1. Yovani Gallardo (SP - Brewers) - Another QS for Gallardo gives him 12 out of his 15 starts for the season. His three non-QS were two against the Cardinals in April (as I wrote about in a previous post)

1. Lance Lynn (SP - Cardinals) - While R.A. Dickey improved to 11 wins on Monday, Lynn tried to match it on Tuesday. Lynn was unsuccessful in his pursuit as he allowed 5 ER and 9 H for the loss

1. Shin Soo Choo (OF - Indians) - Choo went yard for the 3rd time in the last 5 games (he had a 2 HR game last week) and raised his OPS to .774. His power continues to trend in

1. Stephen Strasburg (SP - Nationals) - Strasburg was masterful once again. He improved his record to 8-1 with a 2.45 ERA and has an incredible K/9 of 11.7. Of course, Strasburg's fantasy value may be limited a bit because

1. Jemile Weeks (2B - A's) - Weeks was certainly impressive in 2011 hitting .303/.340/.421 with 22 SB in 97 games. While 2012 has gotten off to a slow start for Weeks, he is showing slow and steady signs of

1. Bud Norris (SP - Astros) - It looked like it was going to be one of those nights for Bud Norris. He allowed a quick 3 ER in the first inning, but then settled down and just allowed 1

1. Ryan Dempster (SP - Cubs) - It was easily Dempster's worst outing of the season. He lasted just 4.1 IP and allowed 6 ER, 3 HR, 4 BB, and 6 hits. Lucky for him, the Cubs bounced back and

1. Hiroki Kuroda (SP - Yankees) - Kuroda had one of his best starts, if not THE best, of the season. He hurled an 8.0 IP, 4-hit shutout against the A's on Sunday to earn his 4th win of the

1. Wandy Rodriguez (SP - Astros) - Wandy continued to deal on Wednesday, hurling his 8th QS of the season in 10 starts. He scattered 8 hits in 7.0 IP and allowed 1 ER (a solo HR), no walks and

1. Andy Pettitte (SP - Yankees) - Andy Pettitte returned for his first start of the season on Sunday against the Mariners. Cobwebs were certainly expected, but in general the results were positive on Sunday. He pitched 6.1 IP and

1. Dee Gordon (SS - Dodgers) - After hitting over .300 in the minors and posting a .350+ OBP, Gordon has struggled at the big league level. So far this season, he is at a .229/.269/.307, but has still managed

1. Corey Hart (OF - Brewers) - Could we be seeing multiple position eligibility out of Corey Hart in the near future? There are reports floating around that Hart took some practice grounders at 1B before yesterday's game. Hart has

1. Adam Dunn (1B - White Sox) - Is he back? Probably a little too soon to say definitively, but the power stroke has at least shown signs of returning through the first month of 2012. He has 4 in

1. Bryce Harper (OF - Nationals) - The day has come. Bryce Harper was called up to the big leagues and joined the Washington Nationals. He will make his major league debut today against the Dodgers. Harper was hitting

We start off this Thursday's Quick Pitch with injury news from around the National League. Chris Young was placed on the disabled list with a slight ligament tear in his shoulder. Its the first time he has been on the

AL Quick Pitch: Brandon League is a perfect 4-for-4 in save opportunities to begin 2012. If he can normalize his road/away splits from last year (SLG% of .254 at Safeco, .407 everywhere else), he'll be considered near the top of

AL Quick Pitch: Derek Holland has now pitched two straight quality starts to begin the season. With improvements to WHIP and his GB% over the last couple of years, there are good things ahead (except for an unlucky schedule

NL Quick Pitch: Happy Opening Day! We get started reviewing some tidbits from last night's game. Josh Johnson struggled a bit by scattering 10 hits, but still got the QS despite earning the loss. The ongoing question with JJ will

Preseason Fantistics Analysis - Monday, April 2, 2012 Detroit Tigers The Tigers have chosen Drew Smyly as their 5th starter and will start the season in the rotation. Don't be confused when you see a Triple-A start against Toledo on

Preseason Fantistics Analysis - Monday, March 26, 2012 New York Yankees Michael Pineda's fastball is one of the most scrutinized pitches this spring training. A few ticks in the wrong direction and suddenly he's dropping on fantasy draft boards, getting

New York Yankees The Core Four Gets One Back Andy Pettitte shocked the world last week when he announced he signed a minor league deal with the Yankees. Of course, this was no "minor" deal as Pettitte is making a

Philadelphia Phillies Howard's Achilles There aren't many question marks with the Phillies heading into 2012 other than injury concerns. Of course, the most obvious one is Ryan Howard. Howard will inevitably begin the year on the disabled list after suffering

Preseason Fantistics Analysis - Monday, March 5, 2012 New York Yankees Declining Production from Big Stars The Yankees saw one of the "Core Four" retire this off-season with Jorge Posada calling it quits There are already rumors that this may

NL Quick Pitch: 1. Wandy Rodriguez (SP - Astros) - Wandy gave up a couple of runs early, but settled down and hurled a quality start, going 7.0 IP and allowing 2 ER, 4 H, and 2 BB while recording

1. Bud Norris (SP - Astros) - Norris pitched great on Wednesday, but drew the short straw and was matched-up with Roy Halladay as an opponent. Norris' final line was a quality start of 7.0 IP allowing just 4 hits,

1. Mike Napoli (1B / C - Rangers) - Mike Napoli continues to put up some big numbers in 2011. With his 3rd HR in the last four games, he now has 25 for the season for an incredible AB/HR

1. Brett Gardner (OF - Yankees) - Brett Gardner has had a solid year for sure, swiping 43 bases and playing a solid left field for the Yanks. He's had a couple of rough months to end the season though,

1. Andrew McCutchen (OF - Pirates) - McCutchen had himself a day on Wednesday, cranking out 2 HRs and driving in 4. He has now eclipsed the 20/20 mark with 22 HR and 20 SB with a few weeks left

1. Coco Crisp (OF - A's) - Crisp has been fairly consistent all season from an OBP and SB perspective. He had exactly 8 SB each month from April through July and 6 in August. With one today, he is

1. Jacoby Ellsbury (OF - Red Sox) - Ellsbury has missed three straight games with a back injury, but the expectation is that he will return to the Red Sox lineup on Tuesday. The back injury stems from an

1. Geovany Soto (Catcher - Cubs) - Soto has been pretty inconsistent all year and his .220 average in August isn't helping much either. He has, however, been on a bit of power surge with 4 HR and 9 RBI

1. Jonathan Sanchez (SP - Giants) - Sanchez continues to struggle and there are rumors out in San Francisco that his spot in the rotation is in jeopardy. Sanchez lasted 4.1 IP and allowed 4 ER and 5 hits, earning

1. Jonathan Sanchez (SP - Giants) - I guess you probably could blame some cobwebs for Sanchez getting blown up last night. Afterall, it was his first start since June 24th so you can't expect him to be too

1. Mark Trumbo (1B - Angels) - Trumbo isn't ready to slow down any time soon. With his 2nd HR in the last 3 games, he now has 21 for the season, giving him an AB/HR of 17.4. Other than

1. Tim Stauffer (SP - Padres) - Stauffer just keeps posting the quality starts. If his run support was just a little higher, his record would be much better than 7-8. With another QS last night, he now has 10

1. Coco Crisp (OF - A's) - Coco Crisp gets little attention playing out in Oakland, but he is worth a fantasy look if you're desperate for some steals. His ownership has been steadily climbing, but still remains unowned in

1. Erick Aybar (SS - Angels) - Erick Aybar snapped his 0-for-3 games cold spell with a solid 3-for-4 with a SB, 2 RBI, and a BB. That raises his average to .285 and gives him 21 SB on the

