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| Khalil Greene had two hits, including his sixth home run of the year, to knock in his 25th run of the season while pushing his average up to .217. |
Our View: Greene will have to have a whole lot of nights like this one to bring his numbers anywhere close to last years levels (27 HR, 95 RBI) considering his production thus far. Last years efforts may end up being a career best season, but he is still a much better hitter than he has shown to this point.
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| Randy Wolf continued his solid work on the hill on Wednesday night as he held the Dodgers to four hits, one walk and just one run over seven innings in his fifth win of the year. |
Our View: Wolf also had nine punchouts and has been a tremendous source of strike outs with a 7.88 K/9 mark and he appears to be full over the health concerns that limited him to just 102.2 innings last year.
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| Chad Billingsley gave up four runs over seven innings to the Padres to lose his seventh game of the season. Billingsley, who entered the game averaging 10.06 K/9, only struck out three batters on the night. |
Our View: Billingsley was done in on this night by the home run allowing two. He only walked one batter over seven innings in a rare display of control of the strike zone, but he just couldn't put away batters on this night.
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| Andy LaRoche made his major league debut on Wednesday night, not at his traditional third base, but at first base, according to MLB.com. "Hopefully, I won't make too much of a fool out of myself," said LaRoche. He didn't look out of place at the plate as he hit a home run. |
Our View: Andy could also see some time at second base, in addition to his traditional spot at the hot corner, as he will try his best to be a jack of all trades until a full time spot opens up.
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| Willy Taveras had just as single hit but he also stole his 24th base of the season for the Rockies on Wednesday night. |
Our View: Taveras is likely to start losing some playing time to Ryan Spilborghs as he has only brought steals to the table this season with an average of .234, and even worse, an OBP below .290. A leadoff man simply needs to get on base more than that no matter how fast he is, just ask Michael Bourn.
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| Fred Lewis had two hits and stole his 12th base of the season for the Giants on Wednesday night, though Bengie Molina was unable to hold onto his throw home on a Yorvit Torrealba game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning. |
Our View: Lewis has been a solid all-around hitter since entering the Giants lineup early on, and is likely at the start of a long and productive career even if he doesn't offer much at this point other than the stolen base.
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| Ubaldo Jimenez matched Tim Lincecum of the Giants by pitching seven scoreless innings on Wednesday night for the Rockies. On the night, Jimenez walked only one batter while permitting just four hits. |
Our View: Jimenez has a tremendous right arm, and he was superbly able to locate his pitches tonight. Too inconsistent to really count on, Jimenez is an arm to monitor in NL Only leagues as he showed down the stretch last season just how effective he can be.
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| Tim Lincecum held the Rockies scoreless over seven innings in Colorado while striking out seven batters to lower his ERA to 1.99. |
Our View: Lincecum is a machine on the hill throwing 95 mph fastball after 95 mph fastball. When he has his change up working like it was tonight, batters have little chance of squaring up the ball.
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| Jason Kendall had a solid all-around outing on Wednesday night as he has two hits, two RBI, two runs scored and a SB for the Brew Crew. |
Our View: One of the hits was the first home run of the year for Kendall. After hitting .301 in April, Kendall has fallen on hard times of late to lower his average to .251, but he still has value in points leagues given the fact that he plays almost every day.
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| Carlos Lee hit his 13th home run of the season on Wednesday night, part of a big night that included three hits, two runs and two RBI. |
Our View: Lee is no pace for his standard 30-HR, 100-RBI season, but his average is languishing at just .268. Given that his BABIP is just .255, almost .040 points below his career .293 mark, we would expect his batting average to rise moving forward.
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| Manny Parra was far from his best on Wednesday night as he allowed 10 hits and five runs in 5.1 innings, but he held on long enough to let his offense earn him his fifth win of the season. |
Our View: Parra had allowed just two runs over his last two starts, to it was a bit disheartening to see him fall back so far tonight, though that's what happens when you allow three home runs.
