wrong, but he's been unusually bad. He could just need a rest, or could be something worse.

Coco Crisp could be facing season ending surgery if he has a torn labrum in his shoulder. It could be a rotator cuff injury, but he will be examined in the next couple of days to pinpoint exactly what the injury is. While Crisp is no great fantasy player, he was useful from time to time this season.

Mailing List

I’m not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don’t get a request to join it. For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an email to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others. The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc. This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefitted from the list. Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.

Labels: coco crisp, delmon young, diasuke matsuzaka, frank francisco, gordon beckham, James Shields, jhonny peralta, josh beckett, luis valbuena, mat gamel, russell martin, scott podsednik

Derrek Lee hit two homers on the day today, bringing his season total to ten. Anyone who has read this blog at all knows that I am very anti-D-Lee. He had that one great year, and has basically been a good average guy with little power that ends up on the DL a lot. Matches his initials, isn't that cute? He is having a pretty good season, but he hasn't really been injured yet, and I still would not touch him. If you have him, I would try to cash in on this time and see if you can trade him for someone a little more safe.

Is there something wrong with Rich Harden? The guy just doesn't look like himself. He hasn't really been that dominant guy we saw last year much at all. Without a spirited comeback by the Cubs today, Harden would have been hung with the loss. He had his worst start of the year as he allowed seven earned runs over five innings, walked three, and struck out two. Harden also allowed two more home runs, which is not like him. I guess that you have to keep starting him if you own him, but I would certainly see if anyone remembers the lights out season he had last year. I'm not sure that something is wrong, but this just isn't Harden.

I keep saying that the future is bright for the Orioles, and their young players keep making it look like it is so. Nolan Reimold had two more hits, including his eighth homer in just 32 games. Rookie sensation Matt Wieters also had two more RBI, giving him four in 16 games. Wieters got off to a slower start, but he has had some pretty good at bats. I don't know if he will quite live up to the hype this season (is that possible?), but you can tell he's a hitter, and the numbers will be coming eventually.

Kyle Blanks was called up by the San Diego Padres on Friday, as the top prospects continue to get the call. Blanks was rated the #1 prospect in the Padres organization by Baseball America, and was ranked #50 in all of baseball. At worst, Blanks should be up to be the DH while the Pads are in American League ballparks, but they moved him into the outfield in the minors recently so they could keep his bat in the lineup. I expect him to at least get a decent look even after interleague is over. If he hits at all, I would think that San Diego will keep him in the majors. Let's be honest, what do they have to lose?

Antonio Bastardo did allow four runs over seven innings to get tagged with his second loss, but he did strikeout five and he didn't walk a batter. OK, so it wasn't a Koufaxian kind of outing, but it was a nice bounce back from his last start where he only pitched one inning. I wouldn't say he is a guy that I would start no matter what, but I would consider going with Bastardo against some of the weaker hitting teams in the National League.

Jordan Zimmerman has been looking like he is making improvements in his rookie year, and although he won't win a ton of games, is definitely a viable guy to have on your team. He has allowed two runs or less in four of his last five starts, and has struck out at least six of his last seven starts (only three tonight). He doesn't go deep into games and the Nationals are awful, but he is certainly worth having. I had soured on him early in the year, but I am becoming on of the converted. He obviously has more value in keeper leagues, but even in seasonal leagues, he should be at the bottom of your rotation.

Diasuke Matsuzaka had another disasterous outing on Friday, and his record fell to 1-5. With John Smoltz returning next week, there is news that the Sox might go to a six man rotation, or possibly trade Brad Penny. But the way Matsuzaka is pitching, is he in for another "rest" on the DL or maybe a trip to the bullpen? Considering the money they have invested, I doubt it, but they can't keep throwing him out there if he's going to pitch to a 8.23 ERA.

A couple of struggling Cardinal power hitters finally produced some fireworks as Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel both homered, and Ludwick's was a grand slam. I'm not ready to say that they have "broken out of their slumps", but I do have more confidence in Ludwick going forward than I do in Ankiel. Ludwick was off to a great start before his injury, while Ankiel has been struggling all season long. They are both legitimate power hitters and are both worth roster spots in traditional leagues.

Alex Rodriguez will be resting in tonight's game and tomorrow as well. A-Rod missed the first 28 games after hip surgery, and has played every game since. Not sure why the Yankees did that and didn't give him a day off here and a day off there. Now they will sit him for two straight games. I wouldn't be completely shocked if he didn't play on Sunday, as the Bombers are off on Monday and that would give him a four day rest. Keep an eye out for his status on Sunday.

Manny Ramirez will begin his minor league "rehab" assignment on Tuesday, as he is now only 13 days away from the end of his suspension. He will play a handful of games at a couple of different levels as he prepares to get back in the lineup for the Dodgers on July 3rd. I believe that Manny will begin to hit right away as soon as he is back in LA, and that Juan Pierre will be sent back to the bench unless they are able to trade him.

Brandon Webb was sent home after having pain in his shoulder after a throwing session the other day, and the news has taken a sudden turn for the worse. Webb will be evaluated next week by team doctors to see if they can find the source of the discomfort. Us Webb owners were hoping to have him back around the All-Star Break, but right now that seems completely up in the air. Continuing stashing him and hope for better news, but this doesn't sound good all of a sudden.

Arizona's Chris Young could be DHing as early as Saturday, or could get the whole weekend off. I know, that is a sucky update, but that is the news that is out there. He might get the whole weekend off, which would give him four days with the off day on Monday, but apparently Young is feeling better after leaving the game on Friday with a strained groin. If he plays tomorrow, I would say it is safe to play him Sunday, but I wouldn't have him in my lineup tomorrow.

Mailing List

I’m not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don’t get a request to join it. For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an email to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others. The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc. This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefitted from the list. Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.

Magglio Ordonez has been benAched indefinitely by manager Jim Leyland because of this ridiculous slump that he has been in basically all season long. You can expect him to do a lot more of what you see in the picture.....watching. Leyland was quoted talking about Ordonez swing saying: "I don't think he can figure it out, I don't know if anyone can figure it out." OUCH! You don't think anyone can figure out what is wrong with his swing? Don't you pay a hitting coach to do just that? Bench Maggs until you see he's going to play again, and in 12 team leagues I would consider cutting him if there is something good on free agency.

Tommy Hanson had the best of his three outings on Thursday, although he still struggled with control. Hanson didn't allow a run in six innings and struck out two. Unfortunately, he did walk four guys. I really expected his strikeout numbers to be better, but I am encouraged that he has been allowing fewer runs each time out. Hanson is one of the three best pitching prospects in baseball this year, and you need to continue to pitch him. He should get a little better each time out.

Joba Chamberlain was slightly above average again this time out against the Washington Nationals, and I am just not sure of what to expect him going forward. He obviously is not going to be the kind of guy he was when he was coming out of the bullpen a couple years ago. It seems that he doesn't go all out with his pitches in order to try to last longer into games. His velocity is not near what he showed out of the bullpen, and his effectiveness is the same. He is still doing good, but a long way from great.

Luke Hochevar fooled us all. He had a good couple starts, and got many of us thinking that perhaps he could have turned a corner and was going to be good. Oh no, slow down. He allowed six runs over just four innings. I am glad that I didn't jump back on the Hochevar bandwagon, although I probably told some of you emailers that it was worth a shot with him. I figured against a weak hitting D'Backs lineup that he could succeed. If you picked up Hochevar, I would hold him for one more start, unless you see something on the wire that could bring you stability. He was a top prospect, maybe he can figure it out. Can you feel my confidence in him?

Chris Davis finally hit a home run tonight, much to the delight of my co host Jeff Mans. Of course it was his only hit of the game and he did strikeout two more times. That now brings him to 43 hits, and 97 strikeouts. I have officially jumped off the Davis bandwagon completely. There is still hope that when it heats up in Texas that he might too, but I can't keep this dead weight on my roster any longer.

Dontrelle Willis is headed back to the 15 day DL with an anxiety disorder, although I'm not sure how that qualifies him for the Disabled List. He had a few effective starts, but most of the time he was wild and erratic (which are pretty much the same thing). Don't bother stashing him, if you have him, send him packing.

Ricky Nolasco pitched great again through five innings before the game was delayed by rain. Nolasco allowed just one run over five innings. The best part of the outing is that he didn't walk anyone. I liked Nolasco upon his return from the minors, and that grows with each start he makes. I can't believe he would still be out there, but definitely pick him up if he's still available.

Livan Hernandez continues to be one of the more dependable pitchers for the Mets, and he could even be used as the last pitcher on your staff. The win was blown for him by the bullpen, but Hernandez was great again. Livan allowed just two runs over seven innings, and struck out four. Now, he's never going to throw you a shutout, and he isn't going to whiff ten, but most of the time you can count on him to at least give you a quality outing and should be a reasonable pitcher to have as your fifth or sixth starter.

Mike MacDougal unexplainably got his second save in as many days against the New York Yankees. After having to pitch out of trouble on Wednesday, MacDougal recorded a pretty quiet save tonight against the Bronx bombers. He did allow one hit, but it was again erased by a double play. The Nationals now have 17 wins on the season, which means don't pick up MacDougal and expect a ton of trade opps.

Michael Cuddyer is back to his hitting ways. After missing a few games due to injury, Cuddyer had his third straight two hit game, and connected on his tenth homer of the season. He has only played 140 games or more twice in his career, so you can pretty much count on the fact that he will get hurt again at some point during the season. If he's out there and you need a little pop, I would give him a look. However, I would keep him on a fairly short leash and be ready to let him go when he either gets hurt or goes cold.

Geovany Soto hit a game tying home run against the White Sox on Thursday, but he is still struggling badly. Soto is either getting three hits or no hits, and of course most of the time it is no hits. Considering the state of the catcher position, I would keep throwing Soto out there. He is in a good lineup in a small home ballpark. I still have faith that Soto will turn it around before the All-Star Break.

Gordon Beckham has been starting to hit more, and is looking like he belongs in your starting lineup perhaps. He has now hit in five straight games, and has driven in five runs in the last four games. He now should be eligible at short and third, and has only struck out five times since coming to the majors. Of course, he only has seven hits in 40 at bats, but he has been showing signs of improvement. He is a guy that you definitely should have in a keeper league, unless you are stacked, and in a seasonal league I would definitely monitor him, even if I didn't pick him up right away.

Jose Lopez was placed on the bereavement list and will miss somewhere between the next three to seven days. No specific reason was given, but I believe that the minimum is being out of the lineup for three days. Hopefully all is well with Lopez and his family, and hopefully they will give us a day notice when he is going to return.

I have run my consecutive games up to five in the 56 Game Hit Streak on USA Today. Join our group that is called Fantasy Bball 2nite. Password is fantasy. I am going to choose Evan Longoria versus Fernando Nieve for Friday. The group is currently led by Planet 10 who ran his/her streak to seven with Michael Young.

Mailing List

I’m not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don’t get a request to join it. For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an email to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others. The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc. This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefitted from the list. Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.

