Lance Berkman (OF--Cardinals) There were a lot of naysayers (myself included) when the Cardinals intended to play Lance Berkman in the outfield. But Berkman has proven more than capable and his bat has been on fire. Going to into Tuesday's game, he has hit in ten out of his past eleven games for an average of .488. He's belted six home runs during that span and has an OPS of 1.578. He's currently leading the N.L. with a .725 SLG and batting .377 overall. Of course we can't expect this pace to keep up but barring berkman's propensity for injury, he looks to have been one of the bargains in this year's draft. He has a chance to keep that average high as he's always had a good EYE with a career 0.93 and he's a great compliment in that lineup with supporting players like Matt Holliday and of course Albert Pujols. Keep him active in all formats.
Pat Burrell (OF--Giants) Pat Burrell has been swinging a very hot bat of late going 8-for-18 in his past five games hitting .444. On the season as a whole he has five home runs despite a less impressive .270 average. Burrell's a nice "great-when-he's-hot" kind of player, but his streaky nature will never provide any consistent for your fantasy team. Despite having a hefty wOBA of .394, that number will drop especially with a career K rate that is close to 30%. Factor in the fact that Andres Torres will be ready to play soon enough which will cut into Burrell's playing time. He's a good short term pick-up in N.L. leagues and deeper mixed ones but doesn't have the look of any significant long time use.
Daniel Murphy (2B--Mets) At the beginning of the season, I had my eye on Daniel Murphy. I had mentioned that if he could find a way to stick at second base, he could be a very decent option as he swings a pretty solid bat. With the Mets sending away Brad Emaus and with Angel Pagan on the DL, Murphy is getting a solid opportunity to play and bat second. He's been delivering on a fairly consistent basis of late. Going into Tuesday's game he was batting .271 but added to that with a couple of hits against the Nationals including a double. He's batting .350 over the past six games with four RBI. His versatility as a middle and corner infielder adds to some attractiveness. He's become a valid option in deeper mixed leagues and N.L. leagues with the way he has been producing that could produce a good average with occasional pop to boot.
Darwin Barney (2B/SS--Cubs) Darwin Barney continues to provide solid hitting in the number two spot for the Cubs. On Monday, he hit his first career home run and is now batting .320 on the year. He's a scrappy player, who can hit reasonable well, but his .343 BHIP and 26% is very lofty for him. He won't provide much power and doesn't steal many bases but if he continues provide reasonable production for the Cubs, he will find himself sticking in the lineup. He's worth a pick-up as he remains hot in N.L. leagues or deep mixed leagues. But don't expect much long term although he is a battler with a 91.7% CT rate and a 13% strikeout rate.
Carlos Gonzalez (OF--Rockies) Carlos Gonzalez got the day off on Tuesday. He's been struggling at the plate, hitting just .217 on the year with one home run. Gonzalez has been mired in an 0-for-21 slump that has seen his average drop 73 points in the last six games. For the short season so far, Gonzalez has a 20.3% line drive rate which is right on his major league norm. Probably is that his BHIP is at .270 which represents about a 80 point drop for where he is usually at. Yup, Lady Luck has not been on CarGo's side. Hopefully, the rest will do him well. Gonzalez is an elite outfielder and if you are in a daily league, you can sit him until his bat starts to stir. In weekly, leagues, Gonzalez can break out in a big way and you don't want him sitting on the bench for when he does. And he will.
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