Saturday Wrapup: Another Almost No-Hitter

Tom Glavine - 4 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 0 K. Pretty ugly outing, although the fact it came against the Yankees shouldn't surprise many. Hopefully you had him benched for this matchup. He's been pitching poorly, but as long as he's not hurt, he'll figure things out soon.

Jose Reyes - 2 more SBs, giving him 5 in the last two games and 37 on the year. He was slumping for a bit there, but it's safe to say he's back on fire and will threaten 80 SBs this year.

David Wright - His owners have to be elated with the 16 SBs so far. His career high was 20 last year, and he's at 16 with more than half the season left. Definitely a welcome boost to his fantasy value.

Alex Rodriguez - 2/4 with 3 R, 2 RBI, his 26th HR, and his 8th SB. He plays baseball well.

Carlos Zambrano - 9 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 6 K. Nobody likes the 5 walks, but that's how it goes with Zambrano. A very frustrating loss of a no-hitter in the 8th inning as a high bouncing ball went off Zambrano's glove during his leap and didn't make it to the second baseman on time. The 2nd hit he gave up was a solo HR with 1 out in the 9th after strike 3 was not called on the previous pitch, and that was the game's only run. Another great outing from Zambrano, who is definitely back in top form.

Vernon Wells - 2/3 with a R and 4 RBI last night, including his 6th HR. He's been a pretty big bust so far, hitting .258 with only 6 HR. Unfortunately he's seemingly regressed back to his 2005 numbers rather than repeating his 2006 numbers. It should get better from here on out, but only 2 of his last 5 years have been truly great seasons for fantasy purposes. He was definitely overrated heading into drafts this year with lots of inconsistency through his 5 full seasons.

Dmitri Young - Hit his 7th HR last night, and he's hitting .335 on the year so far. He's been a pretty solid hitter throughout his career, so he makes a fine fill-in 1B for those looking for help at the position. I picked him up to replace Teixeira since Garko's gone cold.

Jered Weaver - 5 1/3 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K. Extermely fortunate not to allow a run, but his owners will take the 0.00 ERA on the day along with the Win. His back might still be bothering him, but it doesn't appear to be a major issue.

Jason Schmidt - 4 2/3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K. Still not looking too good. If you feel he'll regain a decent portion of his previous form, make sure to at least keep him benched until he turns in a few positive outings. I personally think it's best to dump him and let someone else waste a roster spot on a resurgence.

Francisco Rodriguez - A perfect, 3 K save last night. He continues to be an elite closer for all who drafted him.

Reggie Willits - Stole his 16th base last night, and he should maintain his value as a cheap source of steals as long as he receives consistent playing time. He's hitting a solid .324, so he's contributing in 2 catagories for now. Play up his 16 steals, move him to a steals-hungry team, and get a player with real value in return.

John Smoltz - 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K. A great start against a great Cleveland offense. It appears his shoulder issues are behind him for the moment, although he might not be totally out of the woods yet given his advanced age. It doesn't appear to be affecting his performance at all.

Edgar Renteria - 5/5 with 2 R, 2 RBI, his 10th HR, and his 5th SB. He's having a career year at age 31 so far.

Daisuke Matsuzaka - 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K. Still walking too many hitters, but that didn't affect him at all today as he pitched brilliantly other than that. He's looked very good his last 3 outings.

Jon Papelbon - Picked up his 16th save last night, lowering his ERA to 1.85 with a perfect inning. With a 0.99 WHIP and 34 K in 24 1/3 IP, he's been the elite closer all expected him to be after being moved back to the bullpen. With Okajima around, the Red Sox now have a reliable backup closer, and this is great for Papelbon owners as they can afford to be careful with his arm.

Matt Cain - 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. A very encouraging outing against a slumping Boston offense. Unfortunately Matsuzaka was better and Cain didn't receive the win for his effort.

Manny Ramirez - 1/3 with his 9th HR last night. Hopefully this will wake this frustrating fantasy player up for good. Please?

Daniel Cabrera - 8 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. The peripherals were there, but the 3 HRs did him in. There is honestly improvement being shown amongst all the earned runs, but he's obviously not worth picking up yet.

Mark Buehrle - 8 IP, 9 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. A solid performance against a subpar offense...just what his owners were looking for.

Josh Fields - The young brightspot in a dismal White Sox season. He's going to be a great hitter, and he hit his 2nd major league HR last night, his first this season. His power/speed combination should make him a valuable fantasy asset in time, so keep an eye on his performance and pick him up if he gets hot. He's not as highly touted as Pence and Braun, and he doesn't have the polish that they do, but he's one to watch.

Ichiro Suzuki - 3/4 to raise his AVG to .348, and he stole his 18th and 19th bases last night. Despite his slow start, he could challenge 50 bases if he keeps running the way he has the past month and a half.

Andrew Miller - 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K. He had a tough matchup against Philly in Citizen's Bank, but put up reasonable fantasy stats for his effort. I'm not sure if his 2007 future contains a permanent spot in the Detroit starting rotation, but he hasn't pitched too poorly against 2 of the NL's best offenses (he had the Mets last time out). If he gets sent back down and is dropped in your league because of it, try to jump the gun and pick him up if he's recalled. He belongs in the majors.

Aaron Harang - 5 2/3 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. He was not at his best, but he did enough to pick up his 7th win.

Ken Griffey Jr. - Career HRs number 590 and 591 last night as he continues to mash the ball like he's 25 again. Gotta love it!

Miguel Cabrera - 2/5 with 2 R, 4 RBI, and 2 HRs, giving him 16 HR on the season. After a disappointing 26 HR season last year, he's back on pace to hit around 35 this year, which is what his owners expected from him this year.

Alex Gordon - 1/4 last night, and he stole his 6th base when he got on. He's quietly continuing to hit the ball well.

David Bush - 6 1/3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. Maddeningly inconsistent, but he turned in a solid performance last night. It's hard to figure out when to start him and when not to, so it's best to let someone else gamble on which Bush shows up when he takes the mound.

Boof Bonser - 6 1/3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Pretty good outing despite the ERs, although his 1.52 WHIP on the season is really hurting his owners. If you can afford the ratio hits for his Ks and Ws, he's a good fit for your team.

Jason Hirsh - 4 1/3 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 5 K. So much for that recent progress. He's going to be too inconsistent in his rookie year to count on, but keep an eye on him to see if he finally puts it together later in the year.

Andrew Sonnanstine - 5 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. 3 HRs did him in, and that's now 6 HRs allowed in 19 IP. He's a young pitcher akin to Kevin Slowey. A WHIP specialist who will have his solid outings mixed in with outings where he gets hit hard. In other words, let someone else own him.

Brad Hawpe - 2/3, 2 R, 4 RBI, and his 11th HR last night. With a .299 AVG, 11th HR, 46 RBI, and 33 R, he's been a very solid fantasy outfielder this year. He faded badly last year, but that's not a strong enough sample size to worry about.

Garrett Atkins - 2/3, 1 R, 3 RBI, and his 7th HR. With 3 HR and 9 RBI in his past 3 games, he is absolutely killing the ball and is rewarding his patient owners.

Brendan Harris - 3/3, 1 R, 2 RBI, and his 7th HR. I picked him up in a league where I was starting Crosby at SS, and he's been a pleasant surprise this year. He's hitting .320 and could be a solid fantasy SS all season long.

Albert Pujols - Your team scores 15 runs, and you have 1 RBI and 0 R? C'mon man!

Chris Duncan - A pinch hit grand slam for his 12th HR last night. There was skepticism about his power surge last season heading into this year, but he's proving his doubters wrong.