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| Juan Uribe injured his leg on Thursday night and had to be removed from the game in the sixth inning, according to the Chicago Tribune. |
Our View: Uribe tried to beat out a groundball but had to pull up and run "gingerly" according to the report. Alexei Ramirez replaced Uribe and would likely do so moving forward if the injury is serious.
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| Zach McAllister had a dominant performance for Low-A Charleston on Thursday, allowing only seven hits in seven scoreless innings. He struck out 11 batters. |
Our View: McAllister, a third-round pick in 2006, struggled last season. However, he has put those struggles behind him this season with a 5-2 record, 2.20 ERA and an outstanding groundball rate. He is starting to become a noticeable prospect.
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| Jamie Richmond allowed only one hit in eight innings on Thursday for his fourth win of the season for Low-A Kane County. He walked one and struck out eight. |
Our View: Richmond is the type of pitcher that breezes through the low minors, as he has plus command. His ERA currently stands at 3.07, and he has five walks in 44 innings. The former 31st round draft choice was acquired along with Joey Devine in the off-season from Atlanta for Mark Kotsay, and he has a long way to go in order to prove that his fringe stuff will be playable in the majors.
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| Chris Tillman was terrific for Double-A Bowie on Thursday, throwing six scoreless innings for his fourth win. He allowed three hits, two walks and struck out nine. |
Our View: The 20-year-old continues to impress, as he is dominating Double-A hitters. His ERA is down to 2.41 with more than a strikeout per inning through eight starts. His control is still an issue, but Tillman has incredible upside.
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| David Huff threw a complete game shutout for Double-A Akron on Thursday, allowing only three hits and one walk while fanning two. |
Our View: Huff was a supplemental first-round pick in 2006, and he has not had any problems as a pro. This season he is 3-1 with a 2.14 ERA and 43/11 K/BB ratio in 46.1 innings. The Indians have several options ahead of him, but Huff could find himself in the majors by next season.
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| Liriano had his third straight solid minor league start on Thursday, allowing three runs on seven hits in eight innings. He walked one and struck out four.
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Our View: The results have been good, but Liriano’s strikeout rate and velocity is not what it was before he had Tommy John surgery. The Twins have no reason to rush him back, especially with the way Glen Perkins has pitched for the team recently.
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| Hank Blalock was scratched from a scheduled start in Double_A on Thursday night after his injured hamstring tightened up during warmups, according to the Dallas Morning News. |
Our View: The report was very critical of the Rangers for rushing Blalock back to the field and predicted that he likely wouldn't be back in the Rangers lineup until June 1st. Whether or not the report is accurate, Blalock did suffer a setback which puts his return next week in doubt.
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| Derek Jeter continued his strange season with two hits and an RBI on Thursday for the Yankees. |
Our View: Jeter is hitting a solid .302, but he has just one home run and not a single stolen base through 36 games, a shocking revelation for the HOF bound Jeter. Based on his track record, you have to think that a run of SB and HR will be coming shortly.
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| Shawn Riggans hit his third home run of the season on Thursday as he scored two runs, had two RBI and produced two hits for the Rays. |
Our View: Riggans continues to split time with Dioner Navarro, and with tonight's effort he is hitting .250 in 48 AB. He doesn't figure to overtake Navarro but he has been a serviceable second catcher in AL Only leagues.
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| Akinori Iwamura lost his 11-game hitting steak last game out, but he started a new streak on Thursday as he went 2-for-3 with his third home run of the season. |
Our View: Iwamura hasn't really lived up to expectations so far this year but his bat has come alive of late making him someone to consider playing in a middle infield slot.
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| Scott Kazmir held the Yankees without a run over six innings to improve his record to 2-1 thanks to only three hits and three walks allowed. |
Our View: Kazmir only had three K on the day, but it's quibbling to complain about that. Through 16 innings Kazmir owns a 1.69 ERA and seems intent on making us forget that he missed the first month of the season.
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| Ian Kennedy returned to the Yankees rotation but the results were eerily similar to his work prior to being demoted as he fell to 0-3 on the year. Kennedy allowed five runs to the Rays in five innings thanks in large part to two home runs. |
Our View: Kennedy only walked on batter, an encouraging development, but overall this outing would have to be viewed as a disappointment given his work in the minors.
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| Ryan Garko owners are desperately hoping the right-handed slugger can feed off his Wednesday night home run. The Indians' first baseman hasn't hit into much luck this season and at times has looked frustrated, even lost, at the plate. |
Our View: Considering that Garko has only 17 strikeouts in 124 at bats -- and has walked 15 times -- his minor league peripherals would suggest his batting average should be much better than the current .234. Garko was 1-for-4 in Thursday's game against the A's with one RBI. Expect his boxscore lines to improve as the May turns to June.