1. Rickie Weeks (2B - Brewers) - Really tough break for Rickie Weeks owners. He turned his ankle pretty hard while stretching out a single and had to be helped off the field. He will head to the disabled list

1. Drew Stubbs (OF - Reds) - Stubbs was kept out of the lineup on Wednesday with knee issues after getting hit there by a pitch in Tuesday's game. Stubbs has been basically fantasy irrelevant in July with no HR

1. Bud Norris (SP - Astros) - Norris did it again on Wednesday night. Another QS for the fireballer with a 7.0 IP, 2 ER performance that led to his 5th win of the season. That only makes him 10-for-18

1. Wandy Rodriguez (SP - Astros) - Wandy got roughed up a bit on Tuesday night, allowing 5 ER and 8 hits in 6 IP to get the loss. It was the 2nd time in his last 3 starts where

1. Francisco Liriano (SP - Twins) - Liriano started July on the right foot, posting a QS and earning a W (his 5th of the year). 7 of his last 9 starts, dating back to May 1st, have yielded 3

1. Mike Stanton (OF - Marlins) - Mike Stanton is going to finish the month of June with 5 HR. Not bad, but considering all 5 came in the first half of the month, we expected a huge breakout

1. Michael Pineda (SP - Mariners) - Just your typical 4-hit QS for Michael Pineda. He went 7.0 shutout innings while striking out 9 and recording just 1 BB. It was his 12th quality start out of 15 starts for

1. Ian Kennedy (SP - Diamondbacks) - Kennedy didn't have his best stuff on Wednesday night, but it was good enough to earn him his 8th win of the year and 11 QS in 16 appearances. You knew Kennedy was

1. Dustin Ackley (2B - Mariners) - The big news on the day is that Dustin Ackley finally got the call from the Mariners to join the big league squad. This call-up has been anticipated for awhile and he'll

1. Curtis Granderson (OF - Yankees) - Granderson finally hit his first HR of June on Thursday night, connecting for his 18th HR of the year and his first since May 31st. It also helps break a June skid that

1. Ricky Nolasco (SP - Marlins) - Nolasco didn't earn the W on Wednesday night, but he did hurl a QS that included 7.1 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, and 5 K's. Nolasco has had some bumps in

1. David Price (SP - Rays) - David Price is starting to settle into a groove. Being inconsistent during the first two months of the season, Price has now posted 3 straight quality starts and has lowered his ERA to

Justin Smoak (1B - Mariners) - Smoak has been on a power tear lately. With his 9th HR of the year last night, Smoak now has 3 HR in his last 5 games. That raises his slugging to .464 and

1. Rickie Weeks (2B - Brewers) - With another HR last night, Weeks has 3 HR in the last 8 games and has brought his season total to 10. The power has really emerged over the last three seasons and

1. Wandy Rodriguez (SP - Astros) - Wandy Rodriguez landed on the 15-day DL yesterday after finding fluid in his elbow. The diagnosis sounds pretty bad, but Wandy was still able to throw a side session and only experienced slight

1. Adam Dunn (1B - White Sox) - Adam Dunn still hasn't turned it around and it has forced Ozzie Guillen to drop him in the lineup. He struck out 4 times on Thursday and that's all Ozzie had to

Nick Swisher (OF - Yankees) - Swisher broke-out on Thursday with a 2-for-4 performance including 4 RBI's and a walk. I'm hoping we look back on this day as the day he turned his season around. I've written about Swisher

1. Albert Pujols (1B - Cardinals) - The homerun drought for Albert Pujols continues. His last homerun came on April 23rd, over 87 AB ago. This is from a guy who has a career AB/HR of 14.2 since 2001. I

1. Eric Hosmer (1B - Royals) - A ton has been written about Hosmer's fantasy value over the past week. Claims of overpaying for him and an attempt to rank him among the league's other first baseman moving forward

1. Edinson Volquez (SP - Reds) - Another shaky outing led to an early departure for Volquez on Wednesday. He lasted 4.0 IP and allowed 3 ER, 3 H, and 5 BB. He is now only 1-for-9 in QS for

Ike Davis (1B - Mets) - It was the best of time, it was the worst of times. After reaching an average of .352 as of April 29th, Davis has gone into a slump, dropping to .312 by going just

NL Quick Pitch: A pitching-heavy focus in today's NL notes. Ian Kennedy posted another quality start. Take out that one bad outing against the Cardinals and you're looking at ace-like numbers. Wandy Rodriguez has flip-flopped his way through the season

AL Quick Pitch: A few rehab appearances have fantasy owners hopeful for the return of Jake Peavy, Andrew Bailey, and Aaron Hill, but I wouldn't hold your breath for fantasy week #5. The catchers had a big night on

NL Quick Pitch: Here's a quick look at today's National League daily notes. Ian Desmond returns to the lineup after paternity leave. He's good for stolen bases right now and nothing else, so he remains an upside candidate at

AL Quick Pitch: Some old names return to today's quick pitch. Will 2011 be the breakout year for "old" names like Alex Gordon and Jeff Francoeur? Both have gotten off to hot starts in April and deserve ownership in all

NL Quick Pitch: For today’s quick pitch, we’ll take a look at the up arrows, down arrows, injuries, and recent trends in the National League. I’ll go over why I’m not giving up on guys like Carlos Pena, Ian Desmond

AL Quick Pitch: Declining power, walk rates, and an incredibly slow start have Kevin Kouzmanoff falling out of AL-only consideration. Some unconventional considerations with Alcides Escobar and Jhonny Peralta. Can Josh Willingham strike out anymore? His batting EYE is getting

AL Player Daily Notes - April 7, 2011 AL Quick Pitch: Carlos Quentin looks like his old 2009 self. Let’s hope he can stay healthy. Joakim Soria got lit-up by the White Sox and was handed his first blown save

NL Quick Pitch: Andrew Cashner’s major league debut as a starter has Cub fans holding their breath as they await for the results on an MRI. Drew Stubbs is living up the hype while Drew Storen is not. With closers

NL Quick Pitch: Brian Wilson pitched a great Sunday bullpen session and is ready to come off the DL (eligibile this Wednesday the 6th). Make sure to get him back in your lineups (and down arrow for Sergio Romo). Matt

AL Fantistics Daily Notes - March 31, 2011 Today is the best day of the year! Opening Day is finally here, so make sure you set your lineups for active players since there are only 6 games today (and only

Preseason Fantistics Analysis - Wednesday, March 30, 2011 We’re only one day away from Opening Day. At this point, you probably already had your fantasy draft and just want to get the season started. We do too. For today’s preseason

Preseason Fantistics Analysis - Wednesday, March 23, 2011 New York Yankees Is a bad start to the season a thing of the past for Mark Teixeira? Mark Teixeria is a notoriously slow starter. Ask any fantasy owner about Tex’s April

Preseason Fantistics Analysis - Wednesday, March 16, 2011 New York Yankees The rotation saga in the Bronx (or Tampa for now) continues as we try to figure out how the Yankees plan on wrapping up the back-end of their rotation.

