Tuesday's Action: Zambrano, Matsuzaka....and Blanton?

Chris Capuano - 3 1/3 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K. Capuano was not sharp in his return from the DL, but that was to be expected. Given his overall stats are 5-5, 4.28 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and 63 K in 73 2/3 IP, I don't see where he has much fantasy value other than Ks. He had a good 5th fantasy starter season last year, but he's been bad in the WHIP department this year, further degrading his value.

Yovani Gallardo - 2 2/3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. Gallardo's first bullpen appearance. In my personal opinion, I think it's a bad idea to convert Gallardo to the bullpen. Bullpen work is for those who are used to it...it's a very erratic schedule that can produce a lot of wear and tear on the body. I know starters throw a lot more innings over the season, but they're on a schedule that allows them to stay fresh and loose. It seems like they're putting him at risk for arm problems this year by having him start until now, moving him to the bullpen, and then moving him back to the rotation if injury/sub-par performance strikes. I don't like the idea, but he's worth holding onto. I wouldn't keep him active for right now.

Ryan Braun - 2/5, 1 RBI, SB (8). If Braun played 155 games at the pace he's setting right now, he'd end up with a .343 AVG, 31 HR, 35 SB, 132 R, and 115 RBI. He's obviously going to slow down, but it goes to show that he's probably going to be an elite fantasy 3B, perhaps as soon as next year. He has .300/30/30 skills, and hitting 3rd in the Milwaukee lineup will allow for a lot of run production.

Chien Ming-Wang - 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, W (8). He scattered his baserunners and turned in another outstanding performance. His ERA is down to 3.58 on the season as he's trimmed it down almost a run over the past month. Make sure to surround him with K guys in your rotation and bullpen, but he'll provide solid value in W/ERA/WHIP all year long.

Derek Jeter - 3/5, 2 RBI. With a .343 AVG, 43 RBI, and 53 R, Jeter is providing solid value, but his 5 HR and 7 SB are a bit disappointing. He's averaged 19 HR and 24 SB over the past 3 years, so while the .343 AVG is great, owners would like to see a little more pop and speed in the 2nd half. He was probably a touch overrated in drafts this year coming off a career high 34 SB season last year, but he's definitely not a bust by any means.

Alex Rodriguez - 0/4. Owners got a scare when he was removed from Monday's game with a lame hammy, but he was back in the lineup last night and it's only a minor concern on his running game while he's on the mend. He'll play through it, and can DH if necessary.

Scott Kazmir - 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K. More of the same from Kazmir, who's turning into a pretty big bust this year. As I've mentioned before, he had a breakthrough with his command last year, and was pitching very well until an injury shut him down for the season. Many drafters figured he'd at least repeat if not improve upon that, but he's definitely regressed to his 2005 performance with his command and pitch inefficiency. I still hold out hope that he'll get it turned around, but he's not showing any signs of it.

Daisuke Matsuzaka - 8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K. He's really hit his stride, pitching his 4th straight game of 1 ER or less. Those who were patient or bought low are being rewarded with one of the hottest pitchers in fantasy baseball. In a longer streak, he's allowed 2 or less ER in 6 straight games, with 8 or 9 Ks in each game. Now that's consistency.

Ben Francisco - He's making quite a name for himself since being called up, hitting .500 with 3 HR and 5 RBI in only 14 AB. The desparate might want to add him, but I can't see him being a mixed league option at all.

Gary Sheffield - 3/5, solo HR (19). Not much left to say about Sheffield. He's completely erased his miserable April by posting back to back .320+, 22 RBI months that included 16 HR. The fact he has both 1B and OF eligibility in Yahoo is a plus as well.

Carlos Guillen - 2/5, 1 R, 1 RBI. Guillen is up to 60 RBI, which is huge for a SS. He leads that catagory by 8 over J.J. Hardy among SS.

Carlos Zambrano - 6 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, W (10). Ever since the fight with Barrett, Zambrano has 6 straight appearances of 2 ER or less, with at least 8 Ks in 5 of those 6 games. He's pitching as well in anyone in baseball right now. He still walks too many people, but given the fact he doesn't allow that many hits, it doesn't seem to be a problem.

Bobby Howry - 2/3 IP, 2 K. It seems like Pinella is going to use a combination of Ohman/Howry in the 9th inning, but Howry will pick up most of the saves and is the one to own here. Marmol is the 8th inning guy and setup man. Dempster isn't too far away from returning, so Howry might only have a save or two left in him.

Alfonso Soriano - 2/4, 2 R, SB (12). 2 SBs in 2 days, so let's hope Soriano starts running whenever he gets a chance and can put up 15+ SBs in the 2nd half for his owners.

Barry Zito - 5 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 6 BB, 5 K. His control was obviously all over the place last night, and he didn't last long as a result. The 2 H and 5 K are encouraging, if you're looking for the silver lining in this cloud.

Aaron Harang - 6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 6 BB, 4 K, W (9). OK, now that I see both pitchers had 6 walks last night, I have to wonder about the strikezone of the umpire last night. It's very possible that both pitchers had off nights, but it's also possible the strikezone was rather small for both pitchers to work with. Harang has definitely shown that last year was not a fluke, and that he's a quality 3rd/4th starter for your fantasy team.

