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 final line of 6.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 5 K, 0 BB, and the loss. Regardless of the rough 7th, it was a QS and a nice bounceback from his previous outing. That gives him 8 QS in his last 10 outings dating back to his first start of May. I’ve been raving about Kennedy in this column for weeks now and I’ll continue to stand by him. Along with his 3.60 ERA and WHIP of 1.18, his 7.8 K/9 is solid, especially with a K/BB of 2.7. It would take a big turn in the wrong direction for him to lose long-term fantasy value for 2010.
Brad Lincoln (SP - Pirates) - The Pirates top pitching prospect Brad Lincoln had his first solid outing at the big league level on Sunday. It was his third start since being called up at the beginning of June. In each start, Lincoln has pitched exactly 6.0 innings, but this was his first QS. He allowed 3 ER, 8 hits, 1 BB and recorded 2 K’s in the no decision. He is still waiting for his first W. Lincoln has keeper and NL-only value, but should remain on watch lists in all other formats. It looks like it will take time for Lincoln to materialize into a mixed-league worthy starter and for now, he is not even giving you enough K’s to warrant the pickup. Keep him where he is for now, but this guy does have the long-term potential to make a splash.
Buster Posey (C/1B - Giants) - Posey was red hot when we was first called-up. So its not a huge surprise that he’s falling back to earth a little with his latest 2-for-25 slump. But even with a poor week, Posey is still hitting over .300 with an OBP of .338. 6 of his 17 hits since joining the Giants have been for extra bases for a SLG of .421, bringing his OPS to .759. The rookie will go through growing pains just like anyone else, but he has handled this latest slump like a mature veteran. I expect him to find his groove again in Fantasy Week 12.
Aramis Ramirez (3B - Cubs) - Aramis Ramirez is set to come off the DL this Wednesday 6/23, but manager Lou Piniella won’t make an official announcement until he hears how A-Ram feels on Monday. The thumb injury is the least of the worries here. For the most part, Ramirez has been awful in 2010, even before the thumb issues. The soon-to-be 32 year old is just one year removed from hitting .317 with a .389 OBP, .905 OPS, and 15 HR in 306 AB for a AB/HR of 20.4. This season, his numbers are way off even his worst career season. He’s batting just .168 with an OBP of .232 and 5 HR for an AB/HR of 35.8. He will go on a tear at some point and when he does, you will want him in there. If you’ve stuck with him this long, be ready to get him out of your DL spot this week. As an FYI, his thumb is not expected to be 100% when he returns, but he doesn’t believe it will affect his swing too much. How can it when you’re only hitting .168?
Derrek Lee (1B - Cubs) - The Cubs’ struggles have been partly due to A-Ram and D-Lee’s poor seasons. But Lee is on the rebound with three multi-hit games in the last 5 including 3 HR and 7 RBI. Lee is overdue for a breakout and this might be the sign. His FPI of 0.51 is well off his preseason projection of 0.73, but is even further off his 2009 rate of 0.80 (even one of his worse years of 2008, he produced a 0.66). Give him until the break and see how his FPI improves. My guess is that he slowly creeps back up to the 0.60-level and then has a monster 2nd half of the season.
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