A couple of months ago, we pegged Casey Kotchman as our Daily Dump and that was a bit of a slam dunk. While he saw a bit more action down the stretch, Kotchman continued to scuffle in Beantown, batting just .214 with a 545 OPS in September, faring only slightly better in his three games in October.

In the ALDS, he was a complete non-factor, going hitless in his only at-bat. Then again, it’s not as if the left-handed hitter is Mr. Dangerous off the bench with a 760 OPS vs. righties. Oooh…better bring in a lefty specialist to deal with that. Clearly, the Braves got the better of this deadline deal as Adam LaRoche provided a real spark for Atlanta, while Kotchman languished on the bench in Boston. No longer a full-time player – and definitely not threatening to become one in Boston – even Kotchman’s legendary walk rate dipped this season.

He’s obviously a much better player than he showed down the stretch, and he’s only 26 so there could still be a very big season or two in his bat, but Kotchman needs PT to perform. And he won’t get much of that in Boston, barring injuries. So, barring a change in his situation, go ahead and scratch Kotchman off your cheat sheets for 2010 unless you’re in a very deep AL-only league.

We’ve already done our 2009 wrap up of the Atlanta Braves, but I wanted to talk about how their catchers did this year.

Quick, among players who spent the entire season with the Braves, who led the team in slugging percentage? Chipper Jones? Not even close. Brian McCann? Good guess, but no cigar. Try back-up catcher David Ross. Signed as a free agent in December to a two-year deal for what now seems like a bargain price of $3 million, Ross enjoyed his finest season since 2006 (I clearly underestimated his ability in my 2008 Free Agency Report).

Obviously in his back-up capacity to McCann – one of the best backstops in the biz – he didn’t see enough action to be Fantasy worthy except in extremely deep NL-only leagues. But in terms of his real baseball value, he was a very reliable bat, allowing the Braves to spell McCann a bit more often this season. Ross was quite productive, and despite a decline in his walk rate, he enjoyed a very good OBP. Strangely, the right-handed hitting Ross has been somewhat of an anomaly the past couple of seasons, performing better against righties than lefties. This season, the splits were downright shocking as he recorded a 996 OPS against righties – almost 350 points higher than what he did against southpaws. You’d think this would make him a valuable bat off the bench, but the Braves generally only carried two catchers, so using Ross as a PHer would have almost forced them to take McCann out of the game.

As mentioned, Ross is signed through 2010, and McCann isn’t going anywhere, so Ross will have to reprise his role as a backup. But should McCann suffer an injury, Ross could be a very strong pickup, so he needs to be on your watch list for 2010.

Speaking of McCann, when we last checked in on him, he had just finished scuffling through a down month of August. While he turned things around in September (four homers, 20 RBI, .275 BA), he still didn’t exactly finish on fire. October was no hell, either (2-for-9, but a pair of ribbies). Overall, McCann did not have quite as good as year as he did in 2008, and his strike zone judgment in particular suffered, a key reason why he lost 20 points in batting.

His number dropped in the second half, which is quite typical for catchers who tend to wear down as the season progresses, but McCann still delivered at least 35 doubles for the third straight season and he put up a career best in RBI, so Fantasy owners can’t be too disappointed. Still, when looking at the big picture, it’s hard not to be impressed with what McCann has accomplished in his career at the tender age of 25. He recently had his high school number retired, and the way things are going in his big league career, the Braves may one day follow suit.

Obviously, McCann will again be one of the first catchers off the board in drafts next spring.

Since getting swept in the 2007 NLCS, the Arizona Diamondbacks have slipped significantly each season, plummeting to the basement of the NL West this season.

Led by Mark Reynolds and Justin Upton, the team had plenty of power, but a tremendously weak bullpen forced the team to work its starters hard. And while Dan Haren and Doug Davis in particular proved to be workhorses, there was just not enough pitching here to sustain this club.

A five-game winning streak at the end of August buoyed hopes that the Snakes would finish strong, but they folded like a cheap card table after that, slithering to an ugly 10-20 record from September 1 on.

Let’s take a look at the performances of a few D-Back hitters today.

There is no greater lightning rod to pin the D-Backs’ struggles on than outfielder Eric Byrnes. The team’s highest paid player after signing a three-year, $30 million extension in 2007, Byrnes has been a colossal disappointment. Yes, injuries have decimated his last two seasons, but even when he’s been in the lineup, he’s absolutely sucked. And the team has pretty been much forced to continue to trot him out there given his salary, of which he is owed another $11 million next season.

With the seemingly endless line of young outfield prospects Arizona has been churning out in recent seasons, Byrnes has truly been an albatross. But there are already rumblings that Arizona may try to part with him this offseason – does that mean going so far as buying him out? It’s possible. Byrnes got hurt in June, part of a rash of injuries to D-Back flyhawks.