Barry Bonds - 1/3, 2 run HR (17). Bonds continues to roll after a horrible May, and he's pushed his AVG up to .305. #751 as Bonds gets closer to Hammerin' Hank.

Brandon Phillips - 2/4, 3 R, 4 RBI, GS (16). He continues his outstanding season as he cements himself among the elite 2B in fantasy baseball. It appears he's here to stay as a .270'ish hitter, but with the 30/30 potential and run producing ability, nobody will complain.

Roy Oswalt - 7 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 K. More of the same medocrity from Oswalt, and his owners have to be frustrated at this point. The thing to take from this start is the fact he didn't walk anyone. His main problem this year is that he's already walked 43 hitters as opposed to season totals of 48 and 38 the past two years. The rest of his stats are in line with previous seasons, so if he can get past the command problems, he'll likely go back to the pitcher he's been the past several years.

Hunter Pence - 3/6, solo HR (10). Everyone who used their waiver priority on him is looking like a genius right now. He, Braun, and Hart are having an outstanding ROY competition.

Shane Victorino - 3/5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB (27). Davey Lopes has done an outstanding job turning Victorino into one of the best base stealers in baseball. After only 4/7 SB in 415 AB last year, Victorino is 27/29 on the basepaths so far this year in only 319 AB. It just goes to show that it takes way more than speed to be an effective baserunner.

Chris B. Young - 1/5, 2 R, solo HR (12). Young was moved back to the leadoff spot last night by Arizona, and I really hope he stays there. He has a miserable .238 AVG, but he's hitting .315 in 108 AB as the leadoff hitter, so it appears that he's very comfortable there. They've hit him all over the lineup, and he's definitely performed the best there. With the way Byrnes is hitting, he should be left in an RBI spot and let Young leadoff.

Billy Butler - 3/6, 4 R, 6 RBI, HR (2). Butler is one of the best hitting prospects in baseball, but after a miserable first stint with the club earlier this year, they called him back up after Sweeney went down and he'll be the fulltime DH while Sweeney is on the mend. He's been hitting pretty well since his recall, so he could force his way into the lineup if he continues on like this. He's worth keeping an eye on, or possibly picking up and using temporarily while he's hot.

Javier Vazquez - 9 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K. Vazquez is on quite a roll, giving up exactly 1 ER in his last 3 starts. He's always had the stuff to do this, but the mental aspect of his game has held him back every year. Before we get too excited, we have to realize that he has a long history of toying with us by putting together some great starts, only to start getting blown up again. Don Cooper successfully transformed Contreras into an ace during the White Sox 2005 WS season, but an injury in 2006 halted his run as a great pitcher. Perhaps he's been able to do something similar with Vazquez, but history says this won't last for long. I doubt you can sell high on him, so I wouldn't really bother. Just enjoy the hot streak, and hold out some slim hope that Cooper has worked some magic here.

Jim Thome - 1/3, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR (12). Nothing much to note here, other than the fact it was nice to see him turn on a high mid-90s Cabrera fastball and deposit it into the left-center field bleachers. Given he's 36 years old, reaction time starts to slow, so it's nice to see him still be able to get to an elite fastball and drive it. I've always loved watching this guy hit, and I'll thoroughly enjoy his quest to 500 in a White Sox uniform since we weren't able to see Frank Thomas get it here.

Ervin Santana - 5 1/3 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 11 K. The 11 Ks are great, but the evil road Santana strikes again. I mentioned that Scoscia thought he might be hurting after his last start, but the 11 Ks here prove otherwise. I'd feel safe using him during his home starts again.

Howie Kendrick - 2/3, 2 RBI. When I drafted him in both leagues this year, I was hoping that he'd get off to a hot start and get moved up in the lineup where he could help us fantasy owners a bit more. Unfortunately, Figgins, Cabrera, and Willits are all hitting extremely well, and there's no hope of that happening.

Joe Blanton - 9 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. 7 straight quality starts, 5 of those including 1 ER or less. Blanton is right up there with Zambrano and Matsuzaka as being the hottest fantasy pitchers going right now, albeit with a few less Ks. He's been quite a waiver wire find, and I'm thoroughly amused that I tossed him in with Soriano to get Beltran earlier this year.

Greg Maddux - 6 1/3 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 0 BB, 5 K. He just wasn't on his game last night. He had 7 straight 3 ER or less outings in a row prior to this, so he's been pitching very well recently.

Kevin Gregg - 1 IP, 3 K, SV (16). A fantasy owners favorite kind of save. He's been struggling a bit of late, so it was nice to see him rebound like this. Hopefully he'll string together some scoreless outings now.

Hanley Ramirez - 1/1, 2 run HR (12). He left the previous game early with a hamstring problem, but he pinch-hit last night and delivered a pinch-hit 2 run HR that helped lead Florida to a win. I dunno if we'll see him out there at SS today, but it's obvious the injury isn't too serious.