Preseason Fantistics Analysis - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 Milwaukee Brewers The big news hitting the wires in the last 24 hours is that Zack Greinke will be starting the season on the 15-day DL with a broken rib and is

Pedro Feliciano (RP - Mets) - Feliciano has been a Holds machine this year and he certainly hasn’t disappointed his fantasy owners down the stretch. He leads all pitchers with Holds in September (9 of them) and has posted a

Dan Uggla (2B - Marlins) - I’ve said it before, but I don’t think Uggla gets nearly the credit he deserves. He has four straight 30+ HR seasons, three straight of 90+ RBI (he will hit 100 RBI this season),

Curtis Granderson (OF - Yankees) - Overall, its been a disappointing season for Granderson and his owners. Afterall, there were huge expectations for him moving to NY, having the short porch in RF, and plenty of lineup protection. At least

the Phillies. He was 3-for-4 with a dinger yesterday, bringing his September average to .361, OBP to .418, with 3 HR, and 11 RBI. Ibanez goes to extended streaks of hot and cold and fortuantely for fantasy owners, he’s ending

Andre Ethier (OF - Dodgers) - Ethier has really slumped in September, hitting just .200 with a .304 OBP for the month with 13 K’s and just 3 extra base hits. He might have broken out of it last night,

Omar Infante (2B - Braves) - Just another multi-hit game for Omar Infante who now has four this month to bring his season average to .342. This isn’t just a hot streak for Infante. He has been doing this all

1. Jason Kubel (OF - Twins) - Kubel broke out of his HR funk yesterday, hitting his first HR since August 20th and his 19th of the season. He missed a few games last week with a sore left wrist,

Domonic Brown (OF - Phillies) - After a few eye-opening games, Brown has certainly cooled-off when he gets the chance to play. The good news is that he’ll stay in the majors now that Ross Gload is on the DL.

AJ Burnett (SP - Yankees) - Burnett has had two quality starts in August and two ugly ones. Last night’s start fell on the bad end. He allowed 12 hits, 6 ER and 3 BB in 7.0 IP. This has

Adam LaRoche (1B - Diamondbacks) - He’s making us look smart, but it was an easy prediction. LaRoche is having a monster second half, just like he does every season. He’s hitting .328 since the All-Star break with 8 HR,

Pablo Sandoval (3B – Giants) – Better late than never for Kung Fu Panda. Another HR on Saturday gives him 8 for the season. But more importantly, he has 2 in the last 3 games including 2 RBI, 3 BB,

Raul Ibanez (OF - Phillies) - Ibanez continued his hot hitting in August, going 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI, and a BB. He is hitting .400 for the month with a .486 OBP, 7 RBI, 1 HR, and 6

Gordon Beckham (2B - White Sox) - Beckham was out of the linuep on Monday with a groin strain. He plans on being back in the lineup no later than Wednesday, but remains iffy for the series opener against the

Carlos Zambrano (SP - Cubs) - After a disciplinary hiatus from the Cubs, Carlos Zambrano will rejoin the team and make his first start since June 25th. The good news for fantasy owners is that the start will come on

Dan Uggla (2B - Marlins) - “And his name...is DAN UGGLA!!” Shoutout to the Marlins TV announcers on that one. We’ve heard that HR call a lot over the last couple of weeks as Uggla continues to the pound the

Javier Vazquez (SP - Yankees) - Vazquez hasn’t exactly had it easy since rejoining the Yankees. He had a couple rough months of the season that led to Yankee fans calling for his head. But Vazquez has quietly settled into

1. Miguel Olivo (C - Rockies) - Olivo broke-out of his slump on Monday with a 2-for-4 performance against the Phillies that included a double and a run scored. Olivo had been cold of late, going just 2-for-22 in the

Jason Bay (OF - Mets) - Jason Bay continues to be nonexistent in the fantasy stats category. For July, he’s hitting just .169 with no home runs, 8 RBI, and just 2 extra base hits. He has 20 K’s to

Matt Holliday (OF - Cardinals) - Holliday is really streaking heading into the all-star break. Another 2 HR last night and an overall 4-for-5 performance gives him a .318 avg and .423 OBP for July with 3 HR, 19 TB,

Wandy Rodriguez (SP - Astros) - It just happened to work out that I was scheduled to write the day after Wandy pitched (seriously, coincidence only). While its been a tough year for Wandy fans, he was able to show

Melky Cabrera (OF - Braves) - Melky had an atrocious start to the season and was quickly written-off. But the Melk-Man has quietly put together a nice June and, if you look at his numbers since May 1st, they really

Ian Kennedy (SP - Diamondbacks) - Kennedy was cruising until the D-Backs sent him out for the 7th inning. After pitching near-flawless (and scoreless) baseball through six innings, Kennedy allowed 3 ER in the 7th before being removed with a

Travis Snider (OF - Blue Jays) - Snider is likely out of action until at least the All-Star break. He has a sprained wrist, but news out of the Blue Jays front office indicated they will take things slow with

Curtis Granderson (OF - Yankees) - Not sure if its premature to say that Granderson has turned the corner, but he is certainly well on his way to getting his power back. With another HR yesterday, he now has 4

Austin Kearns (OF - Indians) - Well, it took 8 years but Austin Kearns is finally producing fantasy results. Ok, that wasn't fair to Austin, you, or your fantasy team from 2002. But in all fairness, Kearns is on a

Colby Rasmus (OF - Cardinals) - Rasmus has been held out of the lineup for 3 straight games with a sore calf, but the Cardinals expect him to be back on Friday for the start of the series against the

David Wright (3B - Mets) - Is that David Wright or did Mark Reynolds put on a Mets uniform? The 2010 Wright story continues to be twofold: homeruns and strikeouts. While his power is back with an AB/HR of 14.7,

Kevin Kouzmanoff (3B - A's) - I wouldn't exactly call his one hit on Monday a "breakout," but it was a step in the right direction after going hitless in the first three games of the series against the

Conor Jackson (1B - Diamondbacks) - What has happened to Conor Jackson? In 2006 and 2007, Jackson averaged a HR for every 32.3 and 27.7 at-bats. He struggled a bit in 2008, dropping his AB/HR to 45.0 with only 12

Jon Garland (SP - Padres) - Jon Garland's streak of quality starts was broken on Wednesday with one of his lesser performances of 2010. Leading up to yesterday's game, Garland had 5 consecutive quality starts before he went 5.0 IP

    1.  Mark Reynolds (3B - Diamondbacks) - .  Reynolds continues to struggle at the plate, going just 2-for-14 in the last 4 games with only one HR in the last 11 (or the last 38 AB).  In his first

May 6, 2010 - NL Fantistics Blog   1.  Dexter Fowler (OF - Rockies) - Dexter Fowler has largely been a disappointment through the first 5 weeks of the season, but he is coming around.  He's 5-for-19 through the first

  May 4, 2010 - AL Fantistics Blog   1.  Frank Francisco (RP - Rangers) - The closer situation in Texas continues to be a big soap opera.  While Neftali Feliz continues to look like the best option to everybody but one

Matt Capps (RP - Nationals) - Ask the average fan who is leading the majors in saves and there is no WAY they say Matt Capps (unless they live in Washington or they happen to play fantasy and have him on

April 22, 2010 - NL Fantistics Blog   1.  Jorge Cantu (1B / 3B - Marlins) - Who knew that Jorge Cantu would jump out of the gate as one of the hottest hitters in baseball for the month of

1. Casey Kotchman (1B - Mariners) - Three straight games with HRs for Casey Kotchman. That makes him 7-for-12 in XBH to start the season with 6 BB, a .367 OBP and a .963 OPS. Its been a few years

Geovany Soto (Catcher - Cubs) - Soto "broke out" of his slump to begin the 2010 season with his first HR of the year. It also was just his 3rd hit of the year, hitting just .176 through 17 AB.

