Who is Hot, & Who is Not, AL Version

By Corey R. Cunningham

Will Middlebrooks, 3B for the Boston RedSox is Hot, he is hitting .316 BA, 6 HR, 21 RBI, 13 R, and 2 SB. Middlebrooks was in a tough position once Kevin Youkilis was activated from the Disabled List, however, it looks as if Bobby Valentine has figured out a possible solution. A-GON in RF, Youkilis at 1B, and Middlebrooks at 3B. However, it is a good thing they do not play Interleague play to often, as they would have a huge problem with DH David Ortiz added to the mix.

Matt Moore SP, Tampa Bay Rays is Not, the young southpaw phenom from last year’s playoff race has had a tough ride so far in the first two months pitching for the Rays. He is 1-5, with a 4.76 ERA, 58 K, 28 BB, and a WHIP of 1.46.

Brett Lawrie, 3B for the Toronto Blue Jays is Hot, and continues to hit the ball after a late start of the early season. Lawrie who played strong to a seasons end in 2011. Lawrie is hitting .283, with 4 HR, 21 RBI, 24 R, and 7 SB. Lawrie will continue to get the nod at 3B, and with no worries, will be the 3B of the future for the Blue Jays.

Jason Kipnis, 2B for the Cleveland Indians is Hot. He is batting .280, with 8 HR, 30 RBI, 34 R, and 11 SB. Looks as if Kipnis might be a 5 tool player the Indians have been looking for. Carlos Santana, has the power, however, the BA lacks with him, and with Grady Sizemore not being able to get off the DL the past 3 years, it looks as if Kipnis has taken over as a fan favorite in Ohio.

Drew Smyly, SP Detroit Tigers was Hot, now going Cold. Smyly is 2-1 with a 3.46 ERA, 50 K, 15 BB, and a WHIP of 1.24. In Drew's first 6 games, he gave up a total of 6 ER, while in just his past 4 games, he has given up a total of 15 ER. In the past 3 of 4 games, the opponents that Smyly faced where in his favor, however, they did get the best of him. Use Smyly in a cautious situation, if you need to trend SP, you can do it with Smyly.

Mike Trout, OF Los Angeles Angels is Hot. Trout was called up by the Angels, to bring some spark to the offense, and that he has. He is batting .303, with 5 HR, 16 RBI, 21 R, and 8 SB. Trout is the 5 tool player the Angels have been looking for, and will occupy the CF position full time in 2013.

Tommy Milone, SP Oakland Athletics is Hot. Milone was acquired from the Nationals, and is 6-4, with a 3.64 ERA, 35 K, 16 BB, and a WHIP of 1.13. With a poor offensive lineup coming from the A's, Milone's Win total is surprising, and a list of "W" from the following teams: Kansas City, White Sox, Angels, Rays, Detroit, and Angels.

Players On Watch During Week 1

By Corey R. Cunningham

Cincinnati Reds SS Zack Cozart had 11 AB. During those 11 AB, he acquired 6 H, 4 R, 1 HR, and 2 RBI. Cozart is off to the hot start that I expected. Cozart is batting in a deep lineup that has the potential to produce high offensive numbers all year. With a lineup surrounding Cozart with players like Phillips, Bruce, Rolen and Votto it’s hard not to say Cozart is a fantasy option, let alone dynasty player.

Houston Astros LF J.D. Martinez had 12 AB. During those 12 AB, he acquired 4 H, 1 R, 1 HR, and 3 RBI. Martinez, just as Cozart as I predicted is off to a hot start. Martinez and the Astros have put some tough competition to start the season off against Colorado. Some expected Houston to have the least productive offense in the league in 2012. I think Carlos Lee, and JD Martinez will have something to say about that.

Seattle Mariners 2B Dustin Ackley had 19 AB. During those 19 AB, he acquired 6 H, 4 R, 1 HR, and 3 RBI. Ackley is being the hitter he as during his college career at UNC, as well as what he should while he was in the minors. Seattle is another team predicted to end of in the lower tier of the offensive stats this year. They have a lot of young talent, Jesus Montero, Justin Smoak, Mike Carp, and Ackley.

