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| Lance Berkman had two more hits on Thursday night as he continues to hit the ball like few players in recent memory with a run of 23 hits in 48 AB good for a .479 average. |
Our View: Berkman is now hitting .368 with an amazing 36 runs in 34 games as he continues to be one of the five most valuable hitters in the fantasy game over the first fifth of the season.
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| Miguel Tejada had another two hits, along with two runs scored, as he continues to thrive in the third hole in the Astros order where he is batting .359 in 78 AB. |
Our View: Tejada continues to drive the ball and there is every reason to believe last season's down turn in production was merely one of those seasons that most players have at some point. Miggy is back.
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| Michael Bourn stole two bases on Thursday night to give him 15 on the year, though these were his first steals in 11 games as he has been dealing with a strained groin. |
Our View: Bourn is under the Mendoza line at .197, and sooner or later the team is going to realize that having a leadoff hitter with a .275 OBP probably isn't a good idea. Bourn figures to remain in the lineup, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see him dropped to 7th or 8th in the order.
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| John Lannan evened his record at 3-3 by limiting the Astros to one run over six innings. Lannan allowed seven hits and a walk on the evening. |
Our View: Lannan has been a pleasant surprise for the Nats with a 3.40 ERA through eight starts. His K/BB ratio is a poor 1.59, so unless he has more nights like this one where he keep his walks under control, that ERA will shoot up most likely into the high four's or low five's.
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| With Prince Fielder getting the day off, Ryan Braun went 0-for-5 while leaving five runners on base for the Brew Crew. |
Our View: Braun's OBP has now dipped into the .280s, and he just hasn't been able to find his groove as he continues to strike out far too frequently. He will rebound, but don't count on him hitting in the .320s again unless a whole lot changes.
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| Mark Hendrickson needed 109 pitches to get just 13 outs Thursday night, but he allowed only one run to keep his team in the game, though he wasn't involved in the decision. |
Our View: Hendrickson still has great ratios with a 3.56 ERA and 1.25 WHIP, but he is striking out fewer than four batters per nine innings and allowing almost a hit an inning. Don't count on this level of production to continue.
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| Carlos Villanueva lasted five innings on Thursday night, but it was a brutal five innings as he issued two walks, allowed 10 hits and was beaten for seven runs to fall to 1-4 on the year. |
Our View: Boy are the Brewers going to miss Yovani Gallardo. If Villanueva keeps struggling, the team might call up Jeff Weaver, who has looked pretty good in the minors.
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| Matt Treanor hit his first home run of the season on his way to a career-high three RBI on the night. |
Our View: Treanor has two hits in 3-straight games and is really giving the Marlins some production from behind the plate. With Mike Rabelo struggling, Treanor should be in line for a few more starts.
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| Four teams showed interest in trading for Derrick Turnbow, but when nothing could be worked out so the team decided to place him on irrevocable waivers with the hope of sending him to the minors, according to MLB.com. "If a team comes to me and says, 'I have interest in Turnbow, but I can't take any money on my payroll,' they're asking me to eat his contract and they'll give me a marginal prospect," GM Doug Melvin said. "My response is that if I have to eat his money, I want a prospect in return who is worth at least $1 million. That's why a lot of these guys don't get claimed." |
Our View: Turnbow still throws heat, the problem is he just doesn't know where it's going right now with 13 BB in 6.1 innings. You can certainly forget about him for now.
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| Carlos Beltran is battling the flu and opposing pitchers as he is hitting under .220, but the team believes things will change for the better soon, according to MLB.com. "If your timing is off, you could have the greatest swing in the world, but you're not going to be consistent," hitting coach Howard Johnson said. "That's kind of where he's at." |
Our View: Beltran has only a couple of long balls in 32 games, one of his worst power droughts of his career. Still, he has 25 BB and 26 K, so he has maintained his ability to work the count despite the poor numbers. He is too good to be this bad, so you might want to explore trading for him.