It has happened to all of us before. We enter a fantasy baseball season planning to contend and leave the draft thinking our club is unbeatable. You draft names like Brandon Webb, Ervin Santana, Aramis Ramirez, Grady Sizemore, and Manny Ramirez only to lose them to injury and suspension. The calendar then turns to June, and you find yourself dropping in the standings like a 12-6 curve falling off the table. You search the waiver wire and only get 50 percent of the production you lost. Lucky for you it is a keeper league, and there is always a chance to rebuild. Each week we will examine a player that can help you do that. These are players deep in the minors and worth watching. We start this week with a Cardinals prospect that has a serious offensive upside.

Player Profile Of The Week

Brett Wallace

Position: 3B

Team: St. Louis Cardinals

Birthdate: 8/26/86

Bats: Left

Throws: Right

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 205 lbs

Drafted: 1st Round 2008 (13th overall)

College: Arizona State

Wallace has always been known for his offense. His eye popping college career at Arizona State (the college that produced Barry Bonds) resulted in becoming the 13^th pick in the nation in June of 2008. He continues to work on the defensive game that at times has been below average. Wallace began his pro career at Class A Quad Cities and hit the ground running immediately. Wallace spent just 153 at bats there and hit .327 with five home runs and 25 RBIs. He was quickly promoted to Class AA Springfield and the domination of minor league pitching continued. He ended the year there, terrorizing pitchers while batting .367 in just 49 at bats that produced just seven strikeouts and eight extra base hits (five doubles and three home runs). In 2009, the prodigy began the year back in AA but did not stay there very long as the Cardinals promoted him quickly to AAA Memphis of the Pacific Coast League. Being just 22 years old in the upper system, Wallace has struggled a bit but has not embarrassed himself. After 108 at bats, Wallace has hit just .241 with a pedestrian .609 OPS. In his past four games, however, Wallace has gone four for his last eleven.

Estimated Time of Arrival and Stat projections

Wallace's approach and his proven track record of offense will suggest quality numbers in the future. His estimated time of arrival in St. Louis is a late season cup of coffee in 2009 and a chance to perhaps play everyday in 2010 once the defensive issues get ironed out. Do not expect much for 2009 since on a recent ESPN telecast it was pointed out that St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa has been pining for a veteran bat and feels there could be too much inexperience already in the Cards lineup. The Cardinals third base position has been spotty at best, and they are now attempting to convert SS Khalil Greene to third. Overall, Wallace is a premium prospect with a great upside. Think Scott Rolen in his prime without the glove.

The Korner's Final Projection:

All projections based on final upside of the player and 550 AB

.290 Batting Average
25 Home Runs
102 RBI
.370 OBP %
.500 SLG %
.870 OPS

It’s time again for the hump day look see, a random collection of stats and thoughts to help get you through your fantasy week. the look see will appear every Wednesday for the remainder of the season. You can make sure you catch each installment by grabbing a free email subscription through feedburner or picking up the RSS feeds on the main page.

Those of you who find yourselves in need of a fantasy pick-me-up in your outfield should wander over to your league page, go to the add player link and search for Juan Rivera. Do it. Do it right now, I'll wait. All set? Good. Why am I so hastily pushing you in his direction? In his last ten games Rivera is 16-40 (.400) with four home runs, 11 RBIs, six runs scored and has struck out once, that's right, once. Over the last month he's hitting .354 with an OPS of 1.070 and has driven in 22 runs. I'm guessing those numbers are better than at least one of your OF options over that span. The best part? If you act quickly he'll be available - he's owned in only 16% of Yahoo leagues and 14% of ESPN leagues as of this morning.

Ian Stewart is still on a roll in Colorado, if you need some middle infield assistance you could do worse. In his last 15 games he's 16-50 (.320) with five home runs, 14 RBIs and 13 runs scored. Like Rivera he's widely available. He's owned in only 32% of ESPN leagues and 44% of Yahoo leagues. His dual eligibility at 2B/3B makes him a quality backup option at minimum.

Mark Reynolds hit 28 bombs and drove in 97 runs last year, but scared many owners with his .239 average and record 204 strike outs. The 2009 version of Reynolds is still a whiff machine with 90 in his first 234 ABs, but he's blasted 17 bombs already and is hitting a sexy .282 with a .944 OPS. If the Ks don't hurt you in your particular league then you might want to put him on your wish list. You'll most likely have to trade for him as he's owned in 85% of Yahoo and 95% of ESPN leagues, but his power and eligibility at 1B/3B make him an attractive target.

Don't look now but Scott Podsednik is making a push for fantasy relevance once again. He's taken a rocky road in and out of baseball following his break out 2005 campaign and recently re-emerged with his old team, the White Sox. He's picked up nine steals in 41 games to go with a .309 average and 18 runs scored. He won't give you power, but if you need average and speed support in your outfield he's a free agent option to consider, at least in the short term. He's currently available in just about 90% of both ESPN and Yahoo leagues.

Matt Palmer will face off against Tim Lincecum tonight in San Francisco. Combined the two starters have a 12-1 record. Before you go nutty over Palmer and his 6-0 mark take a closer look at his other numbers. In 50.1 innings he's struck out 30, walked 20, and holds an ERA of 4.11. Nothing to write home about. He's getting less than 50% of his outs on the ground and half of his wins have come against Kansas City, Seattle and San Diego. Sometimes guys manage to pick up wins with less than impressive peripheral numbers on a consistent basis (see Tim Wakefield) but more often than not those guys fall off quickly. Just something to think about.

Jason Marquis is another unheralded hurler with unexpected success recently. He's 4-0 in the last month with a 2.08 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Like Palmer his K to BB ratio over that time has been mediocre (21:16), but he's kept the ball on the ground (58% ground balls on the season) and has seen significant run support lately (30 runs by the Rockies over his last five starts). He's available in 80% of ESPN leagues and 67% of Yahoo leagues if you want to take a chance on him.

His teammate Jason Hammel also has four wins in the last month, not bad for a guy owned in 1.2% of ESPN leagues. In the month of June he's 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP and 15 Ks against three walks in 18.1 innings pitched. He's a big SOB at six foot six with a power arm and a good curve ball who came over from Tampa Bay earlier this season. I'm keeping an eye on him, you should too.

Ok boys and girls, it's time once again for the weekly staple that keeps you all coming back to the Hump Day Look See - the top 10 hitters and pitchers of the last week. As always the lists below use the rankings from a Yahoo standard 5 x 5 roto league for the last 7 days. All stats are accurate as of this morning. Notice there are five players from the Rays and Brewers among the top 10 hitters. Also notice that Albert Pujols was the best hitter in the game over the last 7 days. Which makes sense, as he is the best hitter in the game over any number of days.

Top 10 Hitters Of The Last Week:

No 1 - Albert Pujols, STL - .381, 5 HR, 8 RBIs, 7 Runs, 2 SB

No 2 - Alex Rios, TOR - .500, 2 HR, 5 RBIs, 6 Runs, 4 SB

No 3 - Carlos Pena, TB - .391, 4 HR, 7 RBIs, 10 Runs

No 4 - Ryan Braun, MIL - .379, 2 HR, 9 RBIs, 8 Runs, 2 SB

No 5 - Ben Zobrist, TB - .409, 2 HR, 4 RBIs, 10 Runs, 2 SB

No 6 - B.J. Upton, TB - .308, 1 HR, 3 RBIs, 4 Runs, 7 SB

No 7 - Alberto Callaspo, KC - .478, 2 HR, 9 RBIs, 6 Runs

No 8 - Corey Hart, MIL - .400, 2 HR, 7 RBIs, 7 Runs, 1 SB

No 9 - Torii Hunter, LAA - .389, 4 HR, 8 RBIs, 5 Runs

No 10 - Kung-Fu Panda (aka Pablo Sandoval), SFG - .462, 3 HR, 6 RBIs, 6 Runs

Top 10 Pitchers Of The Last Week:

No 1 - Gil Meche, KC - 2 Wins, 17 Ks, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP

No 2 - Felix Hernandez, SEA - 2 Wins, 11 Ks, 0.56 ERA, 0.94 WHIP

No 3 - Kevin Millwood, TEX - 2 Wins, 7 Ks, 0.61 ERA, 0.82 WHIP

No 4 - Kevin Correia, SD - 1 Win, 9 Ks, 1.93 ERA, 0.43 WHIP

No 5 - Matt Cain, SFG - 1 Win, 9 Ks, 1.00 ERA, 0.44 WHIP

No 6 - Jose Contreras, CWS - 1 Win, 8 Ks, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP

No 7 - Dan Haren, ARI - 1 Win, 7 Ks, 1.00 ERA, 0.44 WHIP

No 8 - Cliff Lee, CLE - 1 Win, 6 Ks, 0.00 ERA, 0.56 WHIP

No 9 - Javier Vazquez, ATL - 0 Wins, 12 Ks, 1.12 ERA, 0.25 WHIP

No 10 - Tim Lincecum, SFG - 1 Win, 8 Ks, 0.00 ERA, 0.89 WHIP

That's all for today kiddies, but before I go I wanted to call your attention to a new badge on my site. You'll find it in the upper right hand corner, it's a colorful little thing with a Stand Up To Cancer logo.

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Until next time....

Hazaa

Have a question or a comment? Leave your thoughts below or drop me a line at jelletlambie@gmail.com

Corey Hart is really looking like he is back on track and should certainly be back in your lineups. He hit his ninth homer of the season tonight, and in the last week has three homers, ten RBI, and has raised his batting average twenty points. Another 20/20 season looks well within reach. He will have to pick up the pace on the stolen bases, but he is finally looking like a guy you can trust again.

J.J. Hardy was slumping worse than Hart, but he also had a good night on Wednesday. Hardy was a shortstop that I was high on if you couldn't get one of the elites in the early part of the draft. He was a SS that averaged over 20 homers in the past two seasons. But he is hitting below .220 and has just six homers including his one tonight. I still have held him on any team that I drafted him on, even if he isn't starting for me. I think he is due for a good second half. Can't say I would grab him if available right now, but I would certainly be monitoring him over the next week to ten days.

Scott Richmond is impossible for me to figure out. Every time that I am ready to tell everyone to send him packing to free agency, he has an outing like he did tonight. Richmond pretty much either gives up one run or five runs. On Wednesday he allowed just one earned run over eight innings and struck out a season high eleven. I am still not a Richmond fan, although he has had some pretty good outings. If you own him, obviously continue to pitch him, but I would always be looking to see if someone in your league would want to trade for him.

Was that enough for Chien-Ming Wang to remain in the Yankee rotation? It doesn't really matter for his ownership, but if he was jettisoned to the bullpen that would open up a rotation spot for Phil Hughes. It was laid out to Wang that if he wasn't better in his outing on Wednesday that he would be out of the rotation. Not sure exactly what they Yankees were looking for, but he was certainly better. Wang did take a loss, but he allowed just three runs over five innings, walked just two and struck out four. Everything about the start was better than where he has been, although I would think you might have expected more against the horrible Nats. Wang fell to 0-5, but he did lower his ERA to 12.65. My guess is that he gets another start.

Yunel Escobar is going to crush his statistics from last season, as long as he can stay healthy. Escobar has had trouble doing that over the past few seasons, but he has already met his stolen base number from 2008, is only two home runs shy, and is more than halfway to his RBI number. At worst, Escobar should be on your bench, but I believe he has been good enough to be a utility player or maybe a starting shortstop. I wouldn't love to count on that without having a reliable backup, but Escobar is doing quite well.

