Billy Butler hit his 11th homer of the year on Tuesday, one day after a five hit effort and now has four RBI in the last two games. He still isn't hitting for the power that I assumed he would when he came to the majors, but he is hitting near .300 and soon these doubles (31 through today) have got to start leaving the yard. Butler should continue to be a very solid hitter for the rest of the season, and hopefully the recent increase in power (three dingers in the last eight games) will keep going and he will get to 17 or 18 homers.
Matt Wieters looks like he is showing little signs of life, as he had a four hit game on Tuesday. The bad news is they were all singles, but seeing the way that he is disappointing those of you who spent early draft picks on him and waited all year for him to come to the majors. He has now hit safely in seven straight games and has driven in a run in three straight. I think it is safe to assume he won't be the difference maker we thought he might be when he came to the big leagues this season, but if he can hit .280 with a little power, his owners would likely sign up for that at this point.
Scott Kazmir is another guy that you absolutely have no idea what to expect when he takes the mound. Kazmir either gives up five to seven runs per game or else he throws a game like he did on Tuesday. He gave up just one run over seven innings and struck out four. It was the first time all season that he got through seven innings and Kazmir has been all over the map this season. He is still too talented to let go of, but you might not want to start him every time out. Of course with that strategy you likely would have benched him against New York. I guess what I am saying is good luck trying to figure out what you are going to get from Kazmir.
Clay Buchholz had his win blown by the bullpen, but he had a nice bounceback after a rough outing against the A's. Of course most pitchers will fare better against Oakland than they will against Texas, but it is good to see Clay pitching pretty well and keeping the strikeouts up. Buchholz allowed two runs over 5.2 innings and struck out five. It is still very likely that he is only in the majors until Tim Wakefield is ready to return from a back injury, but enjoy the production from Clay while it lasts.
Kevin Kouzmanoff not only has a five game hit streak, but also has a five game RBI streak. He will always have some value in deeper leagues because of his power potential, but his horrible batting average will always keep him from being a guy who is owned in most 12 team leagues except for a time like now that he is hot. Someday I still think that Kouzmanoff will be a consistent threat who will hit .265 with 25-30 home runs. 2009 will obviously not be it, but it could be a couple more years before he truly realizes his potential.
Mike Pelfrey is all over the map. Sometimes he is great, sometimes he is horrible, most of the time he is average. Pelfrey won his eighth game of the season as he shut out the Rockies over 6.1 innings and struck out five. He has some value as an end of the rotation guy in 12 team leagues, but his ERA near 5.00 and his WHIP of 1.50 makes it likely that he could be a free agent in your league. He is better as a guy you pick up against some of the weaker hitting teams in the National League. His performance tonight against the Rockies has to be classified as a surprise.
Gordon Beckham has been hitting and looking more comfortable by the day for the White Sox. Beckham drove in two runs, giving him at least one RBI in four straight games, and he now has seven hits in the last five games. In keeper leagues, Beckham is a must have as he should have an incredibly bright future in the majors and he could be a 20/20 guy as soon as 2010.
Jhonny Peralta homered for the third straight day, and even though it might have taken a long time, you should consider this him finally breaking out of his slump. Peralta now has nine dingers with 52 RBI and he has gotten his average up to .271. If you have any need for help at middle infield and he is still available, don't hesitate to get him on your team.
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.
Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game today against the Tampa Bay Rays. As much as I thought he would be a consistent performer, never did I expect this kind of season. Buehrle is now 11-3 and his ERA sits at 3.28. Although his ERA likely won't take an astronomical jump, I am expecting somewhat of a dropoff from Buehrle. He still is a lock to win 15 games, but I would be very surprised to see him get to 18. If it is at all possible, I would try to deal him while his value is at an all time high.
Buehrle's opponent, Scott Kazmir, had another in his line of good start/bad start pattern. He allowed five runs over six innings, walked three and struck out five. Here is what you can expect from Kazmir for the rest of the season. He will win his share of games, and he will look like Sandy Koufax at least a handful of games during the season. However, most of the time he will be very average, and he won't pitch deep into games. He will help you in strikeouts, but he will crush your WHIP. There will be some days, like today, where he isn't very good. He will give up too many runs and he will hurt you for the week. If he has ten starts left (which is likely not accurate I just picked that for round numbers), he will likely be lights out three times, average five times, and bad twice. I would nearly guarantee that he is better than any one in your free agent pool, so I wouldn't consider letting him go.
Barry Zito gave up a run in the second inning on a home run but that was it for the day as he improved to 6-10. He went through a period where he was getting some fantasy attention, but he is not someone that I would hold on my roster, even with this performance. He doesn't strike out enough guys, he doesn't win enough, and he has too many outings where he allows five runs or more. Against some of the weak hitting National League teams he is worth a spot start, but I would pitch him and ditch him against the Nats, Pads, etc.
Jarrod Washburn hates me. No matter how many times I call him and tell him that I keep writing and saying he sucks, he won't help a brother out. He threw seven shutout innings to improve to 8-6 and he now has four straight starts where he allowed one run or less. This was against the Tigers who are a pretty decent offensive team too. I will stay with what I have been telling you all since the beginning of the year. Washburn will falter down the stretch, even if it happens later than I expected.
