Eric Young Jr.: Young remains a staple atop the Rockies lineup despite posting just a .313 OBP this season at the major league level. Fantasy owners sure won’t complain though as Young continues to run recklessly whenever he does get...

Brett Gardner: Gardner’s two above average skills are plate patience, 14% BB%, and speed, 39 steals in 46 attempts. However it is not enough for someone with so little power, 5 HR and 15 doubles in 402 AB. In the...

Cliff Lee- TEX- Caution- Lee’s heavy usage the past two seasons may be catching up with him. The Rangers have treated Lee far better than did the Indians, Phillies and Mariners. With 20 starts if 110+ pitches last year and...

This is my swan song for 2010, the final version of the Prospect Spreadsheet updates. I hope this feature of Fantistics has helped you in your fantasy leagues this year, and moreso in the future as you build your prospect...

Mat Latos – The young Padres’ ace tossed another gem on Wednesday, holding the Diamondbacks to 1 ER over 6 innings while striking out 10 and allowing just 5 base runners. Just 22-years old, Latos has some ridiculous numbers for...

Derrek Lee- ATL- Hot- Three days ago Fantistics’ Drew Dinkmeyer said, “He’ll eventually get hot for a little while…” It looks like “eventually” came pretty quickly. In the two days since Drew’s pronouncement Lee has gone 5-for-8 with a double,...

Justin Masterson (SP—Indians) Despite walking away with a no-decision on Tuesday, Justin Masterson pitched a solid game allowing just one earned run through 7.2 innings and struck out seven batters. Masterson has been putting up some pretty credible numbers in...

Jenrry Mejia - The 20 year old has been tearing up the minors since his demotion, but last night may have cemented his return to Flushing later in the week. Mejia took a no-hitter into the sixth against the Chiefs...

The Rangers have exchanged Derek Holland for Rich Harden in their rotation, beginning on Friday when Holland faces the Twins. I’m less than blown over. Derek has been pretty mediocre this year for the Rangers (2-2, 4.76, 1.45) and a...

Mitch Talbot – After posting a surprisingly solid 3.99 ERA prior to the All-Star break, Mitch Talbot has struggled in his last 6 starts to the tune of a 6.26 ERA and 1.90 WHIP to go along with 19 Ks...

Leo Nunez (RP-FLA) – Nunez blew his second-to-league-worst eighth save of the season on Sunday, allowing a pair of ninth-inning homers in a loss against the Braves. Nunez has now allowing four homers in his last four appearances after just...

Daniel Hudson: Hudson continues to make the DBacks front office look like geniuses. He posted his 6th straight quality start since coming over from the White Sox and he’s worked at least 7 innings in all 6 games while posting...

Brandon Morrow SP (TOR) – I’ve been on the Brandon Morrow bandwagon for some time, and he continues to impress me. Yesterday he picked up his 10th victory of the season against the Tigers, allowing just 1 ER over 6...

Stephen Strasburg (SP—Nationals) The Nationals announced on Friday that rookie phenom Stephen Strasburg has a severe tear in his ulnar collateral ligament and may be looking at TJ surgery. If surgery is the chosen path, fantasy owners can forget about...

Wandy Rodriguez: Joe touched on Wandy’s elite peripherals prior to this start and he stayed on a roll on Thursday shutting down the Phillies over 7 innings, allowing just 1 ER on 5 hits and 1 bb, while striking out...

Wade Davis: The 24-year-old Davis is healthy again and back in Rays’ rotation. Despite shaky skills, 5.8 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, and a 40% GB%, and having a better option in Jeremy Hellickson, the Rays seem determined to stick with Davis...

Evan Longoria- TB- Idea- Longoria’s decrease in power may be coming from a lack of proper plate discipline. He is taking more pitches, swinging at only 43.9% of them, down from 44.7% last year. However, he is swinging at 25.7%...

Madison Bumgarner SP (SF) – Bumgarner got absolutely lit up yesterday, as he gave up 7 ER without making it out of the third inning. He did strike out 3, though, while walking just 1. I wouldn’t worry too much...

American League 13 Aaron Hicks MIN OF B+ .300/.404/.429 since ASB, but ISO not driven by HRs (none). 5 HR, 18 SB in 378 at-bats. 17 J.P. Arencibia TOR C B+ Will be back next month, but real playing time...

Rick Porcello (SP—Tigers) Nifty game for Rick Porcello on Tuesday. He pitched seven shutout innings of two hit ball. Granted, it was against the Royals but you still have to go out there and deliver. So kudos to Porky. It's...

JA Happ: It has been a difficult season for Happ, as he missed over 3 months with a forearm injury and was traded from a playoff caliber team to one in the cellar. On the positive side, in his 8...

Sean Burnett - Lost in the departure of Matt Capps and the ascension of Drew Storen has been the performance of Sean Burnett in the Nationals' bullpen this year. Burnett has pitched exactly nine innings here in August, allowing four...

Jose Bautista hit his 40th HR of the season in Monday night’s win over the Yankees, continuing a torrid second half in which he leads the majors in HRs (16), RBI (39), and XBH (25). If you asked in March,...

Scott Baker: Its been frustrating watch Scott Baker continue to show great peripherals without any signs of a turnaround. Well on Sunday night we finally got a taste as Baker tossed 7 shutout innings against the Angels allowing just 5...

Josh Thole (C-NYM) – Thole was given a day off on Sunday, but with the trade sending Rod Barajas to the Dodgers, Thole stands to be the primary catcher the rest of the way. Of course he deserved to be...

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...

Derrek Lee (1B—Braves) Rather ironic that Derrek Lee made his Braves debut against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Friday. And it was far from impressive as Lee went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Last year for the second half of...