Hunter Pence seems to not be getting much love from fantasy players this season, but I'm not quite sure why. He hit his ninth home run of the season on Wednesday, and he is also hitting a scorching .328. He's a little behind pace to match his 25 home runs from 2008, but he is hitting for a tremendous average, and nearly has matched his stolen base total from last season. Be sure you have Pence in your lineup going forward.

Andrew McCutchen hit his first major league home run and has kept up the torrid start to his major league career. McCutchen continues to get at least one hit in every game, and if you own him, he should likely be in your starting lineup. If you are in a keeper league and he is still available, what the hell are you waiting for? Grab the kid!

Francisco Liriano fell to 2-8 on the season, but there were some positive signs from him. Liriano pitched seven innings, and he hasn't gone that deep into a game since May 4th. He only walked one, which he hasn't allowed less than two over his last four starts. Things are improving for Liriano, even if it is in small steps. Keep throwing him out there if you own him, and if he is available in your league, I would likely try to find a roster spot for him. Like I've said many times, that rookie season impact isn't coming back, but he should be a better than average pitcher.

Colby Rasmus is giving the Cardinals what they were hoping for when they gave him a starting job out of Spring. Sure, he is striking out a little more than you would like, but it isn't like he is on Mark Reynolds level with the Ks. With his two RBI on Wednesday, Rasmus is up to 26 on the season, and he has driven in six runs in the last five games. In a keeper league he is a must have, but even in a seasonal league he at least is worth a bech roster spot.

Josh Whitesell has been much better since being recalled again from the minors, and while he isn't hitting for power, he is driving in runs at a nice clip. In the last week, Whitesell has driven in nine runs, and his average has gone up nearly 100 points. Of course it was right around .100 so it isn't like he had anywhere to go but up. He was hitting for great power in the minors, but has yet to hit his first major league tater. I wouldn't grab Whitesell yet, but I would definitely keep an eye on his progress. If he starts hitting for power, that is exactly what the doctor ordered in Arizona.

Jose Lopez continues to stay hot and has now gotten to be someone you can trust in my opinion. After tonight's home run, he now has five in the last week, along with 13 RBI. He obviously can't keep that pace up, but outside of his average, he is looking like he could meet, or perhaps surpass last season's great numbers. If he is still available in your league, I would certainly pick him up.

Mailing List

I'm not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don't get a request to join it. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an email to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others. The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc. This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefitted from the list. Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.

Saves: 10


Today was full of action with over a dozen closers hitting the field. Bobby Jenks got it all started with his 15th save of the season in a 4-3 win over the lowly Cubs. He needed only 12 pitches to dispatch of the Cub batters, who looked bad the whole day.

Brian Fuentes scored his league leading 18th save over the Giants today. He rolled through the first two batters, but then gave up a drive to center field that fell a few feet short of a game tying home run. Fuentes has quietly put together four saves in a row and has lowered his ERA to 4.64. His last streak was eight straight saves, and his ERA during that streak dropped to 4.08. With all that said, I think Fuentes should be fine and getting better throughout the year. He has been more consistent with his command than he was earlier in the year.

Andrew Bailey recovered quickly from his blown save last night. He threw a quiet ninth inning for a 5-4 save.

Huston Street continued his hot streak recording his 14th save of the season over the Rays. He made quick work of the Rays needing only ten pitches to end the ninth inning.

Today Jupiter was aligned with Mars. Yes, the Washington Nationals recorded a save. It was the Nats first save of the month. In fact it was the first since May 24th, and only the fourth in the months of May and June. Mike MacDougal scored his first save in his first chance, but didn't do it without the fireworks the Washington bullpen is known for. He had runners on the corners with one out, but got Robinson Cano to hit into a double play.

Finally, there was a bit more magic in Baltimore where George Sherrill made an actual SAVE appearance for the Orioles and as usual made it look easy. Sherrill is one of the most oddly peculiar closers in fantasy baseball. No one wants to believe he is good with his goofy hat and "deer caught in headlights" look. A fantasy baseball analyst I talked to the other day said that Sherrill was a "troubled closer" and felt he was somewhat comparable to Mike MacDougal. Others refuse to touch him and some owners still have Chris Ray.

Sherrill had me at hello or maybe it was 32 saves in 2008. I wasn't a fan of Sherrill until late last year, but I never doubted him this season. He is for real and gets the job done. It might not be pretty, but he has saved eight games in a row and hasn't blown a save since May 2nd. In that time he has lowered his ERA from 5.04 to 2.55 and his WHIP to 1.18.


Other Appearances:
David Aardsma (12) - Another trouble free night for Aarsdma. With Morrow starting, the job is without any doubt his.
Ryan Franklin (16) - An easy save for Franklin.
Francisco Cordero (16) - He recovered quickly from his blown save and his ERA is still below two.
CJ Wilson - Got the win for Texas. He pitched two innings giving up three hits and striking out two.
Jose Valverde - Pitched one inning striking out two. Needed only 13 pitches for the inning and looked very good. Very promising appearance for Valverde owners.
Kerry Wood - pitched a harmless inning.

Saves: 2


Monday was a slow day with two games, so I skipped the report. Good thing I did because there were only two saves as well, but plenty of closers pitched. On Monday, both games on the docket were saved.

Trevor Hoffman came back after his first blown save to get his 16th save of the season. He worried his owners with a lead-off single to Travis Hafner, but closed out the rest of the inning. Brian Fuentes came in and got a quick 1/3 of an inning save after a wild game where the Angels won 9-7.

Tuesday had its own share of action. Mariano Rivera closed out a 5-3 win for the Yankees. He looked sharp gunning down the Nats batters 1-2-3.

Ryan Madson made his fourth appearance as a closer and blew his first save. He gave up the game tying run by walking Lyle Overbay with the bases loaded. The stat line for Madson was not good. two hits, two walks, and a run. He did strikeout two batters for something positive, but his overall command was terrible tonight.

Andrew Bailey pitched well, but suffered a tough blown save to the Dodgers. After giving up a lead-off single to Orlando Hudson, Orlando Cabrera's fielding miscues put the tying run to second base. He then got a double play, but gave up the big hit to Matt Kemp. It wasn't a bad performance with no earned runs, but it was a blown save. Broxton pitched a quiet inning with not much action in the game. He only needed 10 pitches, so he should be available for tomorrow. However, I think Joe Torre will do everything he can to give Broxton some rest. The A's lost 5-4 with former closer Ziegler taking the loss.

Other Appearances:
Francisco Rodriguez (17) - Another save for KROD, but he did walk two before striking out two and getting the save.
Mike MacDougal - made an appearance against the Yankees. Gave up 2 walks, a hit, and a run in another poor performance by a Washington closer. Where is a witch doctor for this curse?!?!?!

Happy Flag Day everybody! It is at this point every season where I feel the need to remind fantasy players to be hoisting up the red, white and blue flag and not just the all white one. It is only June 14th, and there is plenty of baseball left to be played. Nobody is out of it quite yet no matter how far back you reside in the standings. Just look at the Colorado Rockies, winners of 10 straight games. Anything is possible still providing you are committed to making the necessary moves to get your team back on track. Those moves begin right here my friends every week on The Hot 8. This week I will be providing a plethora or right handed arms to get you through the dog days of summer and the dreaded tired arm syndrome. But don't worry those of you in need of a bat...I've got a power hitting middle infielder and a sweet swinging lefty poised to join the middle of a lineup in the very near future.

1) Sean Rodriguez (Second Base) -- Angels -- In the May 24th edition of The Hot 8 I ranked Rodriguez as a must watch player who had cut down dramatically on his strikeouts after a disappointing stint with the Angels last season. If you had taken my advice then, right now you'd be sitting with the most coveted waiver pickup since Tommy Hanson. In the slim chance he is available, make the move right now! A middle infielder who can hit for power and has a bit of speed is a rare find in today's market and an absolute must for anyone even if you already own Chase Utley and Ian Kinsler. Keep Rodriguez away from the competition or at least make them pay a nice price for his potential.

2) Ryan Madson (RHP - Closer) -- Phillies -- I realize that I am not starting out this weeks Hot 8 with any real surprises. But passing over a guy like Madson can be a critical mistake down the road. Madson is pitching lights out this season and has taken over the closer duties after Brad Lidge's "injury" to his knee. The fact is that Madson could remain the Phillies closer even after Lidge comes back, especially if he continues this torrid pace. He is registering a K/9 ratio of 10.1 going into this week and has 2 wins and 4 saves to go along with a 0.98 WHIP. The Phillies will have plenty of save opportunities going forward and in shouldn't be long until Madson is considered among the top 10 fantasy closers in baseball this season.

3) Neftali Feliz (RHP - Starter) -- Rangers -- I have decided to keep pounding Feliz's name into your heads until he finally gets the callup sometime in July. I have no doubts that the Rangers will go to him for their stretch run and I envision him being the young catalyst for their eventual World Series run. Plenty of wins, strikeouts and hype will be accompanying Feliz in the weeks and months ahead. Come October it will seem funny how in June many of us didn't even know who he was or what he could do. Here is a brief scouting report I posted last week about Neftali Feliz: "His fastball is best when coming from a three-quarters arm angle where it reaches 96 MPH with sharp inward bite to right handers. Then he'll hit you with a sharp tight spinning curveball that has great break down. His changeup is major league ready also registering at anywhere from 83-87 MPH with fade making it devastating when looking fastball." His time is coming soon my friends.

4) John Bowker (OF/1B) -- Giants -- Bowker should be getting a call to the majors in the very near future. He is hitting .338/.451/.547 for AAA Fresno right now with 8 HR's and 40 RBI. He has been red hot too as of late making him all that more likely to join the Giants soon. With the up and down seasons of Randy Winn and Nate Schierholz, Bowker could see a lot of playing time once he does get to San Francisco and also will likely hit in the middle of the Giants order. This sweet swinging lefty is known for spraying line drives to all parts of the ballpark and also for having a great eye and a patient approach. He did OK last year in the big leagues hitting 10 HR's in 3326 AB's. Don't be fooled however by his 10 stolen bases for Fresno so far this year, he has little speed or stolen base upside to speak of.

5) Luke Hochevar (RHP - Starter) -- Royals -- It would absolutely stun me if Hochevar was to be sent down again this season. His time as a big league pitcher has come and the Royals must start to actually let him develop in the major leagues the way Zach Grienke was allowed to do the past few seasons. Hochevar's 3 hit complete game in which he threw just 80 pitches was a masterpiece and a sign of what could be if he is given the chance. I believe in his ability to get hitters out either by strikeout or by pitching to contact as he did against the Reds last week. His two seam fastball has natural sink and can induce groundball after groundball out and his curve has a nice late break that can have hitters waving at all game long if on. There will be some ups and downs but Hochevar is here to stay and should be considered a solid pitch and ditch guy right now and a hold for those with an eye toward the future.