Even though his ERA doesn't reflect it, Kerry Wood is actually on a little roll. Wood saved his fourth game in the month of July, but it was his first since July 11th. Wood has been a bitter disappointment to those who drafted him (except for him strikeouts), and especially for the Indians. This was Wood's 13 saves on the year, and there is basically no chance that he will get to 25. You have no chance to trade him and get anything but a Happy Meal in return, so all you can do is continue to have Wood in your lineup and going to church on Sunday wouldn't hurt either.
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.
Jed Lowrie was in the Red Sox lineup for the first time since April 11th, and he made the most of his return. He might have only had one hit, but it was for his first home run of the year. He is an interesting fantasy player because he doesn't hit for a lot of power and he doesn't steal a whole lot of bases. However, Lowrie will hit around .300 and he drives in a good number of runs. Last year when he came to the majors he had 46 RBI in just 81 games. If he is available, I would try to make a place for him on your roster. He has eligibility at a couple different positions and depending on the size of your league should be a nice help to your squad, even if it is just in an insurance role.
Scott Kazmir didn't get the win, but he did allow just one run over six innings, and now has three good starts of his four since coming back from the Disabled List. Even though he walked four guys in six innings, this outing will likely calm down the fear of Kazmir's owners who were sweating after he allowed seven runs in his last start. He isn't an elite pitcher, but he is definitely worthy of being your third pitcher. Kaz should be good more often than not, and you should start him in confidence against any opponent.
For all of you Johan Santana owners who are worried about your pitcher because of either his recent performances or the injury situation in New York, hopefully today rested your mind. Please remember two things. Some of his teams in Minnesota that he pitched on weren't that great. Second, Johan's career second half numbers are disgusting. After the All-Star Break for his career, Santana is 58-17 with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. He also has 734 strikeouts in only 714 innings. Does that make you feel better?
Same thing with the Nolan Reimold owners. I know that a lot of you were very happy with the rookie when he was called up, but he went in a decent sized slump just before the All-Star Break. Good news is he now has two straight multi-hit games since the break has ended. He will likely be somewhat inconsistent for the rest of the season, but I still think he will have a solid season and hit 17-18 home runs.
Alex Rodriguez continues to mash the baseball and is again an elite fantasy player even without the great batting average or his usual 20 stolen bases. A-Rod bombed out his 18th dinger of the year, and now has 51 RBI, despite missing the first month of the season. I don't care that he is hitting in the .250s and he only has three homers, look for Alex to hit at least 25 taters this season, and if he gets hot, perhaps challenge 40.
Can someone please teach Mike Hampton the correct way to transition the baseball from his bare hand to his glove? Hampton looked like he was going to pound the ball into his glove in frustration after allowing a base hit, but there was just one problem. He missed his glove and the ball nearly rolled to the dugout allowing Matt Kemp to score. UGH! Not a good night to be a Houston fan.
Jered Weaver had his sixth straight start that he allowed three earned runs or more, and his amazing start is starting to become more of a distant memory than a part of the norm. He is still getting a good number of strikeouts, and is a basic lock to exceed his career high in wins, but Weaver has been disappointing his owners lately. Given the season he had last year, I can't say that I am supremely confident that this is a small bump in the road and won't continue. I still think Weaver has a good chance to win at least 15 games, but seeing that he had 10 wins at the break, is that really a very good thing?
Charlie Morton had his best start since coming to Pittsburgh from Atlanta in the Nate McLouth trade. Morton threw seven shutout innings, allowed just three hits and struck out six. Now, before you get too excited, his minor league ERA was over 4.00 for his career, and in 15 starts for the Braves last season his ERA was over 6.00. He is not a guy that I would trust unless you are in a 20 team league and you have been dealt a hand that includes a lot of injuries. Stay away from Morton at this point.
Franklin Gutierrez has been a popular pickup lately because he has been so hot, but please don't expect this hitting to continue. He showed some promise in the lower levels of the minor leagues in the earlier in the decade, but since then the projections for his future have dropped. He is already very close to his career highs for homers and RBI and he will likely surpass them, but he will not continue to produce at this clip. Sell high if you can, if not, ride him while he is hot but don't expect it to continue.
Randy Wells actually collected a win on Saturday, but it was the second consecutive start that he allowed four earned runs. He improved to 5-4, but only struck out one batter and raised his ERA to an even 3.00. For those of you who have been reading this column for a while, you know I don't have a ton of confidence in Wells going forward. I think that he will have his share of decent starts, but I think these last few where he has allowed four runs are the start of a trend. Look for that ERA to continue to climb for the rest of July and August.
Manny Parra had his second consecutive solid start since returning from the minor leagues, and now looks like he belongs on fantasy rosters again. Parra allowed only one run over six innings and struck out six against the Reds who aren't an anemic offense. I can't say that I have supreme confidence in Parra going forward, but he has at least proven that he made some sort of adjustment in his time in AAA, and hopefully will stay on the right track. He is a bit of a risk, but it is a good risk at this point.