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| Jose Arredondo made his major league debut on Wednesday night - and didn't carry his Triple-A success to the next level. The right-hander pitched the ninth inning of a game where the Angels were down 5-1 - but ended at 6-1 after Arrendondo allowed a solo home run to the slumping Nick Swisher. |
Our View: Before getting the major league phone call, Arredondo had allowed 12 hits and four runs in 17 innings of Triple-A work. The hard throwing righty also recorded 10 saves, struck out 15 and posted a palatable 2.12 ERA. His numbers are almost a mirror image of his 2007 campaign when he climbed from the Rookie League - through four levels - to Triple-A. Owners in deep AL-only leagues are advised to follow his bullpen work this year.
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| Jose Contreras, who held the Angels to one run on four hits on Wednesday night, earned a quality start. The White Sox right-hander walked and struck out three in seven innings and now has four quality starts in eight appearances this season. |
Our View: In reality, all of Contreras starts were close to being qualifying efforts, and his peripherals this year far exceed his career splits. He has one complete game, a 3.35 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. Only his K Rate (4.70) lacks top-tier status.
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| Boof Bonser was slow to warm on Wednesday night. For those who watched the game it was obvious that the right-hander was overthrowing, and losing break on his dynamite curve ball. Bonser allowed four of his five runs in the first inning on a Matt Stairs grand slam, but finished strong, walking three and striking out three in six innings of work. |
Our View: For the year, batters are hitting .359 in Bonser's first 30 pitches and .219 after that point. Get the Boof out of the first two innings, and he's tough to beat.
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| There seems to be some concern with Ichiro Suzuki's current form. The veteran went hitless for the second straight game on Wednesday, taking a 0-for-6 bagel. |
Our View: Note, however, that he lost 16 points of average in the last two games -- which tells us that May averages are still volatile. His peripherals are not any different than a year ago, and the Mariners outfielder started slow in '07 as well.
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| Roger Clemens remains undecided about his retirement according to the words of Astros CEO Drayton McLane, according to MLB.com. "I think if he was ready to retire, and that was clear, he would have already said that to us. But that has not happened." |
Our View: Give us a break, you've already disgraced the sport Roger, so just go away. We all know you aren't going to pitch again, so tell the Astros to keep your name out of the press so we can all move on. We feel better now that we've vented.
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| Ben Broussard cleared waivers and should find himself with another team within the next couple of days, according to the Star Telgram. |
Our View: Broussard's new club will only have to pay a prorated portion of his salary while the Rangers will have to pick up the vast majority of it for a player that hit .159 with three home runs for them this year.
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| Bartolo Colon worked six fantastic innings for the Pawtucket Sox on Thursday, according to MLB.com. Colon held the Buffalo Bisons to just one hit while throwing a fastball that reached 95 mph as he needed just 64 pitches to complete the six innings. |
Our View: It's not clear if the Sox will leave Colon in the minors to build up some more arm strength, but they could call him up to fill the #5 spot in the rotation to make two starts next week. Stay tuned.
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| Magglio Ordonez hit two doubles on Thursday to up his average to .310 on the year for the Tigers. Ordonez also knocked in his 26th run of the season. |
Our View: Even though the Tigers can't beat anybody right now, Ordonez continues to produce runs from the middle of the Tigers lineup on almost a nightly basis. He won't hit .363 again, but a .300-25-100 season sure seems possible.
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| Matt Joyce continued his hot hitting in the early going by hitting his third home run in his eighth major league game for the Tigers. |
Our View: Joyce also knocked in three on the day and is hitting .292 marking him as a great AL Only play. The Tigers are running him out there every day and he has rewarded their faith in him by far outproducing the production they were getting from Jacques Jones.
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| Jose Guillen continued his hot hitting of late with two hits, including his fourth home run of the year, and three RBI for the Royals on Thursday afternoon. |
Our View: Guillem has now amassed two hits in four of his last five games and hits in each of his last seven games to raise his average from .165 to .224. You didn't really think he would stay down forever did you?
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| Gil Meche had his third strong start in his last four outings as he held the Tigers to three runs over seven innings. Meche allowed six hits and two walks while striking out six. |
Our View: Meche has been a major disappointment thus far, but don't forget about him in mixed leagues as there is still plenty of talent left in that right arm of his.
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| Kenny Rogers allowed 11 hits, three walks and seven runs over four innings to fall to 3-4 for the Tigers. |
Our View: Rogers may have stuck around one season too long as he has basically been only slightly better than a batting practice pitcher on most days. Only the desperate have Rogers rostered.