   April 8, 2010 - NL Fantistics Blog   1. Dan Uggla (2B - Marlins) - Dan Uggla went yard for the first time this season and finished the night going 2-for-5 with 2 runs scored and a walk.  It isn't

  April 6, 2010 - AL Fantistics Blog   1.  Scott Kazmir (SP - Angels) - Kazmir was placed on the disabled list prior to opening day with a strained hamstring, but will make a start at Class A on

March 31, 2010 - Fantistics Preseason Notes   Chicago White Sox   1.  Carlos Quentin (OF - White Sox) - Its no secret I'm a big supporter of the "Carlos Quentin 2010 Bounce Back" campaign.  He's had a modest spring, but

March 24, 2010 - Fantistics Preseason Notes    New York Yankees   1.  The 5th Starter - We predicted it here a few weeks ago and it will likely be official later this week.  Phil Hughes WILL be the fifth

March 17, 2010 - Fantistics Preseason Notes    New York Yankees   1.  Mark Teixeira - A Pre-Season Favorite for MVP - (1B - Yankees) - It all seems to be adding up now.  The monkey is off the back with

March 10, 2010 - Fantistics Preseason Notes    New York Yankees   1.The 5th Spot - Joba Chamberlain vs Phil Hughes - One of the biggest question marks for the Yankees heading into spring training is who will earn that

Carl Pavano (SP - Twins) - Carl Pavano will take the mound tonight against the Tigers in one of the few "playoff-like atmospheres" in baseball right now. Pavano has had somewhat of a comeback season, but the real key here

David Price (SP - Rays) - Price just never really got his momentum under him this year. He was sitting on 3 straight quality starts heading into yesterday, only to allow 5 ER in 5.0 IP. He didn't factor into

Aaron Hill (2B - Blue Jays) - Another dinger for Aaron Hill gives him an incredible 33 for the year. That pace is a HR for every 19.3 AB. His next best was 35.8 when he hit 17 HR

Alexei Ramirez (SS - White Sox) - Another solid game for Ramirez, this time going 3-for-4 with a run scored. His RBI totals have been limited hitting at the bottom of the White Sox order, but he continues to post

Hideki Matsui (DH - Yankees) - Matsui has had a "quiet" year in a sea of superstars, but if you haven't noticed, he is putting up solid fantasy numbers. He's posting anFPI of 0.67 which consists of a .275 average,

Adam Dunn (OF - Nationals) - I think it might happen. He's at 37 now. I think he can end the season on exactly 40. I've written about this a couple of times this season, but one of the most

Kevin Youkilis (1B - Red Sox) - Youkilis continues to improve every year. Heading into 2009, it would have been tough to beat his 2008 numbers. Last season, he hit .312 with 29 HR, 115 RBI, and a .958 OPS.

Chris Davis (1B - Rangers) - We recommended Chris Davis as a pickup when he was called-up and Hank Blalock was relegated to bench duty. So far, its proving to be a fruitful call if you made the claim. Davis

Rich Harden (SP - Cubs) - Rich Harden had his worst outing since the all-star break, allowing 5 ER and 6 BB in 5.0 IP to the Astros. The loss evens his record at 8-8 for the year and raises

James Loney (1B - Dodgers) - Loney had gone from July 10th to August 26th without a HR. Now, he has 2 in the last 3 games for a total of 9 on the season. It hasn't just been a

Joba Chamberlain (SP - Yankees) - After hurling three consecutive quality starts to end the month of July, Joba has given up 4 ER or more in each of his 4 starts this month including a 7-spot in just 4.0

Johan Santana (SP - Mets) - Delivering this news is not easy, but its best to do it like a band-aid. Johan Santana will miss his start today with elbow issues and will visit the team doctor to get a

Matt Cain (SP - Giants) - Matt Cain was getting flashbacks with the lack of run support yesterday. He hurled 8.0 IP and gave up just 1 ER, 8 hits, 1 BB, and struck out 3. He wasn't handed the

Ian Kinsler (2B - Rangers) - Since coming off the disabled list last Friday, Kinsler has done nothing but hit bombs. With another one last night, Kinsler has 3 HR in the last 4 games and a total for 26

Brad Lidge (Closer - Phillies) - Deep breath for Lidge owners. He came in last night to shut-the-door on the Braves with a 3-run lead. He recorded the one out he was called to get, throwing three pitches and recording

David Price (SP - Rays) - The splits are looking pretty clear to me - Price can't pitch on the road. Another bad start away from Tampa on Wednesday against the Angels led to 5 ER in 6.0 IP,

Gordon Beckham (3B - White Sox) - Gordon Beckham continued his torrid hitting on Monday, going 2-for-4 with a HR and 2 RBI against the Angels. It was his 3rd straight multi-hit game and his 7th in the last 8

Tommy Hanson (SP - Braves) - Tommy Hanson has come back to the pack a little bit, but he's still pitching incredibly well. He gave up 4 ER in 6.0 IP with 1 BB and 4 K's to a very

Andy Marte (3B - Indians) - The Indians recalled hot-hitting Andy Marte on Tuesday and he will likely get plenty of ABs right away. The 25-year-old Marte has been on radar screens for a little bit, but it wasn't until

Jason Bay (OF - Red Sox) - Bay just can't seem to get it together. He was 0-for-1 with 3 BB and a run scored on Tuesday, bringing his average for the month of July to .184 and OBP to

Jose Contreras (SP - White Sox) - Contreras had been pitching well.... until Sunday. He was 5-for-6 in QS entering Sunday's game. Pitching against the Orioles, Contreras just couldn't get into a rhythm and had no feel or control. Baltimore

Ryan Franklin (Closer – Cardinals) – I’ve been in St. Louis for the All-Star festivities since Thursday and I’ve been happy to see that at least some people have recognized how awesome Ryan Franklin has been this season. Of course,

AL Player Profiles - July 8, 2009 1. Jason Bay (OF - Red Sox) - Bay finally broke out of his month-long slump in a big way on Tuesday night, going 2-for-3 with a HR, a double, and 2 stolen

1. Jason Bay (OF - Red Sox) - Nobody is happier to see June end than Jason Bay. He ended the month hitting just .230 with a .301 OBP and 4 HR. Over the last week, Bay has just 2

David Price (SP - Rays) - David Price's night ended early. After hurling 88 pitches in 4.1 IP, Price left with a 5 ER, 7 hit, 2 BB line. He actually left the game with the score 10-0 in favor

Scott Kazmir (SP - Rays) - Its time to turn your attention back to Scott Kazmir. He begins a rehab assignment on Monday and is scheduled to throw 85 pitches. Monday should be telling if the right quad strain has

Alexei Ramirez (SS - White Sox) - Alexei has been hot and cold the last few weeks, hitting only .182 over the last 7 days, but with 4 HR and 2 SB in the month of June. He looked to

Nate McLouth (OF - Braves) - McLouth hit his 12th HR of the season last night (and his 2nd of the week) to bring his RBI total to 42 and his average to .260. He might be on track to

Jhonny Peralta (SS - Indians) - Peralta was benched by manager Eric Wedge on Tuesday. His season-long slump continues, as he is currently mired in a terrible 5-for-35 slump. You can hear the frustration in Wedge's quotes, making you wonder

1. Alex Rios (OF - Blue Jays) - Alex Rios has finally heated up for his fantasy owners. Over the last 7 days, Rios has hit 2 HR and driven in 5 runs while hitting .429 wit a .478OBP .

