Weekend Action - What The Cust Is Going On?

Jack Cust: Alright, time to address the hottest hitter in the majors. 6 HRs and 14 RBIs over the past week. This guy has always been a very legit power prospect, but he's a ridiculous liability on defense. His only possible position is DH, but despite that, he spent minor league time in NL systems which helped block his path to the majors. He's definitely a 30 HR candidate over a full season, and he'll draw plenty of walks, but his K-rate will prevent him from becoming a high average hitter. He's well worth picking up (he's OF eligible) and starting during his hot streak, and he'll have a month to prove himself before Piazza returns. What happens at that point is a mystery as I can't see Oakland benching Piazza or trying Cust in the field.

A.J. Burnett: 6 2/3 IP, 5 BB. This is definitely becoming a trend, and a worrisome one at that. I'm not sure what to say, but be selective with who you start him against while his wild streak continues. The Rays are too impatient of a team, so he escaped with a pretty good start despite the walks. He can't be doing that against quality offenses and have that sort of success.

Jon Garland: He's well worth spot starting against weaker offenses. He'll never K many people, but he's posted a 0.99 WHIP so far (it will go up as he pitches too much to contact) and only has 2 non-quality starts this year. He's not worth a roster spot due to his lack of Ks, but he's a solid spot starter, especially once Thome gets back and the Chicago lineup starts hitting again.

Joe Blanton: He's posting the best K rate of his career, and his ratios have been very solid so far. He's definitely worth picking up if still available in your league. Oakland's offense should be pretty solid, and he pitches in arguably the weakest offensive division in the AL. He's coming off an impressive outing in Cleveland in which he only gave up 2 runs in 7 IP. A solid 4/5 starter type for mixed leaguers.

Jake Peavy: 4 straight starts of 7 IP or less, but 10+ Ks...a major league record. Welcome to the best pitcher in the NL. 53 1/3 IP, 5-1, 1.52 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and 66 Ks. When he's healthy, he's one of the best in baseball, so let's enjoy the 2007 season from him.

Takashi Saito: 25 straight converted saves for the most undervalued closer on draft day. As I stated before, he actually has legit stuff to avoid the downfall most Japanese pitchers face in their second seasons, and so far he's proving his doubters wrong. He's again posting outstanding ratios and K numbers, equaling what he accomplished last season.

Ben Sheets: He's posted much better K numbers over his last two starts, so it looks like he's quietly turning around. He turned in a quality start against the Mets offense last time out, allowing 3 ER and K'ing 5 over 6 IP. With the Brewers offense breaking through this season, he should start racking up wins as well. I'm thinking he's under-valued at this point and is a good buy-low.

Chuck James: Another pitcher to keep an eye on. He has control issues, but he's a quality pitcher backed by a quality offense. He had a great outing against Pittsburgh last time out (although few don't), so keep an eye on him over his next outing or two and see if he can string together some consistency.

Jeremy Accardo: Toronto's official new closer. A perfect 2 K inning for his first save, and he has the stuff to be a quality closer. Pick him up if still available.

Ted Lilly: Very impressive season thus far. The league switch was definitely going to help him, but he's been great so far with a 2.53 ERA and 0.90 WHIP. With 48 Ks in 53 1/3 IP, he's keeping a very strong K rate and should provide great value to those who drafted him late in mixed leagues this year. He'll remain valuable for as long as his shoulder stays healthy.

Oliver Perez: Another impressive season thus far. If he can maintain his control, he's going to be very valuable this year as well. His K rate has remained very good, and he's walked 14 in 42 IP, which is very good considering he walked 7 in a brutal 2 2/3 IP start earlier in this season. Outside of that blowup and another meltdown after an error in his start before Sunday, he's been solid and is probably worth starting each time out now that he's showing consistency.

Jose Reyes: 21 SBs already. Crazy. We could see our first 80 SB guy in quite some time. Some maniac in one of my leagues took him over Pujols, and that's looking genius thus far. He's a big Mets fan, so I can't give him too much credit.