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| Despite a batting average under .200, Rickie Weeks will continue to remain the Brewers leadoff hitter, according to MLB.com. "We don't have a ton of leadoff-type guys, but we do have some guys with on-base percentages at .360 or better," manager Ned Yost said. "You could move some of those guys up to the top of the lineup. We're not there yet." |
Our View: Weeks is sporting a .320 OBP which isn't too bad considering his poor average, and he has scored 29 runs in 33 games. Perhaps the team might consider Corey Hart in the spot, but Weeks is really better suited to the leadoff role if he can just pick up his hitting a bit.
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| Yadier Molina had two hits and an RBI as he continues to ride right along with a .302 batting average. |
Our View: Molina doesn't offer much power or any ability to score runs, but he really appears to have turned the corner in the batting average category marking him as a useful play in NL Only leagues.
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| Ryan Ludwick blasted two solo home runs on Thursday to push his average up to .363. He is nine for his last 13. |
Our View: Ludwick continues to lose some playing time against right-handed pitching but he is hitting over .360 proving he can handle all pitchers. Look for his numbers to regress, but that doesn't mean you should turn away from him in mixed leagues where he will continue to have value.
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| Omar Quintanilla had three hits and two runs for the Rockies batting in the hole while playing second base for the Rockies. |
Our View: With Clint Barmes playing short with the injury to Troy Tulowitzki, the team has been running Quintanilla out there at second base and he is now 10-for-25 since being called up (.400). He has no power, and little speed, but he still would make a great pickup in an NL Only leagues given his recent run of success.
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| Kyle Lohse had a second straight horrid outing as he lasted just four innings giving up eight hits, five walks and seven runs to the Rockies to pick up the loss. |
Our View: Lohse has now allowed 17 runs in his last 10 innings or almost double the nine he allowed in his first 34.1 innings. So much for that breakout season in St. Louis.
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| Jorge De La Rosa evened his record at 1-1 thanks to 5.2 innings of five hit, two run ball in his second start since joining the Rockies. |
Our View: De La Rosa now has nine K and four BB in 9.2 innings with the Rockies with a marked turnaround today after getting bombed last time out (nine runs in four IP). The Rockies are still searching for help in the rotation, but this was a fine outing for De La Rosa who is trying to show the Rockies that he deserves the starting role.
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| With all the injuries to the team's catchers, outfielder Elijah Dukes will be recalled to active duty on Friday, according to the Washington Post. |
Our View: Dukes, on a rehab assignment because of a strained right hamstring, was 5-for-21 (.238) at Triple-A and will bring his potent bat to the Nationals lineup. Given the early struggles of Wily Mo Pena and Austin Kearns, Dukes could end up picking up quite a few AB.
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| Johnny Estrada will be placed on the DL on Friday with ulnar neuritis in his throwing elbow, according to the Washington Post. "I'm done trying to just battle through," Estrada said. "I've got to look out for what's best for me and my career." |
Our View: Jesus Flores will be recalled from Triple-A to take Estrada's roster spot and he will back up Wil Nieves.
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| Paul Lo Duca will be placed on the DL on Friday with a broken bone in his right hand, according to the Washington Post. |
Our View: Johnny Estrada will also be placed on the DL meaning that Wil Nieves will be the team's starting moving forward, perhaps the best thing for the squad given that he has been the best hitter of the trio this year.
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| Just a day after saying that he wouldn't be placed on the DL, David Eckstein was placed on the DL on Thursday with a strained hip flexor, according to the Associated Press. |
Our View: Are we the only ones who don't trust the Jays at all when it comes to coming clean about injuries? Deplorable that they feel honestly isn't warranted. Marco Scutaro will continue to start at short stop with Jorge Velandia and Joe Inglett to back him up.
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| Former Indians outfielder Jason Michaels was traded to the Pirates on Thursday for a minor league player to be named later, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Is this move a precursor to a trade of Jason Bay or Xavier Nady? Michaels could never in three seasons replace either of those players production, but he is a nice depth addition for the club and had no role to play in Cleveland when the team recalled Ben Francisco.