Bud Norris: I think it might be time to start getting a bit excited about Bud Norris. Norris has always been a bit of a mystery. He’s posted tremendous K Rates throughout his career (9.39 K/9) but he’s always struggled...

Tommy Hunter: Hunter is using smoke and mirrors to put up his good numbers, 9-2 with a 3.71 ERA, as his skills are below average, 4.9 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, and a 39% GB%. A 78% S% and a .220 BHIP%...

Derek Holland- TEX- Cold- Holland’s control issues continued in his first start since May 30th. In his last rehab start, Holland gave up 3 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks in 2.1 IP. Yesterday against the Rays he was...

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,...

I hope the prospect updates have helped you out in your leagues this year. I know that they've been fun for me to put together. The one guy I really regret not picking up on earlier for you guys is...

Michael Stanton- FLA- Rookie- Stanton may be picking up some plate discipline. This month he has struck out 12 times in 50 ABs, after fanning 30 times in 86 July ABs. He has also walked 9 times in 59 PAs,...

Clay Buchholz (SP—Red Sox) It was another great outing for Clay Buchholz as he collected his 14th win of the season with seven scoreless innings against the Angels on Tuesday. Buchholz lowered his league leading ERA to 2.36 with opponents...

If you have daily transactions, keep an eye on reports regarding Carlos Guillen this afternoon. Guillen was roughed up in a play at second base in the 9th inning of last night’s game and was examined by the training...

Jonathan Broxton RP (LAD) – Kuo blew a 3-1 lead last night, allowing 3 ER to the Braves in the bottom of the 9th and taking the loss. I find it hard to believe the experiment with him at closer...

Evan Meek (RP-PIT) – Meek struggled mightily in his last outing Friday, allowing four runs on five hits while recording just one out in Houston. The ugly outing took Meek’s ERA from 1.56 to 2.12, but at least now we...

Ben Zobrist: I was asked via twitter, by SmartMoneyKL, to touch on Ben Zobrist which isn’t surprising given Zobrist is in the midst of a horrid 18-111 stretch that has dropped his batting average from .296 to .256. A look...

Thomas Diamond – SP Chicago Cubs Injuries has dimmed the once bright outlook for Thomas Diamond, the 10th overall pick in 2004. Possessed of incredible stuff and a lamentably flawed guidance system, Diamond was derailed by TJS prior to 2007,...

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,...

Nick Swisher OF (NYY) – Swisher is at the peak of his fantasy value right now. That’s not to say he is going to fall off anytime soon, it’s just to say everything is coming together for him. He is...

Luke Scott OF (BAL) – Scott hit his 22nd homer of the year last night, and this now marks the third consecutive season in which Scott has hit 20+ homers. Scott has all of the skills for a near elite...

Ian Desmond (SS-WAS) – Batting second despite a sub-.300 OBP, Desmond was 3-for-4 against Arizona on Friday to bring his line up to .265/.300/.413. Desmond shocked us with a two-homer game a couple nights ago, but it doesn’t change the...

Matt Kemp: One of the things we preach at Fantistics is how important batting EYE is and the reason being how often it aligns with consistency. When we talk about consistency we’re not only focused on consistency within seasons but...

Michael Young: Young’s growing GB%, 2008/2009/2010 #’s 47%/45%/49%, and inflated HR/FB%, 7%/15%/13%, leads one to believe that the pace of HR will slow down for the 33-year-old, 17 HR in 465 AB. That being said, he is still generating enough...

AJ Burnett- NYA- Caution- On July 29th, we talked about how when Burnett throws a lot of pitches his next starts (he had thrown 114 on July 28th) aren’t so good. In his start after that he allowed 8 runs...

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...

American League 2 Mike Trout LAA OF A 12 hits in last 7 G, so he's heating back up. More power to come. 51 SB. 3 Desmond Jennings TB OF A 6'2", 200 (listed), so have to think power will...

Koji Uehara (RP—Orioles) It's so difficult to find a closer that will stick. If a closer's name isn't Mariano Rivera, it seems that the job is a revolving door. With Alfredo Simon struggling as the Baltimore closer, Koji Uehara may...

Geovany Soto: Soto was placed on the 15-day DL with a mild shoulder sprain and should return when eligible on August 22nd. After an injury riddled, disappointing 2009 season, 11/47/.218 with 19 doubles in 331 AB, it has been a...

Mike Leake - I think we've moved into full-on warning mode with the Mike Leake situation, as Leake failed to produce a quality start for the eighth time in his last ten tries last night against the Cards. Leake gets...

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...

Chris Carter: Daric Barton went down Sunday with left shoulder spasms and the A’s immediately removed top 1B/OF prospect Chris Carter from a AAA game with Sacramento. Carter’s hit .262/.369/.532 in the PCL this season while racking up 27 HR’s...

Carlos Gonzalez – Carlos Gonzalez had another huge day at the plate Sunday against the Pirates, recording 4 Hits, knocking out his 25th HR of the season and stealing base No. 18. Entering Sunday’s game, Gonzalez had an impressive .245...

Mike Minor - SP Atlanta Braves The Braves will start Mike Minor against the Astros tomorrow as the left-hander will make his major league debut. The Braves' first round pick last year out of Vanderbilt, Mike signed for $2.42M with...

Bobby Jenks RP (CHW) – I talked today about how Putz could easily close out ballgames if Jenks continues to struggle. The fact of the matter is, though, that Jenks really hasn’t struggled. Sure, his ERA is 5.13, but that...

R.A. Dickey – One of the biggest surprises of 2010, R.A. Dickey looks for win No. 8 on Sunday when he faces off against Roy Halladay and the Phillies. After posting a 4.99 FIP in ’09, Dickey is enjoying an...