6) Barbaro Canizares (First Base) -- Braves -- This is more of a short term play but one that is worth noting for sure. Canizares will have a big couple of weeks while on the big league club. There are many reason why I know this, the most important of which is because of how teams pitch to former Cuban League players. They will either try to bust him in with fastballs, trying to knock the bat out of his hand or they will feed him a steady diet of off-speed rollers in the dirt trying to get him to fish. Canizares will turn on an inside fastball at nearly any speed and deposit it into the left field seats or off the wall. He also has good pitch recognition and a patient approach that many Cubans do not share. He'll get on base at a good clip and probably hit a HR or two while filling in for Casey Kotchman. Who knows, he may even stick around awhile if Bobby Cox likes what he sees out of him.

7) Homer Bailey (RHP - Starter) -- Reds -- I can almost hear the collective droan pour out amongst my readers: "Oh, no...not Bailey!!" Well my friends he is on a tear down in AAA having gone 6-3 with a 2.16 ERA in 66.2 IP recording 59 K's and a 1.22 WHIP over his last 10 starts. His past four starts have been fantastic lasting at least seven innings in each and striking out a minimum or six. There is a good chance that Bailey gets traded as Reds management just doesn't have the patience for him. But I have heard that a mechanical error in Bailey's delivery while pitching out of the stretch was causing his fastball to straighten out and also control problems. Louisville pitching coach Ted Power has worked on this with Bailey all spring long and it appears to be corrected and the results are impossible to ignore. Whatever team ends up getting Bailey will be getting a big time talent who may be finally on his way.

8) Vin Mazzaro (RHP - Starter) -- Athletics -- Mazzaro's early success is no fluke. He is the type of pitcher that projects to have long term success in the league not because of his arsenal of plus pitches, but what he does with the few that he has got. Mazzaro shows a low 90's fastball that he can run in to right handers, sink to induce ground balls or cut it in to left handers. This ability alone with his fastball keeps hitters off balance and guessing on location even after they recognize the fastball is coming. He has been able to command the fastball well over the past two seasons of minor league ball and is now doing it in the show. Mazzaro also throws a hard mid-90's sinker that is just like his fastball but with much greater drop late in the zone. While he does not have a real off-speed pitch, he does change speed well with his fastball and hard slider that keeps the hitters timing off just enough. Most of his strikeouts will come due to good command of the strikezone and not over powering stuff. Mazzaro is a solid starter that will not hurt you in ERA or WHIP the way that so many other young pitchers can and will making him quite valuable fantasy player.

That is the Hot 8 for this week. What do you guys think? Post your comments below or email me at jeff@fantasybaseballsearch.com

June 14th, 2009  JunkyardJake.Com

Sean Rodriguez, LA Angels, 2B  
- Oh my, well it's now clear that Angels manager Mike Scioscia was hardly bluffing when he threatened to 'shake things up' after Thursday's 11-1 thumping by the Tampa Bay Rays. The complete details of Scioscia's shake-up plan have not been disclosed as of yet, but John Lackey's post-game ritual of kicking it 'Old School' with his turntable and DJ Scratch Mixer is probably out, as are the dugout drinking games, one would imagine.

Assuming the role of most immediate scapegoat in the shakeup plan was 2nd baseman Howie Kendrick, who was summarily demoted to AAA. The good news is that while Kendrick is attempting to expel his .231 batting average demons down in the junior circuit, we should get a look at prospect Sean Rodriquez. Rodriguez, who was called up to replace Kendrick this weekend, was tearing up the Pacific Coast League with 21 HRs in 57 games in 2009. In fact, he has shown very consistent power at the AAA level the past two seasons, as he finished his 2008 campaign with 21 HRs in 66 games.
Available in 87% of all CBSSportsline leagues.

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Mike MacDougal, Washington Nationals, RP  
- Given the debacle known as the Washington Nationals bullpen, Mike MacDougal almost can't help to represent an improvement as the newest closer of last resort. In fact, after enduring two stints of Joel Hanrahan late inning shenanigans, mixed in with a couple games of Joe Abysmal, the Nationals will probably grant MacDougal a fair margin of error, maybe even a couple misdemeanors, before considering another change.

It certainly doesn't hurt that MacDougal throws some pretty nasty stuff, featuring a fastball that can reach 95-97 MPH. He also offers a good amount of closer experience, with a total 48 saves on his resume serving as the Kansas City Royals closer during the 2003 and 2005 seasons.
Available in 83% of all CBSSportsline leagues.

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Scott Podsednik, Chicago White Sox, OF  
- Wow, this guy hasn't been fantasy-relevant since back when tribal tattoos were moderately fashionable and Don Imus had a broadcasting career. After an inconspicuous past 2 years of playing sporadically and batting around .250, Podsednik resigned with the White Sox in April this year, right after they had just released him.

His subsequent revival has been fairly impressive - after a solid May where he hit .307 with 3 stolen bases, Podsednik has regularly been batting leadoff in June, and hitting .310 with 5 stolen bases for the month so far.
Available in 82% of all CBSSportsline leagues.

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Sean West, Florida Marlins, SP  
- A first round pick in 2005, 6 foot-8 lefty Sean West has been occasionally compared to pitching legend Randy Johnson. Of course West has a really long way to go before he will be even considered worthy to clean the gutters on Johnson's 300 Win Commemorative Museum. However, like Johnson, Sean West can consistently deliver a mid-90's power fastball, and also throws some nasty breaking stuff.

Unfortunately, also like Randy Johnson, who struggled with mechanics early in his career, West has been susceptible to his share of erratic outings and control lapses. Nonetheless, the Marlins rookie is someone to watch, and may have offered a glimpse of his fantasy potential when he beat Johnson and Giants with an 8 inning 2 hit effort last week.
Available in 77% of all CBSSportsline leagues.

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Vin Mazzaro, Oakland A's, SP  
- With Vin Mazzaro recently joining an Oakland rotation that currently includes Dallas Braden, Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, and Josh Outman, the average age of the A's starting pitcher staff is now just slightly higher than that of the Milwaukee chapter of the Jonas Brothers unofficial fan club.

While Mazzaro probably does not have the upside of higher potential prospects Cahill and Outman, he has improved his command over the past year or so, getting his walks per 9 innings down to around 2.5 from over 4 in 2007. He mostly relies on a sinking fastball typically in the 90-93 MPH range, and complements this pitch with a decent changeup, and a developing slider. Mazzaro almost certainly will not maintain his current 1.37 ERA and 0.97 Whip, but could turn out to be another pleasant surprise from the Oakland pitcher farm.
Available in 65% of all CBSSportsline leagues.

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Other Players To Consider:


Chris Coghlan,Florida Marlins,3B,OF  
Available in 89% of all CBSSportsline leagues.


Aaron Cook,Colorado Rockies,SP  
Available in 62% of all CBSSportsline leagues.


Juan Rivera,LA Angels,OF  
Available in 78% of all CBSSportsline leagues.


Colby Rasmus,St. Louis Cardinals,OF  
Available in 64% of all CBSSportsline leagues.


Antonio Bastardo,Philadelphia Phillies,SP  
Available in 62% of all CBSSportsline leagues.

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Saves: 9


Papelbon capped off a great Red Sox comeback by shutting the door on the Yankees for his 16th save. Paps faced only three batters and avoided AROD as the winning run. Papelbon has been worked allot and he looks tired. He needs to get some rest and some easy 3-run save chances.

Matt Capps was on his A-game as he ripped through the Braves for his 15th save and got his sixth save in a row. It was also his fifth save of the month, but tonight was his first strikeout as well.

Huston Street continued his hot streak with his fourth consecutive save, but got roughed up a bit in the process. Street is far from perfect right now, but he's pitching as well as he can. In June he's 4/5 in saves with seven strikeouts and believe it or not (Chata) he has lowered his ERA .26 points.

Ryan Franklin finally got another save. After getting 7 in April, 5 in May, he secured only his second save in June. He's getting cold or the Cardinals are. He gave up three hits while securing a very nervous save. Is a breakdown coming for Franklin? I'd sell.

Ryan Madson is 2/2 in two days as a closer. He saved his second consecutive game beating the Mets 6-3. He struck out one and gave up a hit earning his fourth save of the season.

Joakim Soria blew his first save of the season. He should never have pitched, but thanks to a Pena Jr. throwing error Soria had to come in and gave up a double that plated the tying run. He did retire the next four batters he faced.

Other Appearances:
David Aardsma (11) - 1.78 ERA and 32 strikeouts. What a pleasant surprise. Maybe Morrow should go back to being a starter?
CJ Wilson (6) - Wilson has the stuff to close and we have no idea how long Francisco will be out.
Joe Beimel (1) - Mike MacDougal pitched 3 innings over the past two days, so its a rest save for Beimal.
Chad Qualls(13) - the beleaguered closer got his 13th save, but gave up an unearned run. he dd strikeout two.

Max Scherzer continues to pitch very strong, and picked up his third win. This is a kid that I like to continue to progress and, of course, continue to strikeout everyone and their mother. One of Scherzer's problems is that the Diamondbacks aren't very good so his win potential is not great. His ERA is only 3.63 and he has more strikeouts than innings pitched. If Scherzer was available in your league, I would try to find a way to pick him up. In a keeper league, stop reading now and pick him up......then come back.

Ryan Franklin returned to the save column today for the first time since June 2nd, but it wasn't because of ineffectiveness. The Cardinals went on a six game losing streak, and then tattooed the Marlins yesterday 13-4. So, for those of you who were getting frustrated with the lack of chances with Franklin, don't worry about it. The season is 162 games long and EVERY team hits the skids. This was the Cardinals time, and Franklin just wasn't able to get a save. He pitched 1.2 innings today and didn't allow a run. His ERA sits at 1.14 for the season, and his WHIP is a ridiculous 0.85. I don't see that being his end of season stats, but I do have confidence in Franklin going forward, something I would never have said two months ago.

Ryan Madson collected his second save since taking over for Brad Lidge. Not only did he get the save, but it was with no real drama. Madson only allowed one hit in the two appearances, unlike Lidge who has his fantasy owners reaching for the Tums. Madson should be good at this closer's role as long as he is needed. I expect his strikeout numbers to rise, and I believe that he will convert most save opportunities that come his way. If you are at all in need of saves and Madson is still out there, don't hesitate to pick him up with one warning. I wouldn't let go of someone you feel will hold a closer's job all season because Madson is not the long term answer in Philly.

Andrew Miller had another strong start on Thursday, and now hasn't allowed more than three runs since April 20th. Although he really isn't going deep into games, the kid is starting to come into his own. He had one of his longer starts of the year when he lasted 6.1 innings, and he struck out eight. His ERA is still over 4.00, but that can partly be attributed to a slow start. His main problem is still his control, although today he finally didn't walk a batter. Miller's WHIP is 1.50 on the season, and he has to improve on that before he takes the next step to a reliable starter.

Paul Maholm didn't factor in the decison, but he did have a nice bounceback from his last subpar outing. I have been waiting all year long for the Pirates' starters to come back to earth, and while they have to a degree, it still hasn't been as much as I had anticipated. Maholm didn't allow an earned run over seven innings, and he also struck out eight guys. Don't anticipate those kind of K numbers to continue, that isn't the kind of pitcher he is. I still would only add him if he was pitching at home against the Nationals, but I can't argue with the fact that he is doing better than I thought he would.