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| Brandon Backe lost his eighth game of the year on Wednesday night and saw his ERA rise to 5.00 after allowing five runs in four innings against the Brewers. |
Our View: There was a lot made of some of Backe's work early in the year, but the simple fact is that he is nothing more than an average major league hurler. Plan your roster moves accordingly.
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| Corey Hart hit two of the Brewers season best five home runs on Wednesday night against the Astros, on his way to four RBI. |
Our View: Hart has taken over the top spot in the lineup with Rickie Weeks on the DL, so there is a chance that he could run a bit more while knocking in a few less runs. Hart is on pace for a nice 25/25 season, which certainly would make his owners pleased.
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| Mark Reynolds hit his 15th long ball of the year on Wednesday night, a 3-run shot off of Billy Wagner in the ninth inning. |
Our View: Reynolds now has four home runs and six RBI in his last four games, and his overall production has him at .270-32-105 in 587 career AB, despite an incredible 206 strikeouts.
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| Billy Wagner picked up his fourth blown save as he allowed a 3-run home run to Mark Reynolds on Wednesday night. |
Our View: Luckily the Mets came back and won this game. Wagner, who has been automatic all year, has looked awful in allowing four runs while picking up two blown saves and a loss in his last two appearances. Continue to roll with him as this is likely just one of those dry spells that effect all closers from time to time.
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| Brandon Webb was pulled after throwing 58 pitches, 40 for strikes, in five innings against the Mets. Webb allowed five hits, he didn't walk anyone, and permitted three runs to score. |
Our View: Webb entered the game with a 1.06 ERA in five games at Shea. There are no injury reports floating around, so we assume that there was nothing physically wrong with Webb when he was pulled, though we are concerned given the low pitch count.
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| Mike Pelfrey dominated the D'backs for eight innings on Wednesday night allowing just one run, though he ended up with a no-decision after Billy Wagner picked up his fourth blown save of the year. |
Our View: Pelfrey had eight K (a career-high) and just two BB on the evening and has now allowed just five earned runs over his last three starts (1.71 ERA). If he is available in your league, strike now as he is clearly found his groove.
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| Carlos Beltran hit a game-winning two run home run off of Edgar Gonzalez in the 13th inning on Wednesday night. |
Our View: Beltran had two hits on the night and knocked in four runs and he is now hitting .295 since the start of May to push his average up to .264. Still, he is limping along and may not reach the 20/20 level this season, though especially trouble is the seven home runs after averaging 37 home runs the past two years.
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| Ryan Spilborghs was out of the lineup on Wednesday to rest his back, but once healthy he could find himself with more playing time in center field at the expense of Willy Taveras, according to MLB.com. "Nobody stays hot the entire time, so when guys can piggy-back off one another -- until a guy just takes off and runs away with the position -- that's always a good thing to have," manager Clint Hurdle said. |
Our View: Spilborghs is hitting a solid .312, .327 in his last 49 AB, and has hit 15 home runs with 74 RBI in his last 389 AB showing solid pop, though he brings little of the speed that is Taveras' game.
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| Jeff Bennett fell to 0-4 on Wednesday night as he was pounded for seven runs in just two innings in a spot start for Jair Jurrens who missed his turn in the rotation because of a sprained ankle. |
Our View: Bennet throws hard, but he just doesn't have the off-speed pitches to dominate a lineup. He also walks too many batters, but tonight the two walks didn't bother him anywhere near as much as the seven hits did.
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| Ryan Theriot had two hits and knocked in two runs as he is now hitting .322 on the year. |
Our View: With Alfonso Soriano being placed on the DL, chances are pretty good that Theriot will slide into the leadoff role which likely won't change his value much. With 12 steals, he needs to cut down on the times he has been caught (eight) to make the jump to the next level.
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| Kosuke Fukudome had two runs, two walks and three RBI, with two coming on his fifth home run of the season, for the Cubs. |
Our View: Fukudome has managed to keep his average right around .300 with a .400 OBP, but his power has been lacking, not an uncommon occurrence for a Japanese player. He has been solid, but not the difference maker many had hoped for.