Oakland Athletics CF Yoenis Cespedes had 13 AB. During those 13 AB, he has 4 H, 3 R, 3 HR, and 7 RBI. Though off to a sluggish start in winter league ball, some said he was over rated, as of now, I believe he holds water to what his numbers were in Cuba. With the signing of Cespedes, the A’s actually hold some value when it comes to fantasy players. Cespedes might actually be worth a dynasty league option.

Philadelphia Phillies 2B Freddy Galvis had 10 AB. Galvis is batting .000 with 10 AB, 0 H, 1 R, and 2 K. Galvis who was an automatic option to AAA before the start of the regular season has started for the Phillies due to an injury to Chase Utley, and it looks as if Galvis will be the starter for some time to come. This offense I believe can put up numbers, however, the age of the lineup is a bit of some concern.

Kansas City Royals CF Lorenzo Cain had 11 AB. Cain has just 1 H, 1 R through the 11 AB, and is off to an opposite start of what he produced in spring training. I am a big fan of Cain, and hope his bat finds the baseball soon. KC had put Cain in the 2 hole to start the season and as of yesterday, he was down batting 8^th. Not sure why the flip flop of spots, however, I feel this could be another Carl Crawford story of batting in every position just to get all flabbergasted.

San Francisco 1B Brandon Belt had 10 AB. Belt has had 1 H, 1 R, and 5 K through 10 AB. Belt struggled at the start of last year after he made the team out of spring training and yet again, it looks as if he is off to the same start. Belt was slotted to start in LF, however, Aubrey Huff who has not been doing so well in the spring has been the starting LF. If Belt does not turn the juice on quickly, he will once again be finding himself on the outside looking it, either on the bench as the 4^th OF, or in AAA.

Yesterday's Rundown

Hunter Pence goes 3 for 4 with a HR and 4 RBI. He may not be what you drafted him for (a 20/20 guy) but he flourished in the 3 hole as a solid RBI man. He will probably be a 20/10 guy but the RBI will be well over 100 and that .325 AVG is sparkling.

Wandy Rodriguez comes off the DL with a quality start and the Win. He goes 6 IP while only giving up 2 hits and 4 BB with 5 Ks. I did not have The Wandyman in my top 30 SP this year due to the Stros being so bad but I do like this guy and would have drafted him.

Brandon Lyon pitched a meaningless 9^th and gave up 3ER to bolster his already bloated ERA well over 11.00. He is still not worth owning even if he does get you a save a week.

Dan Uggla is now driving on the I-80 after another 0-for. This is why I have him listed as one of the biggest busts of the year on our poll question.

Randy Wolf pitched 7 innings of no run, 6 hit ball while K-ing 7 against the Cubs. I debated on putting Wolf into Sunday’s Streaming SPs, I ended up leaving him out of the post but picked him up in my big money league for the two starts this week.

Ryan Dempster matched Wolf nearly pitch for pitch but neither got the Win.

Zach Duke who I placed in the Streaming post instead of Wolf looked good early. I checked the box score during the 3^rd inning and he was up 9-0. Then the SOB can’t even get through the 5^th to get me a Win. He gives up 7ER in 4.2 innings. You were spotted a 9 run lead and you can’t get the win even after you hit a HR…go figure?!?

Juan Miranda had his biggest game of the year and might be worth watching if you need help at CI. He now has the job at 1B to himself and could be coming into his own.

Derek Jeter strains a calf and could be shelved for a month due to age and the rehab needed on a 37 year old calf. Eduardo Nunez is the obvious pick up so I snatched him in my pert league; he has both MI and CI eligibility (SS & 3B). Nunez will bat 9^th and Gardner gets the bump in value now leading off.

Carlos Carrasco gets the Win going 7 shutout innings. He was one of my Streamers this week.

Phil Coke gets a ND after going 6+ innings of no run baseball. He too was a Streamer this week I told you to pick up.

Jason Bay goes another game without a hit. I watch this guy at the plate and he looks solid. He has no luck with a BABIP near .230 so far. Every projection this year had him at 20+ HR and anywhere from 76-99 RBI. I feel this is him hitting the bottom. I will try this week to talk him down further with his owners and grab him on the cheap.