Kevin Millwood (SP - Rangers) - It was easily Millwood's least effective start of the year on a rainy, damp Tuesday night in Texas. After a LONG rain delay, Millwood took the mound against the Yankees and last 5.2 IP

Jordan Zimmermann (SP - Nationals) - Typically, no quality starts in 5 straight outings wouldn't warrant much of a write-up on a Saturday morning. But one of the Nationals' top pitching prospects, Jordan Zimmermann, deserves a blurb after pitching

Alexei Ramirez (SS - White Sox) - Maybe I'm just stubborn. Or maybe I have a hard time "letting go." But Alexei Ramirez continues to hold the SS slot in my 12-team mixed league and I plan on going down

Chien-Ming Wang (SP – Yankees) - Chien-Ming Wang had a very nice outing in Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday night, going 6.0 shutout innings with 6 K's and 3 Hits. He threw a total of 82 pitches in the outing

Alex Rodriguez (3B - Yankees) - While A-Rod continues to dominate the headlines, he's almost ready to actually play baseball. He played a full seven innings in an extended spring training game on Tuesday and hit two HR. With Jorge

Ubaldo Jimenez (SP - Rockies) - Jimenez hurled his second quality start of the season last night, going 7.0 IP on 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, and 5 K's. He was still handed the loss as the Rockies couldn't

Rickie Weeks (2B - Brewers) - I can feel the excitement coming from fantasy owners thinking this is the year Rickie Weeks puts it together. He's hitting a respectable .281 with a 0.59 FPI, 17.8 HR/AB with 5 HR under

Phil Hughes (SP - Yankees) - Hughes looked great on Tuesday night against the Tigers. In his first start of 2009, Hughes posted a quality start of 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K, and the W.

Nelson Cruz (OF - Rangers) - The Nelson Cruz experiment continues to roll along. He hit his 6th HR of the season on Tuesday night, bringing his HR/AB to 8.2 and further solidifying his fantasy role on rosters. This will

Carlos Marmol / Kevin Gregg / Chicago Cubs (Closer Situation) - The boxscore doesn't always tell the full story. While Carlos Marmol did earn the save on Friday night (his second of the season), it doesn't mean Kevin Gregg is

Nick Swisher (OF/1B - Yankees) - I've heard it a lot recently: what are the Yankees going to do with Nick Swisher once Mark Teixeira is 100%? When you're hitting this well, manager Joe Girardi will find a place for

Jim Thome (DH - White Sox) - Thome may be turning 39 this year, but its not of the realm of possibility for him to equal his age with his homerun total. He got off to a hot-start yesterday, going

Preseason Outlook - March 30, 2009 1. Jason Motte (RP - Cardinals) - The Cardinals have yet to officially name a closer for the start of the season, but Jason Motte certainly seems to be the obvious front-runner heading into

Preseason Outlook - March 23, 2009 1. Alex Gordon - (3B - Royals) - Gordon was held out of the lineup for the second straight day with some hamstring issues. The injury doesn't seem too serious and the Royals are

Preseason Outlook - March 16, 2009 1. Chase Utley - Its looking more and more like Opening Day is a reality for Chase Utley. After off-season hip surgery, he played in his first game of the preseason on Sunday and

Preseason Outlook - March 9, 2009 1. Joe Nathan - Nathan's shoulder soreness kept him from participating in the WBC games this spring, but it certainly seems like its more precautionary than a serious concern. He struck out two in

Fantistics Preseason Outlook - 3/2/2009 1. Johan Santana - One of this week's biggest stories (non-steroid related of course) was Johan Santana's elbow strain and missed throwing sessions. Doctors have pinpointed a slight irritation in his triceps that is causing

First Pitch - AL Pitcher Keepers - September 23, 2008 Last week, Drew and I dedicated two First Pitch articles to fantasy keepers.  We solely focused on hitters in both the AL (found here) and Drew's NL analysis (found here). 

Jonathan Sanchez - Sanchez didn't last long on Wednesday, going just 3.2 IP while giving up 6 ER, 6 hits, and 3 BB while striking out 4. The risk profile for Sanchez has remained consistent all year long: Quality Start

First Pitch - AL Keeper Hitters: September 16, 2008 Welcome to the first of four editions of "First Pitch Keepers."  Over the final two weeks of the season, Drew and I will take you through the AL and the NL

Adrian Beltre - The season is officially over for Adrian Beltre. With surgery to his thumb scheduled for this week, the Mariners will shut the 3B down for the remainder of the year. This thumb injury was lingering all year

Ted Lilly - Lilly pitched fantastic on Wednesday, earning the W by going 8 strong innings of 5-hit, 1 ER ball while striking out 5. Here's how the season has gone for Lilly (from a fantasy perspective): he was drafted,

Sabermetric Tuesday - September 9, 2008 This will be the last Sabermetric Tuesday of the season.  The rest of the Tuesdays will be dedicated to looking at keeper candidates as we start to think about 2009.  Its kind of sad,

Justin Morneau - Just another huge game for Morneau as he helps his team and his fantasy owners make a run at the playoffs. He was 1-for-3 with a 3B but drove-in 4 and scored one, giving him 117 RBI

Ryan Howard - Howard is streaky and can go hot or cold at the drop of a hat. But his current hot streak is surely helping fantasy owners get over that playoff hump. During his current 10-game hitting streak, Ry-Ho

Value Picks - September 3, 2008 Its the first week of head-to-head playoffs and if you're like me, you're stressed.  But hopefully, you have pulled-out to an early lead and can start thinking about cruising into Week #2 with a

Miguel Cabrera - Miggy might have been removed from the lineup on Friday due to a strained pectoral, but he was back in action yesterday and didn't really show any adverse affects of the injury. The first half of the

Ryan Howard - Howard may be on pace for well over 200 strikeouts this season (which would break his own record of 199 from last year and be the first person EVER to K 200 times in a season), but

First Pitch - Sabermetric Tuesday - August 26, 2008 Looking At Recent Trends and Playing The "Hot" Hand If you play in head-to-head leagues, this column is for you.  Of course, rotisserie leagues can find value in it as well. 

Robinson Cano - Quite the day from Robbie Cano - 2 doubles, a dinger, a couple of ribbies and runs scored, and 9 total bases. I think its safe to say his 2nd half "time to get hot" urgency is

Value Picks – August 20, 2008 Good morning! The regular fantasy season is almost finished and by now you are either in the playoffs, on the bubble, or thinking about 2009. Most head-to-head leagues are just 10 short days away

Shaun Marcum - After sitting on the DL with a strained elbow and struggling in his first three outings back in late July and early August, Marcum has returned to his early-season dominance in his last three starts. First, let's

Jorge Campillo - We road the Campillo roller coaster on the way up and now its going back down. Back-to-back shaky starts for Campillo who has now given up 10 ER in his last 11.1 IP. Of course, he had

Sabermetric Tuesday - August 12, 2008 Good Morning! Week 20 is here and the talk around all major media outlets has already turned to playoff races. Before you know it, the leaves will be changing, Fox will be running annoying

Ian Kennedy - Kennedy's time in the big leagues was, once again, short-lived as he was sent back down to the minor leagues on Sunday after another disappointing outing on Friday night. His stuff just hasn't been able to translate

Jorge Cantu – Not exactly a Wally Pipp parallel, but if Josh Willingham didn’t go on the disabled list earlier in the season, I’m not sure if we would have gotten the opportunity to see Cantu put up these kinds

First Pitch - AL Value Picks - August 6, 2008 As brother Drew so eloquently put it yesterday, we are splitting up the AL and NL value picks for Fantasy Week 19 and give you our risers and fallers

Kevin Millar - The player formerly known as an "idiot" is anything but an idiot at the plate. Millar has been on fire since the beginning of June. He has 8 HR and 31 RBI since June 1st with a

PITCH COUNTS You won't see any regression analysis in this week's edition of Sabermetric Tuesday.  Heck, you won't even see a scatter plot this time around.  I'm keeping it simple and straight forward today.  After all, these are the dog-days

Miguel Cabrera - He hasn't produced this year like a first round pick, but Miguel Cabrera is quietly flirting with the .300 mark. Hitting .341 for the month of July, Cabrera is now at .294 for the season. His other

Welcome to Fantasy Week 17 Value Picks.  There are lots of considerations this week as we start gearing up for fantasy playoffs.  Too soon you say?  Week 22, typically the last "regular season fantasy week" is right around the

