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| Ervin Santana won his eighth game of the season on Monday by silencing the anemic Mariners. He held the AL West foe to six hits and two runs over 7.2 innings. Santana walked one, struck out three, and lowered his ERA to 3.02. |
Our View: It's nice to see Santana bounce back in his recent two outings after hitting a rough patch. He has clearly matured this season, and fantasy owners are enjoying the ride.
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| Jose Lopez went 2-for-4 with a homer and an RBI double on Monday night. Unfortunately, he accounted for all two of the Mariners' runs against the Angels. |
Our View: What's new? Lopez is hitting pretty well out of the No. 2 hole this year, but the Mariners rarely hit well as a team.
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| David Ortiz is expected to miss at least one month due to his left wrist injury. The slugger has a partial tear of the extensor carpi ulnaris tendon sheath, and a source informs the Boston Herald that Ortiz will immobilize the joint for the next month. If that doesn't work, he may face season-ending surgery. |
Our View: Sheesh. The news gets worse by the hour. Manny Ramirez can expect to continue playing the DH role in the near future, and the Red Sox outfield won't be as jammed. There's no way the Red Sox or fantasy owners can hope to replace Ortiz's production, though.
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| Aaron Laffey's hot streak came to a halt on Monday night. The young lefty allowed 11 hits and eight runs over five innings against the Rangers. Laffey allowed a grand slam and a two-run homer. |
Our View: We didn't expect Laffey to maintain his 1.59 ERA, and we'll learn a lot about the 23-year-old in the near future. It's always interesting to see how youngsters bounce back from outings like this.
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| Josh Hamilton celebrated his May Player of the Month award by homering again on Monday night. He added a single and a second run in the loss to the Indians. |
Our View: Word on the street is that pitchers may start turning around and throw the ball over the fence rather than pitching to Hamilton. It saves time.
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| Ben Francisco went 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBI in Monday's win over the Rangers. |
Our View: The rookie had cooled off a bit after tearing it up in mid-May. AL-only fantasy owners are already on board, and Francisco may deserve a look in larger mixed formats.
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| Marlon Byrd socked a grand slam off Indians starter Aaron Laffey on Monday night. In doing so, Byrd doubled his RBI total for the season. |
Our View: Byrd has hit decently over the past two-plus weeks, but he hasn't played well enough to be useful in fantasy leagues.
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| The Orioles designated Luis Hernandez for assignment on Monday night, the AP reports. |
Our View: Hernandez opened the season as the starting shortstop, but he lost the job to Freddie Bynum in early May. We don't suspect this news hurts any fantasy clubs.
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| The Orioles recalled Radhames Liz on Monday night, and he will start on Tuesday against the Twins, the Ticker reports. Liz was 1-5 with a 4.05 ERA over 11 starts at Triple-A Norfolk, but he was better in his two most recent starts. |
Our View: What does Matt Albers need to do to get a start? Liz is one of the Orioles' best prospects and promises to post a good amount of strikeouts, but Albers is currently pitching well at the major league level. Anyway, we like Liz's arm but not his lack of control.
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| Fausto Carmona will play catch from 60 feet on Tuesday. It will be his first rehab step as his returns from a left hip strain, the AP reports. |
Our View: Sons and fathers across the world will also be playing catch on Tuesday. Call us when Carmona is throwing off a mound. Fausto is roughly one week into his four-week timetable.
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| Travis Hafner has been performing exercises to strengthen his right shoulder, but he hasn't swung a bat since going on the DL, the AP reports. |
Our View: This news isn't too surprising. The Indians will likely show some patience with Hafner, as we saw the results when his shoulder didn't feel well. Fantasy owners will also need to be patient.
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| Jake Westbrook is going back on the disabled list. The Indians scratched him from his scheduled start on Tuesday due to right elbow inflammation, the AP reports. The club did not say who they will call up to start in his place. |
Our View: Jeremy Sowers pitched on Sunday, so he's not an option. The Indians may need to find a one-start guy before turning the spot over to Sowers. We don't yet know how long Westbrook is expected to be out.