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| Ryan Dempster dominated the Braves with 11 strikeouts and nary a walk, as he hurled a complete allowing two runs in his eighth win of the season. |
Our View: Dempster continues to put up all-star caliber numbers as he lowered his ERA to 2.81 and his WHIP to 1.06 on this night, and it was great to see him bounce back from his last outing where he struck out only one batter.
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| Josh Bard has been out since May 22nd with a high ankle sprain, and he is about a week away from returning to baseball activities, according to MLB.com. "Bardo is making progressing. He's in full-blown rehab mode. He's on a stationary bike ... he's starting to do things in the weight room," Padres manager Bud Black said. |
Our View: Bard was unimpressive while in the lineup hitting .200, not that the Padres have gotten much better production from either of their other catchers in Michael Barrett (.200) or Luke Carlin (.167), so Bard will likely find playing time once he is healthy.
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| Matt Capps pitched a scoreless ninth inning against the Nationals to pick up his 16th save of the season. |
Our View: Capps doesn't get much publicity since he toils for the Pirates, but dating back to the start of last season he has a 2.36 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP and 33 saves. Not many have better all-around numbers than that.
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| Cristian Guzman went 1-for-5 on Wednesday night as each of the first seven hitters in the Nationals order had a single hit. |
Our View: Guzman is hitting .309 which is better than the average of such luminaries as Hanley Ramirez, Miguel Tejada, Jose Reyes and Derek Jeter. Who would have predicted that?
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| Ian Snell won his third game of the season on Wednesday as he limited the Nationals to just one run over six innings for the Pirates. |
Our View: Snell has been beset by ineffectiveness for most of the season, but over his last two starts he has 15 K and just six BB, so perhaps now is the time to make a trade offer for the fire balling righty.
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| Alfonso Soriano could miss up to six weeks after learning that his left hand was broken by a pitch from Jeff Bennett, according to the Associated Press. Soriano will wear a splint for three weeks, and then build strength back in the hand before rejoining the lineup. |
Our View: Given that Soriano's game is predicated on the strength in his wrists and hands, this could be a potentially devastating injury. Look for Reed Johnson and Jim Edmonds to both play on a daily basis now.
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| John Lannan threw six solid innings on Wednesday night though he lost his seventh game of the year to the Pirates. On the night, Lannan didn't walk a single batter while allowing seven hits and two runs. |
Our View: A tough luck 4-7 given his solid work this season, Lannan has allowed two or fewer earned runs in four of his last five starts though he has only picked up one win in that time.
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| Ryan Doumit homered for the third time in two games on Wednesday night and added three more hits to give him seven hits in his last two games. |
Our View: Amazing. Doumit is now batting .358 with eight home runs in just 123 AB and is squarely in the running to be a top-10 catcher this season.
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| Ryan Howard went 0-for-3 with another strikeout on Wednesday, his 90th, to drop his average to .208. |
Our View: How many times has Albert Pujols struck out 90-times in a season? Try once in his rookie year when he had 93. Howard certainly is no Pujols, but his strikeout rate continues to be alarming.
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| Andrew Miller had another in a series of solid outings on Wednesday as he allowed just one run over seven innings of work. Miller also struck out seven and permitted just a single walk. |
Our View: Miller can dominate just about any lineup if he has his control, and on this night he did just that as he needed only 98 pitches to complete seven innings of work.
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| Cole Hamels struck out 13 Marlins batters and allowed only two runs, both solo home runs by Jorge Cantu, over eight innings in a no-decision. |
Our View: This outing was wasted by Tom Gordon who allowed a grand slam to Dan Uggla to destroy the efforts of the Phillies ace. The only concern with Hamels is if his body, and specifically his arm, can handle the 200-innings he is on pace for.
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| Jorge Cantu had a big night on Wednesday as he homered twice, both solo shots, in the Marlins victory over the Phillies. |
Our View: Cantu now has 14 home runs which just so happens to be just one less than the Phillies first base on this night (Ryan Howard). Not bad for a guy who was probably drafted 20 rounds later.