Adam Wainwright (SP—Cardinals) Apparently, Adam Wainwright is not at all convinced that Ubaldo Jimenez is the choice for N.L. Cy Young winner. Wainwright is making a very strong case for the honor (an honor, in my opinion, that he should...

Mike Minor: With Kris Medlen likely facing Tommy John surgery, the Braves have already announced their intention to hand over his spot in the rotation to pitching prospect Mike Minor. Minor was the Braves 1st rd draft pick in last...

Edwin Jackson: Considering that Jackson’s “breakout” season in 2009, 13-9 with a 3.62 ERA, was due partly to luck, 76% S% and a .272 BHIP%, it wasn’t surprising to see his numbers decline with the D’Backs, 6-10 with a 5.16...

Alex Rodriguez- NYA- Great Player- Yes, ARod has had a great, if somewhat tainted, career. His 600 homers is quite the milestone. However, that doesn’t really do you any good in the 2010 fantasy baseball season. Looking just at this...

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...

If you're wondering where the likes of Bryce Harper and Jameson Taillon are on my top 50s, they won't be there until they sign a pro contract. Both should do so sometime this month, and I've already decided that Harper's...

Jose Tabata- PIT- Hot- Tabata has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games and raised his average to .297. He also has cut down on his strikeouts, not fanning in his last 4 games and only striking out...

Josh Beckett (SP—Red Sox) It had been a very long time since Josh Beckett had delivered an outing like the one he had against the Indians on Tuesday. Unquestionably, the best start since his return from the DL, Beckett pitched...

Travis Wood - Travis Wood picked up his fifth quality start out of seven by shutting out the Pirates over seven innings last night, walking one and striking out four. I certainly wouldn't have expected Wood to be the lefty...

Trevor Cahill tossed a complete game shutout at the Royals last night allowing 3 hits and 4 walks while striking out 7 in a very efficient 109-pitch performance. This, by the way, is the A’s third CG in a row,...

Ryan Howard (1B-PHI) – Howard was forced out of Sunday’s game in the first inning after injuring his ankle sliding into second base. X-rays were negative, so Howard is listed as day-to-day. It sounds like he’ll miss a few days,...

Ryan Kalish: After collecting 2 hits in his major league debut, Kalish went 0-3 on Sunday with a K and a Sac Fly. With Mike Cameron banged up and Jacoby Ellsbury rehabbing Kalish will be guaranteed AB’s this week, but...

Matt Joyce OF (TB) – While it’s a small sample size (99 plate appearances), I’m really encouraged by Joyce’s increased patience this season. The 25 YO is walking a whopping 16.2% of the time. I’m buying this as real because...

David Wright (3B—Mets) David Wright had a two homer night on Friday and the pitiful ten that he hit all of last year is a thing of the past. Interestingly enough, there were those that were a little skittish of...

Rich Harden – The Rangers’ right hander, perhaps saved by his impressive final start in AAA, will start today against the Angels, bumping Scott Feldman from the rotation. Prior to his strained glute injury that’s kept him from pitching in...

Brett Wallace: While the Oswalt trade got all the headlines, spinning Anthony Gose into Brett Wallace might be the move the Astros end up celebrating in the end. Wallace was drafted by the Cardinals in the 1st Rd of the...

Kevin Slowey: Despite a 9-5 record, it has been a rough year for Slowey, 4.76 ERA in 111.2 innings. On the plus side, he has maintained his outstanding control, but a dip in his dominance is part of the problem,...

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...

Chris Davis- TEX- FYI- The Rangers are reportedly interested in acquiring a righthanded bat who can play first base. Prominent names are Jorge Cantu of the Marlins and Ty Wigginton of the Orioles. With Davis hitting just .148 against lefthanders,...

Getting closer and closer to an influx of new prospects to the lists, as we're about two weeks out from the 2010 Draft signing deadline. If you're wondering where Bryce Harper will debut in the top 50 hitters, #1 sounds...

Danny Valencia (3B—Twins) So who's the hottest hitter in baseball? Josh Hamilton? Miguel Cabrera? Naw. How about rookie Danny Valencia. Valencia has been going crazy like a hamster on a spinning wheel and just doesn't seem to know when to...

Wade LeBlanc: LeBlanc has a solid 3.35 ERA in 104.2 innings, but his skills don’t match up to the ERA, 6.0 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, and a 37% GB%. A fortunate 82% S% and a .266 BHIP%, explains the discrepancy, which...

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...

Jayson Werth (OF-PHI) – I don’t get why the Phillies seem so desperate to move Werth. Sure, if they could get prospects to flip for Roy Oswalt, I’d get that, but the report we got Sunday had them considering dealing...

Jason Kubel: Just when it looked like Kubel was getting things going, hitting .316/.356/.537 in June, the power disappears again and Kubel’s value fades. There was another glimmer of hope on Sunday as Kubel knocked out his 12th HR of...

Evan Longoria 3B (TB) – Despite being in his third season and being in the peak of his career, Longoria is on pace for a career low in homers. He has just 14 through 95 games. However, I expect him...

Ubaldo Jimenez (SP—Rockies) Hmmm...There are some definite chinks showing in Ubaldo Jimenez's armor as he was knocked around pretty handily by the Phillies on Saturday as he was only able log two innings. It was Jimenez's second poor start in...

Chone Figgins left last night’s game against Chicago after a fracas in the Mariners’ dugout. Figgins simply decided, it appeared, not to chase a throw from left fielder Michael Saunders to second base that air mailed the cutoff man. It...

Kelly Johnson (2B—Diamondbacks) Huge night for Kelly Johnson as he hit for the cycle against the Giants. Unfortunately despite all of his best efforts, it wasn't enough to secure a win against San Francisco. The home run Johnson hit Friday...