The demise of Zack Greinke has been horribly over publicized and is just not factual, and tonight he put another chapter in his fantastic season. He might not have gotten the win, but Greinke was rock solid against the Rays. He allowed just one run over seven innings and struck out seven. For all of you who have been worried about Greinke, he has allowed more than three earned runs in a start just twice all year long, and still has more strikeouts than innings pitched. Wins are a bit more of a problem since the Royals have gone in the tank, but he is still an elite pitcher and one of the better keepers as far as pitchers are concerned.
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.
Wandy Rodriguez continues to pitch quite impressively at home, as he threw a complete game shutout on Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, striking out 11. Wandy is a guy that I have learned to have more faith in this season, especially at Minute Maid (which is surprising considering some of its dimensions). He is a guy that I have on a few of my teams, generally as my fifth starter. Even if your staff is good, he is worth picking up for a good, home matchup from time to time. When he's on, Rodriguez can deal.
Chris Volstad is impossible to figure out. Volstad had lost six of his last seven decisions, and then all of a sudden (when I benched him!) he goes out and throws a shutout. In his last outing, he only lasted three innings against the PIRATES! Why would I have started him, or anyone for that matter, against the Giants who have been hitting. I still really like Volstad, and he is one of the better young pitchers in Florida, but he is going to have his moments that will make you want to touch that drop button.
Jorge De La Rosa won his fourth straight start, allowing three runs over 6.1 innings and struck out five. He has been an incredibly streaky guy. He started the season by losing his first six decisions. Since then he has gone 6-1. Which guy is the real one? Your guess is as good as mine. If nothing else he will get you a pretty good number of strikeouts, so even when he is bad he will help you in one category. However, even with this win his ERA sits at 5.03 and his WHIP is 1.43, mostly because of too many walks.
Chad Gaudin is another pitcher that you can look at if you really need strikeouts. He is on a roll lately, but this one won't last. Tonight Gaudin allowed just one run over 6.2 innings and struck out seven. That now makes it four of his last five starts that he allowed three runs or less. He mostly pitched out of the bullpen (ineffectively) last season, and wasn't a good starter for the A's back in 2007. Put that together with the fact that he pitches for the Padres and that makes him a guy that you can't put too much stock in. You can expect strikeouts, but not much else.
David Hernandez is one of the good young arms that the Orioles have coming through their farm system. He might be the worst of the group, but that doesn't mean he won't be good. Hernandez had a good minor league career, with a record of 15-6 record, and ERA under 3.00 and 245 Ks in 198 innings. So far in his last three starts in the majors, Hernandez has looked pretty good. The strikeouts haven't been there, but he allowed just two runs over six innings against the Mariners. He has also been walking too many guys, but his control should improve as he gets more comfortable and could be a guy who has a solid second half.
Homer Bailey was good again, even though he wasn't in line for a win. Bailey allowed just two runs over six innings and struck out six. The best part of the start was that Bailey didn't walk anyone. His control has been by far the biggest problem, and if he can continue to pitch like this, perhaps he will finally start to live up to all of the hype that was given to him when he was in the minors.
Scott Kazmir had his first bad start since coming back from the Disabled List, and BOY was it bad. Kazmir allowed seven runs over 6.1 innings, but kept his control walking only two and striking out four. Feel free to start Kazmir like you would have before his injury. He was good most of the time, but was prone to this kind of outing once in a while.
I know I promised I would never talk about him again, but I feel it is worth mentioning that Oliver Perez was back for the Mets, and was his usual self. It was like Oliver never left. He only allowed two runs over five innings against a great Dodgers' team and actually collected the win. However, like I said, the same old Oliver showed up. Perez walked seven guys over his five innings and threw 108 pitches in that span. He is worth a look if you are desperate, but don't put too much stock in this one outing, he has always pitched good against good teams.
Martin Prado continues to hit for the Braves, accumulating another two knocks and drove in his 16th run of the year. He had 17 hits over the last eight games, and has been on fire since being named the starter at second. I would consider using him as a short-term replacement for a middle infield spot, but I still don't have faith that he will keep this up for the rest of the year. He never showed much power or speed in the minors, so I think this is just a hot streak, and in a month we won't be talking about Prado anymore.
Andruw Jones had three homers on Wednesday, giving him 14 on the season. I don't think that this is a guy that you want to focus on. He does have seven homers in his past ten games, but even with that production, Jones is still not playing every day. This is a good story that he was able to find his talent again in Texas, but I still don't believe Jones to be fantasy worthy unless you are in an AL-only league.
Ervin Santana was bad again, and now the question comes "what should you do with him?" I would say this; While I don't have him in any league, I have to admit that it would be difficult for me to keep him on my roster considering the way he has been pitching. However, what are your options in free agency? If there is a solid pitcher out there that probably shouldn't have been dropped, then go ahead and drop him. If you are thinking of picking up Oliver Perez or Chad Gaudin or someone like that, I would hold on to Santana. The leash he would be on couldn't get any shorter though.
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.
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.
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.
