Sunday: Chone ".400" Figgins

Matt Garza - 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 11 K. Bigtime K output from the youngster Garza, who's posted a 1.37 ERA this season so far. He's due for an ERA correction, but his stuff is for real and he's definitely someone to use in mixed leagues against most offenses.

C.C. Sabathia - 7 2/3 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 11 K. The defense failed him, although it was a tie game anyways, so it didn't directly cost him a win. Still, he pitched great and is bouncing back nicely after a rough spot.

John Maine - 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, W (12). A rain shortened game, but Maine was dominating the lowly Nationals anyways. He's bounced back with 2 straight wins after back-to-back rough outings.

Jose Reyes - 2/3, 2 R, SB (49). He's yet another player alternating good and bad months, July being a bad one. He's only hitting .259 this month, but he's stolen at least 10 bases in all 4 months, and he's chipped in 20 R this month as well. He'll end up with a career high 70 bases if he keeps that up the next two months.

Carlos Zambrano - 7 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, W (14). MLB's first 14 game winner as he won for the 9th time in 12 starts since the fight with Barrett. He's been the best pitcher in the NL since that incident, vying with Erik Bedard for best pitcher in MLB. His ERA has gone from 5.62 to 3.47.

Alfonso Soriano - 2/5, 1 R, 2 SB (15). 2 HR game followed by a 2 SB game. Let's hope that Soriano can start increasing those numbers over the last 2 months as the Cubs are now nibbling on Milwaukee's heels.

Derrek Lee - 1/4, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR (11). His 5th HR in 9 games. I told ya he'd start hitting for more power. There was just no statistical reason behind his power slump in the first half.

Chien Ming-Wang - 6 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 1 K, W (12). A rather ugly start from the peripherals, but he again pitched around baserunners to pick up another win, his 5th in 6 starts. Things will even out for him if he keeps putting that many men on base, but he hasn't allowed a HR in 6 starts and the walks are uncommon for him.

Alex Rodriguez - 0/2. He's hitless in his last 9 official AB since his 499th HR, so as with many sluggers, he might be thinking about the milestone too much. I'd expect some struggles until he hits #500, which shouldn't be too long. Not really fantasy noteworthy, but just an observation.

Bobby Abreu - 2/3, 1 R, 2 RBI. Abreu has quitely put together a very nice month, hitting .337 with 4 HR, 26 RBI, 18 R, and 2 SB. His HR and SB numbers are well down from usual standards, but he has a chance to put in a very good 2nd half. The Yankees will need it in order to grab a playoff spot.

Ian Snell - 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K. Not bad, but he's really struggling right now. If you look at his bad starts over the past month and a half, they've come against the Angels, Braves, Rockies, and Mets. He's also turned in a substandard outing against the Phillies here, all good offenses. Perhaps you should think about paying closer attention to the matchups with Snell from here on out, if you haven't been able to trade him yet.

Daisuke Matsuzaka - 6 1/3 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. Solid outing from Matsuzaka, but the offense was quiet and he started to fall apart in the 7th, plus the bullpen pinned the 2nd run on him. That's back to back quality outings since his 3 start rough patch.

Scott Kazmir - 6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K. He's starting to turn the corner. This was an outstanding start against the Red Sox. His control is getting better and his results are bearing that out. He's still mixed in 2 3+ walk starts in his past 4 outings, but he's allowing less hits and missing more bats. His buy-low window is closing.

Carlos Pena - 2/4, 1 R, 1 RBI, HR (25). He's not going away, yet at least. He's posted a solid .286 AVG with 8 HR and 22 RBI this month. His splits against LHP are still very ugly, but he's really emerged this season as the player several teams in the past hoped he would become. He's a legit power 1B for the Rays, but at 28, this is probably his best season. There's still a chance he'll collapse the last 2 months, so if you're in contention and can't afford the risk, I'd move him.

Brad Lidge - 1 2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 K. What the hell are the Astros doing using him for 2 innings with a 4 run deficit? He had pitched 5 times in the previous 9 days, so he didn't need the work. Ridiculous.

Lance Berkman - 1/5, 1 R, 2 RBI, HR (16). His first HR in 14 games since the AS break, and he's hitting .235 in that span. The offense isn't very good, but Carlos Lee hits behind him, so he has protection and probably isn't getting pitched around too often. His LD% and BA/BIP are down a bit, but not alarmingly. His HR/FB is definitely down, at 15.8%. He's still sporting a very nice .326 AVG with RISP, so maybe he's just bored with so few people on in front of him. I don't see any reason why he's struggling as badly as he has been.