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| Dan Uggla hit a game-winning walk off home run for the Marlins off of Tom Gordon with one out in the ninth inning on Wednesday night. |
Our View: Say hello to the new Jeff Kent. Uggla continues to mash the ball at an amazing rate since struggling early in the year. He will certainly make this years all-star team given his tremendous work at the plate.
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| Jason LaRue hit his first home run of the year on Wednesday as he went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI for the Cardinals against his former team, the Reds. |
Our View: LaRue is hitting less than his weight (.196) and serves basically as a day off caddy for Yadier Molina. Don't expect this nice outing to lead to any more work than he has been getting.
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| Jay Bruce went 1-for-4 on Monday to lower his average to .381 since he began his major league career. |
Our View: Though he has been spectacular so far, Bruce is just 3-for-17 his last four games (.175) with six K and just one BB hinting at the fact that a big-time slowdown could be coming.
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| Johnny Cueto fell to 5-6 on Wednesday as he allowed six runs to the Cardinals over five innings. Cueto allowed two home runs, five hits and a massive total of eight free passes. |
Our View: Cueto now sports a 5.42 ERA, far too high to consider starting him every time he takes the hill. Still, he had gone five straight starts allowing three or less runs, so we'll give him a mulligan considering how atrocious his command was tonight.
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| Braden Looper hurled a complete game shutout over the Reds limiting them to just three hits and zero walks in his 8th win of the year. |
Our View: Looper continues to be a solid pitcher this year keeping the Red Birds in most games he starts, though his ratios (4.34 ERA, 1.40 WHIP) are high enough to make him a risky play in shallow mixed leagues.
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| Ryan Ludwick went 2-for-4 with his 16th home run of the year for the Cardinals who improved to 13 games above .500 with the victory over the Reds. |
Our View: With Albert Pujols out, Ludwick will have to continue his hot hitting to give the team production from the middle of the order. Today was a great start.
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| Chipper Jones (quadriceps) returned to the lineup on Wednesday night for a suddenly depleted Braves squad, according to MLB.com. "I'm sore, but I've got to go," said Jones. People are going to have to realize that I'm not dogging it," Jones said. "I'm just trying to stay in the game." |
Our View: We have said this all along - the only thing likely to stop Chipper this season is his health, so it remains to be seen how he will manage given his less than 100% status right now.
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| The White Sox suffered the 5-1 loss at Detroit this evening, totaling four hits over nine innings in a pathetic outing. The game left RHP Javier Vazquez with his fifth loss of the season, going six innings to allow five runs (all earned) on 10 hits with three walks and nine strikeouts. |
Our View: Vazquez hasn't posted consecutive wins since April, largely based on the offensive support he is given. Tonight there was almost no support at all.
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| Alfonso Soriano was hit by a pitch square on the left hand, and he is currently en route to the hospital for x-rays, according to the Associated Press. |
Our View: This did not look good. It would be awfully surprising if Soriano didn't break some bone in his hand as he took the pitch right off it. It would help if Soriano learned to turn his back to the inside pitch to shield his hands, but most major leaguers have forgotten that is how you take inside pitches, which is why so many end up with injured hands.
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| Mike Jacobs was given Wednesday night off because the Marlins were facing tough lefty Cole Hamels, and as a result Jorge Cantu started his first game this season at first base, according to MLB.com. "We're giving Jacobs a day, because Hamels is a left-hander," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "It's almost like a day off for Jorge. Instead of playing third, play first. But then tomorrow, he will go back to playing third base. |
Our View: Cantu has been quite the find this year hitting near .300 with power (12 home runs). This is the sixth time Cantu has played first base this year, so keep an eye on his participation at the spot if you are in a league that requires 10 games to qualify at a position.