Ian Stewart took the place of Garrett Atkins in the Rockies' lineup again today, and the young Stewart has now played every day since May 31st. His average might not be anything to write home to Mom about, but he did hit his team-leading 12th homer of the year. Not bad for a guy who wasn't even playing everyday. At this point it appears that Colorado is going to try to get him in their lineup as much as they can, and he becomes a very intriguing fantasy player. In keeper leagues he is a no-brainer. In seasonal leagues I would still strongly consider picking him up. Not only should he be second base eligible, but he would give you great power at a position that isn't exactly known for the long ball. Stewart and Reimold are becoming two of my favorite young players.

Johnathan Sanchez has frustrated his fantasy owners all season long. He either doesn't last long enough to even qualify for a win, gives up tons of runs, or on a rare occasion has a solid outing. On Thursday he did pitch 5.1 innings, and only allowed one run, but Sanchez walked seven guys, more than offsetting the five strikeouts he got. At this point Sanchez is teetering between a guy on your roster that you shouldn't be starting and banishing him to free agency.

Koji Uehara returned to the Orioles rotation tonight and he again was average and that is me just being nice. Uehara only lasted five innings, allowed four runs, and struck out only three. He's not bad. He went through a five start stretch where he allowed three runs or less. He gets a decent number of strikeouts and doesn't walk many. He is OK, and that's about the best you are going to get from me. I would consider letting him go, but I would want it to be someone that is fairly solid to do so. He isn't horrible, he just isn't going to do anything to excite you.

Ervin Santana was horrible again, and in six starts since coming back from the Disabled List he has been good three time, and absolutely awful in the other three. He allowed six runs over 4.2 innings, walked two and struck out three. I don't think I would make the move to let him go unless there is a really good pitcher that doesn't belong on the waiver wire is available. I am not the biggest Santana fan in the world by any stretch, but a guy who had a season like he did last season deserves more than six starts before you send him to the scrap heap. Give him two more starts to see what he does. His good starts were pretty good.

David Price is having trouble staying in the game long enough to be an effective starter. Price still has all the talent and the tools to be successful, but is being horribly inefficient with his pitches. Price threw 105 pitches to get threw 4.1 innings tonight, and he has yet to through the sixth inning. I am figuring that he will improve a little bit each time out, but it doesn't appear he will be the lights out guy we were expecting. Continue to pitch him if you own him, and if you don't perhaps you can see if his owner is a little frustrated with him and might trade him on the cheap.

Kelvim Escobar was removed from the Angels' rotation because of a lack of strength in surgically repaired shoulder. Matt Palmer will take the next turn that was supposed to be Escobar's. Obviously it is the right time to drop Escobar, but what will Palmer's value be? He was 5-0, but his ERA was over 4.00 and he struck out just 27 in 44 innings. He also had some control problems as he walked 17 batters against those 27 whiffs. I could see picking him up at the end of your rotation, but just keep your expectations in line.

Chien-Ming Wang somehow will remain in the Yankees rotation for his next turn, even after his last huge embarrassing failure on the mound. Now, I am not rooting against Wang by any stretch, but he is just not getting it done right now. He only lasted 2.2 innings against the Red Sox yesterday, and I don't know how much longer the Yankees can keep sending him out there knowing that he is going to burn up their bullpen every fifth day. Phil Hughes continues to pitch pretty well, and it seems like it is only a matter of time before he is back in the rotation.

Evan Longoria got his first hit since returning from injury earlier in the week, and in true Longoria fashion, the kid made it count with his 14th long ball of the season off of Ervin Santana. This isn't really breaking news, I just really, really, really, really really like Longoria and I was happy he was back hitting again. He's a stud, the ultimate player you want in a keeper league, and should be in your lineup every day.

While David Wright's owners are certainly upset with the fact that he has just four home runs on the season, they should feel good about the fact that he is not only hitting .363, but he also stole his 17th base of the season tonight. Now I know that we all drafted him for speed as well as power, but he is exceeding your expectations in both batting average and stolen bases this season. Could he steal 35-40 bases? He's well on pace to do that right now.

David Ortiz homered again for the Red Sox and now has three in the last five days after having just one in the first 49 games. Now the question is, did he just get all amped up for the Yankee series and he just got a little hot? Or is Big Papi coming back? Fantasy players drafted Big Papi, but all they have gotten is David Ortiz. If he keeps this up for another few days I would feel confident that he will be better for the rest of the season. Like I said the other day, if he is sitting in your free agent pool, I would definitely try to pick him up.

Blue Jays' pitcher Ricky Romero had his best start since coming off the DL, but he just isn't someone that excites me. His first three starts were very good before his injury, but I believe he is more of the pitcher that we have seen the last few times out. But to be fair, Romero allowed just one earned run over 6.1 innings and struck out six. He isn't a great strikeout pitcher, but is decent. My opinion on him is that he isn't the worst guy to own, but I would keep him on a fairly short leash. The Blue Jays have come back to earth, and his win possibilities will decrease as well. He's not a guy that I own, but he does have a little fantasy value.

My hitting streak in the USA Today 56 Game Hit streak now sits at three thanks to Raul Ibanez. You might laugh and say that three is a long way from 56, but this game is tough. If you want to join our ever growing group go to www.usatoday.com/sports and follow the link for the game. Our private group is called Fantasy Bball 2night and the password is fantasy. See if you can do any better. Right now the group is led by Jennifer who has a four game streak thanks to Adam Lind.

Ok, it is Thursday which means it is softball time. Didn't think we were going to get the game in due to the weather but we played through some rain. I got off to a hot start with three hits in my first three at bats with a liner to center, and RBI double down the left field line and a nice single between third and short. I got mad at myself when I popped up a bunt attempt in my fourth at bat, and then grounded to short in my last. It was a good old fashioned pitching duel that we won 17-15. I played short field again, and made one fairly routine catch and one sliding catch. I also just came up short on another sliding catch which I tried to sell to the ump, but he was too smart for that. This was the team that beat us for the championship last year, so it was nice to get the win. Our record is now 3-3.

You can also follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fightingchance, and you can also be my friend on Facebook.

Mailing List

I'm not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don't get a request to join it. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an email to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others. The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc. This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefitted from the list. Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.

It's time again for the hump day look see, a random collection of stats and thoughts to help get you through your fantasy week. the look see will appear every Wednesday evening for the remainder of the season. You can make sure you catch each installment by grabbing a free email subscription through feedburner or picking up the RSS feeds on the main page.

Troy Tulowitzki is also starting to get hot, or is it just a tease? He homered for the second time in three games, drove in a run for the third time in four games, and six hits over the last four contests. There is an outside chance he might be available in your league. If so, I still don't think I pick him up, unless you are playing someone outright awful at SS or MI. However, if he gets to the weekend and he is still hitting, that is when I would make a move on him. That rookie season might seem like a long time ago, but the potential to repeat it is there.

Jose Lopez is catching fire in the last few days. With two homers on Wednesday, that is three homers in the last three days, and he now has four three hit games since May 31st. He did have 17 homers and 89 RBI last year, and while he might not match those numbers, he is definitely on the uptick. Depending on your second baseman he might be worth a look, but I wouldn't drop anyone too great to pick him up at this point. Definitely keep a watch on him the next couple of days.

Matt Wieters had his second consecutive two hit game on Wednesday, and fantasy owners across the country are hoping that this is the start of something big. Obviously I don't need to talk about Wieters potential or what you can expect. But I know a lot of you spent through the nose to get him, and are panicking about his .143 average. Of course, not every prospect pans out, but this kid has got to start hitting soon, right?

Carl Pavano was starting to gain more and more trust from fantasy players, and then, BAM! he gives up nine runs to the Royals. If there is one good thing to say about this outing for Pavano, he did only walk one guy. I know that is not enough to keep any Pavano owner happy, but I like to look at the bright side of things. I think Pavano can win twelve games, but don't go crazy and think you are going to get this huge resurgent season from him where he will win 17 games.

Gil Meche had his best outing of the season as he shutout the Cleveland Indians over seven innings and struck out 11. After a real rocky start, Meche has allowed two runs or less in five straight starts. His strikeout numbers have been all over the map, but for the season they haven't been bad. I came into the season liking Meche for a fourth or fifth starter, but I have soured on him some after his rocky start. I don't own him in any league, and even after tonight I'm not running out and grabbing him. He has definitely caught my attention and is on the radar screen though.

Jeremy Hermida homered for the second straight day against the Cardinals, and he now has three in the last ten days. With three hits on Wednesday, he now has 13 hits over the last ten days. Now, let me just say two things about him. One, he was always supposed to be a fairly successful prospect. Two, injuries have consistently derailed any kind of season he was going to have. As most of you know, I try to stay away from the guys who are consistently injured. I especially don't like big time prospects who tend to be injury prone. I am not buying in to this hot streak with Hermida. Let him be someone else's headache. You don't need the stress.

Cards' rookie Colby Rasmus now has a nine game hitting streak going, and he connected on his seventh homer of the year for St. Louis. Even more impressive was the fact that he was batting cleanup for the Cards, a clear indication of the confidence that Tony LaRussa is growing with him. At this point, he is definitely woth being on a roster even in a 12 team league, and in keeper leagues, you definitely want to get your hands on him.

Geovany Soto had lost some playing time recently, and it looks like it might have woken him up. He did only have one hit, but Soto did homer for the second time in four games, and has finally started to hit. He is a guy that I would be picking up if he were available in my league. I know he got off to an incredibly bad start, but I still have confidence in him, but there has to be a hot streak in his future. Stay patient with Soto in 2009, I think that as the season progresses, you will see a rise in his numbers.

Jake Fox was sent back to the minors when the Cubs recalled Aaron Miles. They really never did give him a chance to make an impact, and that is mostly due to the fact that he is absolutely terrible on defense. He is someone to consider stashing if you are in a keeper league, but I have no idea when he might be back. I am sure they will have him work at some specific position until he gets good enough to return to the majors. He did hit .417 in limited at bats while in the majors.

If I am going to pound on a guy, I have to give him credit when he does something good. I have called Shairon Martis the worst 5-0 pitcher ever. On Wednesday he only allowed two earned runs over seven innings,and that is a great improvement over where he has been. However, his strikeout to walk ratio is still a concern, as he walked two and struck out one. Please, continue to let him sit in free agency, he is not worth owning.

Aaron Harang continues to have his impossible to predict season. Harang has hit the whole spectrum of appearances. He has been lights out, he has been average, he has been horrible. And he goes from one end of the spectrum to the other without any notice and in a hurry. Tonight, Harang threw 7.2 shutout innings, two starts after allowing eight runs. All in all, I think Harang is definitely worth having on your team, and I wouldn't want to trade him. But he certainly will make you crazy at least once a month.

John Lackey certainly took his lumps today, allowing eight earned runs over five innings, walked two and struck out two. I still have plenty of confidence that Lackey will get hot and have a fine season. Remember he missed a ton of time to start the season, and is likely just getting rounded into shape. I have long thought that Lackey is one of the more underrated pitchers in fantasy baseball. If you have him, stick with him, I believe he will be fine. If you were thinking of targeting him in a trade, now is a great time.

