Jeff Francoeur Frenchy’s mired in a 5-31 slump that’s dropped his average to .263. Despite the slow start there are some legitimate reasons for optimism surrounding Francoeur. He’s improved his EYE up to .50, largely thanks to a significant drop...

Gavin Floyd: Despite flirting with two no-hitters this year, there is not much to get excited about when looking at Floyd’s skill set, 4.3 K/9 and a 4.1 BB/9. His high FB% of 53% is going to lead to big...

Nick Markakis- BAL- Hot- Since his last multi-hit game on May 2nd, Markakis had been in a 1-for-15 slump that had shaved 28 points from his batting average, dropping it from .284 to .256. He got half of that back...

American League 30 Austin Jackson NYY OF B+ 23:17 K:BB and 82% CT% are fine, but where's the pop? 0 HR in 125 at-bats. 43 Jose Tabata NYY OF B Discipline issues and batting just .232. Is 8-for-15 in last...

Grady Sizemore – Sizemore had a monster 2006 season in which he had an amazing 92 extra base hits, an average of .57 extra base hits per game. Sizemore was solid last season, but even in that year and so...

Doug Davis: Less than a month removed from surgery to remove a cancerous thyroid, Davis threw a simulated game on Monday and is expected to make the first of two rehab starts on Saturday. The two rehab starts will give...

We’re back with another edition of Wednesday’s Value Picks! As we’ve mentioned before, every Wednesday we’ll go digging for diamonds in the rough that is the Free Agent Pool. While many of the selections in the past have been geared...

Delmon Young - One of the biggest Delmon Young supporters I know asked me yesterday about including him in a deal, so the time may very well have come to put the full-court press on his owners in your respective...

Scott Podsednik- COL- Hot- Sure, he went 0-for-4 last night and lost 35 points off his batting average to go from .343 to .308, but Podsednik is showing signs of bouncing back from an essentially lost 2007 season. His average...

Dan Uggla: I’ve noted in the past that I’m not a big Uggla supporter because of the negative impact he can have on your batting average, but I also noted Uggla’s a traditionally slow starter who heats up in May...

Brad Hawpe Hawpe was 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBI Saturday against the Dodgers. Hawpe has always had his issues versus southpaws, having lost 204 points of OPS against them since 2004, and again this year batting just...

Joe Saunders: Fantasy owners of Saunders are enjoying some good numbers, 5-0 record and a 2.55 ERA. Just be aware, that his skills are just average; 4.6 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, and a 50% GB%, and he is enjoying some good...

Roy Oswalt – Oswalt had another shaky outing last night, even though he received the victory. Oswalt gave up four runs (three earned) in six innings. Three of those runs scored on two Milwaukee homers, and it seems as if...

Erik Bedard was outstanding for the Mariners despite their 3-1 loss to the Yankees. Bedard pitched 7 very strong innings, allowing just 1 ER on 4 H and 1 BB. He also struck out 6 batters and could have very...

Kevin Kouzmanoff - Tony pointed out that Kouzmanoff is a batting average killer, but what is disappointing me so far is the lack of power. Kouzmanoff went yard two nights ago, but it was just his second homerun of the...

Macier Izturis: Izturis was placed on the DL with back spasms. Even if he didn’t go on the DL, with Howie Kendrick coming back very soon, he would have been heading for the bench. Izturis’ poor start, 0/10/.197, is due...

Alex Rios- TOR- Cold- Rios, after an 0-for-3 game yesterday, still has some solid leadoff hitter numbers (.306 average, .386 OBP). Lurking below the surface, though, is a BHIPx of .339 (through Sunday) propping that number up. Rios has gone...

American League 36 Carlos Triunfel SEA SS B 3-for-39 in first 9 games, 10-for-33 in last 8. Also 4 SB and 0.50 EYE. 40 Taylor Teagarden TEX C B AAA promotion came quickly and he could be TEX catcher of...

Boof Bonser – Bonser gave up only one run last night, a solo HR off the bat of Joe Crede, over 7 innings versus the White Sox. He allowed 6 hits, while striking out 8 and walking 1. That is...

Max Scherzer was absolutely filthy in his first appearance for the Diamondbacks. Edgar Gonzalez was pathetic in his 2.2 IP as he allowed 6 R and 8 H but Scherzer filled in an was phenomenal. Mad Max tossed 4.1 innings...

Travis Hafner - Put simply, this is just not the same guy that we watched from 2004-2006. After making only 40% of his outs on the ground during that tremendously productive three-year stretch, Hafner's GB% has increased to 49% since...

Gregor Blanco- ATL- Rise Value- Blanco has been getting increased playing time as a result of his hot bat. However, his .364 average is getting some major assistance from a huge .478 BHIPx. His .78 Batting EYE is very close...

Max Scherzer: The big news on Sunday was that the Diamondbacks called up top prospect Max Scherzer. Our own David Regan ranks Scherzer as the 8th best pitching prospect in baseball and rising thanks to an incredible start to 2008...

Joakim Soria: Save opportunities are always a difficult category to predict and for some reason most fantasy owners operate under the assumption that closers on good teams get more opportunities than those on bad teams. This usually drives down the...

Odalis Perez Perez was a surprise and well, laughable Opening Day starter, but I’m starting to think he’s found new life in Washington. With no expectations, Perez has a leg up on the competition for Comeback Player of the Year,...

Josh Hamilton – Fantistics preseason projections for Hamilton show that we thought fairly highly of him (.287/33/99), and so far he has not disappointed (.293/4/21) through the first 23 games. He also added to his totals last night, going 2-5...

