1. Dustin Ackley (2B - Mariners) - The big news on the day is that Dustin Ackley finally got the call from the Mariners to join the big league squad. This call-up has been anticipated for awhile and he'll be in the lineup on Friday to start his major league career. Ackley was hitting .303 in the minors this year with 9 HR, .908 OPS, 7 SB, and an incredible 55 BB to 38 K's for a .421 OBP. As Lou mentioned in Prospect Central a few weeks ago, I would have liked to see the power emerge sooner and going to Safeco certainly won't help things. But his plate discipline should certainly help contribute to OBP and runs scored immediately. He's a no-doubt AL-only pickup and deeper mixed league consideration. He's probably the best upside potential 2B you're going to get on the waiver wire right now.
2. Brett Gardner (OF - Yankees) - Gardner sat out to start the game yesterday, but still had a multi-hit game as he entered the game in the later innings and went into extra frames. That games marks the 5th multi-hit performance for Gardner in the last 7 games, raising his average for the season to .286 and a .425 for June. Still, while the average has emerged as respectable, he still does not steal like he should. Gardner has 14 SB which isn't a terrible number, but that's out of 23 attempts. A very poor ratio for any speedster. The Yanks also show little confidence in his ability to hit LHP and sometimes bench him when that situation occurs. When Gardner has faced LHP, he has performed fairly similar to the other side of the plate with a .290 average and a .389 OBP in 31 ABs. Until Gardner can learn to really utilize his speed to be one of the elite base stealers in the game, he'll always remain a low-end option in the OF.
3. Max Scherzer (SP - Tigers) - It was just short of a quality start, but it was quality enough for me. 5.2 IP of 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, and 4 K's was good enough to earn Scherzer his 9th win of the season. Scherzer's 9-2 record doesn't quite align with his 4.32 ERA and 1.42 WHIP, but that's why the Win is often cited as a poor indicator of pitcher performance. Scherzer is actually 7-for-15 in QS this season which more accurately reflects why his ERA is high. Either way, the key with Scherzer is racking up the K's. He has 80 K's in 89.2 IP for a K/9 of 8.03 and his K/BB continues to steadily drop over the last couple of years from 2.76 in 2009 to 2.63 last year and now 2.50. Its a marginal change, but a change in the right direction nonetheless.
4. Carlos Santana (C - Indians) - Just when you think Carlos Santana has turned the corner, he goes back into an extended slump. With an 0-for-5 in yesterday's contest, Santana is now hitting just .179 for June and is dangerously close to the Mendoza line for the season at .216. He has still managed to maintain a respectable OBP of .345 with solid plate discipline of 44 BB to his 47 K's. Santana owners made the investment on draft day and are likely stuck riding the rollercoaster for the entire season. There won't be better options on the wires and his trade value is far below is potential. He'll remain an upside fantasy candidate for the 2nd half.
5. CJ Wilson (SP - Rangers) - Wilson put up an impressive 10 K's against the Yankees yesterday for his 5th double-digit K game of the year. That brings his K/9 to 8.05 for the year, up from last year's 7.50. Wilson has been impressive all around with a 3.03 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 10 QS in 15 starts. Recently, he has really been on fire with 6 straight QS and a 3-1 record during those games that has brought his overall record to 7-2. All of Wilson's numbers look sustainable as he has improved his GO/AO rate to 1.40 year-over-year in addition to his improved K/BB rate from 1.83 to 2.58.
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