You can also follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fightingchance, and you can also be my friend on Facebook.

Mailing List

I'm not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don't get a request to join it. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an email to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others. The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc. This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefitted from the list. Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.

Like I always say, young players, and especially pitchers, often struggle. Tommy Hanson got a rude welcome to the majors today, as he allowed six runs over six innings. If there is one good thing about the start is was that Hanson didn't walk a slew of guys, in fact only one, and he did strike out five in those six innings. Milwaukee is a decent offensive team, but they aren't exactly Murderer's Row either. Continue to start Hanson, don't let this one start make you lose any confidence.

Roy Halladay is just straight out NASTY! The guy threw another complete game shutout today and is now the majors first ten game winner. His ERA is right around 2.50, he is striking out nearly a batter an inning, and his WHIP is among the best in baseball among starters. What can I say? If Halladay isn't the best, he's definitely in the top five.

Ricky Nolasco was back for the Marlins today, and although he took the loss, the start was pretty encouraging. He allowed just two runs over seven innings, walked three, and struck out four. This obviously wasn't a lights out start, but it is much better than some of the outings he had before being sent to the minors. I like the prospects of a fine season for Nolasco after being recalled, and I think he can win eleven or twelve games.

I continue to read Steve Gardner's blog over at usatoday.com, and I found a new way for us to compete against each other. USA Today's site has two fun games that I have begun to play, and I set up a private league for us to join. The first is called 56 Game Hit Streak in which you try each day to pick a guy who will get a hit. Sounds easy right? I started it a few days ago and haven't picked a guy who got a hit yet. The second is called 3 Play and that is a weekly game in which you pick an infielder, an outfielder, and a pitching staff and you get points based on their performance. Points are accumulated for the season. The midseason game starts on Monday. The information you need follows. Both league names are Fantasy Bball 2night, and the passwords are both fantasy. Please join us and see if you matchup against us.

Antonio Bastardo was called up to the majors to fill in for Brett Myers when he was basically lost for the season. While the Phils have said they would look outside the organization for a long term fix, Bastardo could make them rethink those plans. Besides having a really cool name, he was having a great season in the minors and is a pretty good strikout pitcher. He hasn't been going deep into games, but he has had two quality starts, and has been getting pretty good K numbers. As long as he is in the rotation for the Phillies he is worth a look as a potential guy at the bottom of your rotation.

Randy Wells had his first major league win blown for him by the bullpen, but he has now made six starts, and he is still yet to allow more than three runs. Wells struck out four and allowed two runs in 6.2 innings, and now has a 1.86 ERA. I'm still not on the Wells bandwagon, but he is doing quite well in the majors. I just look at his minor league statistics and he never did this good for any stretch at any level.

It is just a few days away before Fighting Chance Fantasy officially becomes Fantasy Baseball Tonight. Many of you have already made the switch and I appreciate the feedback I have gotten. Anyone who checks out the new site, I wanna hear what you think.

Bronson Arroyo is either all or nothing. This time it was another great start for him. Arroyo allowed just one run over seven innings, but wasn't a factor in the decision. Arroyo isn't an elite strikeout pitcher, and only whiffed two on Sunday. This start comes on the heels of him allowing five runs against the Cardinals five days ago. I don't like to have a guy like Arroyo on my team. I don't want a guy who will likely allow either one run or eight. What's wrong with a line of three earned over six with four Ks? There's room for that on my team.

Livan Hernandez continues his unlikely season with another win for the Mets. Hernandez is now 5-1 after throwing seven shutout innings against the Nationals. He hasn't lost a decision since April 23rd, which could only mean one thing......there has to be a few outings coming in the near future. This isn't 2000 when he won 17 games, Livan is in his mid-30s now and is on the downside of his career. He has been great for the Mets and his fantasy teams, but there has to be a correction coming. Continue to pitch him, but don't be shocked if there are some bad outings in the future.

You can also follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fightingchance, and you can also be my friend on Facebook.

Ubaldo Jimenez was great on Sunday against St. Louis, and finally got a win for his efforts. He has now given up eleven runs in his last five starts, but this is the first win he had to show for it. Jimenez allowed two runs over eight innings and struck out nine. Control continues to be his biggest problem, well that and the fact his team stinks. But he is steadily improving the more he pitches, and it is looking possible that he could live up to his hype. If Jimenez is still available, I would consider picking him up, especially in keeper leagues, despite the fact his team is in last place.

Vince Mazzaro has now had two major league starts and is still yet to give up a run. After throwing 6.1 shutout innings in his debut, Mazzaro threw up zeros for 7.1 innings on Sunday. The good news is this time he didn't walk anyone, after issuing four free passes his first time out. Mazzaro was ranked as the number eight prospect for Oakland coming into the year, so this isn't completely unexpected. However, he likely has some less than stellar outings in his future.

Jose Lopez is finally starting to show some signs of life after an atrocious start to the year. Lopez connected on his fifth homer of the year, and three of them have come in the last eight days. He has also raised his batting average nearly 20 points in the last week. It is unlikely he will get to the numbers that he put up in 2008, but he is looking less like he should be in your free agent pool. Another good couple of games and I would think about picking him up, the talent pool at second base isn't the deepest.

Juan Rivera is a decent option for those of you in deeper leagues, or leagues that require five outfielders. The Angels OF/DH has had a career full of injuries, but a world of potential. So far, so good on the injury front for Rivera. He had three more hits on Sunday to get his average back over .300, and he now has six homers on the season. He has also driven in a run in seven of his last eight games, including three today. He isn't going to shift the balance of power in your league, but if you have been rotating free agents waiting to find someone that sticks, Rivera could be that guy.

Paul Phillips had a great game for the Rockies, but his time behind the plate for Colorado is likely short lived. Chris Iannetta is due back from the Disabled List in the next couple of days, perhaps as early as Tuesday. So, even with his four hit game, I would leave Phillips right where he is, likely in your free agent pool.

Mailing List

I'm not going to stop bringing up the mailing list until I get a day where I don't get a request to join it. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, when I find news earlier in the day I will send an email to you about whatever it might be. If you were on the mailing list you would have found out about the callups of Matt Wieters, Fernando Martinez, Nolan Reimold and others. The trade of Nate McLouth, and injuries to Jose Reyes, etc. This mailing list is your way to get a step up on your competition. Anyone who is on the list, please leave a comment below on whether you think that you have benefitted from the list. Send an email to either fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com or fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com and put Mailing List in the subject line.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.

Pssst.

Last week The Hot 8 told you to do out and grab Tommy Hanson, Gordon Beckham and Ben Zobrist right now. If you made those moves last Sunday then you are now a much better team than you were before reading this little article. Free agents moves like these are absolutely vital to winning fantasy baseball and the right moves can always turn around a struggling team. This week we've got a (mostly) new batch of talent ready to make an impact on the fantasy world.

1) Gordon Beckham (3B/SS) -- Whitesox -- Last week I mentioned how the Whitesox had promoted Beckham to AAA Charlotte and have been playing him at 3B. Five days later he was summoned to Chicago where he will now serve as the starting 3B for the rest of the season. Beckham is a very talented and very confident young man who has all the tools necessary to be a big time ballplayer. He is a Derek Jeter type talent who does whatever it takes to win. For fantasy purposes, I believe he will hit for some power the rest of the season as he'll be fed a steady diet of major league fastballs which he can handle and is hitting in a great HR ballpark in U.S. Cellular Field. I would not expect too many stolen bases, although Ozzie Guillen likes to be aggressive on the basepaths with anybody who has functional legs. A 10 HR and 10 stolen base total this season is very likely for Beckham. The fact that he will be eligible at SS, 3B and possibly 2B makes him a very good pickup for the remainder of this season and especially good in A.L. only and keeper leagues.

2) Carlos Gonzalez (Outfield) -- Rockies -- As I have mentioned numerous times in this column and on Fantasy Baseball Tonight, the Rockies are getting ready to unload both Brad Hawpe and Ryan Spilborghs in the coming weeks. Gonzalez was called up last week after tearing apart the Pacific Coast League to the tune of a .339 average, 10 HR's and 59 RBI. It appears that he'll also be given a starting role right off the bat which is a very smart move for the future of the franchise. Seth Smith. Dexter Fowler and Carlos Gonzalez are the future outfield in Colorado and the more playing time they get this year the better players they'll be next year and beyond. All three of these guys are very talented and in my opinion will all be fantasy worthy in the second half of this season. Gonzalez will reach double digits in HR's and stolen bases this year and should be a big run producer for the Rockies once Hawpe and Spilborghs are gone. Don't wait around for him though because if you do somebody in your league is bound to swoop in and get themselves a very good player for nothing.

3) J.A. Happ (LHP - Starter) -- Phillies -- James Anthony Happ is having himself a fine season so far. He is 4-0 with a 2.48 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. Then how come he is owned in just 30% of fantasy leagues according to Yahoo and CBS Sports? With the struggles and injuries to the Phillies starters this year, Happ's status in the rotation is assured. Happ uses his fastball to get ahead of hitters early in the count and once ahead has been going to his much improved changeup to get hitters out. His minor league strikeout totals will not hold up but he's still able to punch guys out with good command and a 3 way slider that can act as a cutter at times to back-door right handed hitters. He will need to continue pitching down in order to keep the ball in the park however, something that has plagued him in the past. The wins and good strikeout numbers will be there at seasons end but there will be an adjustment in both ERA and WHIP coming up soon. Still, Happ makes for a very good third or fourth starter on your fantasy team.

4) Andrew McCutchen (Outfield) -- Pirates -- Don't get me wrong here. I like McCutchen's ability and believe he'll be a solid major league outfielder for the Pirates hence why I am recommending him to you this week. But, I have heard and read far too many "experts" saying that he will hit for a high average and have above average power numbers. This just isn't true. McCutchen, as any scout will tell you has issues with his swing which has delayed his progress over the years. He has been able to make up for holes in his swing by "cheating" on hitters counts in the minors and with pure raw talent. I don't expect him to ever hit over .290 in the big leagues and doubt that he'll go for much better than .260 most years. His true value is in stolen bases, where I expect we'll see him reach 15-20 this season and 30+ in a full season. He's made strides in working counts and getting on base too which will help. McCutchen will hit the occasional HR too and thus is a pretty solid asset to any fantasy outfield.

5) Neftali Feliz (RHP - Starter) -- Rangers -- I would be shocked if Feliz didn't get a callup in by the end of July. With top prospects like Matt Wieters, David Price, Tommy Hanson and Gordon Beckham already getting called up, those of you who were holding onto these players the past couple months have a roster spot available. I suspect Feliz to be this years young stud pitcher who comes in and leads his team down the stretch. We've seen this in recent years with Bobby Jenks, Adam Wainwright, Clay Bucholz, Ubaldo Jimenez and David Price. Feliz has an electric fastball. He can rush it up to 100 MPH with an easy motion that appears to have little impact on either his shoulder or elbow. His fastball is best when coming from a three-quarters arm angle where it reaches 96 MPH with sharp inward bite to right handers. Then he'll hit you with a sharp tight spinning curveball that has great break down. His changeup is major league ready also registering at anywhere from 83-87 MPH with fade making it devastating when looking fastball. Feliz is the best pitching prospect the Rangers have had maybe ever. The team is doing quite well and should be positioning itself for a AL West Division title. To achieve this they will have to trade for another starter or bullpen help and bring this exciting youngster up. Feliz could be the difference this year for the Rangers and will be a fixture there going forward.