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| Doug Davis had a CT scan on Thursday that showed the his thyroid cancer has not spread and that his surgery was a success, according to MLB.com. "The cancer did not spread and it will not spread from here on out," Davis said. |
Our View: Apparently Davis also hasn't been effected by the lethargy that often hits cancer patients who take the medicine he is on. At this point, it appears that Davis is well on his way to returning to the D'backs rotation in a matter of weeks.
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| In our daily look at the plight of Ryan Howard, today was a good day as he went 1-for-4 with an RBI and only one K. |
Our View: Pretty awful when this qualifies as a good day isn't it?
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| Eric Byrnes went 0-for-5 on Thursday to drop his average to .232 thanks to a hideous run of 5-for-45 (.111). |
Our View: On April 19th he was hitting .314, meaning he has lost .082 points off his batting average in just 16 games. He also has just one RBI over his last 13 games, so do yourself a favor and bench him until he turns things around.
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| Eric Bruntlett stole his third base of the season on Thursday in addition to putting up two hits, a run and an RBI. |
Our View: Jimmy Rollins is just days away from returning to the lineup at which point Bruntlett will be rendered a bench play in NL Only leagues.
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| Mark Reynolds had three hits on Thursday and he stole his fourth base for the D'backs. |
Our View: Reynolds really needed a big day like this at the plate as his average has hit the skids the past week. Despite the obvious power production, Reynolds has also stolen four bases which is a great bonus.
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| Brett Myers needed 101 pitches to get through five innings on Friday as he fell to 2-3 with a loss to the D'backs. Myers allowed seven runs, six earned, on nine hits and three walks. |
Our View: Myers has now allowed 18 runs in his last 24 innings and he really seems to be falling apart. He is still striking out a lot of batters despite losing some speed off his fastball, but the real culprit has been the long ball as he has allowed an astonishing 13 HR through nine starts.
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| Brandon Webb improved to 8-0 with his 13th career complete game against the Phillies. Webb, who became the first NL pitcher to win his first eight starts since Pedro Martinez in 1997, allowed two earned runs with no walks in nine innings. |
Our View: How good is this guy? Others get more publicity, but few can match the sustained level of dominance that Webb has shown the past three plus years. Continue to ride this horse.
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| Adrian Gonzalez pushed his average up to .307 on Thursday thanks to three hits in five at bats. |
Our View: Gonzalez, who is now working on a 9-game hitting streak, is on almost the same pace that he was on last year when he hit .282-30-100. Gonzalez isn't a top option at first base, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't fit nicely on that second level of talented game-breaking hitters at the position.
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| Yunel Escobar had two hits and scored three runs for the Braves on Thursday. |
Our View: Escobar is hitting .333 and now owns a .325 batting average in 436 career AB marking him as a terrific middle infield option in mixed leagues.
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| Wilfredo Ledezma made his first start of the season on Thursday and he lasted four innings while giving up one run that was unearned. He allowed two hits and three walks in the game. |
Our View: While Ledezma hasn't been officially named the team's fifth starter, this effort will go a long way to making that a possibility. Ledezma has posted a 1.61 ERA in 22.1 IP this year for the Padres with 21 K.
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| Heath Bell was credited with a blown save on Thursday by allowing a runner put on base by Cla Meredith to score. Still, Bell allowed no earned runs to score and lowered his ERA to 2.29. |
Our View: Bell hasn't come anywhere near close to matching his K/9 total of last year (9.80) with a 5.78 mark this year, but he has still been successful this year and has in fact pitched much better than the team's closer, Trevor Hoffman.
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| Freddy Sanchez went 3-for-5 with two runs scored in Thursday's 5-4 win over the Giants. |
Our View: He has scored seven runs over seven games in May, and the Pirates are 4-3 over the span.
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| Steve Holm went 1-for-4 and collected his first two RBI of the season on Thursday in a 5-4 loss to Pittsburgh. His hit was good for a double. |
Our View: Holm has proven to be a solid backup this season, as he is hitting .309 (13-for-42) over 17 games. He holds no fantasy value.