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| David Ortiz has landed on the 15-day DL due to a partially torn tendon in his left wrist, the AP reports. "Surgery is very unlikely," manager Terry Francona explains. "We'll certainly have more information (Tuesday)." The skipper did not want to speculate on a timetable for Ortiz's return. |
Our View: Between Ortiz, Travis Hafner, and Jim Thome, it's been a rough year for DHs. We hope to hear a timetable for Big Papi within the coming days. The Red Sox will likely continue to use Manny Ramirez at DH and Jacoby Ellsbury, J.D. Drew, and Coco Crisp across the outfield. Brandon Moss could join that outfield group soon, too.
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| Mark Teixeira went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI in Monday's win over the Marlins. He has gone deep in four of the last five games and has 11 RBI over that span. |
Our View: It's amazing how quickly Tex has turned a disappointing season into a decent-looking campaign. This hot streak bodes well for the coming summer months.
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| Kyle Farnsworth took the loss on Monday when he allowed three hits and one run in the eighth inning against the Twins. The reliever had served up 12 hits and seven runs over his last seven appearances. |
Our View: Joba Chamberlain is moving to the rotation, huh? The Yankees may need to begin leaning on someone other than Farnsworth in the eighth inning. Edwar Ramirez comes to mind.
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| Coco Crisp went 1-for-2 with one walk on Monday night. The effort is only notable because the outfielder managed to snap an 0-for-23 slump. |
Our View: Crisp has seen his average plummet from .315 on May 17 to .246 heading into Monday night. He'd probably be taking more heat if the Red Sox weren't playing so well. We haven't failed to notice that Brandon Moss is tearing it up at Triple-A.
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| Delmon Young continues to search for that elusive first homer, but he did go 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBI on Monday. He was also caught stealing. |
Our View: Young will need a lot more of these days to wash the disappointing taste out of our mouths.
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| Alex Rodriguez got the Yankees on the board early on Monday with a two-run homer in the first inning. He added a single, double, and a second run later in the game. Rodriguez pushed his average to .300. |
Our View: A-Rod has been doing a bit of everything since coming off the DL on May 20, and fantasy owners should be pleased with his recent play.
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| Joe Mauer went 2-for-4 on Monday and socked his first homer of the season. It only took him 51 games. |
Our View: You know what they say... the first one is always the toughest. It's hard to believe a guy of his size and with his sweet swing doesn't hit a few more over the fence.
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| Adam Jones drove in a career-high three RBI on Monday night thanks to a bases-loaded double. It was his third straight game with a run batted in. |
Our View: Jones hasn't lived up to his potential this year, but we have to remember he's only 22. We still like his upside in keeper leagues.
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| Hideki Okajima posted the worst line of his major league career on Monday. The reliever allowed four hits and four runs over 0.2 innings against the Orioles. Okajima allowed three straight singles, a sacrifice fly, a fielder's choice, a walk, and a double before being pulled. He had never served up four hits in an outing before. Okajima's ERA jumped from 0.72 to 2.10. |
Our View: We don't think there's anything wrong with the southpaw specialist, and he was probably due to have a rough outing sooner or later. Nobody maintains such a low ERA.
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| Jeremy Guthrie had another sharp outing on Monday. He held the Red Sox scoreless for five innings before allowing a run in the sixth and seven frames. Guthrie finished with eight hits and two runs served up over 6.1 innings, but he took a no-decision. It was his fifth straight quality start. |
Our View: The run support for Guthrie has been terrible this year. The Orioles scored 2, 0, and 1 runs in his previous three showings, and they waited until the eighth inning to get hot on Monday. Guthrie is a decent back-end option in larger mixed leagues despite the 2-6 record.
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| Brian Roberts only went 1-for-4 on Monday, but he swiped two bags against Tim Wakefield and the Red Sox. It was his first multi-steal effort since April 5. |
Our View: Roberts' stolen base pace is down from last year, when he pilfered 50 pillows. He took advantage of the knuckleballer in order to help fantasy owners on Monday, though.
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| David Price looks ready for a promotion to Double-A. The southpaw earned a no-decision on Monday night, but he tossed seven scoreless innings. The southpaw allowed three hits, walked one, and struck out six. Price has yet to serve up a run over three starts (18.0 innings) at High-A Vero Beach. |
Our View: Everyone is eager to see this kid in the majors, but the Rays know how to deal with young pitching and won't want to rush him too fast. His early numbers are awfully impressive, no matter what the level.