6) Ian Stewart (3B/2B/OF) -- Rockies -- This is the year Stewart finally breaks out and proves his major league worth. It's been a long road for the once prized prospect, but he has been a man without a position for the past few years. Garrett Atkins has been a roadblock in Stewart's was for the past several seasons forcing the youngster to cut his teeth at 2B and in the outfield. But Atkins is facing a possible demotion soon because of a dramatic fall that has his name now linked with other "suspicious" names of sluggers who skills seem to have diminished overnight. Either way, Stewart is part of a strong core of position players the Rockies have and as they trade off players this summer it will open up opportunities for guys like Stewart to finally blossom. I expect 20+ HR's this season and a bunch of runs batted in too. This is a guy who will be a valuable commodity down the stretch this season. His versatility makes him all that more useful and thus he should be added to your roster immediately.

7) Chris Tillman (RHP - Starter) -- Orioles -- When the Orioles are raising the World Series trophy in a couple of years, they had better make sure to give a great big thank you to the Seattle Mariners for assisting them back into elite company in the American League. Adam Jones, George Sherrill, Chris Tillman, Kam Mickolio and Tony Butler all came to Baltimore for Erik Bedard and all will most likely be on the next Oriole team that qualifies for the post season. Tillman is a very polished, professional pitcher. He is a tall guy, standing 6'5" and throws on a nice downward plane. None of his pitches are necessarily dominant, but he uses his fastball, curve and change quite well and can command all of them down in the zone. Tillman pitches to contact and will give up plenty of hits to be sure. But he'll also last longer in games that way and bring his WHIP and ERA down as a result. Though he won't be dominant, he will be a steady major league pitcher and could be a nice pitch and ditch option when he is called up in a few weeks.

8) David Murphy (Outfield) -- Rangers -- I just like this guy, OK? I drafted him in both of my leagues and have also dropped him in both of my leagues. But now Josh Hamilton is out for an extended amount of time and an outfield position is available. Andruw Jones cannot be trusted despite having a fine year as the fourth outfielder for the Rangers. Murphy has good power and can be a big time run producer in a lineup that is a talented as the Rangers is. It is my belief that Murphy will have himself a nice little fun in Hamilton's absence. He hit 15 HR's and drove in 74 last season in just 415 AB's. A run like that can get any fantasy team through the dog days of summer or at least provide you with an temporary outfielder in place of the suspended Manny Ramirez, the injured Carlos Quentin or the struggling Milton Bradley.

That is the Hot 8 for this week. What do you guys think? Post your comments below or email me at jeff@fantasybaseballsearch.com

A five save day is bad and two blown saves makes it even worse. We can all say that today was a bad day for closers. There were plenty of appearances for closers starting with Jonathan Papelbon. While he didn't get the save, he uncharacteristically lacked his command and gave up three straight singles to open up the ninth inning. Papelbon then went into what he calls, "punchout mode" and struck out the next three batters. It was a non-save situation with the Red Sox leading 5-1, but Papelbon created a save situation for himself. The new technique hitters are now trying on Papelbon is swinging at the first pitch and almost every other one. It's not working, he is still pitching great.

Jonathan Broxton(12) got another save tonight winning 6-5 over the Diamondbacks. He struck out two in the process and has increased is closer lead strikeout total to 41. His WHIP lowered to 0.69.

One of two blown saves for the day was from a closer in my Closer Dog House. Kevin Gregg. He gave up 2 runs on surprisingly only one hit. To his defense he struck out Garrett Anderson, but he got to first base on a wild pitch. Jeff Francoeur then blasted a 2-run bomb off of Gregg to tie the score. It was another bad performance for Gregg even with 2 strikeouts. Pinella won't make any moves yet, but believe that Gregg is on a short lease.

Huston Street just had a bad night. Lucky for him he only gave up 1 unearned run. The run was unearned because Street made a bad throw to first base on Michael Bourn's bunt. After that he gave up a hit to blow the save and after getting a double play he walked two more batters. This is Street's second blow save in a row. This is his biggest demon, getting back up after a bad outing. this could last for 3 or 4 straight games. Hopefully he will recover by the next save chance.

Jorge Posada is having a tremendous season, and is far exceeding my expectations. He was 3-5 today with his seventh home run, and he has driven in 25 runs already, despite missing time due to injury. If Posada can stay healthy for the rest of the season, he could have a 25-30 homer season. In a single season league, I would definitely keep him. In a keeper league I would think about trying to capitalize on his good season and try to trade him for a younger catcher.

Rick Porcello finally took a loss, but I think you can forgive him against the Red Sox. He was only able to last 4.1 innings and allowed three runs. Porcello is still just 20 years old, and already has a bright future ahead of him. Don't get upset if you own him from one subpar site, there are plenty more good ones in the coming days.

Manny Parra got shellacked again, and he is now 3-7 on the season. It is rare that a manager leaves his starter in to give up ten runs, but Parra did that tonight over just four innings. On a good note, he did strikeout five, it was still an awful start for Parra. His ERA on the season is now 6.75, but in the last six weeks or so he had only had one bad start and then tonight too. Hold on to Parra, he will have a fine season.

Anibal Sanchez returned to the Marlins' rotation tonight, and the results weren't that good. He threw 71 pitches over just three innings, allowed just one run, and struck out three. He is a guy I owned in the beginning of the season in a couple leagues, but he now isn't a guy that I am running out to pick back up. I need to see two or three good starts before I would think about putting him on my roster.

Despite not liking him after his last outing, Randy Wells was good again for the Cubs. But he allowed just one run over seven innings against the Braves and whiffed four. His ERA is now just 1.69, and his WHIP is under 1.00. I still don't like him long term, but he keeps putting up good numbers. If you own him, continue to start him while he is hot, but keep it in mind that it could go down hill at any time.

Kevin Gregg blew his second save of the season, but he has given up his fair share of runs. The Cubs bullpen is a mess, as Carlos Marmol also gave up a run tonight. Gregg should continue to be the closer as long as Marmol doesn't appear to be any better of an option lately. If they could ever figure this out, one of them could be a valuable fantasy option, but they are both inconsistent at this point.

Vince Mazzaro had an ok, but far from great major league debut. He did throw 6.1 shutout innings, but he also walked four and struck out only one. He was having a fine season this year at AAA, but he isn't a top notch prospect. I wouldn't go running out to grab Mazzaro. I would want to see another two or three starts like this one (but with less walks) before I put him on my roster. Monitor him, but unless you are desperate, I wouldn't pick him up.

Antonio Bastardo collected the win in his first major league start, and was pretty effective for that outing. Bastardo allowed just one run over six innings, walked just one, and struck out five. He should get himself another start as he fills in for Brett Myers, but the Phillies have announced that they will be looking for outside help to fill the void. There is a chance that Bastardo can pitch his way into that spot, but I wouldn't count on it.

Major Announcement

I would like to let you all know that in the near future you won’t be getting your daily fantasy update from Fighting Chance Fantasy any longer. I have agreed to team up with my podcast mates over at Fantasy Baseball Search. Todd Farino, Jeff Mans, RC Rizza, myself, and the guys are forming a formidable team. I am not abandoning you, however, but making the coverage better. Over the next couple of weeks I will be transitioning the site over to its new home at www.fantasybaseballtonight.com. I have already started to post on that page, so feel free to start heading there whenever you want. We are still in the process of doing some work, but your nightly fix will be there. You will see improved features, more professional emails, and better coverage. You can find a plethora of information at Fantasy Baseball Search as well from me and the guys, but Fantasy Baseball Tonight will just be me and links to the podcast. The email address will also be changing slightly to fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com, but I will continue to check both for quite a while. I am very excited about this change, and I believe that it will be great for both of us….me and you.

Mailing List

For those of you who are regular readers, or even new to the site, I would like to offer a new service. I am starting a mailing list. Sometimes I see news during the day, but I wait until this nightly article to pass it along to you guys. Prospects coming up, injury news, closer movement, etc. Just send me an email to fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com with “Mailing List” in the subject line and I will add you to the list. Then, whenever I find news that I feel is breaking and important, I will send it to you as soon as I find out about it. Hopefully this is something that you all will find valuable to make a possible move before your competition.

Also, you can now follow me on Twitter for more updates. Go to www.twitter.com/fightingchance.

Got another mention on Steve Gardner’s Fantasy Windup blog on the USA Today site. You can check out the post here. It is a great blog, and they also have some good contests for you to check out. I know some of you have already started to participate in some of them and are enjoying it.

Attention League Commissioners! If you are looking to spice up your league some, go and visit Fantasy Sports Trophies. Tom Harkins has put together a great site with all kinds of different trophies to give the winner of your league something besides just bragging rights. There are trophies for fantasy baseball, football (check out the Beer League Fantasy Football Trophy), basketball, hockey, and auto racing. I invite you to take a look at the site and try them out.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.

Younger Guys

Joba Chamberlain had the longest outing of his career, and eased some of the concerns about his ability to stay in the rotation. Not that he was being moved out of the rotation, but he just has been more of an average pitcher as a starter, while he was dominant out of the pen. The Yankees want to keep him to about 150 innings this year, so keep that in mind as the season progresses.

Fernando Martinez is improving day by day, and today he stole two bases. He doesn't have a pedigree that says he will steal a lot of bases, but he is also getting more base hits. Another factor that gives me some encouragement is that he walked twice, and didn't strike out meaning he is getting more comfortable in the batter's box. If I owned Martinez I still would have him on my bench, but the way he is playing lately, I wouldn't cut him unless it was necessary.

Andy LaRoche has finally started to get some hits, no he just needs to start to inject some power into that stroke. He did hit for power in the minors, as evidenced by his 17 homers in just 73 games in 2007 at AAA-Las Vegas. It is good to see him hitting around .300, but I would wait on him until I see some pop in the bat. Given his track record, that could be the next step soon in his progression. Some prospects just take longer to pan out, perhaps LaRoche is one of those guys.

After allowing just two earned runs in three straight starts, Andrew Miller had another tough outing on Monday. Control continues to be his biggest downfall, as he struck out four, but walked four as well. Long term I think Miller will have a good baseball career, but for 2009 purposes he will drive you crazy just as much, if not more, as he will make you cheer.

A couple weeks ago Gavin Floyd found himself as a topic in our Keep/Cut segment on the Tuesday edition of the Fantasy Baseball Tonight podcast with me and Jeff Mans, and now he looks like the guy we saw in 2008. Floyd pitched seven strong innings, allowed two runs and struck out eight. If he was dropped in your league, I would pick him up unless your staff is already great, but don't expect this kind of production every time out. He will have his ups and downs, but I think those UGLY outings will be fewer and farther between.