Domonic Brown: This one goes to twitter follower SmartMoneyKL for asking about a blurb on Domonic Brown. Ask and you shall receive and Follow me on Twitter and you can ask, thus receive! (@DrewDinkmeyer). With Jayson Werth’s name circulating in...

Bruce Chen: Chen is putting up decent numbers, 5-4 with a 4.38 ERA, along with impressive dominance, 7.5 K/9. However, his is also sporting the deadly combination of poor control, 4.3 BB/9, and a high FB%, 52%. If his luck...

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...

Ben Zobrist- TB- Cold- Zobrist is having a tough July in a lot of ways. With a .196 average and no homers for the month so far, he is a drag in those two categories. Zobrist has stolen 6 bases,...

American League 35 Michael Pineda SEA SP B Got to see Pineda pitch on Sunday and came away impressed. I've underrated him. 39 John Lamb KC SP B Not allowing an ER in 30 innings gets you on this list....

Casey McGehee- MIL- Cold- McGehee’s power has evaporated. During the month of July his FB% has dropped to 30.8% and his lone homer yields a HR/FB ratio of 6.3%. Both of those numbers are well below the monthly marks he...

Carl Crawford (OF—Rays) Carl Crawford left Tuesday game in the first inning and I think the word we are all looking for is: OUCH!! After reaching base on a fielder's choice, Crawford has definitively proved once again that you really...

The A’s recalled Henry Rodriguez from AAA on Monday. He got knocked around a bit in his first two appearances in Oakland in May but struck out 4 in his last two innings of work in two additional appearances before...

Mike Pelfrey - When Joseph said that he expected Pelfrey's ERA to move above 4.00, I'm sure he didn't expect it to happen in just a week or two. Nine baserunners and six earned runs (in just 1 1/3 IP)...

Tom Gorzelanny (SP-CHC) – Gorzelanny continues to make the Cubs look foolish (I know, not the newest of concepts) for sending him to the bullpen earlier this year. Sunday, Gorzelanny allowed three runs (two earned) over 6.2 innings to beat...

C.J. Wilson: Wilson’s first start after the break ended up being a good one as he struck out 10 and allowed just 1 ER in 6 2/3 innings against the Red Sox. He struggled once again with command, walking 5,...

Hunter Pence - Pence singled and homered yesterday against the Pirates to extend his hitting streak to 8 games, and he's really heated up since summer started, batting 333/429/524 since the first of July. Pence has continued to improve his...

Jeff Niemann SP (TB) – Niemann improved to 8-2 with a win over the Yankees yesterday, although he did not pitch particularly well yielding 4 ER over 6 IP thanks to 4 BB and 2 HR. Niemann is a guy...

Fred Lewis - Lewis has been seemingly growing into the leadoff slot for the Jays before our very eyes, as July has seen him increase his walk rate dramatically, an impact that he has magnified by swiping five bags in...

Barry Zito (SP—Giants) Barry Zito dominated the Mets Friday night as he pitched 8 scoreless innings, allowing just 2 hits, 2 walks and striking out 10. With that outing, Zito was able to lower his ERA to 3.51 for the...

Jair Jurrjens: Jurrjens was effective once again in his 3rd outing since being activated from the disabled list. He went 6 2/3 innings against the Brewers limiting them to just 1 ER on 5 hits and 2 bb’s while striking...

Wandy Rodriguez – Although he took his 11th loss of the season Sunday, Wandy Rodriguez actually pitched pretty effectively by allowing 3 ER in 6 innings against the Cardinals. All 3 runs came off a Matt Holliday homer and Rodriguez...

Daniel Hudson: Despite being staked to an 8-1 lead after 3 innings, Daniel Hudson was unable to pick up a win in his 2010 debut as he failed to go the requisite 5 innings. Hudson finished the day allowing 5...

Jose Valverde RP (DET) – Valverde earned his 19th save of the season yesterday against the twins, and he now has a brilliant .92 ERA after pitching a 1-2-3 9th inning that included 2 K’s. If you can get value...

Andres Torres – After straining his groin Friday night, Andres Torres did not play Saturday and could be out again today when the Giants wrap up their series against Washington. Prior to the injury, Torres was on a recent hot...

Carlos Silva (SP—Cubs) Carlos Silva has been enjoying one of the finest seasons of his career despite dealing with a leg injury all season long. There is some speculation that he might miss his Sunday start so fantasy owners will...

Brian Bannister gets the White Sox tonight and that hasn’t been good news in the course of his career. This year Bannister is 1-2 in 3 starts vs. the White Sox, with a 9.69 ERA, allowing 22 hits and 7...

Ian Stewart: After a blistering start to the season that saw Stewart hit .293/.386/.520 in April, Stewart has failed to post an OPS above .720 in either May or June. A closer look at the peripherals through the first 3...

Andy Oliver: Although the Orioles got to him in his 3rd start, 5 ER in just 1.2 innings, Oliver’s skills have been good, 7.2 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, and a 42% GB% in 13.2 innings. The dominance is just a continuation...

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,...

Tommy Hunter – The Rangers’ portly right hander draws yet another weak-hitting lineup when he toes the rubber against the Orioles today. Through his first six starts, Hunter has been lights out, allowing just 8 ER in more than 36...

Scott Kazmir (SP—Angels) When the Angels left John Lackey walk this past off-season, I think that they felt relatively secure knowing that Scott Kazmir could pick up the Lackey slack. But as unimpressive as Lackey has been this season for...

Matt Diaz- ATL- Hot- Diaz had his best game of his injury-impacted season, going 3-for-5 with 2 doubles, 2 runs scored and an RBI. This raised his season average to the Mendoza line. Diaz has been a .300 hitter in...

American League 5 Desmond Jennings TB OF A Hits first HR on 6/29. .371 OBP and 20 SB and likely Crawford's 2011 replacement. 6 Mike Trout LAA OF A Only hitting .350 in July to knock him down to .364/.447/.533...