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| Matt Cain surrendered five runs on nine hits over 6.1 innings in Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Pirates. Cain did have five strikeouts, with only one walk. He falls to 1-3 for the season, with a 4.50 ERA. |
Our View: Cain was pitching well this season, as he held a good 1.24 WHIP heading into today's game. He only allowed two runs on three hits over seven innings in his previous start (against the Phillies) as well. Additionally, he has only allowed three earned runs over his previous three starts before today's loss. He should bounce back fine.
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| Casey Blake went 1-for-3 and collected two RBI in Thursday's 6-3 loss to the Yankees. His hit was good for a double, his eighth of the season. |
Our View: Blake, along with several other members of the Tribe, is still struggling at the plate, as he was only hitting .192 coming into today's game.
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| Jimmy Rollins will join the team in San Francisco on Friday at AT&T Park, according to the Philadelphia Enquirer. |
Our View: The Phillies said Rollins' arrival in San Francisco does not guarantee he will be activated before tomorrow night's game. Scott Sheridan will test Rollins' ankle first before he is activated. We will update his status, and hopefully the team will give him the green light to return to action.
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| Buddy Carlyle was forced out of action against San Diego due to an apparent head injury, according to the AP. Pitching in his second inning of relief, Carlyle fielded a bunt along the first base line from Kevin Kouzmanoff, and made the tag as the third baseman collided with him, sending both players to the ground.
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Our View: Carlyle walked off the field with the help of trainers and was replaced by Jorge Campillo. The Braves' pitching staff is seeminly cursed this season, as Carlyle was already filling in for starter Jo-Jo Reyes when he was forced to exit early due to an apparent finger blister.
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| Manager Clint Hurdle has decided to go with Chris Iannetta over Yorvit Torrealba as the starting catcher today, according to the Denver Post. Torrealba was told he would start today, but Hurdle changed his mind. Iannetta is now making his fifth straight start. |
Our View: Torrealba only has one hit over his last 11 at-bats, and Iannetta is batting .450 (9-for-20) over his last six games. He has hit a homer in three of his last eight games as well. The Rockies are going to ride him while he's hot, and you should do the same if you have him on your roster. His fantasy stock should continue to rise.
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| Manny Acosta had his third save taken away when an official scorer realized he mistakenly awarded one in the previous night following the Braves' 5-2 win over the Padres, according to the AP. Acosta entered the game with a 5-2 lead after Will Ohman got the first out of the ninth inning. Acosta retired Callix Crabbe and Khalil Greene to end the game. Braves official scorer Jack Wilkinson awarded Acosta his third save, and the save was included on the boxscore and postgame report.
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Our View: The save was removed following a review by the commissioner’s office and the Elias Sports Bureau, baseball’s statistician. To qualify for the save, Acosta would have had to start the inning with a three-run lead or enter the game with the potential tying run on base, at the plate or on deck.
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| Jo-Jo Reyes was forced out of action in the third inning today, due to an apparent blister on his throwing hand, according to the AP. |
Our View: He was replaced on the hill by Buddy Carlyle. We will keep you posted when more details are released regarding his injury.
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| Matt Diaz started his second consecutive game against the Padres on Thursday and will likely be in the Braves' lineup at least five times in the next seven days, according to MLB.com. That does not mean the team is going to abandon Gregor Blanco in his left field platoon role. The team is heading into a stretch where almost all they will see are left-handed starters, giving the right-handed-hitting Diaz plenty of playing time after a couple of weeks where he hardly started at all. |
Our View: The team is likely to face seven lefty starters over a nine-game span. Diaz is hitting .297 with two homers and 14 RBI over 101 at-bats, and this would be a good stretch to pencil him into your lineups if you have him on your roster.
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| The Giants are hopeful that Omar Vizquel can return some time this weekend, according to MLB.com. The 41-year-old shortstop played his fourth game in a Minor League injury rehab stint on Wednesday, while going 2-for-4 with a run scored for Class-A San Jose. Manager Bruce Bochy suggested that Vizquel could fill a roster spot vacated by second baseman Ray Durham. Bochy noted that the Giants must decide before they begin a 10-game homestand Friday whether Durham, who's bothered by a tight right hamstring and has been out of the lineup for four consecutive games, will go on the 15-day DL. Vizquel is trying to rebound from left knee surgery.
