Saturday: Dempster Hurt, Escobar Rollin'

Rich Hill - 5 2/3 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. Given the White Sox aren't hitting lefthanders well at all this year, I'm sure a bit more was expected, but he turned in a fine performance regardless. He wasn't efficient with his pitches today, but only allowed 1 run, and the offense didn't score their 2nd run until the 9th.

Javier Vazquez - 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K. Good Javy, this time. The offense let him down, per usual.

Bob Howry - 1 IP, 2 K, SV. Ryan Dempster is out for a few days with a strained oblique, so Howry filled in and nailed down the save. He's actually turned his season around with 10 scoreless appearances in his last 11, and he might be good for another save or two while Dempster is on the mend.

Troy Tulowitski - 1/3, 2 R, 1 RBI, HR (6). 14 hits, 3 HR, and 2 SB in his last 10 games. A nice hot streak for the youngster, but I don't think he'll maintain this sort of pace long enough to have mixed league value this year. He's on a nice hot streak now, so if you need short term SS help, you could do worse.

Frank Thomas - 4/4, GS (11). Well, that yanked his AVG up a bit. He was actually available in one of my leagues, so if you need some HR/RBI help, he's your man. Like I said before, I doubt he'll have a ~.300 AVG 2nd half again like last year, but he should improve from where he'd been most of the year.

Matt Stairs - 4/4, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR (11). He's up to 11 HR and 26 RBI on the year, and he's also hitting .309. Well, you should certainly ride out the hot streak, but I don't think this 39 year old is on his way to having some sort of career year.

Adam Wainwright - 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. Since the Dodgers blew him up back on May 15th, he's actually pitching fairly well. He's a young pitcher with solid potential, so if you're hurting in your rotation with injuries or ineffectiveness, he's not a bad idea as long as tempered expectations join him.

Chris Duncan - 1/3, 1 R, 3 RBI, HR (14). Vs. RHP, Duncan is at .288, 13 HR, 38 RBI. Vs. LHP, Duncan is at .220, 1 HR, 5 RBI. Platoon him and be happy with the great splits against RHP.

Chien Ming-Wang - 6 1/3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 0 K. Haha, well, so much for getting worked up about last start's 10 K performance. He still has some work to do to get those K's up apparently. His slider is definitely a solid pitch, as I said before, but he still has to learn how to harnass that pitch and miss more bats with his arsenal.

Matt Morris - 5 2/3 IP, 13 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. Pounded again. Now it's not too concerning given he's been hit hard by the Yankees and Red Sox, but with a 1.35 WHIP and a 4.5 K/9 IP ratio, I don't think he's going to dominate the NL like he was doing before interleague started. He'll still have some success since he's in the NL, but like I've said a couple times, he was pitching over his head.

Alex Rodriguez - 4/6, 3 R, 1 RBI, HR (28), SB (9). His HR was his 7th 9th inning HR of the season. He's defying all expectations with this ridiculous performance so far.

Barry Bonds - 2/3, 2 RBI. He's rolling right along now as he continues his quest towards 755.

Roy Oswalt - 6 1/3 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K. He's had one great start in his last 7 appearances. I'll recommend him as a buy low candidate, but be careful. Unless he's hurt, he's definitely pitching under his ability right now.

Justin Verlander - 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 11 K. One solo HR was the only damage. He's taken another step forward this year, and he's proving to be one of the best young pitchers in the game. Like I said before, however, I'd be wary of his career-high innings pitched number last year, how late he pitched into the year, and the likelihood of another career-high number this year. I'm still sticking by my predicition that he'll fade a bit in the 2nd half.

Carlos Guillen - 2/3, 2 R, 1 RBI, HR (12). Over his last 7 games, he has 4 HR, 12 RBI, and 10 R. He is seriously on fire right now.

Chipper Jones - 1/4, HR (13). He's battling a number of ailments right now, but you wouldn't know that by looking at his numbers. He'll keep hitting like an elite 3B as long as he's in the lineup and not too hurt.

David Bush - 7 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. 2 straight solid performances from Bush. He and Vazquez are quite similar. High ERAs despite very good WHIPs, solid K rates, and no explanation for why they buck the statistical trend. Bush was very bad early in the season, but he's been fairly solid this month for an end-of-the-rotation guy.

