Unfavorable Matchups, American League
Ivan Rodriguez Detroit (11 for 27, .407 CS%): 3 against LAA (Chone Figgins, Macier Izturis), 3 against Seattle (Ichiro Suzuki, Willie Bloomquist)
Kurt Suzuki Oakland (12 for 32, .375 CS%): 3 against Toronto (Alex Rios), 3 against Texas (Ian Kinsler, David Murphy)
Joe Mauer Minnesota (10 for 28, .357 CS%): 3 against Kansas City (Joey Gathright), 3 against NYY (Johnny Damon, Melky Cabrera)
Favorable Matchups, American League
John Buck Kansas City (2 for 17, .118 CS%): 1 against Toronto (Alex Rios), 3 against Minnesota (Carlos Gomez, Delmon Young), 3 against Cleveland (Grady Sizemore, Franklin Gutierrez)
AJ Pierzynski CHW (4 for 21, .190 CS%): 3 against Cleveland (Grady Sizemore, Franklin Gutierrez), 4 against Tampa (Carl Crawford, BJ Upton, Jason Bartlett, Jonny Gomes)
Kenji Johjima Seattle (7 for 28, .250 CS%): 3 against Boston (Jacoby Ellsbury, Coco Crisp, Julio Lugo, Dustin Pedroia), 3 against Detroit (Curtis Granderson, Carlos Guillen)
Unfavorable Matchups, National League
Jason Kendall Milwaukee (16 for 34, .471 CS%): 1 against Washington (Felipe Lopez, Christian Guzman), 3 against Atlanta (Kelly Johnson, Gregor Blanco, Matt Diaz), 3 against Houston (Michael Bourn, Kaz Matsui, Lance Berman, Hunter Pence)
Paul Bako Cincinnati (10 for 27, .370 CS%): 3 against Pittsburgh (Jason Bay, Nate McLouth), 3 against Atlanta (Kelly Johnson, Gregor Blanco, Matt Diaz)
Geovany Soto CHC (10 for 27, .370 CS%): 3 against LAD (Juan Pierre, Matt Kemp, Rafael Furcal), 4 against Colorado (Willy Taveras, Matt Holliday, Scott Podsednik)
Favorable Matchups, National League
Josh Bard San Diego (6 for 47, .128 CS%): 3 against Washington (Felipe Lopez, Christian Guzman), 4 against San Francisco (Randy Winn, Fred Lewis, Ray Durham, Emmanuel Burriss)
Chris Snyder Arizona (4 for 22, .182 CS%): 1 against Atlanta (Kelly Johnson, Gregor Blanco, Matt Diaz), 3 against San Francisco (Randy Winn, Fred Lewis, Ray Durham, Emmanuel Burriss), 3 against Washington (Lopez, Christian Guzman)
Brian McCann Atlanta (7 for 36, .194 CS%): 1 against Arizona (Mark Reynolds, Eric Byrnes, Chris Young), 3 against Milwaukee (Corey Hart, Rickie Weeks), 3 against Cincinnati (Corey Patterson, Brandon Phillips, Jerry Hairston, Ryan Freel)
Pickups
Joey Gathright: Gathright is still available in many leagues. He is a must own in AL-only and deep mixed leagues. An injury to any of the Royals starting outfielders makes him a factor in shallower mixed leagues.
Scott Podsednik: Podsednik has appeared in 38 games but has only 68 PA, so it is obvious how the Rockies are using him. As a pinch-runner with an occasional start, his value is limited to NL-only leagues.
Corey Patterson: As his batting average recovers from a deflated BHIP%, Patterson is being picked up. He can still run, 8 steals, but his value may only be short-term, as Jay Bruce is lurking in the minors.
Coco Crisp: The Red Sox are finding enough AB for Crisp, 101 so far, to make him a factor in deep mixed leagues. With a perfect 6 for 6 in steals, he is a must own in AL-only leagues.
Willie Bloomquist: Bloomquist was supposed to platoon in right field, but his usual poor play has limited him to an occasional start, which limits his value to AL-only leagues. Outside of his speed, 4 steals, Bloomquist is not a particularly talented player, so only use him if you are desperate for speed and have absolutely no one else that you can plug into that spot.
Jerry Hairston Jr.: The injury to Jeff Keppinger has opened up playing time for Hairston and he is producing, 1/6/.315 with 4 steals in 6 attempts. He is running more often than he has in the past several years and with the 2 caught steals, it is possible that he may not get the green light all of the time. This limits his value to NL-only leagues.
Jonny Gomes: Gomes is flying under the radar as a speed source, but he is 5 for 6 in the steals department. The Rays have a crowded OF/DH situation and Gomes does not hit right-handers well. This limits his value to AL-only league, but his power/speed combo makes him a nice pickup in that format as long as you can stand the hit to your team batting average, .218 with a 59% Ct%.
Ray Durham: At the age of 36, Durham can still run, a perfect 5 for 5 in steals. Even with his power rapidly evaporating, he still has the skills to get on base, 83% Ct% and a 9.2% BB%. If he plays regularly, he is worth adding in mixed leagues, but with the Giants being so bad and having an abundance of young players in the middle infield, it would not be surprising to see Durham’s playing time shrink.
