Grady Sizemore - Swiped his 16th base, and he's only been caught once. Add in 8 HRs and and 38 Rs scored, and you have quite a fantasy asset on your team. He's taking another step forward into the elite fantasy OFs this year, and I think his batting average (currently .274) has some room for growth as well.
Victor Martinez - Giving his owners exactly what they paid for. While Mauer was the more popular pick, often 1-3 rounds ahead of Martinez, he's hit .318 with 7 HRs and 36 RBIs. He's hitting in the middle of one of the best offenses in the majors, so he's actually in a better situation than Mauer.
Jered Weaver - Posted a mediocre outing against the Yankees, but giving up 3 ERs in 5 IP is about average against an offense like that. He allowed 10 baserunners in 5 IP, but K'd 5 and has continued to be solid since returning from bicep tendenitis earlier in the season.
Orlando Hernandez - El Duque has posted excellent ratios and 29 Ks in 38 IP, so he's been pitching great this year. He'll be in and out of the rotation all year long with various ailments, but he's well worth using in front of the Mets offense when he's healthy.
Dan Haren - Haren continues to dominate, holding the Orioles to 1 ER and 2 Hs in 7 IP with 3 Ks. He's been the best draft day value at SP this year, hands down. He's this year's Brandon Webb.
Erik Bedard - Another solid outing against Oakland, posting 7 IP, 9 baserunners, 2 ER, and 8 Ks. He continues to bounceback from his early season struggles and is bringing his ERA down to a level that he should maintain the rest of the year.
Jason Bay - Hit his first HR in 2 weeks, so perhaps he's ready to go on one of his patented HR tears. Us owners can hope anyways, right? His HR pace is below his past two years, so I imagine he'll start showing more power.
Aaron Harang - Another solid outing from Harang, posting 8 IP, 7 baserunners, 2 ER, and 5 Ks. He had a real rough stretch, allowing 5 ER in 4 out of 5 outings, but he's too good to keep this up and he should improve. He's not really a buy low, but you could probably get a discount on him if you act soon.
Salomon Torres - He's hardly been as good this year as last, giving his owners a 4.95 ERA and 1.30 WHIP so far. This was actually the first outing allowing a run in his last 10 appearances, so he's vastly improved while converting his last 5 save opportunities. He's given himself added job security with his recent stretch.
David Weathers - Ugh, another disgusting closer blowup in a non-save situation. Weathers has been great this year, but after pitching a scoreless 9th to keep the game tied, he blew up by allowing 6 baserunners in the top of the 10th while only getting 1 out, and they all scored. I think he was pitching above his head, but I wouldn't worry too much about one outing.
Tim Hudson - Another rough outing last night, but he was due for a bad stretch. I still think he can be a fine asset in Ws and ratios, so if you hadn't sold him high, I'd hang onto him. I think 15 Ws, low 3s ERA, a solid WHIP, and decent K numbers are attainable come season's end.
Daisuke Matsuzaka - Matsuzaka was rolling last night, but after the 4th inning he appeared ill in the dugout and returned to get shelled in the 5th inning. This was just an unfortunate occurence and not something to be worried about.
Kenny Lofton - Lofton stole his 16th base of the season last night, so if you're one who loves to chase steals, Lofton is your guy. He's probably owned by now, but he's worth adding and using. He probably won't give you much AVG help, and he wont provide HR/RBI help either, but hitting leadoff for a good lineup and stealing bases gives him some value.
Julio Lugo - He stole 2 bases last night as well, giving him 14 on the season. With eligibility at 2B/SS/3B in Yahoo, he's quite valuable despite the putrid .235 AVG so far this year. His worst AVG in a season playing 100 or more games is .263, so I imagine that he'll get his average back up around that level by the end of the year.
Scott Baker - He had some control problems walking 4 last night, but Toronto is a tough matchup for him. He allowed 3 ER in 5 1/3 IP, so he wasn't too bad. Expect more solid outings from the underrated youngster.