Mike Pelfrey - After another 13 baserunners in 4 2/3 yesterday, I think it's time to throw out the caution flag on Mike Pelfrey. In his last five starts Pelfrey has gone 28 1/3 innings while allowing 43 hits. He's...

Matt Garza is among the biggest active Red Sox killers going (2-1, 2.74 in 6 starts vs. the Sox, in 42.2 IP last year) but the bear got him last night. Garza gave up 4 runs in 3 IP last...

Yovani Gallardo (SP-MIL) – Oh boy. If you were watching Sunday’s Brewers game and you saw Gallardo grab his side after throwing a pitch in the third innings, you know right away – oblique. The 24 year-old Gallardo has been...

Michael Cuddyer: I recently fielded a question on twitter (now seems like a good time to self-promote if you haven’t been following me on Twitter why not? Free and timely baseball information and I’ll take questions via twitter and respond!...

Brett Lawrie – Second Base Milwaukee Brewers The Brewers Brett Lawrie may already be, at 20 years old, the best second base prospect in the minors, especially from a fantasy standpoint where you can throw out his defensive limitations. Except...

Tommy Hunter SP (TEX) - Hunter improved to 5-0 last night, but I have doubts about him moving forward. Entering the game he had a K/9 of 5.22 and K/BB ratio of 2.13 which is something you’d expect out of...

Tim Hudson – The Braves’ right hander faces the Marlins this afternoon, bringing an impressive 2.37 ERA and 8-3 record into his start. Unfortunately for Hudson’s fantasy owners and the Braves, the crafty veteran is benefiting from a ton of...

Rafael Furcal (SS-Dodgers) Once players start to become labeled as injury prone, it’s sometimes difficult to embrace that player going forward. Sometimes it’s more of a headache to worry about that player day to day than the actually results he...

Howie Kendrick - I'm starting to see some positives with Kendrick, who put up a 301/342/451 line for the month of June. His HR/FB ratio is moving up, and he's made some huge strides in cutting his swinging strike%. He...

Travis Wood: We’ve now seen two rookies get the call before Aroldis Chapman in the Reds rotation and both of them have proven deserving of the shot during their first major league start. Wood shut out the Cubs for 7...

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...

Keep in mind, I'm continuing to add 2010 draftees to the list, but only after they sign a contract. That's why you're not seeing Bryce Harper and others on he list. On Harper, there's a very good chance he debuts...

Michael Saunders OF (SEA) - Saunders has flashed decent power (6 HR in 39 games), but I am critical of his ability to contribute to fantasy teams the rest of the season. He is striking out too much (33.3% of...

Felix Hernandez – The Seattle right hander will try to build off his recent string of strong performances when he faces the Yankees in New York today. Hernandez has worked at least 8 innings and allowed 2 runs or fewer...

Randy Wolf: Wolf has been a big disappointment, 5-7 with a 4.92 ERA, and his declining skill set is the reason, 2009.2010 K/9’s 6.7/5.3, BB/9’s 2.4/4.6, and GB%’s 40%/41%. He has been getting killed by the HR ball, 18 allowed...

Tim Hudson - Hudson made it 5/6 in quality starts for the month yesterday, shutting out the Nationals over seven innings of work in a 5-0 win. Hudson is riding a GB% of close to 70 and his best velocity...

Jenrry Mejia (SP-NYM) – As you probably know, Mejia was sent to Double-A Binghamton to build up his pitch count in order to help the Mets out later in the year as a starter. Mejia posted a 3.25 ERA with...

Trevor Cahill: It looks like I was a bit conservative in my love for Trevor Cahill earlier in the year when I noted I didn’t think the K’s would come around enough that he’d be mixed league worthy. Well a...

Carl Pavano (SP-MIN) – Pavano is a guy the Mets could have easily signed over the winter, an after Saturday, they’re probably wishing they had. Pavano spun a three-hit shutout against the Amazin’s, walking just one while striking out four....

Brandon Morrow: It’s time to start taking Brandon Morrow very seriously. I’ve been skeptical that Morrow could ever consistently command the strike zone but hat tip to our own Mike Leone who has stood by him all year. Morrow’s K...

Doug Fister – The Seattle right hander will come off the DL today (shoulder fatigue) and face the Brewers in Milwaukee. Fister has been a pleasant surprise for the Mariners and his fantasy owners this season, posting a 2.45 ERA...

Matt Cain: Paul has been all over Matt Cain as a risk due to the high pitch counts and whether Thursday’s outing was due to some fatigue or quite simply some unsustainable peripherals (.238 BABIP, 80% LOB%) that came into...

AJ Burnett: Besides being wildly inconsistent, there is also a noticeable drop in Burnett’s skills, 2007/2008/2009/2010 K/9’s 9.6/9.4/8.5/6.6, BB/9’s 3.6/3.5/4.2/3.5, and GB%’s 55%/49%/43%/47%. In the past, he was able to compensate for his shaky control with dominance and the ability...

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...

Scott Kazmir – You might notice that Scott Kazmir, who takes the hill against the Dodgers tonight, has won 5 of his last 6 starts and lowered his ERA from 6.09 on May 22nd to “just” 5.08 as of today....

American League 2 Carlos Santana CLE C A A true beast: 1.300 OPS in first 28 ab with 3:7 K:BB. Playing every day. 6 Desmond Jennings TB OF A .313 in June through 6/21, but 0 HR on the year...

Jamie Moyer- PHI- Hot- Moyer gave up 1 run on 2 hits in 8 IP last night, walking 1 and striking out 5. He has enjoyed good luck this year, with a .236 BHIP, but he has also made some...

