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 inevitably slow down at some point, but the real question is whether or not he can keep it up long enough to put up 30-35+ HR numbers. Even with a down-tick in his HR/AB rate, it is still very achievable. I'm not exactly convinced that he will be able to adapt when pitchers around the league start figuring out his weaknesses and pitching to them. For now, we can settle for 1-for-4 with a HR stat lines, but I wouldn't be opposed to the strategy of selling him high.
Brian Bannister (SP - Royals) - Brian Bannister was called-up to the "Bigs" when the Royals placed Doug Wachter on the 15-day DL. He'll be the new #5 for the Royals and deserves a flier in AL-only leagues for sure. It might be a stretch to consider him for mixed leagues, despite a scheduled 2-start week for Fantasy Week 4, but it wasn't that long ago that Bannister posted respectable numbers. In 2007, the Royals' righty hurled 165 IP and posted a 3.87 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and held opposing batters to just a .249. The K's certainly won't be a factor, as he averaged a 4.2 K/9 (not quite half-a-strikeout an inning). 2008 was a disaster which resulted in his early season hiatus in Triple-A Omaha. His 2008 season included a 5.76 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, and a .294 OAVG, but he did manage a 5.6 K/9 (still low though).
Robinson Cano (2B - Yankees) - Last season, manager Joe Girardi benched Robinson Cano for his struggles and, for what some perceived as a lackadaisical approach to the game. Since that benching, Cano is 49-for-98 (.500). A notoriously slow-starter, Cano is off to a tremendous start hitting .377 with 3 HR and an OPS of 1.044. Hitting #5 in the Yankee lineup will certainly aid in his overall production, but when hitting well, Cano is a typical #3 hitter in many lineups. I think this may be the year he puts it all together for 162 games and lives up to the potential.
Jarrod Washburn (SP - Mariners) - The wheels have to come off at some point, right? He's so old, I think I used to collect his baseball cards as a kid. The 35-year-old is having a fantastic start to the 2009 season, going 3-0 with a 0.86 WHIP and .184 ERA. All three of his outings have been Quality Starts and he has recorded 17 K's on just 4 BB's for a K:BB of 4.25. He hasn't just done this against lollipop teams either - he won his three games against the Rays, the Angels, and the Twins. Its not out of the realm of possibility for Washburn to have his career year at this age. We saw Mike Mussina record his first 20-win season in his final year and we're seeing other tremendous 2009 efforts by guys like Andy Pettitte and Kevin Millwood who are also, by definition, way past their prime. I wouldn't spend too much acquiring a guy like Washburn, but he might be worth a gamble if you're in need of some SP out of one of your bottom pitcher spots.
Aubrey Huff (1B - Orioles) - I had the pleasure of witnessing both of Huff's homeruns last night (thank you MLB package in HD!). Of course, it was painful because I'm playing against him in just about every one of my head-to-head leagues. But it got me to thinking why I'm always so surprised to see Huff's power. He's 9 homeruns away from a career total of 200 and he has averaged a HR/AB of 21.9 since 2002. In fact, he has multiple seasons (including last year) with HR rates in the upper-teens. He has two 30+ HR seasons under his belt (2008 and 2003) and it wouldn't surprise me to see him come close again in 2009.
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