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| Vladimir Guerrero is out of the lineup on Monday night due to a sore right knee, the AP reports. Manager Mike Scioscia says the injury is not serious, and Guerrero could return on Tuesday. |
Our View: The bad news continues to pile up for Vlad. He's having a rough season, and we're trying to be patient. It's probably not a bad time to try and buy low.
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| Richie Sexson will start on Monday against the Angels. Miguel Cairo worked at first base the previous five days, which apparently was the plan. The Seattle Times reports that Sexson and hitting coach Jeff Pentland have spent the time making major changes to the slugger's swing. "What I was thinking was, I wanted him with a fresh start," manager John McLaren explains regarding why Sexson didn't pinch-hit on Sunday. "He cleared his mind, he worked hard and tonight he's going to get that start." |
Our View: We're sure Richie is going to turn into a .300 hitter after all the changes. Whatever. Fantasy owners should continue to be wary. The dude is hitting .204 since 2006.
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| Adam Loewen could begin a rehab assignment soon and return before the All-Star break. "Hopefully by the end of the month, he'll be ready to go," manager Dave Trembley informs MLB.com. "Maybe sooner." Loewen underwent surgery in 2007 to repair a stress fracture in his left elbow, and he has had soreness in the joint this year. The southpaw was scheduled to throw batting practice on Monday and Wednesday. |
Our View: We're still like Loewen a little bit in keeper fantasy leagues, but we're not expecting much this year. We'll just be happy if he returns and shows some signs of his 2006 self.
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| Ramon Hernandez could be in danger of losing his starting spot to Guillermo Quiroz. "I'm all for what's best for the team," manager Dave Trembley tells MLB.com. "I think you have to give respect to the veteran guys who have been here and have played for a long time, and I think you have to go the extra mile before you go to that measure. But once you go to that measure, I think you communicate that to all concerned parties and you move forward." Hernandez is hitting .22 and has thrown out only nine of 53 base stealers. |
Our View: Fantasy owners were counting on a bounceback season from Hernandez, but it hasn't happened yet. At some point, the Orioles need to think about the future. Hernandez is 32, Quiroz is 26, and there's a significant salary difference.
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| The Red Sox are trying to figure out the next move with David Ortiz, the Boston Globe reports. Spokesman John Blake informs the locals that the Ortiz, general manager Theo Epstein, and team doctors need to "evaluate a course of action." Ortiz underwent an MRI on his left wrist on Monday. |
Our View: If the MRI was clear, wouldn't the team say so? That's the big reason why this news doesn't sound good. We'll let you know when more information is available.
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| A.J. Murray has been called up and will start against the Indians on Tuesday, the Dallas Morning News confirms. |
Our View: This will likely be another one-and-done showing for the 26-year-old southpaw. He's not worth pursuing in fantasy leagues.
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| Kevin Millwood has had his next scheduled start pushed from Wednesday to Thursday due to a personal matter, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. Sidney Ponson will move up a day and work on short rest. |
Our View: Millwood will still be facing the Indians in a night game, so this news doesn't much affect his value.
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| Vicente Padilla will miss his scheduled start on Tuesday. The Rangers placed him on the bereavement list on Monday, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. A.J. Murray will start in his place. Padilla is tending to a family emergency in Nicaragua but could be back by this weekend. |
Our View: Fantasy owners should bench Padilla until we know when he'll be back. We obviously wish him and his family the best.
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| Nick Punto tweaked his left hamstring on Saturday, which is why he was out of the lineup on Sunday and Monday. He hopes to be ready for Tuesday, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. |
Our View: Healthy or not, Punto doesn't belong on fantasy rosters.
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| Justin Masterson will return to the majors and start against the Rays on Tuesday, the Boston Globe reports. |
Our View: Masterson will be filling in for Daisuke Matsuzaka, and the rookie is not assured of a second start. He was solid in his previous two outings, though, and is worth a look in daily transaction leagues.
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| Justin Morneau fouled a ball of his right knee and tweaked his calf muscle on Sunday, but he convinced manager Ron Gardenhire that he didn't need Monday off, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. |
Our View: Morneau is a hockey player at heart. These bumps and bruises don't slow down pucksters!