Joe Nathan - He posted his 10th save last night, but put 2 more baserunners on. His K rate is fine (25 in 21 1/3 IP), and he has a 2.11 ERA, but his WHIP is a very uncharacteristic 1.45. His walk rate is fine, it's just that he's allowed 25 hits in those 21 1/3 IP. I imagine he'll drag that down as the year goes on...he's too good not to and it doesn't seem like he's battling any sort of injury.
Chad Cordero - I'm kicking myself for not taking my own advice and going after him when his value bottomed out. He's 3/3 in save chances since returning from the bereavement list and is cruising now. I would, however, suggest trading him for a closer that's going to have the job all year long. It would make too much sense for Washington to not trade him come the deadline. They won't make a playoff push, he's an expensive reliever, and he'll demand plenty of interest. Worst of all, however, is that he probably won't be a closer if he's dealt.
Felix Hernandez - Ugh, another injury. At least it wasn't his arm. Felix was cruising through 5, but got wild in the 6th and gave up a walk, double, and triple and then was removed with a tight lower back. Again, Seattle will probably play this safe and I wouldn't be surprised if Felix missed his next start. It will likely depend on his bullpen session and I'll post an update when there is one.
James Shields - Rough outing last night, allowed 10 hits, walking 3, and giving up 4 ERs. He was actually lucky to only allow 4 runs despite allowing 13 baserunners, but he did a good job pitching out of jams. A matchup against a full-strength Sox lineup at US Cellular is not a good one, so we can't hold this one against him.
Mark Buehrle - He's actually pitching very well this year, posting a 3.86 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He's increasing his K rate as well, K'ing 40 in 56 IP, which is a career high rate so far. He has plenty of motivation being in a contract year, so expect continued positive results. He's a quality 4/5 starter for fantasy teams this year.
Bobby Jenks - Another closer cruising along, posting a 2.70 ERA and going unscored upon in his last 8 appearances. 21 Ks in 20 IP, and a 1.15 WHIP. He's been justifying his draft day value so far this year, and should remain that way all year long.
J.J. Hardy - He won't stop hitting HRs, adding his 15th last night. Just wow so far.
Prince Fielder - Outstanding draft-day value here, as well. He also hit his 15th last night, and he's evolving into the bigtime power hitting 1B many thought he'd become. Hopefully he'll have a longer shelf-life than his father.
Trevor Hoffman/Scott Linebrink - Hoffman has complained of some arm soreness, so he sat out last night's game and Linebrink picked up the save. Hoffman had worked 3 times in 4 days, which is a little much for him personally. He said it's just his arm being cranky, so it's likely not a major concern. Linebrink is well worth picking up in all leagues in the meantime, doubly so for Hoffman owners.
Angel Guzman - Pinella at work again. Guzman had not entered a high pressure situation before since moving to the bullpen, throwing 1 2/3 IP in a 5-1 deficit. Last night with the bases loaded, 0 out, and 1 run already in with a 8-6 lead, Pinella calls on Guzman to come into the game. As you can imagine, he was jittery and all over the strikezone to the first hitter, walking him with a wild pitch that allowed a runner to score mixed into the 4 balls. An RBI single and sac fly followed before he induced a double play to get out of the inning. This was a perfect situation for Pinella to use Dempster to get out of the high-stress jam, and then use Guzman to start the 9th and close out the game.
Now, I don't want to specifically blame Pinella for too much of this, but it's an epidemic with many managers where they save their closer for the 9th inning no matter what the circumstance. After Howry loaded the bases with 0 outs and a 3 run lead, Pinella has to call on his best reliever at that point to make sure there's a game to save in the 9th inning. I understand he doesn't want his closer to go 2 innings as most managers don't, but you have to put your best reliever in when the game is on the line, whether it's the 8th or 9th inning. The rigid closer usage around the league is rather ignorant. What I do blame Pinella for is using Guzman in a situation like that. He hasn't had to enter a stressful relief situation yet since being converted from the starting rotation, and Pinella puts him into one of the most stressful situations in baseball? That's a horrible way to build confidence with a young relief pitcher as he's being put out there in a situation where failure is the likely result. I'm curious to see how Guzman bounces back from this.
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