Jose Bautista (3B—Blue Jays) Jose Bautista knocked a couple of more home runs on Tuesday which brings his season total up to twenty. Did anyone see this coming pre-season? Because, I'm stupefied by how he keeps knocking them out of...

Jason Castro - Jason Castro is the new starting catcher for the Astros, which now gives them arguably six position players that might warrant ownership depending on league size and style. I say arguably not only because you could argue...

Mariano Rivera told the Post he’d be willing to accept a one-year deal to continue his career with the Bombers. The question whether the Yankees should consider it. The answer to that question is clearly yes. Mo's K rate is...

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...

Ted Lilly- CHC- Cold- With a .208 BHIP headed into yesterday’s contest, Lilly had been blessed by good luck. Regression to the mean may have raised its ugly head as he gave up 8 runs (6 earned) on 9 hits...

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...

David Ortiz DH (BOS) – After a tough April, I really thought Ortiz was done, particularly since he fared so terribly on fastballs, and it seemed like opposing pitchers knew it. Clearly, I was wrong and Ortiz was not done,...

Troy Tulowitzki (SS—Rockies) After getting hit on the wrist on Thursday, an MRI revealed a fractured wrist for Troy Tulowitzki. It wasn't the news that Tulowitzki owners wanted to hear as he was placed on the 15-DL and is expected...

Ubaldo Jimenez: I tweeted earlier this week that I thought Jimenez may be on the verge of hitting a rough patch (rough is a very relative term for Ubaldo). We’ve touched on some of the early season abuse Jimenez has...

Brett Cecil: Although there is some luck behind Cecil’s good surface numbers, 7-3, 3.58 ERA, 7% HR/FB%, and a depressed .194 BHIP%, there are also good skills, 6.5 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, and a 44% GB%. Cecil turns 24 years of...

CJ Wilson- TEX- Cold- I was in Sun Life Stadium Tuesday night and got to see Wilson up close and personal. He managed to qualify for quality start, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits over 6IP while striking out 6....

Roy Oswalt SP (HOU) – At first glance I’m tempted to say that Oswalt is likely to regress as his K/9 heading into last night’s start were 8.65 after having a K/9 of 7.12 or lower in each of the...

Conor Jackson (A's—Oakland) What was once a very promising career has slide off the tracks and Conor Jackson will now find himself playing the outfield for the Oakland A's after he was traded on Tuesday. There are pluses and minuses...

John Maine: Maine, who has been out since May 20th with a shoulder injury, is scheduled to make his final rehab start today and if all goes well he should be back in the Mets starting rotation next week. In...

Ryan Braun - Braun singled and homered last night, driving in 5 in the 12-2 win over LA. Braun has certainly made strides in his plate discipline over the past three years, increasing his walk rate while cutting his K...

Chris Tillman SP (BAL) - As I suggested after Tillman’s ’10 debut, he is likely to have little fantasy value this season. The early numbers on Tillman, as he pushed his ERA to 8.40 after last night’s start, are he...

Chad Qualls (RP-ARI) – Another appearance, another blown save for Qualls on Sunday, this time against the Cardinals. Qualls allowed three runs in the ninth to allow St. Louis to tie the game, but that now leaves Qualls with an...

Delmon Young: Delmon Young just keeps on trucking. He extended his hitting streak to 10 games on Sunday with a 3 run HR, his 8th on the season, and is now posting his 2nd consecutive month with an OPS above...

Austin Jackson OF (DET) – Jackson went 2-5 last night to raise his average to .308. I’d be willing to bet a lot that his average come year’s end will not be over .300. It’s doubtful that his 29.5 LD%...

Stephen Strasburg – The Nationals’ phenom draws the Indians this afternoon looking to follow up his major league debut performance when he whiffed 14 Pirates in 7 innings of 2-run ball. The Indians’ offense is putrid this season but comes...

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...

R.A. Dickey (SP—Mets) I'm not sure if there is a more delicate way to say this, but I am becoming a big fan of R.A. Dickey. Dickey improved to 4-0 on the season, pitching seven strong innings against Baltimore, allowing...

Jhoulys Chacin: Chacin lost for the 3rd straight time and 5th time in his last 6 starts on Thursday as he allowed 4 hits, 3 BB’s, and 4 ER’s over 6 innings against the Astros. Chacin continues to rack up...

Nick Blackburn: Even with a good control/ground ball package, 1.9 BB/9 and a 47% GB%, Blackburn’s complete lack of dominance, 2.3 K/9, is leading to a 5.21 ERA. His previous work, 2008/2009 K/9’s 4.5/4.3, offers some of hope of better...

Justin Masterson- CLE- Hot- Last night might have been a heaping helping of regression to the mean for Masterson. He carried a .368 BHIP into last night’s start, where he shut out the Red Sox on 2 hits and 2...

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...

Baseball held it's annual player draft this week, and as you may have heard, the Nationals didn't go the cheap route, selecitng Bryce Harper with their second consecutive #1 overall pick. In baseball history, no team has ever added this...

Stephen Strasburg- WAS- Rookie- Talk about living up to the hype. Strasburg wasn’t perfect in his major league debut, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits in 7 IP, but he was close enough, striking out 14 batters and walking...

Zack Greinke (SP—Royals) So far, Zack Greinke’s season hasn’t been the kind of year that we would expect having come off a Cy Young award. Yes, the record is pretty sad at 1-8 but we can probably say that that...

A.J. Pierzynski earns 10- and -5 status next Monday, which comes complete with a trade veto power the White Sox may be reluctant to grant, even though he also become a free agent this fall. A.J. may have softened the...

Dan Haren - Haren couldn't pick up a 2nd straight quality start last night against Atlanta, but he did manage to pick up the win with a 5 2/3 IP, 3 ER effort. Haren's scuffles have been discussed ad nauseum...