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| Alex Rodriguez (quadriceps) will return to action on Saturday to play the first of three scheduled games in extended spring training, according to the Associated Press. “We have one more day tomorrow to see how my body is going to react,” Rodriguez said. “Saturday, Sunday, Monday, play, and then hopefully tee it up Tuesday.” |
Our View: The Yankees have sorely missed the big fella, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of fantasy gamers who selected him first overall. Once active, get Arod back in your lineup immediately.
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| Justin Morneau had two hits and an RBI on Thursday to give him 32 RBI and a .302 batting average. |
Our View: Morneau is batting .365 in May bring his value back in line where a former league MVP's should be. Overlooked in many drafts this year because of the plethora of power hitters ahead of him, Morneau may turn out to be a steal.
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| Alex Rios continues to struggle at the plate as he went 1-for-5 on Thursday though he did knock in his 16th RBI of the season. |
Our View: Rios is now down to .255 thanks to a stretch of 12-for-67 (.179) in May. At this point you may want to give him a few games on your bench until he figures out what ails him since he is a huge drain on an offense at this point.
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| Glen Perkins had his second straight quality start allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over six innings against the Blue Jays. |
Our View: Perkins is holding a rotation spot until Francisco Liriano and Scott Baker are healthy, but if he keeps pitching like this, maybe he will hang on for a while. Perkins is still a bit of a risk in mixed leagues though, so tread with caution.
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| Dustin McGowan rebounded somewhat from his horrific last start holding the Twins to just two runs in five innings. However, he walked five batters. |
Our View: McGowan has had a bumpy ride on the road to fantasy dominance this season thanks to a high walk rate and a k/9 that about a full batter less. He has still been serviceable and figures to improve when he dials his control up.
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| B.J. Ryan hurled a shutout 11th inning to pick up his seventh save of the season for the Jays. |
Our View: Ryan has 14 K in his 12 innings on the mound and he has still not allowed a run to cross home plate. The time has long passed when you could get Ryan on the cheap, and he appears ready to reassume his spot amongst the top-10 closers in baseball.
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| Joey Devine picked up four outs on Thursday, three via the strikeout, to lower his ERA to 0.55 on the year. |
Our View: Devine now has 20 K and just three BB on the year. Combined with Santiago Casilla's 0.93 ERA over 19.1 innings, and the A's have two excellent setup men in front of Huston Street.
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| Rafael Betancourt just isn't getting it done right now, he has allowed runs in five of his last seven appearances after allowing another run on Thursday. |
Our View: Masa Kobayashi picked up his second save in as many appearances on Thursday for the Tribe and is certainly is worth a pickup in AL Only leagues, and he may have worked his way into mixed league consideration as well. As for Betancourt, keep an eye on his role, it might be changing.
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| Masa Kobayashi picked up his second save in as many appearances on Thursday for the Tribe. |
Our View: Rafael Bentancourt just isn't getting it done right now, he has allowed runs in five of his last seven appearances, and the team has given Kobayashi a shot to fill the role he used to in Japan. Kobayahsi is certainly is worth a pickup in AL Only leagues, and he may have worked his way into mixed league consideration as well.
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| Jason Bay had a pinch-hit, 3-run home run for the Pirates on Thursday, his eighth home run of the season. |
Our View: Bay has and OBP just under .400, and those eight home runs, but he has a horrific 17 RBI though 40 games thanks to a sub .200 average with RISP. Look for that number, and his RBI total, to improve as the season progresses.
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| Jhonny Peralta went 2-for-3 with one RBI and hit his seventh homer of the season in Thursday's 4-2 win over Oakland. He drew one walk and scored three runs as well. |
Our View: That was only his fourth RBI over 13 games in May. That was his first homer in his last nine games as well, and is still only batting .221 for the season.
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| Aaron Laffey evened his record to 2-2 in today's 4-2 win over the Athletics. Laffey was in control on the mound as he only allowed one run on five hits over seven innings, with one walk and six strikeouts. Laffey lowered his ERA to 1.35 with today's strong effort as well. |
Our View: Laffey has only allowed one earned run over his last three starts (21 innings), with only four walks over that span as well.
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| Frank Thomas went 2-for-3 in Thursday's 4-2 loss to Cleveland. He also drew one walk. |
Our View: That was his fourth multi-hit game in May, and he has seven RBI over 13 games in the month so far as well.
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| Kei Igawa has been sent down to Triple-A, according to CBSsports.com. Ian Kennedy was recalled to make a start tonight, and saw Igawa as being expendable to free up a roster spot. |
Our View: Igawa surrendered six runs and 11 hits over a mere three innings of work this season, with no strikeouts. He held no fantasy value prior to his demotion.
