Saturday's Action: We're Halfway There!

Chad Gaudin - 7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K. He caught a cold hitting Yankees bunch at the right time, and he put together one of his best outings to date. He continues to pitch well, and his ERA currently sits at 2.92. Very impressive for the AL. He's been one of the better AL waiver wire pickups of the year at the SP position.

Rich Harden - 2 IP, 2 BB, 2 K. Well, unfortunately he's not doing much for his owners despite him being relatively healthy pitching in a 7th/8th inning role right now. He was finally able to go 2 innings despite not being able to do such last time. You won't get much for him in a trade, but he's not worth dropping either. Just use him as a solid ratio/K middle inning reliever for the moment and hopefully his role for the 2nd half will become defined a bit better after the AllStar break.

Nick Swisher - He's been pretty worthless for a while now. His AVG has come back down, sitting at .271. He's only hit 10 HR in the first half of this year despite hitting 31 last year. I would think he'll hit a few more in the 2nd half though, so I wouldn't worry.

Ben Sheets - 8 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 11 K, W (10). He bunched a few hits together in the 1st and 6th innings, but he pitched brilliantly outside of that en route to posting a season high K total. He's pitching as well as he ever has this year, and he's giving his owners more than they paid for.

Sean Marshall - 2 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. Things are evening out for Marshall as his ERA rose to 3.50 with this outing. I can see his ERA sitting around there for most of the year. The problem with Marshall is the fact that he follows Rich Hill in the rotation. Both pitchers have very similar pitching styles, and if Hill and Marshall both face the same team in the same series, Marshall is going to have trouble because the team just got done facing a slightly better version of him. Perhaps it should be something people consider when deciding whether to use him or not. There isn't enough of a stat sample to say one way or another.

Ryan Braun - 4/5, 3 R, 4 RBI, HR (7). He and Pence have been the rookie waiver wire finds of the year thus far. Braun is enjoying an incredible run right now, and his power/speed combination will keep him valuable all year long even if his AVG slides a bit. With 30 K in 33 games, it likely will.

Rickie Weeks - 0/4, 1 R, SB (9). Now hitting .236 and also 8th in the lineup, his fantasy value has crashed since coming back from his injury. If you're struggling at 2B, I consider buying him low. He has good power/speed combo, and even though his R total will take a hit not leading off anymore, I think he's playing under his potential as long as he's healthy.

Jorge Sosa - 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K. Not too bad in a tough start at Philly, but unfortunately he left early with a strained left hamstring. He's headed to the DL, and I'm sure his owners won't miss him too terribly even though he had been pitching well for the most part.

Carlos Beltran - 4/5, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR (14). 4 HRs in 2 games...buy low opportunity closed. [luigi] He's a hot. [/luigi]

Kevin Slowey - 6 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W (3). He pitched pretty well given he was going against the powerful Tigers offense, and he limited the damage enough to pick up the win. This will be my last post about him for a while because his ratios just don't allow him to be used in mixed leagues right now.

Andrew Miller - 5 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. A rough start for Miller against the Twins. He'll be up and down like most rookies, but given he has a permanent rotation spot, a lot of talent, and decent polish for a young pitcher, I think he'll be a mixed league asset for a while.

Michael Cuddyer - 2/4, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR (9). His AVG, RBI, and R are right in line with last year, but his 9 HR leave him a little short of the 24 he hit last season. Hopefully he picks up the power pace a bit in the 2nd half.

Curtis Granderson - 2/5, solo HR (11). He's at .289 with 11 HR, 41 RBI, 58 R, and 9 SB, and he's proving to be a quality 3rd OF. Like I said before, however, his value is best maximized by only starting him against RHP, as he's hitting a miserable .129 against them, with only 2 HR and 0 SB.

Josh Beckett - 5 IP, 10 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 4 K. Missed too often within the strikezone apparently, and Texas hit him pretty hard. You'd rather see this sort of outing come against a stronger offense, but it'll happen from time to time, and he didn't get completely lit up either. He ends the first half healthy, and with great stats. He's definitely been one of the best draft day values among SPs.

Sammy Sosa - 2/4, 2 R, 1 RBI, HR (14). 14 HR and 63 RBI has made Sammy Sosa relevant in fantasy leagues this year. The .255 AVG is definitely a downer, but he's giving you a reason to use him as a cheap power source.