Nick Markakis: Markakis has been a huge disappointment this year and a close look at his peripherals reveals a 3rd straight year of declining ISO and SB attempts. His plate patience skills are still good (.97 EYE, 19% LD Rate),...

Mike Stanton (OF-FLA) – Astute fantasy owners in Yahoo leagues may have noticed that Stanton is actually available in the Yahoo database. If he’s yet to be picked up in your league, he’s certainly a guy worth a short. Sure,...

Casey Kelly - Starting Pitcher Boston Red Sox The Red Sox 2008 first round pick wanted to explore his two-way capabilities for a while, but finally arrived at the conclusion himself this past winter that his future was on the...

Casey McGehee – After a torrid start to the season, Casey McGehee has cooled off lately, posting just a .205/.222/.472 slash line in the past 14 days with 0 HR and 3 RBI. After recording a .946 OPS in April...

Delmon Young OF (MIN) - I’m joining Drew on his island; Delmon Young has a good chance for a nice second half breakout. At age 24, he is showing some serious improvements in important areas of his game. For starters,...

Brett Cecil - Cecil was outstanding again last night, this time going eight innings and allowing only one run to the Yankees in a 6-1 victory. Cecil has only been hit hard once in nine times out this year, and...

Carlos Zambrano (SP—Cubs) Carlos Zambrano’s return to the starting rotation didn’t work out the way he or the Cubs intended as he took his fourth loss of the season against the Astros. Zambrano wasn’t able to get out of the...

Stephen Strasburg: Strasburg made his final minor league start on Thursday, throwing another 5 shutout innings and lowering his minor league ERA to 1.30 and 0.80 WHIP in 11 starts. He posted a tremendous 65/13 K:BB Rate over his 55...

Jayson Nix: With Mark Teahen out for at least a month, Nix should pick up starts at 3B. When first called up last year he hit with power, but over the 2nd half of the season it was just league...

Miguel Tejada- BAL- Hot- With a BHIPx of .234, some regression to the mean is expected for Tejada. Yesterday might have been the beginning of that. He went 3-for-4 against the Yankees with 2 doubles and a run scored. Since...

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,...

American League 3 Jeremy Hellickson TB SP A This is getting ridiculous. 7-4-0-0-0-7 last time out. 67:12 K:BB in 65 IP. 5 Kyle Drabek TOR SP A 8-4-0-0-1-4 last time out. 3.06 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 3.6 BB/9. August debut? 10...

American League 3 Jeremy Hellickson TB SP A This is getting ridiculous. 7-4-0-0-0-7 last time out. 67:12 K:BB in 65 IP. 5 Kyle Drabek TOR SP A 8-4-0-0-1-4 last time out. 3.06 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 3.6 BB/9. August debut? 10...

Brad Penny: Penny, who has been out with a strained lat muscle, is about two weeks away from returning. Prior to the injury, Penny was putting up good numbers, 3.23 ERA in 9 starts, with solid skills support, 5.7 K/9,...

Matt Holliday - Holliday doubled and walked yesterday, finishing May with a five-game hitting streak in which he hasn't struck out once. Looking at his past three or four years though, Holliday really seems to be slowing down early in...

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...

Max Scherzer (SP-DET) – Once in awhile, a pitcher just needs a simple jolt of confidence. It doesn’t often mean that rebuild happens in Triple-A, but that’s exactly what happened with Max Scherzer. Sunday was Scherzer’s first start since his...

Ubaldo Jimenez – How good has Ubaldo Jimenez been in 2010? Well, let’s count the ways. His “worst” start was April 11th against the Padres when he allowed 2 ER in 6 innings of work. He’s yielded 1 HR in...

Justin Morneau 1B (MIN) – Morneau is currently sporting a career high .372 batting average. Unfortunately for owners, it’s likely not sustainable. Morneau has hit over .300 only once in his career, back in 2006, and his current .337 singles...

Mike Redmond- CLE- FYI- Redmond has turned into Fausto Carmona’s personal catcher. That predictability can be good in a backup catcher, since you can figure out when to insert him in the lineup if you own him. But, is Redmond...

Matt Cain (SP—Giants) Matt Cain pitched a gem of a game Friday night against the D-Backs allowing just 1 hit for a 5-0 win. The five runs the Giants scored for him must have seemed like a wealth of riches...

Dan Haren: I thought this was the Dan Haren we got during the 2nd half? The guy who struggled to keep the ball in the park and as a result struggled to pitch to his peripherals. This year the situation...

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...

Francisco Liriano – After allowing just 3 ER in 29 IP in April, Liriano had struggled through his first 4 starts in May by yielding 16 ER in 23 IP. But Wednesday, the left hander stymied the Yankees’ offense surrendering...

American League 3 Jeremy Hellickson TB SP A 8-1-0-0-1-5 in last start. Might be in big leagues now if he pitched for one of other 29 teams. 4 Mike Montgomery KC SP A Best start yet in AA last time...

Anibal Sanchez- FLA- Caution- Sanchez threw 116 pitches yesterday after throwing 119 in his previous start. This kind of workload is unprecedented in his major league career. Sanchez did have a quality start, but was a bit wilder (4 BB...

Vladimir Guerrero (DH—Rangers) Vladimir Guerrero continues to put the “S” in Sizzle as he has been hot, hot, hot! Tuesday night Guerrero went 3-for-5 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI. For those who may have had doubts about the...

We have a good pitching matchup tonight in the Inner Harbor when Jeremy Guthrie and Dallas Braden lock horns. Guthrie has strung together three straight quality starts and he has been outstanding in his last two, giving up 2 earned...

Johan Santana - To piggyback onto Drew's comment of a few weeks ago, here are a few more stats that illustrate the decline of one of the better pitchers of this generation: his contact% against has risen to its highest...

