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 Tigers. That's also just 3 hits in the last 27 AB. If you survived last week with the Kouz, you have to assume the next 10-day span should normalize (even if its just a slight improvement). For the first two months, Kouzmanoff has offered little in fantasy production: 3 HR, .284 OBP, 12 XBH, and 25 RBI. Third base is a tough position though and Kouz continues to be on the fringe of potential 3B to breakout and produce for a cheap value. His power should definitely pick up at some point. His AB/HR over the last three seasons is 26.9, 27.1, and 29.4. This year, heading into June, he's at 65.7. So, its safe to say that at some point the power should materialize. For him to finish the season at a AB/HR of about 30.0, he would need to hit 17+ HR and average a rate of about 23.5. Not impossible by any means.
Brett Gardner (OF - Yankees) - When Gardner started to falter over the lat couple of weeks, I thought for sure this was the beginning of his decline. Afterall, he started May with a .333 average and it had dropped all the way to .289. But being a slap hitter with speed can keep you break out of slumps. Gardner finished May strong with 3 hits yesterday, raising his average back to just shy of .300 (.299). Singles and stolen bases is all you can ask for from Gardner. Manager Joe Girardi maintains that whenever Gardner is on base, he has the green light (regardless of who is at the plate). It shows. Getting on base 3 times yesterday, he was caught stealing twice to bring his season SB% to 18-for-22. If you have enough power hitters in your lineup, Gardner is a great way to round-out your fantasy team with stolen bases and runs (36 through the first two months).
Carlos Pena (1B - Rays) - Pena continues to struggle heading into June. He has just 2 hits in his last 7 games (2-for-25) and had just 3 HR in May (8 total for the season). This power drought has to turn around at some point right? I mean, he's posting a 21+ AB/HR rate this season after averaging a 12.5 over the past three years. You can't get much worse than Pena in May. He hit just .120 this month with a .233 OBP, 7 XBH for a .250 SLG, and 37 K's with just 12 BB's. That's an average of one K for every 3.1 plate appearances. Terrible. Keep him benched for now, but he's too valuable and has too much power to stay this value-less for much longer.
Andy Pettitte (SP - Yankees) - When will Andy Pettitte remember he's 38 years old and supposed to be on the decline in his career? He has been spectacular this year for the Yanks and for his fantasy owners (who likely got him very cheap). Another quality start for him yesterday against the Indians gives him 7 for the season out of 10 appearances. Yesterday, he gave up just 4 hits and 1 ER with no BB and 5 K's, on his way to his 7th win of the season. Pettitte has two 20-win seasons in his illustrious career, but is on pace to make it a third if he can continue to post such impressive performances. Not to rain on the parade, but the likelihood of Pettitte sustaining this pace is very unlikely. He has posted 4.00+ ERA's in each of his last four seasons and is currently at 2.48. The last time he posted a sub-4.00 ERA was in the National League during those awkward Astros years. So, his last AL sub-4.00 season was 2002. While the run support will certainly be there to help Pettitte continue to post W's, the ERA and WHIP figures simply have nowhere to go but up.
Chone Figgins (2B - Mariners) - Its been a huge struggle for Figgins and his fantasy owners this season. Figgins has struggled raising his average over the Mendoza line all season, spending 19 of 27 games below .200 throughout the month of May. The one slice of value that Figgins continues to provide is in the SB department. He had 5 in April and another 5 in May, despite a modest .324 OBP. The good news for those who have stuck with Figgins is that he showed signs of life at the end of May. He has 6 hits in the last four games and back-to-back multi-hit games to round out May, raising his average to .211 and hopefully setting a good tone for June. Figgins has a long way to go to his career .288 average and I think we're staring at a career-low this year, but that's not to say he can't make this respectable. Keep in mind, for him to equal that .288 mark, he would have to hit .326 for the remainder of the season. Buy low right now.
Follow me on Twitter all season @jribando.