A's prospect Vince Mazzaro was held out of his start on Monday, and it has been confirmed that he will be called up for the start on Tuesday. Mazzaro is a pretty good prospect for the A's and is 2-2 with a 2.38 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. He has 44 Ks in 56 innnings. He was also spectacular at AA last year going 12-3 with a 1.90 ERA. Not a dominant strikeout pitcher, but gets his share. Ranked as the #8 prospect in the A's farm system by Baseball America. I'm not sure that this is a long term callup, but it could be if he pitches well.

Older Guys

Todd Helton continues his hot season, but I am telling you he is going to fade. Between bad health and just bad baseball, Helton has been a shell of what he once was over the past few years. I can't believe that all of a sudden he's figured it out. He has hit seven home runs so far this year, but I don't believe he will get to twenty. If you own Helton, shop him all around the league until you find some sucker....I mean another owner, who remembers the good old days.

Roy Oswalt has been a popular subject of many of my emailers lately, and whether they should try to get anything they can for him. Mostly I have been telling people to definitely shop him around, but also to remember that he was 10-2 with a 2.24 ERA in the second half last season. I don't really like that this is the second stragith bad start he has gotten off to, but perhaps he can turn it around again. The Astros stink pretty bad (sorry Lon and Martha), so that explains why he has just two wins. But he was great tonight with a one run, seven inning, eight strikeout effort. He has also been rumored to be a part of some trades, but Roy has a full no-trade, so don't expect him to get out of Houston.

Matt Holliday hit his seventh homer of the year, and is now batting .275. In one month, Holliday raised his batting average 25 points, hit six homers, and drove in eighteen runs. Holliday also has stolen three bases in the last week, but don't expect him to get close to the 28 he stole last season. For those of you who were patient, continue doing so, I think Holliday will be ok. Not great, but better than we thought.

Rich Hill bounced back nicely after his first poor outing of the season. Granted the Mariners aren't exactly Murderer's Row, but Hill threw seven shutout innings and struck out seven. I got a chance to watch a few innings of this game, and Hill looked good. He was trying to finish guys off, and looked very confident. I still have reservations about his future success, but I am slowly getting a little more confident in him. Given the right situation, I could see adding him to a roster.

Jarrod Washburn didn't factor in the decision, but there is still no way that I am buying into this good season. Washburn allowed just one run over his seven innings, but he only struck out three. Like I said under Hill, Seattle isn't a strong offensive team. If you are considering Washburn, please take a look at his career numbers before you do. He has been average at best for most of his career, and by the end of the year, I expect him to have a similar line.

Injury News

If the next two weeks of rest don't ease the pain in the elbow of Grady Sizemore, it is possible that he would require surgery and that could keep him out perhaps two months. Definitely keep an eye on this situation. There is no structural damage, but he still might need arthroscopic surgery.

Victor Martinez was able to return to the Indians' lineup today after fouling a ball of his leg somewhere a few days ago. I've seen reports of his knee and shin, and since I didn't see where it hit him, I will call it his leg. But anyway, Victor did hit his eighth homer of the season, and should be back in your lineups immediately.

Edinson Volquez left his first start off the Disabled List after just one inning after complaining of numbness in two of his fingers. Volquez was sent back to Cincinnati to be evaluated by team doctors. This doesn't sound good, so wait and see the results of this visit to see how much time he might miss.

Hideki Kuroda returned to the Dodgers' rotation tonight, and after a shaky second inning, he settled in nicely. Kuroda was able to pitch five innings, allowed two runs, and struck out six. That is pretty good for his first start in a while, just don't think those strikeout numbers will continue. Last season, Kuroda whiffed just 116 guys in 183 innings.

Major Announcement

I would like to let you all know that in the near future you won't be getting your daily fantasy update from Fighting Chance Fantasy any longer. I have agreed to team up with my podcast mates over at Fantasy Baseball Search. Todd Farino, Jeff Mans, RC Rizza, myself, and the guys are forming a formidable team. I am not abandoning you, however, but making the coverage better. Over the next couple of weeks I will be transitioning the site over to its new home at www.fantasybaseballtonight.com. I have already started to post on that page, so feel free to start heading there whenever you want. We are still in the process of doing some work, but your nightly fix will be there. You will see improved features, more professional emails, and better coverage. You can find a plethora of information at Fantasy Baseball Search as well from me and the guys, but Fantasy Baseball Tonight will just be me and links to the podcast. The email address will also be changing slightly to fantasybaseballtonight@gmail.com, but I will continue to check both for quite a while. I am very excited about this change, and I believe that it will be great for both of us....me and you.

Mailing List

For those of you who are regular readers, or even new to the site, I would like to offer a new service. I am starting a mailing list. Sometimes I see news during the day, but I wait until this nightly article to pass it along to you guys. Prospects coming up, injury news, closer movement, etc. Just send me an email to fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com with “Mailing List” in the subject line and I will add you to the list. Then, whenever I find news that I feel is breaking and important, I will send it to you as soon as I find out about it. Hopefully this is something that you all will find valuable to make a possible move before your competition.

Also, you can now follow me on Twitter for more updates. Go to www.twitter.com/fightingchance.

Got another mention on Steve Gardner’s Fantasy Windup blog on the USA Today site. You can check out the post here. It is a great blog, and they also have some good contests for you to check out. I know some of you have already started to participate in some of them and are enjoying it.

Attention League Commissioners! If you are looking to spice up your league some, go and visit Fantasy Sports Trophies. Tom Harkins has put together a great site with all kinds of different trophies to give the winner of your league something besides just bragging rights. There are trophies for fantasy baseball, football (check out the Beer League Fantasy Football Trophy), basketball, hockey, and auto racing. I invite you to take a look at the site and try them out.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.

June 1st, 2009 JunkyardJake.Com

Tommy Hanson, Atlanta Braves, SP
- Well, just because there hasn't been nearly enough speculation concerning Tommy Hanson over the first two months of the season, why not add some more. Remember, Hanson was that guy who already throws a major-league curveball, a mid-90's fastball, a change-up and slider. The other cool thing about Hanson is that, in contrast to, for example, current #4 Atlanta starter Kenshin Kawakami, he throws all his pitches for strikes most of the time. At last count, Hanson was still dominating down at Triple AAA Gwinnett, with a 1.49 ERA, 0.862 Whip and averaging 12.2 K's per 9 innings. So what in the world are the Braves waiting for?

'After jumping into the cockpit to make an emergency landing of a domestic airliner and then volunteering 2 hours at the children's hospital, Tommy Hanson went on to pitch a 2 hit shutout with 12 strikeouts this afternoon for the Gwinnett Braves. In related news, the Atlanta brass are still not impressed, and called-up Jo-Jo Reyes to get pounded again by the Phillies this weekend.'

One theory that could help explain the reluctance to bring up Hanson, is that the Braves are trying to prevent the young pitcher from achieving 'Super 2' status. Besides being a 4-letter word to major league front offices everywhere, 'Super 2' is shorthand meaning that a player is awarded the right to take their club to arbitration four times instead of three. Going by the strange and fairly inexplicable MLB arbitration rules, the bottom line on 'Super 2' status, is that the magic cutoff seems to be two years plus 130 days service time to qualify. As applied to Hanson, this means that the longer the Braves can keep the training wheels on past June 1st, the better, because it could save them a truckload of money in a future arbitration case. For example, Ryan Howard was awarded $10 million in arbitration as a 'Super 2' after the 2007 season.

Of course, the other obstacle for the possible future ace of the Atlanta staff, is the fact that the Braves rotation is still about as crowded as Atlanta Motor Speedway on free raccoon trap/truck antler fan appreciation night. The current rotation is occupied by Lowe, Jurrjens, Vazquez, Kawakami, and recent call-up Medlen. Moreover, they might have the spry Tom Glavine, who has been mixing it up down in the minors for the first time since 1987, waiting in the wings.

In any event, if you are still holding Tommy Hanson on your fantasy squad, at this point it makes no sense doing something hasty, like dropping him for Vicente Padilla or Barry Zito. Maybe the Braves will come to their senses sometime this month.
Available in 25% of all CBSSportsline leagues.

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Nolan Reimold, Baltimore Orioles, OF
- It looks like the Orioles farm system has been on a real roll lately. There is of course that Matt Wieters guy, who can evidently hit a billiard ball 475 ft with a foam bat and defeat dragons with the power of his plate discipline, but Reimold is another talented rookie who has been relatively overlooked .

A 2005 2nd round draft pick, Nolan Reimold's development was delayed a bit with some injury obstacles in 2006, and especially 2007, when he only managed to play 59 games. In the following 2008 season at double-A, a relatively healthy Reimold went on to hit .284 with 25 HRs. Before he was summoned this season Reimold was terrorizing AAA with a .394 average and 9 HRs over 31 games.

Needless to say, most International League pitchers hope things work out for Nolan Reimold at the big league level, and so far they have, as he has contributed 5 HRs over his first 16 games with the Orioles.
Available in 62% of all CBSSportsline leagues.

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Joe Blanton, Philadelphia Philles, SP
- Although he is slightly more attractive than Susan Boyle, Joe Blanton does have that menacing 'Renegade State Trooper'/ 'Crazy Pit-Boss' look that you absolutely want in a potentially intimidating starting pitcher. Unfortunately, with a 7.11 ERA through May 21st, the only intimation that Blanton was able to accomplish, was to scare fantasy owners out of putting him in their lineups.

Well, the possible good news is that Blanton claims that he and pitching coach Rich Dubee discovered a mechanical flaw that had been plaguing him when he was pitching from the stretch. Ok, sounds good, because whatever adjustment he made in his last start seemed to work just fine, as Blanton rediscovered his intimidating presence with a 7 inning, 11 strikeout blanking of the Marlins. It would be nice to get K's like that more often out of Blanton, but that most likely will not happen. Nonetheless, he has the ability to be a solid #3 or #4 fantasy starter if you are looking to pickup a pitcher.
Available in 46% of all CBSSportsline leagues.

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Fernando Martinez, NY Mets, OF
- Fernando Martinez got the call to the grown-ups league this week as Ryan Church makes another trip to the D.L.. Martinez is arguably the best prospect in the Mets system, but it should be mentioned that it became much easier to achieve the 'best Mets prospect' label after all the other noteworthy prospects were traded away for Johan Santana.

That said, Martinez is clearly a high-potential young outfielder who would likely rank high in any organization. To support this contention, one only needs to observe the terms that many scouts use to describe Martinez in their surreptitious scout-babble vernacular - terms like 'tools', 'good pitch recognition', 'great bat speed' and 'untapped raw power'. While Martinez's accumulated professional stats are not yet consistent with his general scouting report accolades, he is still only 20 years old, and was showing good power at triple-A Buffalo before his call-up, with 8 HRs in only 42 games.
Available in 79% of all CBSSportsline leagues.

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Other Players To Consider:


J.A. Happ,Philadelphia Philles,SP
Available in 46% of all CBSSportsline leagues.


Clint Barmes,Colorado Rockies,2B
Available in 61% of all CBSSportsline leagues.


Phil Hughes,NY Yankees,SP
Available in 43% of all CBSSportsline leagues.


Andy LaRoche,Pittsburgh Pirates,3B
Available in 64% of all CBSSportsline leagues.


Jerry Hairston,Cincinnati Reds,OF
Available in 46% of all CBSSportsline leagues.

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