Jason Bergmann - 4 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 K. Very disappointing 2nd start after coming off the DL, especially since it was against Pittsburgh. I won't write about him again until he strings together a few performances and is worth picking up again.

Tom Gorzelanny - 7 1/3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER 3 BB, 6 K. Good stuff against the Nationals offense. He finishes the first half with a 3.05 ERA. Between him and Snell, the Pirates have a very nice 1-2 punch at the front of their rotation. I still think he's a good sell-high guy given the fact he hasn't pitched 200 innings before, and the fact he has a history of arm injuries. Plus, the 1.27 WHIP does not support an ERA hovering at 3.00.

Adam LaRoche - 2/4, 1 R, 3 RBI, HR (10). A bust this year so far, especially considering the miserable .223 AVG. I hope you don't still own him, or worse yet use him.

Brian Burres - 7 2/3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 4 K. The good? A 3.38 ERA and 53 K in 64 IP. The bad? A 1.47 WHIP and 38 BB in 64 IP. Don't pick him up despite the decent stats so far.

Paul Shuey - 1 1/3 IP, 2 K, SV (1). Chris Ray had worked 3 out of the past 4 games, so he got a rest. However, it was stated yesterday that the Orioles want to reduce Chris Ray's workload, especially considering he's been struggling. Unfortunately I suggested him as a buy low candidate, but his value is on the rocks right now. Shuey might factor into the situation, but he's not worth picking up yet.

Jeff Francis - 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, W (8). He keeps rolling right along, lowering his ERA to a solid 3.56 on the season. He finishes the month of June with a 2.84 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and 35 K in 38 IP. He continues to be a solid fantasy starter despite a horrible first month of the season.

Tim Hudson - 7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, W (8). He's rolling right along, and ends the first half with a 3.18 ERA. He's definitely a contender for comeback player of the year in the NL.

Kelly Johnson - 1/3, 1 RBI, SB (6). He's been very good this year in an overall sense, but he hasn't hit that well the past two months, and now Atlanta is toying with the idea of platooning him with Yuniel Escobar. He's already been dropped from the leadoff spot. I'd keep an eye on the daily lineups to see whether or not he's playing, and plan on having a backup ready just in case. Odds are he'll hit his way out of this situation, but let's hope Atlanta gives him the opportunity to do so.

C.C. Sabathia - 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, W (12). He continues his fantasy ace ways as he wraps up the first half with a 3.20 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 116 K in 129 1/3 IP.

Travis Hafner - 1/3, solo HR (13). He's slowly starting to heat up, so make sure to try to buy him now before the 2nd half. I think he's in store for a big one.

Noah Lowry - 6 2/3 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, W (8). His 8 wins and 3.46 ERA are nice, but his 59 K in 101 1/3 IP and 1.40 WHIP are not. I wouldn't want to start him consistently, but he's not a bad spot starter against weaker teams.

Brad Hennessey - 1 IP, 1 H, SV (4). He's definitely the preferred choice for saves in San Fran, just to re-affirm.

Roy Halladay - 6 IP, 10 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K. That would be good enough to win more times than not, but the Toronto offense struggled and couldn't get him the run support he needed. He's been pitching well, and despite a disappointing first half, he should be in for a better 2nd half if he can stay healthy. That's a big if with him, though.

Ichiro Suzuki - 3/5, SB (23). He's up to .368, and he's been a real fantasy force in the first half. He finishes June with a ridiculous .427 AVG.

Jake Peavy - 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. The pitching duel between Peavy and Penny proved it's worth in gold as both pitchers put up almost identical statlines, and the game went into extra innings as a result. Peavy finishes the first half as the best fantasy pitcher in the NL, and as long as his shoulder holds up, he should prove to be just as valuable in the 2nd half.

Brad Penny - 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. No, there isn't an echo in here. Penny finishes the first half as probably the most surprising elite fantasy pitcher. I've expressed my doubts on him, but while he put up a fluky ERA the first month, he followed that up with an excellent May and June. Like I've noted several times before, he crashed after the All Star break last year, so selling high is still probably a good idea. He does have the talent to keep this up, but he's never done it for a full season before.

Russell Martin - 1/5, SB (15). 15 steals from a catcher in the first half. Awesome.