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Our View: Entering Thursday, Giants shortstops ranked last in the Major League with a .170 batting average, a .189 slugging percentage and two RBIs. Vizquel only hit .246 in 2007, but will be seen as an upgrade when he returns.
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| Conor Jackson is listed as day-to-day following a brutal collision in Wednesday's game against the Phillies, according to the AP. In the eighth inning of action, Shane Victorino took off for first base after he struck out and the ball got past Arizona catcher Chris Snyder. Both players arrived at the base simultaneously, resulting in the collision as Victorino’s helmet caught Jackson on the right side of his face under his eye. Jackson was forced to leave the game but never lost consciousness, and the Diamondbacks do not yet know if he suffered a concussion.
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Our View: Jackson is having a strong season with a .336 average and six homers and 33 RBI over 35 games, with 31 runs scored. He thinks he will be fine following the collision, and just felt a bit nauseated. We will keep you posted on his status.
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| The Padres have purchased the contract of lefty Shawn Estes from Triple-A Portland, according to the AP. The team also placed pitcher Kevin Cameron on the DL. Estes was 4-2 with a 3.67 ERA over six starts for Portland, and Manager Bud Black said, "I think he’s best suited to start, but we’ll see how it plays out."
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Our View: Estes will be used in the bullpen Thursday against Atlanta. He will help shore up the Padres' pen, but isn't worth targeting as a fantasy prospect.
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| Kevin Cameron has been placed on the 15-day DL due to a right elbow sprain, according to the AP. The team also purchased the contract of lefty Shawn Estes from Triple-A Portland. |
Our View: Cameron allowed four runs, 11 hits, and six walks over 11 innings, with five strikeouts, and held no fantasy value prior to his injury.
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| Omar Infante had been activated from the DL, according to the Miami Herald. Backup catcher Brayan Pena has been placed on the 15-day DL due to a mid-back strain. Infante has recovered from a broken left hand. |
Our View: The utility infielder hit .271 over 166 at-bats in 2007, with 17 RBI. He will provide quality depth during his stint with the team, but holds little to no fantasy value.
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| Ray Durham could be headed for the DL, according to CBSsports. He has been slowed by a tight right hamstring, and missed his third straight game on Wednesday. |
Our View: Durham can still run as he has five stolen bases and seven doubles this season, but is 36-years old and was bound to break down at some point. Emmanuel Burriss and Eugenio Velez will platoon at second base if he lands on the DL.
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| Alex Gonzalez is progressing slowly from his compression fracture in his left knee, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Manager Dusty Baker said, "He hit and took some groundballs. He's not moving too good." |
Our View: He may not be able to return this month and Jeff Keppinger will continue to cover his spot at shortstop.
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| Greg Reynolds is expected to get called up from Triple-A and start in the rotation in place of Mark Redman on Sunday, according to the Denver Post. Redman has been demoted to the bullpen due to poor play. |
Our View: The Rockies have been unable to complete a trade for Cincinnati's Josh Fogg or Boston's Julian Tavarez, leaving Reynolds as the most viable option for their unstable rotation. Reynolds was the second overall pick in the 2006 draft, and is 1-2 with a 4.86 ERA in seven starts for the Triple-A Sky Sox this season.
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| Billy Sadler has been recalled from Triple-A Fresno, according to GiantsMLBnewsblog. The team also optioned struggling righty Brad Hennessey to Triple-A. |
Our View: Sadler was 0-0 with a 1.13 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 16 innings at Fresno. He will fight for playing time out of the Giants' bullpen.