As David Regan has shown all of you previously, Max Scherzer of the Arizona Diamondbacks is one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball. To get a feel for the kind of stuff this kid has, check out...

Johnny Cueto: After allowing 5 ER’s for the 2nd time in his last 3 starts plenty of fantasy owners are going to begin to worry about Johnny Cueto hitting an adjustment period. Statistically speaking, Cueto IS hitting an adjustment period...

Eddie Guardado: Guardado is expected to return from the DL on Friday. Elbow surgery knocked out most of last season, but it has been shoulder soreness that has kept him out this year. Before he went down with the elbow...

American League 4 Matt Wieters BAL C A .385 with 4 HRs. So far ahead of the other catching prospects it's not funny. 5 Mike Moustakas KC SS A Just .193 in the early going, but 9:6 K:BB offers some...

Justin Masterson- BOS- Rookie- Last season, Masterson had an interesting stat line. He split the season between Class A Lancaster, tossing 96 innings, and AA Portland, where he threw 58. Masterson’s raw totals of both walks and strikeouts were very...

James Shields – Shields has put up decent numbers so far this year despite a lot of bad luck. He gave up two more unearned runs last night, bringing his season total of unearned runs to 7 in just 5...

Manny Parra: In 2007 Parra put up impressive numbers in Double-A, 9.0 K/9 and a 2.9 BB/9, and in Triple-A, 8.7 K/9 and a 2.4 BB/9, before coming up to the big leagues where he put up big K’s, 8.9...

Josh Hamilton - The most exciting thing about Hamilton so far this year is not that he’s basically maintained his hitting stats crossing over to the tougher league, although that’s nice in and of itself. For me, the drastic reduction...

Mark Hendrickson- FLA- Hot- Hendrickson ran his record to 4-1 by allowing 3 earned runs on 8 hits and a walk in 8 IP against the Pirates. Cinderella has staved off midnight once again. A lot of factors point towards...

Jonathan Sanchez: I noted Sanchez as a deep sleeper in my pre-season projections article because of his big K potential and early on in the season he continues to flash brilliance mixed in with a lot of well… not so...

Sean Rodriguez: The Angels called up Sean Rodriguez to replace the injured Howie Kendrick on the roster. The 22 year-old Rodriguez showed some nice pop in Double-A last year, 17 home runs and 31 doubles in 508 AB. However, he...

Johnny Cueto It’s good to see that even when Cueto doesn’t have his best stuff, as on Saturday, he can still help his team win. Cueto allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits over seven innings, walking two and...

Conor Jackson - Jackson continued his assault on the NL last night, finishing up with a single, two triples, and a homer in five trips to the plate. He is hitting 364/473/750 on the year, and Drew's prediction for a...

While C.C. Sabathia probably couldn’t throw a QS against a middle school team right now, teammate Cliff Lee is almost unhittable. Lee threw 8 innings of 2-hit ball, while striking out 8 and allowing just 1 BB in the Indians...

Kyle Lohse – Lohse continues to dominate through 4 starts this season, as he pitched 7 innings giving up 2 earned runs off of 5 hits and walking none while striking out 3 versus the Brewers yesterday. Frankly, I’m as...

American League 2 Evan Longoria TAM 3B A The wait is over. Aybar's injury opens the door and Longoria should be able to stick in Tampa. 5 Matt Wieters BAL C A- Only 12-for-24 with 3 HR in first 10...

Julio Lugo: Lugo is off to a better start this year, .271 average in 59 AB, than the first half of last season, 4/34/.190. Unlike last year, he is not stealing bases, just 1 for 3. Unless his back is...

Jim Thome- CHW- Hot-Those in Chicago who have been calling for Thome’s head need to subscribe to Fantistics (heck, for that matter everybody needs to subscribe to Fantistics- tell your friends, relatives and neighbors!). If they did, they could look...

Welcome to a “tax-free” edition of Fantistics’ weekly article on Value Picks! Hopefully by now everyone out there is squared away with the IRS, so instead of crunching numbers to avoid sending out money, you can start playing with numbers...

I really believe that Chone Figgins deserves the great player status, and as Figgins has posted a ridiculous 1.06 FPI to start the season, it‘s hard to argue anything else. He is the biggest on base threat in the major...

Jeff Weaver: The Brewers signed Jeff Weaver to a contract. He will need some time in the minor leagues to get into shape. Depending on how some of the younger Brewer pitchers and Weaver perform will determine if he goes...

Ervin Santana - Santana posted his third straight quality start, allowing three runs over seven innings to the Rangers last night. Santana was very unlucky on balls hit into play last year, and that fact, combined with his excellent stuff,...

Mark Teixeira- ATL- Stats- A good part of Teixeira’s slow start can be placed at the foot of an uncharacteristically horrid .136 batting average against lefties. Normally, the switch hitter does far better against them than against righties (splits of...

Howie Kendrick: Much has been made around this site about Kendrick’s anemic EYE last season and how as a result he’s been overvalued heading into the season. While I fancy myself a numbers man, I have to go against my...

Wandy Rodriguez: While we’re at it, let’s give a little hat tip to my man Joe Ribando for his recommendation of Wandy Rodriguez as a two start pickup this week. If you listened to Joe you ended up snagging a...

Jay Bruce OF Cincinnati Reds Jay Bruce may be the best offensive prospect in baseball right now. He combines tremendous physical skills, and very good baseball instincts, with a strong work ethic to produce the total prospect package …...