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| The Royals likely won't attempt to move Joakim Soria to a starting role this year, but they make try it out next spring, MLB.com suggests. |
Our View: The Royals would be wise not to mess with his prized arm during this season. This news affects keeper leagues much more than regular scenarios. We could only speculate at what the Royals would do at the back of their bullpen without Soria, but the conversation might include Leo Nunez and Ramon Ramirez.
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| Nick Punto is not in the lineup on Monday, the Minneapolis Star Tribune notes. The infielder didn't play on Sunday due to general soreness, and he is coming off a DL stint (hamstring). Brendan Harris will start at shortstop again. |
Our View: We have to wonder if Punto's hamstring isn't as healed as the Twins hoped.
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| Manager Dave Trembley hasn't named a starter for Tuesday's game against the Twins, but it won't be Steve Trachsel, the Baltimore Sun reports. The veteran right-hander will remain in the bullpen. |
Our View: We should know later tonight or tomorrow who the Orioles will use on Tuesday. The top two candidates are Matt Albers and Radhames Liz. Frankly, we'd argue that Albers has earned it.
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| Dustin Pedroia will get a breather on Monday, with Alex Cora starting at second base, the Boston Globe reports. |
Our View: We won't be surprised if Pedroia makes a pinch-hit appearance, but fantasy owners with daily roster changes will want to pull him.
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| Ken Griffey Jr. is not in the lineup for Monday's tilt against the Phillies. The outfielder is dealing with "general soreness," manager Dusty Baker informs the Ticker. "That’s why we took him out of the game yesterday," Baker adds. "He was ailing a little bit. That’s the time you don’t want to take a chance." Ryan Freel will start in his place. |
Our View: It's always wise to be cautious with Mr. Griffey, who has had more than his fair share of ailments.
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| Scott Kazmir has been named the AL Pitcher of the Month for May, the Tampa Tribune confirms. The southpaw went 5-1 with a 1.22 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 38 strikeouts over 37.0 innings. |
Our View: Fantasy owners everywhere are kicking themselves for not drafting him and waiting as he recovered from an arm injury in April. Kazmir is a stud.
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| Josh Hamilton has been named the AL Player of the Month for May, according to the Sports Network. Hamilton cruised through the month, while compiling a .322 average (37-for-115) with eight home runs, 29 RBI and 22 runs.
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Our View: This was impressively the second consecutive monthly honor for Hamilton. Hamilton currently ranks first in the AL with 15 home runs and 63 RBI, and ranks third in batting average with a .328 mark, which makes him a serious contender for a Triple Crown.
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| Jorge Posada went 1-for-3 with a walk in an extended spring training game Monday and remains on pace to rejoin the team this week, according to the AP. Posada made two throws to the bases in the game against Philadelphia’s minor leaguers. He made a throw to first on a batted ball near the plate that was ruled foul, and also tried to pick a runner off second. He said, "You keep working on things and try to throw. I threw the ball behind the runner and felt good about it. We’ll see how it feels tomorrow. Be ready for Thursday or Friday."
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Our View: His status to resume catching for New York will be evaluated after playing in another extended spring game on Tuesday, but it looks like he will be ready to come off the DL on Thursday or Friday, as Posada estimated.
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| Mariano Rivera has been named the AL Player of the Week, according to the AP. He earned the honor by nailing down three saves, with seven strikeouts, and only one hit allowed. |
Our View: He is a perfect 15-for-15 on saves opportunities, and lowered his ERA to 0.36. He ranks third on the all-time saves list, but this is his first Player of the Week honor.
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| Relievers Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya are both expected to begin their rehab assignments on Tuesday, according to MLB.com. Rodney will be sent to Triple-A Toledo, and Zumaya will go to Class-A Lakeland. |
Our View: Once they begin pitching Tuesday, the Tigers can keep them on rehab for up to 30 days before they must be activated from the DL or moved. Neither is expected to need the full 30 days, and Manager Jim Leyland mentioned that he hopes to have them back sometime this month. They will both provide a sizable boost to the Tigers' bullpen. Rodney recently visited Dr. James Andrews, but he found nothing wrong with his ailing right shoulder other than tendinitis, and he progressed well since then.