Corey Hart - 3/3, 2 R, 1 RBI, SB (14). He and Carlos Guillen are about the 2 hottest hitters going in fantasy right now. Hart has 19 hits, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 13 R, and 4 SB in the last 10 games. I think he's stolen the leadoff spot from Rickie Weeks on a permanent basis with his performance. I think he's a sell high guy in leagues if you can get an established stud (projected for similar performance) in return for him as part of a package deal. He's a rookie and is due to get cold.

Victor Martinez - 1/4, 3 run HR (14). He's up to 62 RBIs. He's on pace to set a career high in HRs and RBIs as his previous highs were 23 and 108. He was undervalued a bit in drafts this year coming off a 16 HR season, but he's locked in and has a great lineup hitting ahead of him this year.

Josh Johnson - 3 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 3 K. He's clearly not ready to help fantasy teams right now, so if you've been holding onto him and like someone on the waiver wire better, go for it. I don't think anyone will be picking him up right now.

Joe Blanton - 8 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. His vastly improved K rate over last year is making all the difference so far, and he's improved his ERA from 4.82 to 3.19, and his WHIP from 1.54 to 1.08 over last year. I think his current numbers are a bit above his head, but he's obviously taken a big step this year and has to be taken seriously. He was matched by El Duque and his offense couldn't get him a win.

Orlando Hernandez - 7 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. Too bad his offense didn't feel like scoring til the 9th inning. His 2 rough outings are a thing of the past as he got back on his game with this outing. One might be worried about his high ERAs of the past few years, but the Mets have straightened out Oliver Perez as well, and it's possible they've helped El Duque find a flaw and his BAA is down from .292 to .205, which shows this is not as flukey as it appears. He's pitching a bit over his head, but the switch to the NL will allow a soft tosser with deception like him to have much more sustained success than in the AL. Given his history, his health is likely to fail him, so I'd still suggest selling for a more reliable pitcher.

Randy Wolf - 6 2/3 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. He's had a rough June, giving up 3 or more ER in each of his starts this month. Especially concerning were that two of those starts came in SD and in PIT. I still think he can be an asset against weaker offenses, but I wouldn't blindly start him each time otu like most of us were doing last month.

Scott Kazmir - 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 5 K. These walks are gross. He's consistently having control and pitch inefficiency problems almost every time out. He's not getting lit up, but he's not pitching like his owners expected. There's nothing you can do but hope he gets it figured out, and make sure your staff around him can absorb the WHIP hit.

Russell Martin - 1/4, SB (13). Stolen bases from catchers are sweet, especially this many of them.

Al Reyes - 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, SV. He's a veteran, but it's nice to see him bounce back after the 4 run blowup in his last outing.

Kelvim Escobar - 8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. He's been one of fantasy baseball's best kept secrets this year as he's throwing like staff ace, while being drafted like a 4th or 5th starter, or possibly going undrafted. Like I keep saying, depending on the depth of your fantasy rotation, I'd suggest trying to package him for an estblished ace given his injury history. If you can't get an ace-type back (or a stud hitter if you need that instead), just hope he stays healthy this year as he's not pitching over his head, despite what his career stats say. He has nasty stuff and is pitching for a very good offense. The only thing that's held him back the past few years is injuries.

Ian Snell - 6 IP, 10 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. The burn on the index finger of his pitching hand might have bothered him, but all 5 ER and 7 of those baserunners were allowed in the 2nd inning. I wouldn't worry too much about this start.

Chone Figgins - 3/5, 1 RBI, SB (16). He's now hitting .299 on the year. He's bounced back like no one could have imagined, especially after last year's disappointing season.

Howie Kendrick - 2/5, 3 R, 2 RBI. Howie, much like Stella before him, got his groove back. Go get him if he's still available.

Vladimir Guerrero - 3/5, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR (14). Amazing how a few late month HRs can get a player back on pace for what you expect.

Eric Byrnes - 1/5, 2 R, HR (12). He's right on pace for that 25/25 predicted season.

Richie Sexson - 2/3, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 HR (14). He's been dropped to the 7th spot in the lineup, but he's been hitting much better recently. I think his 2nd half performance will show us the Sexson we expect.

Chris Young - 7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 11 K. Wow, what a performance against the Boston offense. His 0.94 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and .164 BAA stats at home are amazing. He's not been too shabby on the road, either.

Khalil Greene - 3/4, 2 HR (11). It's a shame he plays in Petco. His HR home/away splits are normal, but he hits .271 on the road and .216 at home. That's what keeps him from being a fantasy option.