Chris Nelson had the musical chair tonight which is 2B in Colorado these days. He had a 2 for 4 night but I own Eric Young and want him playing every day. Truthfully I would avoid counting on any of them getting more than 3 starts a week.

Joey Votto had a good night leading the Reds. Does anyone else notice that when Votto has a big night Bruce is nowhere in the box score and vice versa when Bruce is hot Votto is in the midst of an 0-fer night.

Justin Smoak who has been on fire (Smoak-Fire…how many times are you gonna read that combination of words with this guy throughout his career?) simmered tonight. This guy is 1 year away from monster numbers I think. At 6-4 230 lbs and a 24 year old switch hitter…youwza. If you are in a dynasty league try and grab him.

Yesterday's Rundown...Lowlights Version

You gotta hit over .250 before you get Capicola

Albert Pujols gets plunked in the 9^th on a 0-2 fastball from Cordero and finishes 0-4 lowering his AVG to .266 on the season. He finished the series with Cinci going 3 for 12 with 1 R and 0 RBI. Could the best player in baseball be showing his age? Maybe the “hug” earlier in the week has some lingering effects.

Javier Vazquez gets torched for 6 in the opeing frame and goes on to last 4 whole innings. He now has an ERA well over a touchdown and a WHIP near a two point conversion. After the game Vasquez had this to say. “Believe me. I’m doing my best, but nothing’s working. Nothing’s working. Nothing. Absolutely nothing,” Your owners know Javy…they know.

Jimmy Rollins goes 0 for 5 and finishes the series 2 for 14 with an RBI and a Run scored with no swipes over the weekend. At least he is still the best SS over 30 years old. That is if you like 30+ year old SS…personally I do not.

Sam Fuld puts up another O-for and now is batting .238 after his memorable start. I see the hot hitting Desmond Jennings getting called up by the end of the month to take over for Fuld. It was fun while it lasted Sammy but you have been exposed and have not adjusted…hope you enjoyed it.

Jason Bay adds 20% to his Run total in one game with 2 runs scored. He even got a hit to make his AVG climb to .216 now. He is also carrying a OPS of .664 which is just ahead of the powerful hitting Coco Crisp at .658.

Corey Hart has played in 15 games now and has as many HR as I do…zero. Last year was a career year and he will be lucky to get a dozen dingers this year. I see him dropping down to the 8 hole here in the near future even hurting his value or lack of value more.

Juan Rivera looks more like 38 than 32 to me. He had a 2 for 14 series with 1 R and no RBI. Why do I feel Carlos Beltran gets traded to the Yanks or Jays as a DH before the deadline?

Torii Hunter let me introduce you and your .234 AVG and 1 for 12 weekend series to Mike Trout; he is hitting .314 with 6HR 17 RBI and 6 SB. He will have your job by next year.

Mat Latos first of all he needs another T on his first name then he needs to warn all that drafted him of the Verducci Effect. Then call up management and demand some Run support like you got yesterday every time you pitch.

Adam Dunn, please quit hitting directly into the shift they put on you. There is this other part of the park they call Left Field. Look it up and then take BP and slap the ball that way at least once a game. If you do I guarantee you will not continue to hit .210 all year with 0 for 3 and 0for 4 every other day. If you would like that in Spanish like Ozzie would say here it is: Bota la pelota al campo izquierdo…Porfavor!!

Kelly Johnson, how do you hit 2^nd-3^rd and 4^th in the lineup and only have 7RBI? Oh, I see you get 150 AB with 10 XBH and 45 Ks. Well done sir. You may want to look at the tape of Zobrist getting 8 RBI in one game…its worth watching.

Dustin Pedroia needs to be hitting over .250 before he gets a sandwich. Capicola or not…everyone knows that.

On a side note, my favorite sandwich named after someone is a Duane Purvis from the Triple XXX Restaurant in my home town.

Yep...thats peanut butter oozing out from under that 1/3 lbs burger.

Yesterday's Rundown

They call him Pronk...don't know why...but is hitting lights out right now.

Ben Zobrist finished off the week with 6R, 6H, 3HR and 7RBI. When he makes contact he seems to drive in runs.