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| Chris Aguila was called up from Triple-A New Orleans on Wednesday to help the Mets fill in for the loss of Ryan Church and Moises Alou, according to MLB.com. "I wouldn't look at myself as a big home run guy," Aguila said. "I was swinging the bat pretty good, and happened to hit some home runs." |
Our View: Aguila is on fire right now hitting .528 with seven home runs over his last nine games to push his season totals up to .308-17-40 in 221 AB with eh Zephyrs. Still, he doesn't figure to do much more than provide depth for an outfield suddenly beset by injuries.
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| Kevin Gregg doesn't mind working for his saves often pitching more than one inning, though the team would like to curtail any issues of possible overuse, according to MLB.com. "You don't want to make that a common practice," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "He was rested and he's pretty good when he's rested." |
Our View: Gregg has maintained all along that he doesn't mind working more than one inning, and truth be told, he has only 31.2 innings in 30 appearances so it's not like he has been used an onerous amount.
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| Veteran lefty Steve Kline was released from the Phillies on Wednesday a day after he was suspended for bumping an umpire, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Kline has yet to throw an inning in the majors this year, and the portly left hander may or may not ever appear in a major league game ever again given his ineffective work last season and obvious struggles this year.
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| Bill Hall will not be in the Brewers lineup on Wednesday as he will be replaced in the starting lineup by Craig Counsell, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. |
Our View: With Rickie Weeks out of action with an injured knee, the Brewers made some lineup changes including putting Hall at second base. However, Hall will only play when the matchup is best, with Counsell and Joe Dillon likely seeing the majority of time.
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| Conor Jackson will play left field on Wednesday night while Chad Tracy in the lineup at first base, according to the Arizona Republic. |
Our View: Jackson is certainly a good enough athlete to pull off a few games in the outfield, but he is best suited to play first base. However, this news is a bit odd since Tracy was the one thought to be headed to the outfield to help fill in for Eric Byrnes.
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| David Riske threw a 30-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday and said he felt no pain in his injured elbow, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. |
Our View: Riske threw all fastballs, and appears to be close to being sent out on a rehab assignment, that is if his next bullpen assignment on Thursday goes well.
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| Ryan Zimmerman was told by doctors that his injured shoulder will require him to miss at least another 4-6 weeks, according to the Washington Post. The team is still hopeful that he will be able to avoid surgery, though Dr. Tim Kremcheck reported that he gives the rehab only a 70% chance of working. |
Our View: Zimmerman will undergo another series of tests during the all-star break, and if the shoulder hasn't healed by then, he will almost certainly have surgery which would end his 2008 season.
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| Ryan Church, on the DL with post-concussion symptoms, will not return to active duty until he is cleared by a neurologist, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Given the vagaries of how individuals respond to head injuries, there really is no certain timetable for his return. He is eligible to return on June 21st, but it's unclear if that will happen.
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| Elijah Dukes had a run in with his manager Manny Acta on Tuesday night, in full view of TV cameras, according to MLB.com. Apparently there was a miscommunication that required Dukes, Acta and GM Jim Bowden to have a sit down meeting after the game. |
Our View: Dukes always seems to have some issue with someone which is a shame given his obvious potential to excel. Whether or not he ever reaches his potential depends on him keeping his head on straight, something he has failed to do up to this point.
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| Moises Alou is not in the Mets lineup on Wednesday because of his sore calf, and he will be given another MRI to determine the extent of his latest setback, according to the Journal News. |
Our View: Manager Willie Randolph thinks that Alou will likely need to be shut down for at least a few days, which means another trip to the DL is a possibility given the fragile nature of Alou's body.
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| Updating an earlier report, Chris Duncan has been recalled from Triple-A and will play first base for the Cardinals now that Albert Pujols has been placed on the DL due to an injured calf, according to the Associated Press. |
Our View: Duncan struggled earlier in the year with 32 K in 127 AB while hitting only four home runs, but he will now be given the chance to reestablish the bat that made him a 20 home run hitter in each of the past two seasons despite less than 400 AB in each campaign.