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| Nick Blackburn expects to make his next start after getting struck in the face with a line drive in Sunday’s game against the Yankees, according to the AP. He is still scheduled to battle the White Sox on Friday and stated, "It’s part of the game. I’ve been hit in the legs, chest, whatever. It’s never fun to get a ball hit back at you."
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Our View: Blackburn was taken to a hospital after sustaining the injury, where X-rays showed no broken bones or teeth. He is officially listed as day-to-day with a bruised nose and upper lip. He is 4-3 with a 3.32 ERA and passable 1.38 WHIP, and this is good news for the Twins' rotation that he is not expected to miss a start.
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| Kevin Cash will start at catcher tonight against Baltimore, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Knuckle-baller Tim Wakefield is starting for Boston tonight, and Cash typically catches him. Cash has raised his average to .302 over 53 at-bats this season, but is yet to hit a homer.
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| Jason Varitek will sit out tonight's game against the Orioles, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Manager Terry Francona wants to give the veteran team captain a night off, and Kevin Cash will start at catcher. Varitek had three hits in his last game on May 31.
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| Jeremy Guthrie is pitching well, despite his 2-6 record, according to MLB.com. He holds a 3.64 ERA and a good 1.21 WHIP, and will make his 13th start of the season tonight when the Orioles host the Red Sox. |
Our View: Guthrie has allowed three earned runs or less in nine of his 12 starts, but the Orioles have scored a total of eight runs in his six losses.
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| Tim Wakefield will try to even his record to 4-4 tonight when he battles the Orioles in Baltimore, according to MLB.com. Wakefield has pitched well at Camden Yards over his career, while going 7-5 with a 3.58 ERA in 22 appearances.
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Our View: Wakefield has been moved up one day to pitch Monday, as Dice-K is on the DL with shoulder fatigue. He is still pitching on regular rest, as the team was off on Thursday.
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| David Ortiz will undergo an MRI on his injured left wrist on Monday, according to the Boston Herald. Ortiz stated, "I’ve never felt anything like this before. I’ve been swinging my whole life. I just took a swing like I normally do, and pop."
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Our View: Initial X-rays, which were negative, had ruled out any type of crack in his hamate bone, although the MRI should definitively pacify those concerns. Ortiz had the hamate bone on his right hand removed in 1998 after cracking it. We will keep you posted on his test results.
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| Jason Lane can opt out of his minor league deal if he is not called up to the Yankees by Tuesday, according to the NY Daily News. |
Our View: The team needs to decide whether to recall him, or risk losing him. Lane currently leads Triple-A Scranton with 11 homers and 37 RBI. Shelley Duncan would be the most likely candidate to get sent down if Lane is added to the Yankees' outfield.
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| Michael Aubrey has been optioned back to Triple-A Buffalo, according to the AP. The team recalled reliever Tom Mastny, and felt Aubrey was expendable to make room on the roster. |
Our View: Aubrey homered in his first at-bat with Cleveland this season, and hit two overall, but held a dismal .185 average (over 27 at-bats) and needs more work in Triple-A before he can make an impact with the Indians.
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| Reliever Tom Mastny has been recalled from Triple-A Buffalo, according to the AP. |
Our View: This will be his second stint with the Indians this season, and he allowed two runs and two hits over 1.2 innings, with three walks. He does not merit fantasy consideration.
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| Scott Baker is ready to return from the DL for Thursday's game against Baltimore, according to the Star Tribune. He has recovered from his strained right groin. |
Our View: The team did not announce who will be removed from the rotation upon his return. Boof Bonser was expected to be moved to the bullpen, but the team is waiting to make that call.
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| Radhames Liz, who was scheduled to start Friday night for the Tides (Baltimore affiliate), did not pitch. He started Saturday instead, but left after throwing one inning, which amounts to a side session, meaning he would be available Tuesday.
Skipper Dave Trembley told the team website that Steve Trachsel is no longer an option and will work out of the bullpen. Right-hander Jim Johnson will remain in the pen as well.
"Johnson will not start [Tuesday]," Trembley said.
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Our View: Liz was sent to the farm after pitching only five innings without allowing a run in spring training. Not because he performed poorly, but because the Orioles couldn't find enough innings for him to work. At Norfolk, he's gone 1-5 with a 4.05 ERA in 11 starts. Liz was 0-2 with a 6.93 ERA in nine appearances, including four starts, for the Orioles in 2007.
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