Friday: Hafner's Struggles and Pierre The Thief

Brandon Webb - 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. That's more like it, but due to the offense's inability to do much against Jason Marquis, he didn't get a win for his effort. The lack of walks is encouraging, and hopefully he'll build off this performance and get back on track.

Aramis Ramirez - 2/4, 2 R, 4 RBI, HR (16). He crushed a huge, game-clinching HR in the 9th. He's been a solid fantasy asset this year with a .322 AVG, 16 HR, 64 RBI. His 41 R are disappointing, but the Cubs offense is very top heavy and they don't have a reliable run producer behind Ramirez. Perhaps they'll look to upgrade that area, specifically a corner OF spot, as the trading deadline approaches. It would definitely be a small boost to his fantasy value.

Mike Mussina - 4 2/3 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. He hadn't given up more than 3 ER in 7 straight starts, so he was due for a bad outing. His control was obviously a problem today.

B.J. Upton - 3/6, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR (11). Upton has come off the DL with guns blazing at the plate, and now that the Rays have moved him to the 3rd spot in the order, his value is as high as it's ever been this year. I still think he's due for a slump at the plate given his obscene .472 BA/BIP combined with the 77 K in 65 games, but he's been defying the odds so far.

Gil Meche - 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, W (7). An outstanding start against the powerful Detroit lineup. I remain skeptical that he'll be anything more than a mediocre fantasy starter this year, but perhaps he'll build off this outing.

Kenny Rogers - 6 1/3 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. Well, that honeymoon when he returned sure ended fast. He's been hit hard in back to back starts, but if you look at his current 3.77 ERA and 1.26 WHIP, they're exactly in line with what he's done in Detroit the past two seasons. More of the same should be expected from here on out, and since he'll be pitching behind such a great offense, he's worth owning despite the lack of Ks in the back of your rotation.

Billy Butler - 4/5, 4 RBI, 1 R. Butler is up to .333, and thanks to him being buried in Kansas City, he's not getting much attention. Given he's hitting cleanup for the Royals, that gives him solid fantasy value as a UTIL hitter despite the weakenesses around him.

Josh Beckett - 6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 10 K, W (13). One mistake to Jim Thome led to a 3 run HR, all the runs he allowed. He had another great start in becoming a 13 game winner.

Julio Lugo - 3/4, 2 R, 4 RBI, GS (6), SB (25). He continues his ridiculous run this month by adding another SB and a grand slam. If he continues hitting like this, combined with Crisp's mediocre run as the Red Sox leadoff hitter, he'll probably get moved back up there, giving him another nice boost in fantasy value.

Roy Oswalt - 6 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, W (9). A very encouraging start from Oswalt, but unfortunately he left the game with discomfort in his chest. It seems likely that he'll miss a start due to the injury, but that will depend on his next throwing session. Given that Houston is out of the race, it wouldn't do them any good to rush him back.

Brad Lidge - 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K. Well, Lidge made this interesting. After a single and a sacrifice, he got wild, hitting and walking the next 2 batters. With the bases loaded, he came back to strike out the next hitter, and then on the last hitter, got a swining strike 3 on a ball in the dirt, which got away from Ausmus only to hit the umpire, allowing Ausmus to pick up the ball and touch homeplate for the force and the end of the game. It's sounding more like Lidge will stay in Houston, which is contrary to what I thought a few days ago, if for no other reason than they don't have enough time to raise his value to make him worth trading. I still think he has a chance to be traded, but if he closes the year strong, Houston will get more by trading him in the offseason as a closer rather than in the middle of the season as a setup man.

Miguel Cabrera - 2/4, 1 R, 3 RBI, HR (23). 5 HR since the All Star break so far for Miggy. He stole 9 bases last year, helping make up for only hitting 26 HR, but with he's noticeably increased frame this year, it should be no surprise that he hasn't stolen one yet this year.

Adam Wainwright - 7 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, W (9). That's 3 straight great starts from Wainwright, who should start getting attention from mixed leaguers with rotation holes. He's a very talented starting pitching prospect who could finally be emerging, so this is possibly for real.

Chuck James - 7 IP, 6 IP, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. Another great start from James, but he was outdueld by Wainwright. That's 4 straight starts allowing 1 ER or less from James. His walks aren't getting any better, walking 10 over those 24 2/3 IP, so I can't say he's breaking through and that this will be sustained.