Michael Young - Young has been scorching in May, as another double and a homer yesterday bring his monthly line to 382/456/551. At age 33, most of Young's indicators have been pointing toward the negative for a few years now,...

Blake DeWitt (2B-LAD) – We haven’t updated DeWitt since May 3, so it’s time. Sunday, DeWitt was 2-for-3 with a run scored to bring his batting line to .286/.366/.403. The first two numbers are fine, as is a 0.79 EYE,...

Drew Storen - P Nationals In my fantasy career, I have, more than once, cut a pitcher during his appearance but I don't know how many pitchers in major league history have been promoted to the majors during a relief...

Gavin Floyd SP (CHW) - Floyd is a bit of an enigma. Last season his 4.06 ERA didn’t indicate how well he pitched as his xFIP was 3.69 thanks to a solid 2.76 K/BB ratio. This season his K/9 has...

Josh Willingham – Willingham crushed his 7th HR of the season Saturday and is now hitting .260/.420/.481 with 25 RBI. A cheap source of power, the outfielder owns a career .212 ISO and has tallied 26, 21 and 24 HRs...

Tim Hudson (SP—Braves) If there are any fantasy owners that are not giving Tim Hudson his due then you need to look again at what he has done this season so far. With a dominant performance over the Pirates on...

Mike Napoli: Napoli homered for the 4th time in May and the 2nd time this week, raising his May line to .298/.365/.649. The power is coming back in a big way as he’s picked up 12 extra base hits in...

Rickie Weeks: Weeks is mired in an extended and painful slump as another 0-4 on Thursday dragged his average down to .243 and made him just 20 for his last 109 with 37 K’s in that span. The extremely high...

Mike Aviles: Aviles has been on fire since rejoining the Royals, 2/3/.375 in 64 AB. Don’t count on it lasting, as he is enjoying an inflated .358 BHIP%, is hitting with below average power, and he has yet to take...

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...

American League 11 Brett Wallace TOR 1B A- 70% CT% 2 weeks ago up to 74% now. .987 OPS means bat may be ready. 13 Mike Trout LAA OF A- How's this?: .372 in Apr, .373 in May. 1.018 OPS...

Josh Beckett – Josh Beckett couldn’t escape the 5th inning against the Yankees on Tuesday, allowing 5 Runs (3 ER) on 5 Hits and 3 Walks in just 4 2/3 innings. Beckett now owns an ugly 7.29 ERA and 1.66...

Daisuke Matsuzaka – Dice-K continues to be one of the biggest free agent signing busts in recent memory. The right hander took the hill against the Yankees on Monday and proceeded to allow 7 ER in just 4 2/3 innings...

Hisanori Takahashi: With his kind of numbers out of the bullpen, 3.12 ERA and an 11.4 K/9 in 26 innings, it was only a matter of time before Takahashi got a shot at starting a game, this Friday at home...

Mike Pelfrey - Pelfrey halted the Mets' skid last night, holding the Braves to two runs on seven hits over 7 2/3 innings, walking two and fanning three. Pelfrey's best asset is likely his ability to induce groundballs, and three...

follow me on Twitter for closer updates... @vtadave....and coming soon, prospect takes! Chris Carter (OF-NYM) – There are two Chris Carters in professional baseball right now. The “good one” plays for the A’s Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento, and this Chris...

Joel Pineiro: Our own Thomas Massimo suggested Pineiro was due for some positive regression in this space earlier in the week and sure enough Pineiro tossed a complete game shutout on Sunday to get his numbers back in line. He...

Justin Smoak 1B (TEX) – As we’ve noted all along in this space since the Smoak call up, he should be owned in all leagues. That is still the case, despite the fact that Smoak entered yesterday’s contest with a...

Starlin Castro: I was pretty negative on Castro’s fantasy value upon his call-up and as a Cubs fan I think this surprised some. Even after his magnificent debut, I was heeding caution. Castro’s skill-set is immense, but he’s only 20....

David Ortiz has earned some swagger today after two beefy homeruns last night against the Tigers as part of a 4 RBI night. As we say here in the Commonwealth, not for nothing, but after being given his last rights...

Carlos Lee (OF—Astros) Now this is just getting silly. Five games ago in a contest against San Diego, Carlos Lee hit his 2nd home run of the year and it finally appeared that his season long slump was about to...

Ryan Zimmerman: Zimmerman was a one-man wrecking crew on Thursday night hitting 2 HR’s and driving in 6. At just 25 Zimmerman continues to show impressive improvements in his power. With the 2 HR’s on Thursday he’s up to 19...

Dustin Pedroia: Pedroia turns 27 years of age in August and has increased his power. 2008/2009/2010 AB’s 653/626/144, HR’s 17/15/7, and Doubles’ 54/48/13, with just some minor erosion is his plate skills, 2009/2010 BB%’s 10%/8% and Ct%’s 93%/87%. The tradeoff...

Dustin Pedroia: Pedroia turns 27 years of age in August and has increased his power. 2008/2009/2010 AB’s 653/626/144, HR’s 17/15/7, and Doubles’ 54/48/13, with just some minor erosion is his plate skills, 2009/2010 BB%’s 10%/8% and Ct%’s 93%/87%. The tradeoff...

Randy Winn- NYA- Hot- Winn has been getting more playing time lately and producing. For the month of May He is hitting .316 in 8 games and has a whopping 2.50 Batting EYE. It’s doubtful that Winn can help in...

    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...

American League 3 Carlos Santana CLE C AAA 8 H in last 5 G. 1.1 EYE overall with a .974 OPS. May debut in June. 6 Desmond Jennings TB OF AAA Just 30 AB due to wrist injury, but he's...