Milton Bradley - 3/6, 3 R, 2 RBI. He's hitting .349 with 4 HR, 12 RBI, and 15 R in 17 games for SD. He's always been a talented hitter, but given he'll be hitting in Petco half the time, I believe this hot streak is definitely an anomaly. Still, he can be used in mixed leagues til he cools off if you have a hole in your lineup.

Adrian Gonzalez - 2/5, 3 R, 3 RBI, HR (16). He's hitting .309 with 2 HR and 11 RBI in 17 games since the AS break. Hopefully he'll get his AVG up over the last 2 months, but like Bradley, since he plays in Petco, the power numbers will remain down compared to his talent level. His hot streak to start the season has turned into an anomaly as well.

Shaun Marcum - 8 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, W (7). Bigtime performance against the struggling White Sox. He's a fringe mixed league starter who I'd be wary of given his matchup. He's better off as a spot starter.

Javier Vazquez - 7 2/3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. He was cruising until the 8th inning, when he fell apart, and then his defense failed him on the 3rd out, causing 2 unearned runs and putting the game away. He's still pitching very well and just had a bad inning. His trade value is quite high right now if the White Sox blow the team up before the deadline, but signs point to only Dye being moved right now.

Jermaine Dye - 1/3, 1 R, 1 RBI, HR (19). He's on fire, hitting .318 with 7 HR and 13 RBI in 18 games since the AS break. He's pushed his trade value back up, although with him being 33 years old and a free agent at year's end, it remains to be seen exactly what type of deal the Sox can get for him.

Yovani Gallardo - 5 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. 3 singles, a walk, and a passed ball in the 5th inning lead to all 4 runs scoring in that frame, making his outing look worse than it actually was. Just the victim of a bad inning, all of which was not his fault. His 100 pitches through 5 innings show a lack of efficiency, but his bullpen blew the win for him.

Albert Pujols - 2/4, 3 RBI. Had a big bases clearing double to put the game away. He's quite clutch.

Chad Billingsley - 4 1/3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K. His command failed him, but the Rockies are a tough matchup for any pitcher. Stay with him.

Matt Holliday - 2/3, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR (20), SB (7). Who doesn't love this guy? He actually came undervalued in fantasy leagues this year because people weren't sold on him after one good year. His HR and R totals are a bit off of last year, but he's right on target with everything else. He's borderline 1st round material next year as he reminds me a lot of Miguel Cabrera production-wise, only in the OF. In real life, however, his value is questionable given he's hit over .370 at home each of the past two years, and about .280 on the road.

Mike Piazza - 3/5, 3 RBI. He's been great at the plate since returning, hitting .400 with 2 HR and 11 RBI in 8 games. He's still a very good hitter, and hopefully if he's traded, he'll be moved to a team with a permanent DH role.

Adrian Beltre - 2/4, 3 R, 4 RBI, HR (16). He's up to 12 RBI in his past 5 games as he's killing the ball right now. He has much better numbers after the AS break, so he might be due for a big 2nd half once again. He's almost living up to that monster contract he got with one good year. OK, not really.

Ichiro Suzuki - 2/5, 2 R, 2 SB (29). He'd been fairly quiet on the basepaths recently, so hopefully he's ready to start running wild again. His .271 AVG this month is easily his worst output in any month this year, but he'll start hitting again very soon.

Sergio Mitre - 6 2/3 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, W (5). Dump him. No point in wasting a roster spot on him anymore.

Miguel Cabrera - 4/5, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR (25). He's hitting .400 with 7 HR, 16 RBI, and 12 R in 17 games since the AS break. Enjoy the hot streak from one of the game's best hitters.

Tim Hudson - 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (11). Got 14 runs of support, needed only 1. Another great performance from Hudson who only has one bad inning in his last 4 starts.

Chone Figgins - 3/5, 3 R, 1 RBI, SB (27). He's up to .337 on the year in the most shocking fantasy season to date, almost solely in the last 2 months. He's hitting .419 with 42 R, 31 RBI, and 22 SB in June/July. He's going to cool off, but this was a guy that often looked lost at the plate last year, and was miserable after coming off the DL earlier this season. His LD% is up to an incredible 26.1%, showing that he's making very good contact. However, his BA/BIP is .391, which is almost unsustainable even with all the great contact. It does go to show, however, that he's hitting the ball the best of his career and that while he'll slow down a bit, he probably won't come screeching to a halt.