J.J. Hardy - 1/4. Well, he's crashed. After a ridiculous April/May, he hit .220 last month with 3 HR, and now he's down to .200 with 0 HR this month. He was well regarded as a hitting prospect, so while we all knew he was on an unsustainable pace, he's slumping a bit more than was expected. His health is what has held him back, so as long as he's healthy, he should rebound to a reasonable level of production the rest of the way. In hindsight, I obviously should have made more of a sell-high pitch.

John Lackey - 5 IP, 10 H, 5 ER, 1 BB< 3 K. He's currently in the middle of his 2nd straight month with an ERA over 4, pushing his overall ERA to a still very solid 3.21. The great news is that he's posted WHIPs of exactly 1.18 over the past two months, so it supports that he's still pitching on a mid 3 ERA pace, and that he's not getting blown up or pitching poorly. It's simply evening out for him.

Justin Morneau - 2/4, 3 R, 3 RBI, HR (26). With 26 HR and 81 RBI, Morneau has established himself with Pujols, Howard, and Fielder as elite fantasy options at 1B. It's taken him longer than most expected, but he's producing at the level many expected he would once he reached the majors.

Fausto Carmona - 8 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, W (12). A great outing from Carmona against the Rangers. Carmona has definitely come out of nowhere this season, and ranks among the league leaders in wins. Beware though, his 3.52 ERA does not correlate well with his 1.31 WHIP and 72 K in 122 2/3 IP. Expect a regression, but he'll continue winning.

Travis Hafner - 2/3, 2 run HR (16). With a .303 AVG this month, he's hitting the ball a bit better, but he's only produced 3 HR and 3 2B this month. The power just isn't there right now for him. Looking deeper into the stats, his LD% is down 4% compared to the past two years, his GB% has soared up about 10% compared to the past two years, and his HR/FB% is down over 10% compared to the past two years. His BA/RISP is a miserable .196. Honestly, I should have checked into these more before recommending him as a buy low candidate. All his numbers indicate he's not hitting the ball nearly as well as the past two years, so his poor numbers are not a fluke so far. He's hitting more ground balls, less line drives, and he's struggling very badly with runners in scoring position. He can still rebound and have a huge last 2 months, but he's going to flatout need to start hitting the ball better, because nothing needs to even out here.

Antonio Alfonseca - 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, SV (7). The Phillies just aren't producing many save chances for him, and thanks to that layoff, he blew a couple saves by allowing 1 ER earlier this month. With Gordon not being 100% and Myers not ready to come back yet, Alfonseca will remain the closer for a little while longer.

Erik Bedard - 7 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 11 K, W (9). Only a Mark Ellis HR in the 6th against him, outside of a few walks. Thanks to the 105 pitches needed to get through 7 innings, odds are unless he had a very efficient 8th, it would have been dangers to allow him to go for the no hitter. That HR might have been a blessing in disguise, especially with the way he's been dominaing since April. He's arguably been the best fantasy pitches outside of Johan Santana over that time period.

Joe Blanton - 5 2/3 IP, 10 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. He's been hit around and roughed up his past 3 outings, but he was pitching over his head prior to this and things are just evening out for him. He should turn in a bounce back outing sometime here very soon. Baltimore seems to like him, roughing him up both times they've faced him.

Mike Piazza - 0/4. Piazza was activated last night, but unfortunately he had to face a red hot Erik Bedard. Piazza will get plenty of playing time, solely at the DH position for now. He's definitely worth plugging back into your C position. He was my favorite non-elite catcher this year heading into the draft, and I think he'll resume being a very valuable fantasy catcher over the rest of the season.

Oliver Perez - 7 1/3 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, W (9). He's defying odds a bit as he's walked at least 3 batters in 7 straight starts, but he's still pitching pretty well, and his strong K rate is a big reason why. It's definitely a worrisome stat trend, and one that is worth monitoring. I don't think he can continue pitching this well walking that many batters, so hopefully he'll work on whatever the problem is. His 1.19 WHIP does not support a 3.00 ERA.

Juan Pierre - 1/4, 2 SB (40). He's only 7 behind Jose Reyes. With 60 R and a .287 AVG, he's been a very solid 3 catagory player and has definitely surprised his owners with a 60+ SB pace so far. I think many were expecting more in the 40s, but he's already there.