James Shields had his 2^nd complete game victory, this one courtesy of the Jays or recently the “K”ays. Shields scattered 4 hits, walked 2 and fanned 7. His WHIP is now one best in baseball at a few ticks under1.00. He is currently owned in only 67% of leagues. I will be grabbing him in all leagues where he is available.

Ricky Romero had 10 K in 7 strong innings but was the hard luck loser pitching against James Shields.

Max Scherzer proved once again why he is one of the best #2 SP in the AL. He pitched 8 innings giving up only 4 hits to the struggling White Sox. He only walked 3 and struck out 7 for his 4^th win on the year.

David Wright gets two jacks yesterday to go along with a SB for good measure. As soon as I crap on the Mets they pull off 4 wins in a row. Oh yeah, 3 were against Arizona so I crap on you again…trade your Mets players.

Stephen Drew is the poor man’s Tulo. He now has the 2^nd most RBI for any SS in baseball. Throw in his .344 BA while batting cleanup and you have yourself a great find at a weak position. Remember when he wasn’t supposed to be as good as his big bro J.D.?

Mike Stanton gets a long HR for the 2^nd time this year. He nearly doubled his RBI with that one swing. Until he cuts down that 40% K rate he is just another Kyle Blanks to me.

Danny Espinosa  smacked 3 hits yesterday raising his average to .281 for the year. If you didn’t know it he also leads all 2B in RBI as of yesterday with 14. He is only owned in 22% of leagues…worth picking up to replace your weak MI.

Mariano Rivera blew his 2^nd save of the year. Is father time starting to whisper in his ear?

Travis Hafner collected 2 more hits for the tribe. Did anybody draft this guy last month? Now hitting close to .340 and healthy for the first time in 3 years. He is available in over half of all leagues and should be owned.

The Cubs trio is now at 230AB with one HR. I need some type of meter like the old Shawon-o-Meter for Dunston’s BA back in the day to keep track of these guys lack of power.

Arthur Rhodes the other 40+ year old lefty, picked up the save in Feliz’ absence for Texas. That is back to back saves for two different 40 year olds.

Mike Napoli  goes yard again. How many Naploi owners are glad he is out of the Halo’s organization and away from Scioscia? We all knew he could hit, why didn’t Scioscia?

Don’t look now but the Bo Sox are near .500 and the newbies Gonzalez and Crawford are starting to hit. They had 5 combined hits against the Angels.

Jason Heyward says bat me in the 2 hole and I will produce 3 hits and 3 RBI with an HR and 2 Runs. By golly that is what he did. This move up in the order will get him extra Abs and more chances to produce. If you own him good for you, if not… ouch.

Brian Wilson gets rocked again and takes the loss. An ERA near 10.00, maybe time to lose the beard.

The San Diego offense is now the worst I have seen in a decade. No one is worth owning. They actually have two starting position players now batting less than .100 after last night’s game. What is the term for batting halfway under the Mendoza Line? How about the Mendoza Fault Line…because something has gotta give way.

Me likey all Oakland’s SP ERA right now. Trevor Cahill 2.30, Brett Anderson 1.63, Gio González 1.80, Brandon McCarthy 2.10.

Lance Berkman gets two more hits to take his BA up to .377 When are you going to pick him up and put him in your CI spot. I have told you for 2 weeks now.

Yesterday's Rundown

Andre Ethier continued his season opening hit streak to 19 against the woeful Cubs who threw 230 pitches yesterday. His .385 BA is nice but I want a #3 hitter and 6^th round pick to be a little more than 20HR 80RBI with no wheels. I can pick up Seth Smith any time I want off waivers.

Ryan Raburn is a guy I own every year for a period of time. I like the 2B and OF eligibility for my daily leagues but he only produces when I have him benched or cut him loose. He is gone now so of course he goes 2-5 with a HR and 4 RBI. So now I will go with Ty Wigginton and his multi-position eligibility to hurt me when I start him and mock me when I bench him…can’t wait for the let down. Let’s see what last night gave me…ooohhh an 0 for 3 in the middle of a near no-no by Nasty Sanchez.

Jose Bautista  hit his fifth home run of the season and finished a single shy of the cycle. He went 3 for 3, walked twice and scored four runs.