Jason Giambi - Giambi was 2-for-2 including an integral HR that put the Yankees over the top of the A's to complete the weekend sweep. Giambi hit the home run off the pitcher he has owned: Justin Duchscherer. In 4

Justin Verlander - Quite a tumultuous ride for Verlander in the first 3.5 months of the season. Recall his terrible start to the season - April = 6.50 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 5.0 K/9. Since then, he has posted a 3.23

Adam Dunn - Its no secret that Dunn likes hitting at Wrigley Field and he proved it last night with a long HR to deep center. That gives him 23 HR for the season at a rate of 12.1 AB

Save Opportunities Versus Team Winning Percentage Welcome to last pre-All Star break Sabermetric Tuesday of 2008.  Today's topic was sparked by a friendly baseball debate during a 4th of July BBQ this past weekend.  Living in Chicago, I watched Kerry

BJ Upton - BJ had a respectable day yesterday, going 2-for-4 with a double and a couple of RBI. The ongoing theme with Upton has been the loss of power stroke year-over-year despite a steady FPI. Last season Upton posted

Hideki Matsui - Is a DL stint imminent for Godzilla? He's still nursing that sore left knee and will be examined by doctors on Friday to see if he's ok to at least DH in the first game of today's

Brian McCann - One of the best hitting catchers in the league is in a little slump right now. He has just 1 hit in his last 11 AB and is hovering around the .250 mark for the month of

Value Picks - June 25, 2008 Welcome to the Fantasy Week 13 edition of Value Picks.  While I will still provide a list of players to snag off of your waiver wires for a good value, I'm also going to

Carl Crawford - This is the Carl Crawford you drafted. His Fantasy Week 12 results included a .524 OBP, 15 TB which include a double, triple and a HR, 5 RBI, and 3 R. He attempted one steal but was

Bronson Arroyo - With Lowe dealin' on the other end, Arroyo struggled against the Dodgers on Wednesday night. He gave up 6 ER and 7 hits in 6.1 IP while striking out 6. He only has 1 QS in his

First Pitch - Sabermetric Tuesdays:  Lefty/Righty Offensive Team Splits Sabermetric Tuesday gives us an opportunity to approach fantasy strategies with a statistical focus.  A common theme in fantasy baseball, especially in head-to-head leagues, is the concept of "pitch-and-ditch."  This strategy

Robinson Cano - Keep holding on to the hope of a second-half break-out. Cano might have ended another slump with a 2-for-4 performance yesterday, but you never can tell if one game is the official "breakout" point. Let's break down

Jorge Cantu - Will Cantu continue to fly under the radar or will his 2-HR game bring his season to the forefront? Cantu has a 0.70 FPI with a .296 average, .878 OPS, HR/AB of 17.9, and a total of

Value Picks - June 11, 2008   Fantasy Week 11 is upon us and for some leagues, it marks the half-way point to the fantasy season.  Lots of head-to-head leagues play 22 week schedules with 12 teams playing each

Jason Giambi - Maybe its the mustache. Maybe its the hot weather. Maybe its his unique choice of undergarments. Whatever it is, he's on fire and looks like the old MVP Giambi. Since May 1st, Giambi is hitting .333 with

Adam LaRoche - The Roach has had a tough season with the Pirates and is currently mired in a terrible 1-for-20 slump. This season's totals include a .213 average, .296 OBP, 0.42 FPI, 33.7 HR/AB, and a .653 OPS. Compared

BJ Upton - Upton's HR total remains low with just 3 in 197 AB for a rate of 65.7, but the rest of his game is making up for his low power numbers. He's hitting .305 with a .417

Ted Lilly - Walking to the Cubs game yesterday, I knew it was going to be "one of those days." The stiff wind straight over my head in the bleachers spelled trouble for my boy Ted Lilly who is a

Oliver Perez - Another disappointing outing for Perez. He's now just 2-for-5 in QS this month with a 5.58 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and an atrocious BB/9 of 5.87. While walks and wildness has been his weakness, the long-ball was his

Value Picks - May 28, 2008 Good morning and welcome to Value Picks.  As we've been writing about all season, value picks aims to help you identify players who are either floating on your free agent wires or have been

Daniel Cabrera - Don't sit there and act surprised by this. We have all seen it way too many times before with Daniel Cabrera. After a few dominant outings of quality starts, low walk, and high strikeout totals, Cabrera always

A Closer Look - May 23, 2008 Good morning.  In today's closer report, we'll take a look at the closer situation for every team in the league.  Obviously, many of them are stable situations with little reason for worry.  But,

Jonathan Sanchez - Have you ever seen that web site that tracks the movement of dollar bills through the country? I think its called http://www.wheresgeorge.com/. Well, I want to stamp Jonathan Sanchez in fantasy leagues and track how many times

Sabermetric Tuesday - Variability in Weekly Head-to-Head Match-Ups Welcome to Fantasy Week 8's edition of Sabermetric Tuesday.  Every week, we aim to introduce some unique ways at looking at statistics to help you make educated decisions about your fantasy

Johnny Damon - A falling star? It certainly could be. Since joining the Yankees in 2006, Damon's FPI has gone from 0.71 to 0.64 last year and 0.61 so far this season. His OBP has also equally fallen from .358

Pedro Martinez - So you're hanging on to Pedro, hoping to salvage a little fantasy life from the aging star at some point this season. The good news is Pedro's hamstring strain is recovering nicely and its looking like he's

First Pitch - May 14, 2008 - Value Picks Welcome to the Week 7 edition of "Value Picks."  Can you believe its already mid-May?  With most fantasy leagues playing on a 22-week schedule before beginning fantasy playoffs, Week 7 means

Nick Swisher - We're all waiting for Swisher to turn the corner, but he has yet to really break-out of his early season slump. Whenever he posts a multi-hit game and looks like he's about to put his season back

Joey Votto - Votto was locked-in against the Cubs on Wednesday, turning the power hat-trick of 3-HR (and a SB), and improving his seasons numbers considerably in just one day. The talented Reds first baseman saw his FPI rise from

First Pitch - "Sabermetric Tuesday - The Setup Man" Good morning and welcome to the Fantasy Week 6 edition of "Sabermetric Tuesdays."  I've had a thought in my head for quite some time, but haven't had a chance to accumulate

Robinson Cano - Cano bottomed out and turned it around this weekend. As of Saturday, Cano's average had dropped to .150, OBP .213, 2 HR, and 7 RBI. On Sunday, his swing looked good and seemed to be right on

Troy Tulowitzksi - Its looking more and more likely that Troy Tulowitzski will be heading to the 15-day DL with left quad problems. He's had a rough April and hopefully a little rest and recovery will do him good for

First Pitch - "Value Picks" - April 30, 2008Welcome to Fantasy Week 5's installment of Value Picks.  As you may have realized by now, we have focused one "First Pitch" per week on identifying players on the wires that could

Chien Ming Wang - Wang's 4-hit shutout performance against the Indians on Sunday brought him to 5-0 with a 3.23 ERA and 1.18. The Yankee ace's value is higher than ever, especially now that he's added a strikeout pitch to

Ryan Howard - Its almost laughable at this point. Your #1 pick is bringing your entire team down and there's nothing you can do about it. Another 0-for-4 with 2 K's for Howard in last nights game, bringing his season

Value Picks - April 23, 2008Welcome to another edition of "Value Picks."  Once again, we'll try to focus on some players who are most likely floating around the waiver wires in your league and can be cheap value pick-ups. I'm

Gary Matthews Jr. is just one more example of an underperforming player early in the 2008 season. His huge drop-off over the last two years makes him even more unattractive from a fantasy standpoint and, for you, an opportunity to

Adam Wainwright - Sometimes, fantasy players are just a bit too premature when assessing value in players. Alex Gordon is a prime example, as he had a rough debut year and is now looking like he's going to have the

Jim Thome - This isn't the Jim Thome we're used to in April. He's only 6-for-38 this season (.158, with two of those hits coming as HR). In April 2007, Thome got off to a great start, hitting .340 with

Ryan Braun - With many first and early second round draft picks slumping to start the season (I'm looking at you A-Rod, Jose Reyes, and Ryan Howard), Ryan Braun is at least displaying a power stroke similar to his incredible

Sabermetric Tuesdays: The Quality StartIts baseball season and its a Tuesday.  You know what that means?  Its "Sabermetric Tuesday" here at Fantistics.  Last week, Drew taught us the "ins-and-outs" of the GB/FB and its importance in determining pitcher fantasy value. 