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| Albert Pujols is headed to the DL with a strained left calf and will likely miss at least three weeks, according to the Associated Press. Chris Duncan was recalled from Triple-A and will likely play first base until Pujols returns. |
Our View: The good news is that he didn't blow out the muscle, but it still appears that that he will likely miss about a month of action, a devastating blow to those with Pujols on the roster. Odd how it wasn't the injured elbow that everyone was up in arms about in the preseason that got Pujols but the calf. This will likely be the first season in his illustrious career that he will fail to play in at least 143 games.
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| MLB.com reports that Blake DeWitt is the May NL Rookie of the Month. The award comes after DeWitt hit .322 in May with five homers and 18 RBIs. Dodgers manager Joe Torre has referred to DeWitt as "a godsend" when reflecting on how much DeWitt has done to solve the dilemma at third base. |
Our View: DeWitt may see less at-bats in June do to the call up of Andy LaRoche and recovery of Nomar Garciaparra. He may be a good sell-high candidate. He was selected over NL nominees Joey Votto of Cincinnati, Geovany Soto of the Cubs and Manny Acosta of the Braves.
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| The Palm Beach Post reports that Josh Willingham went 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts in his first rehab start. |
Our View: It appears Willingham has some adjusting to do after missing more than a month with a sore lower back.
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| Chad Tracy will get the start at first base tonight, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. |
Our View: This is Tracy's first start since June 6.
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| Conor Jackson is making the start in left field tonight, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. |
Our View: This will be Jackson's first start in the outfield this season.
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| Tim Lincecum has allowed only three home runs in 83 2/3 innings pitched this season. |
Our View: Just another stat to put on Lincecum's impressive resume.
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| Michael Bourn is no longer considered the Astros leadoff man. The young outfielder walks only seven percent of the time and his .280 OBP just isn't good enough to justify batting him first on speed alone. |
Our View: Hunter Pence has returned to the top of the order.
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| The untimely injury to the versatile Jerry Hairston (out 2-4 weeks) has left the Reds with little depth on the bench. Paul Janish will start at shortstop until Jeff Keppinger returns from a broken kneecap. Keppinger began a rehab assignment on Monday and could be back as early as Friday. |
Our View: Keppinger becomes a person of interest again for NL-only owners. He doesn't offer much power or speed but he'll hit for average and score runs in a loaded Reds lineup.
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| The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that reliever Brian Rogers, released from the Pirates' system last week despite a 0.96 ERA in Triple and Double-A, agreed to terms on a minor league deal with the Detroit Tigers. |
Our View: The Tigers have assigned the right-hander to Triple-A Toledo, leaving him with the same fantasy value he had in Pittsburgh, zero.
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| Jeff Bennett gets the nod tonight in place of Jair Jurrjens who twisted his ankle. |
Our View: Bennett is a long reliever who may not be ready to go deep into tonight's start. He made three appearances, totaling five innings last week.
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| Center fielder Rick Ankiel, who returned to the lineup for the first time on Tuesday night since leaving the club last Thursday with an infected right knee, hit a home run in his second plate appearance. |
Our View: Ankiel had missed the entire series in Houston and after last night's injury to Albert Pujols (calf) the Cards will need him to stay healthy and supply some much needed power to the middle of the order.
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| According to MLB.com, Charlie Morton , who has gone 4-2 with a 2.05 ERA for Triple-A Richmond, will likely start in Glavine's place on Sunday, when the Braves play the Angels before ESPN's nationally-televised audience. |
Our View: Morton has been impressive in Triple-A and will be thrust onto the national scene in his first major league start against a deadly Angels lineup.
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| Jair Jurrjens may be headed to the DL, according to MLB.com. While walking down the dugout stairs after Tuesday night's loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field, the young starter twisted his right ankle. The Braves will use Jeff Bennett to start Wednesday night's game. |
Our View: If Jurrjens heads to the DL, then only Tim Hudson will remain from the opening day rotation. Charlie Morton, who has gone 4-2 with a 2.05 ERA for Triple-A Richmond, will likely start in Glavine's place on Sunday, when the Braves play the Angels before ESPN's nationally-televised audience.
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