Hanley Ramirez is hovering around the Mendoza line and his GB% is pushing 70%. The guy is on top of everything and the daily scorecard looks like 5-1 and 6-1 put outs every day.  For all of you who had the 1^st overall pick in your league and took Hanley to show your intellect and cleverness by not picking Albert you might want to pick up Jed Lowrie or Maicer Izturis until the storm blows over. Both are still widely available. Once Hanley gets below .200 for a week straight the trade offers will be a flowin’.

Mets and D’Backs had no one with a multi-hit game. I expect the same on Saturday.

 Alex Gordon you have served your purpose well (in some type of Darth Vader voice) filling in for Longo when I plucked you off waivers. (Now my voice) What top 20 pitcher can I finagle someone out of in exchange for Gordon this week? “Hey look you need CI help and he went 2-4 again last night, he is still hitting .370…uh yeah the Royals ARE that good…David Price for Gordon you say? Sure that seem like it would work for both of us.”  I will let you know later this week who I got for him.

The Rangers line-up: Everyone got a hit all but 3 had an RBI and Run. Mixem’ matchem’ tradem’ with your friends.

Carlos Gomez got a whiff of Braun’s new contract and went 3-5 with a HR. He does all that hitting and he doesn’t get a SB like he is supposed to? He is still not worth owning. OK pick him up and when he gets 3 hits all of next week we can talk again.

Ryan Braun says to Carlos…anything you can do I can do better. See my contract proves it. He went 3-4 with a HR too.

Yovani  Gallardo can hardly put back to back innings together(let alone outings) without getting rocked. He does get the Win thanks to double digit run support.  I think this guy needs a commercial or something to loosen him up.

Lance Berkman keeps on hitting. 2-4 and 2 R last night in the tornado. If he could swipe a couple of bases he would lead all hitter in Yahoo rankings…What the…who the…yeah, I’m still plugging him in at CI like I posted a couple of weeks ago. I know, I know, he is going to run after some fly ball and either pull hammy or dive and tear something…just quick talking about it. Oohhmm  oohhmm oohhmm.

Peter Bourjos bats leadoff and picks up his 2^nd SB.  If Scioscia keeps him up in the batting order he gains more value…I’m talking to you who missed the Sam Fuld run last week.

J. Lester goes 6 without an ER and out duels Haren and denies Haren his 5^th Win.

Cole Hamels goes 8 IP with only 4H and 8Ks. He is just another cog in the well oiled pitching machine we call the Phillies.

Michael Pineda got a good look at King Felix the night before and decided to replicate what he saw. Pitch in, pitch out, keep em off balance. He goes 6 IP with 5Ks. He now has an ERA at 1.74 and a WHIP at 1.07. Last chance to get a fresh Pineda, only owned in 60% of leagues. It will be 90% next week.

Chipper Jones gets another hit and a Run last night. What is the over/under date for when Chipper breaks?

Yesterday's Rundown

James Shields goes the distance against the slumping Pale Hose. Nice line of 9IP 4H 1R 1ER 1 BB 9K to even his record at 1-1. It was his first CG in three years.

Matt Wieters had his best game of the season. He was 2 for 3 with 3R and 4RBI. Half of the Orioles are hitting under .240 so far. It’s time to move Wieters up in the order Buck. Quick note: Wieters is 5 for 5 with 8 RBI this year with RISP. I call that clutch Buck. Buck, are you listening or um reading?

Roy Halladay gets rocked last night. 6.2 IP 10H 6R 6ER 2BB 3K. I guess he gets rocked once every season. Once in spring, once in summer, and once in fall. That should still put him at 20-3 for the season.

Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Casey McGehee go 6 for 12 with 5R and 5 RBI. Is there a better 3-4-5 hitter group in the NL?

Brett Gardner goes 0-4 and is now hitting .128. How many of you reached for him in your draft thinking 100+ runs and 50SB? Ok I did in one league. His playing time is going to get drastically cut if they Yankees fall back to .500 on the season.

Mariano Rivera blows 1^st save and get s a visit from the pitching coach while on the mound. 1^st time that has happened since Buck Showalter was managing in 95’.

 NY Mets score 1 run. Trade away all your Mets players now. Trust me, they are that bad.