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| Ian Kennedy has been called up from Triple-A to start on Thursday against the Rays, according to CBSsports.com. |
Our View: Kennedy is a future star, but is still behind the curve as he held a 8.37 ERA and a terrible 2.03 WHIP over 23.2 innings (five starts) prior to getting sent down. He should remain on your bench in his first start back in the rotation, especially while dueling with opposing hurler Scott Kazmir.
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| Santiago Casilla has sustained an apparent arm injury during action with Cleveland today, according to the AP. He threw just one pitch, after which he began shaking his arm and motioning that he did not want to continue. |
Our View: We will keep you posted on his status.
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| Alex Rodriguez is expected to run the bases at Tropicana Field before today's game, in what could likely be the final test before playing in rehab games, according to Newsday. A-Rod has been on the DL since April 30 due to a strained right quad. Manager Joe Girardi said, "The plan is to have him work out in front of us. I want to see it with my two eyeballs. You have to see where he's not favoring or he's not slower. I want to see him run at full speed."
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Our View: The biggest concern is whether Rodriguez will have the quick burst of speed on the first two steps without reinjuring the quadriceps.
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| Craig Monroe got the start in center field today, as Carlos Gomez has been scratched due to the flu, according to MLB.com. Jason Kubel is serving as the DH. |
Our View: Monroe is playing favorably this season, as he holds a .270 average over 24 games, with four homers and 15 RBI. He doesn't have any stolen bases, and the team will miss Gomez's speed on the basepaths today, but they will still be in good hands with Monroe taking his place.
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| Carlos Gomez has been scratched for Thursday due to the flu, according to the AP. |
Our View: He told the team he could play through the illness, and could still be used as a late game sub, for running or fielding purposes. It sounds like he will be fine and this isn't due to his recently strained left calf.
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| Scott Baker's bullpen session was successful, and he will leave Friday for Fort Myers, Florida, where he’ll throw two bullpen sessions and likely pitch in an extended spring training game next Thursday, according to the Star Tribune. He is recovering from a strained right groin. |
Our View: He could return to Minnesota in early June, barring a setback.
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| Reds' GM Walt Jocketty commented on the trade rumors involving Ken Griffey Jr., according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Jocketty said, "I've had no trade discussions. I've talked with him. Not knowing Junior that well, I wanted to make sure we had a line of communication open. He assured me that he'd like to play here and hopefully win a championship."
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Our View: Part of this rumor is due to outfielder Jay Bruce lighting it up in Triple-A, as he is hitting .611 over his last 10 games. The Reds don't have a spot on their roster for prized prospect Bruce, but trading Griffey would ease that problem.
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| Travis Hafner is expected to play first base this weekend when their inter-league season starts against the Reds, if he's healthy enough, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Hafner has a chronically sore right elbow that has acted up in the past when he's tried to play first base. He's also been frequently icing his right shoulder. Manager Eric Wedge said, "We want to try and have him in there as much as we can. If we have him in there, you're going to have to take Ryan Garko or someone else out. We're going to see how he feels physically. He's been taking ground balls and throwing a little bit."
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Our View: Hafner said he is ready to play and is feeling good. Hafner is still only hitting .216 over 37 games, with three homers and 18 RBI, but could potentially break out of his slump and generate solid numbers at hitter friendly Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.
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| Hank Blalock went through a rigorous fielding workout and will join Double-A Frisco tonight to begin a rehab assignment, according to the Dallas Morning News. Blalock has been on the shelf since April 26 with a partially torn left hamstring, an injury that was originally believed to keep him out three to six weeks.
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Our View: The Rangers will evaluate Blalock on Friday, but have not ruled out the possibility he could return to the diamond this weekend against Houston.
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| Luis Mendoza was forced out of his rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma after one inning with the onset of a blister on his pitching hand, according to the Dallas Morning News. |
Our View: Mendoza is needed back to a battered Rangers' rotation, which recently lost Kevin Millwood due to a groin ailment. Mendoza was lit up for 10 runs on 18 hits over a mere 9.2 innings of work this season however, and shouldn't be considered for your fantasy rotation.
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| Mark Ellis sat out his second straight game on Wednesday, according to the SF Chronicle. He has been hindered by a strained left hamstring, and expects to sit out Thursday's game against Cleveland as well. |
Our View: Ellis still hopes to return this weekend against Atlanta. He has five stolen bases, eight doubles, and two triples, but may take it easy a bit when he returns. Adjust your lineups accordingly.
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| Josh Newman has been recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs, according to the Sports Network. Ryan Speier has been placed on the 15-day DL because of a right shoulder contusion.
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Our View: The lefty reliever appeared in four games for the Rockies from April 25 through May 3, and held a 3.86 ERA over 4.2 innings, with three walks, eight hits, and two earned runs allowed. He does not merit fantasy consideration.
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