Robinson Cano is just one of many fantasy players in an early season slump to start the 2008 campaign. At .174, he has just 4 hits and one extra base hit through 6 games with the Yankees. Cano , who

Oliver Perez - A great start for Oliver Perez. He was one of my key "watch" guys in this year's drafts of having the potential to post a big season. Granted, last night's game was against one of the weaker

First Pitch - April 2, 2008 - "Value Picks"Good morning!  In today's edition of First Pitch, we will take a look at value picks.  With a couple of games in the books and our fantasy teams up and running, its

Mike Sweeney - Sweeney hit a 3-run dinger on Sunday and looks ready to be the A's opening day Designated Hitter. It seems like Sweeney has been around forever, but he's only 34 years old and still might have some

Preseason Blog - March 21, 2008Vlad Guerrero - Vlad was removed from the game yesterday with stiffness in his right knee.  He'll take a couple of days off before he resumes his baseball activities.   I think Vlad is perceived as

Preseason Blog - March 14, 2008Curt Schilling - We all knew it was coming, but seeing Curt Schilling's name next to the 60-day DL list made it very real for Red Sox fans.  The Sox made it official yesterday after

Preseason Blog - March 7, 2008Noah Lowry - Lowry's start to the 2008 season has been about as bad as it gets.  Lowry has complained of "fatigue" in the area between his left thumb and wrist, which definitely does not

Miguel Cabrera isn't getting much press these days with the Marlins way out of playoff contention, but he's had another fantastic season for fantasy owners. I like to start off my analysis of Cabrera by reminding readers that he's still

This morning's First Pitch marks my last one for the 2007 season. Its been quite a ride. Hopefully some of the information I have included in this column has helped your fantasy team to the playoffs and ultimately, a championship.

Jack Wilson was out of the starting lineup on Wednesday with a hamstring strain, but he's considered day-to-day at this point. Wilson has quietly put together two fantastic months to end the season. Since August 1st, he has hit .415

Aaron Hill set the Toronto Blue Jays doubles record on Sunday with his 42nd of the season (broke Robert Alomar's record set back in 1991). He's had a nice season with all of these doubles and is hitting .276 with

It wasn't a quality start (officially), but Brandon Webb hurled 7.0 IP and allowed 4 ER to win his 15th game of the year. Talk about consistency. A look at his last three years shows a slowly improving ERA (3.54,

When the Yankees have needed him most, Chien Ming Wang has stepped up in a big way. He has converted W's in his last 5 outings, including another one against the Royals on Sunday. In those 5 starts, Wang is

The month says "September"on my calendar, but for true fantasy players, this is our October. Fantasy playoffs have begun in head-to-head leagues. Fantasy GM's everywhere are making more roster moves than George Steinbrenner. Now is not the time to sleep.

I feel like Adrian Gonzalez has quietly lived up to his fantasy expectations, but doesn't quite get the credit he deserves. First, let me give you his preseason projected line: FPI of 0.71, 28 HR, 91 RBI, 88 R, .306

Alex Gordon never quite turned out to be the rookie-of-the-year candidate everybody thought, but he has shown some signs of greatness throughout the season. He hit 2 HR against the Twins yesterday, giving him 14 for the season. His 0.54

Ask the average fan to name the great hitting SS in the game, and you'll get a list of names like Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez, Derek Jeter, Miguel Tejada, and maybe Edgar Renteria. Few will ever mention Carlos Guillen, but

Maine, Cain and Pray for No Rain   As I sat through the monsoon that hit Chicago yesterday, I thought about the fantasy effects of rainouts, doubleheaders, and schedule make-ups. Those who play in daily leagues have certainly picked

Brian McCann is heating up just in time for the fantasy home stretch. His power numbers have been down all year from his 2006 breakout season, but he has managed to raise his totals slightly over the past week. He

Tim Wakefield is a solid play for his Monday start against the Devil Rays. The young Tampa Bay team typically has lots of trouble with the knuckleballer. For his career, Wakefield is 18-2 against the Rays with a 2.83 ERA,

Yovani Gallardo was rocked for the 2nd straight outing. After giving up 11 ER in just 2.2 IP against the Rockies last week, Gallardo followed with a 7 ER outing against the Cardinals last night. That's 18 ER in 8.1

Ian Kinsler has gone from a power hitter to a base stealer in a single season. He has 3 SB in August, but no homeruns. He sat out for most of the month of July, but his last HR came

Garret Atkins had quite an afternoon against the Brewers, going 4-for-4 with two doubles, 6 RBI, and a run scored. This extends his hit streak to 9. During that span, he has 5 multi-hit games including 2 HR, 19 RBI,

The Joba Chamberlain era has begun in the Bronx. Chamberlain's name has been discussed alongside Phil Hughes as the two pitching saviors in the Yankee farm system. The Yankees made room for Chamberlain and called him up as a bullpen

Fausto Carmona was on the tough end of a 1-0 loss on Sunday. Despite pitching 7.0 innings of 1 ER, 5 K, 5 H ball, Carmona was handed the loss, bringing his record to 13-6. Unfortunately for Carmona, his nemesis

It continues to be one of those years for Richie Sexson and his owners. He showed some signs of breaking out last week, hitting his only two homeruns of the month, but is still hitting just .178 in July and

The Elusive Hold   The Hold is a relatively new metric that attempts to measure the effectiveness of a middle relief pitcher. The growing popularity of fantasy baseball has given the hold a little more air time in recent

Josh Johnson looked good in a rehab start, throwing three perfect innings in a Class A game on Wednesday. The Marlins are considering bringing Johnson back to pitch on Tuesday against the Rockies, which would make him a two-start pitcher

Manager Joe Torre stole my thunder yesterday. I was really excited to compare Shelly Duncan to Shane Spencer in today's column and then Torre decided to drop Spencer's name in his post-game show. Well anyway, Duncan joined the Yankees late

While Carlos Zambrano earned his 12th win in the opposing dugout, Matt Cain watched his record drop to 3-11. Of course, Cain didn't help his cause this time around, giving up 6 ER in just 4.0 IP against the Cubbies.

Games against the Royals can boost a young pitcher's confidence. Fausto Carmona pitched a solid 7.0 IP, 2 ER game to earn his 11th win of the season. He struck out 4 and walked two in the outing as well.