Josh Johnson has pitched 27 innings so far and only allowed 10 hits. Does anyone smell a no-no coming? He is now at 1.00ERA and a WHIP under 0.60. Why don’t I own this guy?

Drew Stubbs gets the HR-SB combo. He should have a dozen more combo games like this one.

I think the entire Angels team scored against Texas at home. Peter Bourjos, Maicer Izturis, and Mark Trumbo all go yard.

Cleveland 12-5 v KC 11-6 can those records be right? Bruce Chen is now 3-0 2.42ERA and 1.15 WHIP. KC fans whisper to each other “Greinke who?” Billy Butler doubles his career SB mark last night. I told you he would be running this year…get me 10SB Billy.

Pablo Sandoval now has an OPS over 1.000 after last night. OK I am convinced, the sophomore slump is behind him and I will try and target him in trades this week.

Brett Anderson dominates the Red Sox going 8 IP with 4H 0R 0ER and 8K to pick up the Win.

Brandon Beachy gets the first Win of his career. The Rookie, you should keep on your radar if not own, went 6IP allowing on 2H while picking up 7K. Getting 4HR from his teammates let him settle down and pitch effectively.

We have an Ichiro Suzuki sighting. He is starting to get hot after a slow start. He finished his night 4 for 5 with 3R 2RBI and 2SB. He is still hitting under .300 but that shouldn't last long after nights like this.

Yesterday's Rundown

Grady Sizemore returns after 11 months off and shows off why he was a onetime 30/30 player.  If you are in a weekly league line up league or you did not have the cohunes to play him (like me) in his 1^st game back you missed the spoils of his productive day. I wont make the mistake again and am looking forward to his productivity. He showed the power is still there but what about his wheels? Lets hope he doesn’t blow a tread.

Andrew McCutcheon batted leadoff yesterday and started the game with a long homer. He then gave the Bucs the lead for good with a single in the 8^th. He can hurt you in so many ways. Gotta love the power/speed guys. I feel he loses some value by leading off instead of hitting in the three hole. Either way his owners like the production.

Gaby Sanchez got 2 more hits yesterday and is now hitting near .340. If anyone in Fla could get on ahead of him he would have 3x the RBI this year. He is a very good pick-up at your CI spot if you are struggling and he is only owned in half of all leagues.

Tommy Hanson pitches well enough to Win and with 9Ks but loses this game because of no run support. Just shows how fickle getting Wins can be in Fantasy.

Jacoby Ellsbury helped Boston win consecutive games for the first time this year with his 3rd digger, a three run shot. He now has as many HR as SB…I guess he has the potential to be a 50/50 guy right?

Carl Crawford is only not hitting his weight; he isn’t even hitting his girlfriend’s weight. He is now down to .127 on the year.

Danny Espinosa gets 6 RBI in the two games and has moved into the lead-off spot. The move up increases his value and will continue to climb if he will continues to get on base, especially when Zimmerman returns in a week.

Michael Cuddyer gets back to back starts at 1B after I tell you he is on the verge of gaining 2B eligibility. I still picked him up in a couple of leagues.  

There is a new closer in town (or State) and Minnesota is shooting caps, Matt Capps that is. 3 up, 3 down, 1^st save. Sorry Nathan owners for drafting a closer so early while coming off major arm surgery.

Sam Fuld gets two more hits. Now take a clue from Forrest and “Run Sammy Run”. Does any team but TB have their lead-off man as a catcher of the DH? Just askin’.

Nick Hundley the best hitting catcher in Baseball…wait he can’t be…nobody owns him. He is only 1 of 3 catchers with an OPS over 1.000 If you didn’t know that now you do…go pick him up…now, I’m waiting.

Does any other Billy Butler owners hear Judge Smails say “Billy Billy Billy this is a biggie, don’t let me down” when he is at bat with RISP? I do and he let me down yesterday 0-3 but still hitting over 350.

Dan Haren becomes 2^nd 4 Win pitcher this year. Now has 1.16 ERA and a WHIP under a buck to boot.

Carlos Gonzalez had the most hits on the day in the Majors yesterday with 4 but the stat of the Cubs/Rockies game was that the Cubs 3-4-5 hitters: Marlon Byrd, Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena have 1HR in 160 ABs so far this season. Owners might want to avoid owning any Cubs SP at this point because they will be getting no run support this season. Unless Zambrano starts he has as many HR as the 3 previously mentioned.

