Anthony Rizzo - Rizzo is a must-have in all formats after being called up last week by the Padres, as despite Petco Park's limiting factors Rizzo is expected to be a solid power source in fairly short order. The 21 year old took advantage of the friendly confines in Tucson to post 37 XBH in 52 games before the call-up, and he's already knocked a double, triple, and a homer in his first five games with the Pads. He seems to have changed his approach the past few years to a lower average, higher power sort of a game, but he is just 21 so perhaps he'll be able to figure out how to become a bit less pull-happy without losing power over the next few seasons. Rizzo has also shown the ability to kick in a few steals, for those of you concerned with that aspect. He's not fast by any means, but he runs decently for a 1B. All in all, there is a tremendous amount of potential here....67 XBH as a 20 year old at AA is rather impressive.
Zach Cozart - Those of you looking for some possible MIF help in the near future might keep an eye on the Reds' treatment of Zack Cozart, the current owner of a 323/364/498 line at AAA. Paul Janish has been holding Cozart off with a rather empty .286 AVG thus far in June, but with a 2011 line of 233/264/280 and career rates barely above that, the time is close at hand where that won't be the case. Cozart is probably not going to be a helper in AVG at the big league level, but he has an interesting power/speed combo for a SS, with a decent likelihood of being a 15/20 player as a starter. In a solid lineup like the Reds, that type of a performance would likely make him a starter in all formats. He's worth a reserve slot in deeper leagues now, and would be worth a pickup upon his arrival in Cincy across the board.
Charlie Blackmon - Dexter Fowler's injury has opened the door for Charlie Blackmon, who has come up and swiped three bags in 7 games for the Rockies over the past week-plus. Blackmon is a 24 year old OF that is likely to be a plus in the AVG, R, and SB categories without hurting you in the power areas, especially in Colorado. That makes him a rather valuable commodity in NL-only and deeper mixed leagues, but the real question is going to be what the Rox do once Fowler returns, which is likely this weekend. If Fowler is shifted to a reserve role, Blackmon is start-worthy in most formats, so watch closely the first few games that Fowler is active. Keeping Blackmon at least as a reserve is advised while we let this play out.
Emilio Bonifacio - Bonifacio had his fifth straight multi-hit game last night, banging out two singles and a double but striking out the three other times in a 12-9 loss to the D-Backs. Bonifacio has at least three games in at every position but 1B and C this year, and at least 5 games in at SS, 3B, and OF, so his positional flexibility is excellent. His LD rate supports his AVG improvement this year, he's now batting leadoff against LHP, and he'll swipe a bag now and then. In short, he has his uses, and in NL-only leagues and deeper mixed leagues he's a handy little player to have around, as long as don't expect much upside.
Randy Wolf - The Wolfman was superb yesterday against the Cubs, holding them scoreless on six hits over seven innings with seven K's. That's four quality starts in five for Wolf, but only a 1-0 record over that span. His improved BB and K rates are only going to go so far with me, as a BABIP almost 100 points better than expected means some regression is likely forthcoming. Wolf should still be an acceptable option as a back-end or spot-starter, but don't be fooled by an ERA almost a full run under his FIP ERA.