Maybe I'm going down with the ship here, but I continue to claim that Raul Ibanez is a buy-low option for the latter half of the season. His 6 hits and 4 RBI in the last four games give Ibanez

Frustrated Rickie Weeks owners can gather here for solace. First the bad: Weeks' average plummeted to .230 with an 0-for-4 against the Pirates on Wednesday. Ok, you know how rough its been being a Weeks owners. Now for what I

With another HR in yesterday's slaughter of the NY Yankees, Jack Cust now has 14 dingers this season and is averaging a HR/AB of 11.1. He hit 3 HR last fantasy week and is posting a 1.026 OPS since joining

Brian Giles will be activated from the disabled list on Friday and should be back in action for the weekend series in Los Angeles after missing a month with a bruised knee. Giles and fantasy owners have seen quite a

Moose's record dropped to 3-5 with another loss on Sunday. His ERA has ballooned to 5.12 and WHIP to 1.35. The Giants hit him up for 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 BB, and 5 H. Mike Mussina had a string

Manager Bobby Cox gave the slumping Andruw Jones a night off on Wednesday. With a scheduled off-day for the Braves on Thursday, Cox hopes that back-to-back days of rest may help Jones get his swing back in order. He's not

Chien-Ming Wang struck out a career-high 10 and earned his 7th win of the season against the cross-town rivals New York Mets on Sunday night baseball. Wang's 10 K's was quite a surprise, considering his K/9 is just 4.71. His

There has been a lot of talk recently about the "Unwritten Rules"in baseball. When Alex Rodriguez rounded third in Toronto a couple of weeks ago and shouted "hey"at the fielder, causing him to miss the ball, the "unwritten rules of

Livan Hernandez made a bid for his 6th straight quality start, but the Yankees had another thought in their minds. Livan gave up 7 ER and 9 hits against the red-hot Bronx Bombers including 3 HR and 5 BB. Tough

The Phillies will turn to rookie call-up Kyle Kendrick to take Freddy Garcia's spot in the rotation on Wednesday. In 12 games this season with the Double-A Reading Phillies, Kendrick is 4-7 with a 3.21 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and a

Carsten Charles Sabathia put together another gem yesterday, going 9.0 shutout innings with 6 K's, 1 BB, and just 3 hits. Its his second straight 9-inning shutout game and his 3rd quality start in the last four outings. With no

If Victor Martinez could only play the Tigers everyday... He hit his 12th HR of the season on Sunday and 6 of them have come against Detroit. Martinez's HR/AB has been cut in half at 15.6 from last season's total

Aaron Cook was dealt his 2nd loss of the season with a 7.0 IP, 5 ER performance against the Cardinals last night. It was his first loss since April 19th and his QS % is now 58%, 7-for-12. Cook is

Brian McCann continues to be a fantasy disappointment this season, yielding little power, a lower than expected average, and significant drops in multiple categories. Let's start with power. McCann only has 3 HR on the season and is averaging a

Its been feast or famine for Jack Cust since joining the A's earlier in the month. After being the hottest and trendiest fantasy name in the game, Cust has fallen back to earth and has gone hitless in the last

Kelvim Escobar was light-out in the Bronx yesterday, going 7.0 solid innings while giving up 1 ER, 1 BB, and striking out 8. It was his second highest strikeout total of the season and his 6th win of the year.

Here at Fantistics, we get lots of e-mail from subscribers asking for our advice on the typical fantasy issues that arise.... Spot starts, trade proposals, lineup structure, and the value of free agents are the main ones. But last

Chris Duncan went yard for the 9th time this season and is quietly putting together a solid season of a 0.74 FPI. His HR rate is a solid 16.2 and is posting a .905 OPS while hovering around the .300

Alex Rios has done it quietly this season, but with his 9th HR of the year, is now posting a HR/AB of 18.8 and an OPS of .850. That's good for a decent FPI of 0.66, in-line with his preseason

Another solid outing for Andy Pettitte without the support from the Yankee offense. He has pitched four quality starts this season while earning a no-decision or loss. He's 6-for-8 in quality starts and is 3-for-3 in May. Little has been

Is it time to become a believer? Its difficult not to believe with the kind of pitching performances Braden Looper has been putting up. Another quality start last night makes Looper 7-for-8 in QS's and brings his ERA to 2.29

A few weeks ago, we took a glance at the top-15 fantasy first basemen and their lefty/righty splits. The results were compelling (check it out here). Some 1B with super-star reputations simply became average performers based on the handedness of

Jamie Moyer continues to demand some fantasy love, but owners are remaining skeptical. I don't blame them. Who knew he would start 2007 going 7-for-7 in quality starts with a 3.00 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. My concern with Moyer at

Roger Clemens is probably long-gone in just about every fantasy league at this point. With his official announcement to join the Yankees yesterday, he becomes a valuable fantasy pitcher down the stretch for many fantasy owners. But just how valuable?

Adam Dunn loves to hit 'em in bunches. He hit another HR last night for his 3rd in three games and his 8th of the season. Dunn's power in 2007 is consistent with his previous two years at a rate

Raul Ibanez is trying to get things going, but can't quite seem to turn the corner. After knocking-out 33 HR last season with 120+ RBI, he's hitting just .263 with 1 HR and 10 RBI. He's a great buy-low candidate

Adam Dunn is in a power drought. He has not hit a HR since April10th, 12 games ago and his HR/AB ratio has dropped to 19.3. Over the last two years, Dunn averaged a homerun for every 13.6 and 14.0

What would you give to have Hank Blalock to return to his 2003 and 2004 seasons? Those were the years Blalock posted 0.69 and 0.66 FPI's, HR/AB under 20.0, and OPS in the high .800's. Let's take a walk through

Daniel Cabrera is certainly posting the strikeout numbers we expected. With another 7 K's in last night's start, he now has 26 strikeouts for a K/9 of 8.9. The good news for Cabrera owners is that he's keeping his walk

Struggles continue for Carlos Zambrano. In his game against Atlanta last night, Big Z threw 5.1 IP and gave up 5 ER, 5 BB, 8 hits, and 2 HR. Four of those runs came in the first inning and then

Bartolo Colon is set to return to the big leagues this week. After missing the last two months of the season last year with a rotator cuff tear, he made a final rehab start on Sunday and threw 95 pitches,

Lefty/Righty Match-Ups We all know about the advantage a pitcher has over a batter when the handedness is the same. It's usually tougher for a lefty hitter to hit off a lefty pitcher. The same thing goes for righties. But

Tom Gordon finally earned his first save of the season (of course, it wasn't entirely his fault that the Phillies have been so bad early this season). The 39-year-old closer has certainly had his ups and downs, but has been

Its been frustrating to be a Mark Teixeira owner over the last couple of years and the first fantasy week of the season is no exception. He had another 0-for-4 night last night and is just 4-for-19 (.211) in 2007.

If you play in head-to-head leagues with the option for daily transactions, you may already be thinking about the "pitch-and-ditch"strategy for the upcoming fantasy weekend. If you have the incredibly unfortunate luck of having all of the following players on

John Maine made Met fans forget about the strength of their rotation (well, at least for now). He was masterful against the Cardinals last night, giving up just 1 hit in 7.0 IP with 6 K's. Maine is not the

Which Corey Patterson can we expect for 2007? Remember when he was considered a potential 30/30 guy? We think he's more like a 20/40 guy, but if he can put together more than 500 AB for the first time since

Freddy Sanchez's second opinion on his knee sprain didn't provide positive news for fantasy owners. He'll likely start the season on the DL and appear back in the lineup sometime around April 7th. The reigning NL batting champion is still

Speculation surrounding Alex Rodriguez leaving the Yankees continues, this time with rumors about a move to the west coast to join the Angels at the end of the 2007 season. This is just one of many rumors that will be

Chad "Don't Call Me Barbara"Billingsley continues to be the front-runner to fill that last coveted spot in the Dodgers rotation. However, despite a solid spring of 6.3 IP without an earned run, manager Grady Little has guaranteed the 22-year-old a

Today we'll take a close look at catchers. Usually, it's the position you dread drafting most. You get to that special point in the fantasy draft when someone takes McCann and Mauer and you end up throwing your hands in

Having done many mock drafts over the last couple of months, I've been faced with a difficult decision a few times late in the 2nd round - Carlos Lee or Jason Bay? Using the Fantistics Player Projection software customized to