The Oakland/Detroit game had a combined starting line-up with one guy hitting over .300, Miguel Cabrera. I have officially given up on Austin Jackson. I was completely wrong on this guy; he isn’t running because he can’t get on base and Ks more now than ever.

Matt Kemp is my MVP for the first 1/10 of the season. How many owners are glad they are not getting “Kemped” (a word that describes getting placed much much lower in the BA than you should because your manager is clueless) by Joe Torre this year? If he can get the power stroke going he is a legit 40/40 guy this year.

The Giants go hitless and without a base runner the last 6 innings of the 12 inning game against Arizona. Just look at they were facing though: Juan Gutiérrez, David Hernández, J.J. Putz, and Josh Collmenter. With those dominating household names no wonder. Remember when I predicted the Giants go .500 this year?

C.C. Sabathia doesn’t get the Win again!! GRRRRRRRRR!!

Last Night's Rundown

David Murphy stepped right in yesterday to get an RBI in Hamilton’s absence. If he is still available in your league grab him now, he will not be around this time next week. With both speed and power he can help any manager’s team.

Alex Gordon is still lighting it up in KC this year. He goes 2 for 5 with a couple of RBI to boot. He now has 6 doubles on the season and his OPS is over 900. Though he already has 3B and OF eligibility, he may qualify at 1B soon. He has 2 games there so far this season.

Denard Span I ask you as to why you have not attempted a stolen base as of yet? Your manager’s are waiting. I will take the BA for now but start running.

Danny Valencia , welcome to your sophomore slump. Yesterday 0 for 4 and for the season: AVG .184  HR 1  RBI 3  SB 0 Owners of Valencia…welcome to your nightmare.

John Danks  8IP, 1ER, 7K, 3BB No Decision. Thanks White Sox bullpen for blowing 3 run 9^th inning lead. Both so-called closers Sale and Thornton each gave up 3ER. Ozzie said he is giving Bobby Thigpen a call.

J.P. Arencibia and José Molina are hitting a combine .333…not bad from the C position.  Either one is worth picking up at this point. Both will get plenty of playing time and Arencibia is being slotted into the DH spot here and there when not catching.

Joey Votto is hitting .444 on the year and leading the MLB in R scored. Only went 3 for 4 with an RBI and R for the Reds last night. Albert who?

Heath Bell pitches a perfect 9^th and picks up the Win for the Pads last night. Nice stat line for Bell so far…remember if the Pads start to fade Bell gets shipped.

Prince Fielder has now taken over the MLB league in RBI with a HR and 3 RBI last night…what’s that I hear, I think it’s a contract year. Albert who?

Shaun Marcum looked great last night. This is what the Brewers expected to get from the Gallardo, Greinke, and Marcum as the three headed monster. 7IP 4H 1BB 0ER

Kevin Correia in the same game as marcum he looked like a Pirates Pitcher. After a nice start to fool you all into thinking he is ownable he reverts back to a Pirate Pitcher. 6IP 6R 4ER 1K 2BB.

Roy Halladay CG W 9IP 2R 2ER 1BB 9K I’m starting to move closer to the dark side thinking a SP is actually worth a 1^st round pick.

A.J. Burnett now has more wins (3) the then the Boston Red Sox (2) who would have thought that?

Josh Johnson takes no-no into the 8^th and get the win. 1H 9K to go along for the ride.

Troy Tulowitzki homers again. Now hitting over 300 with 5HR 8R and 12 RBI. He must think its September already. Tulo & Votto early MVP candidates or the name of your favorite florist.

Starlin Castro now hitting near 400 after a 3 for 5 night. I still think this guy can hit for power later on and be a middle of the order guy. I am going to try to fix a trade for him in my dynasty league this week.

Lance Berkman drove in 5 with the help of a Granny off of the over hyped Ian Kennedy. I would pick up Berkman and I would drop Kennedy.

Jonathan Sánchez punched out 9 last night getting a nice win after his team came through to take the lead in the bottom of his last inning. He is now averaging 13K/9 this season. He is a K machine.