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| Manager Tony LaRussa told Albert Pujols that he is going to try and give the first baseman a day off to rest at some point on the Cardinals' eight-day trip, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Pujols reportedly had a limp Tuesday night because his left knee was bruised and swollen after his game-winning slide into home plate Monday night against Colorado. Pujols noted the leg felt better Wednesday. |
Our View: Pujols is batting .346 over 38 games, and impressively holds a .500 on-base percentage. He could use a day off to rest his legs and right elbow, which has a torn ligament.
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| Paul Lo Duca was injured while batting in the seventh inning on Wednesday, according to the Houston Chronicle. He doubled over in agony after a swing and was examined on the field by the team's trainers. He walked around for a few minutes before leaving the field.
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Our View: Washington said Lo Duca had sharp pain in his right hand and would be examined Thursday. We will keep you posted on his status. Johnny Estrada would fill in at catcher if needed.
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| Reliever Stephen Randolph was traded from the Astros to the Phillies on Wednesday in exchange for a player to be named later, according to the Houston Chronicle. He has spent all of this season at Triple-A Round Rock. |
Our View: Randolph was 0-1 with a 1.23 ERA, and registered one save over 11 games in Triple-A this season. He allowed 18 earned runs over 13.1 innings of work with the Astros in 2007.
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| Angel Pagan is bound for an MRI in New York today, after injuring his left shoulder on a great catch in the first inning of yesterday's win over the Dodgers, according to the NY Post. Pagan drove his shoulder into a folding seat after flipping over a concrete wall along the third-base line while catching a pop-up by Andre Ethier. Pagan said, "I was trying to play through it, but it just kept getting worse and worse. I had to stop because it got to be too much."
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Our View: Endy Chavez replaced Pagan in the field. Pagan racked up 13 RBI, 13 runs, and four stolen bases over 31 games, with seven doubles and one triple. The team will miss his speed on the base paths if he is forced to miss time.
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| The Mets are ready to bring Matt Wise back, and like the idea of having a fresh arm for their bullpen, according to MetsBlog. The Mets have seven relief pitchers on the roster, but Manager Willie Randolph said he prefers to have eight relievers on the team, and would play short on the bench (with hitters). |
Our View: Randolph wants Wise, but doesn't want to demote Joe Smith or Nelson Figueroa. Wise's fantasy value will be limited while working out of a crowded Mets' pen.
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| Orlando Hudson's short-term status remains unclear according to the Arizona Republic. He is nursing a hamstring ailment and Manager Bob Melvin said, "We're kind of going day to day here. I think between today and tomorrow, we'll give it a little bit of time, and hopefully before we go to Chicago tonight we'll have an answer. If he can pinch-hit, I won't have a short bench. If it's seven to 10 days and he can't pitch-hit, it's going to be tough. We're still kind of in between."
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Our View: Placing Hudson on the DL remains an option. If he can return in two to four days, the team could use him as a pinch hitter. If he is placed on the DL, Augie Ojeda and Chris Burke would platoon at second base.
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| The Diamondbacks have resumed talks with Brandon Webb on a long-term contract extension, and the sides are getting closer to an agreement, according to the Arizona Republic. Webb said, "Yeah, some progress has been made. We've been talking a little bit more. We've made some headway. We'll see where it goes."
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Our View: Webb is 8-0, with a 2.45 ERA and 1.00 WHIP, and the team is wise to want to lock him up for the long-term right now.
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| Jack Wilson will remain out of the lineup for at least two more weeks with a strained left calf, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Wilson was expected to begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Altoona last weekend, but the injury flared up again at the team's extended spring training camp in Bradenton, Florida. He last played with Pittsburgh on April 3.
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Our View: Wilson is not yet ready to begin that rehab assignment and, when he is ready, his extended time off may require him to play as much as a week in the minors. Wilson is hitting off a tee this week at the extended spring camp but is not playing in any games. Without Wilson, the team's infielders have committed 24 errors.
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| Shane Victorino had only one hit on Wednesday night be he still scored a run, knocked in a run and stole his third base of the season for the Phillies. |
Our View: Since returning to the starting lineup Victorino is 8-for-29 (.276) with six runs scored as he has begun to salvage what had been a terrible slow start to his season.
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