On the plus side, these injuries afforded the team the opportunity to get an extended look at some promising young outfielders like Gerardo Parra and Alex Romero. As for the 33-year-old Byrnes, is he done like dinner? As good as he was in 2006 and 2007, it’s hard to believe he’s got nothing left. Hey, he cut his strikeout rate last season. There, I said something good about him. But let’s get real – his fantastic stolen base potential is virtually useless when he’s getting on base just 27 per cent of the time. Arizona needs to ditch Byrnes at all costs.

Speaking of outfielders who disappointed, how about Chris Young? Think about how exciting a Fantasy outfielder he was in 2007 when he nearly turned in a 30-30 season. Sure, his BA was crap, but you’re okay sucking that up when he provides that much-sought after power-speed combo. Last season, Young showed minor progress on the BA front, but his power and speed slipped significantly. This year, everything was down – especially his power, which was unacceptably low for an outfielder.

Young actually struggled so badly at one point that he had to be sent down to the minors. As we predicted, that demotion seemed to do the trick, as he was far better upon his return, swatting six homers in September, and scorching the ball over the final week in October.

Yes, Young struggled for most of the season, but having just turned 26 last month, he still has plenty of upside potential, so don’t you dare write him off. But if he doesn’t show rapid improvement in the first half of 2010, Young could easily transition from a core player to a Quad-A dude very quickly, especially given the abundance of options Arizona now has in the outfield.

Another D-Back I had high hopes for this season who burned owners badly (myself included) is catcher Chris Snyder. Again, injuries were a major factor here, as back woes sent him to the DL twice, the second time ending his season prematurely and necessitating surgery. The fact that when he was in the lineup Snyder couldn’t hit his weight wasn’t a shock, but that his power was sapped was the big burn. After showing such steady progression the previous three seasons, I had identified Snyder as a catcher ready to become a real Fantasy force in 2009 – especially considering he was right in his prime power years.

Unfortunately for Snyder, Miguel Montero really took advantage of the opportunity, establishing himself as the everyday backstop. Snyder is under contract through at least 2011, so he’s going to get another shot next year, but it’s clear he’s now the underdog in this position battle. Still just 28, Snyder is expected to be 100 per cent healthy by Spring Training 2010, but has his window closed?

I really hope the D-Backs don’t give up on him as a potential starter, but Montero may not give them a choice.

In most organizations, Jordan Schafer would probably still be the top young outfielder on the team. But these are the Atlanta Braves, who have another uber prospect on the way in the form of Jason Heyward – considered the best prospect in the game – and that could spell seriously bad news for Schafer.

Many were surprised when Schafer won a job with the Braves directly out of Spring Training, but when he enjoyed a solid April, it looked like a wise decision. However, May brought with it serious scuffles for Schafer, and by early June, he was sent back to Triple-A. He didn’t exactly tear it up in the minors, either, struggling with making contact and almost immediately suffering a wrist injury that would ultimately end his season early. As we expected, Schafer never did make it back to Atlanta in September.

In 50 games with the Braves, he recorded an OPS of just 600, proving he wasn’t quite ready for prime time play. Unfortunately, even though Schafer just turned 23 last month, he’s already been passed by Heyward, so he definitely won’t be handed a job next spring. And as excited as Fantasy owners are about Heyward’s potential, the Braves may have learned their lesson from the Schafer fiasco and ease Heyward into the majors as a result.

For Schafer, however, it may turn out to be that this was his one-year window to run with a job. I find it hard to believe he won’t get more chances, but perhaps they may need to happen in another organization.

There will be a bit more outfield time in Atlanta once the club divests themselves of veteran Greg Norton, whose power inexplicably disappeared completely this season. He actually wound up drawing walks at a higher rate than ever before (and was one of the few Braves to post an OBP of over .400 in the second half), but who cares? This is a 37-year-old pinch hitter who we characterized as “middling” last season, who now dreams of attaining “middling” status. That the Braves trotted him out there in key situations was a travesty. It might be just about time for this old dude to pack it in.

After seven minor league seasons, we finally got a chance to see what shortstop Diory Hernandez can do in the majors, and apparently it’s not much.

Signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Braves in 2002, Hernandez got the call to Atlanta in late-May when Omar Infante landed on the DL. At the time, Hernandez was hitting the cover off the ball at Triple-A, batting .355.

Well, he got almost three months to prove he belonged on a big-league bench, but in 85 at-bats, he recorded an abysmal 410 OPS, struck out way too often and failed to show any of the speed that is supposedly his main strength – although he’s been a notoriously poor basestealer (63-for-116) over his minor league career. In mid-August, he was mercifully sent back down once Infante came off the DL.

Hernandez has a hell of a glove, so at the very least he’s got a chance to be a utility infielder who could pinch-run on occasion. And I’m not totally ready to write off a player who’s only 25, hit .319 in his second try at Triple-A and had an unbelievable playoff for Gwinnett, batting .400.

But I fear that Hernandez’s lack of patience will limit his ceiling to be a back-up infielder at best.

Despite playing well most of the summer, the Arizona Diamondbacks were never able to dig their way out of the hole they put themselves in over the first three months of the season – especially in June, when they crashed and burned, winning just nine of 26.

Unfortunately, what modest strides the D-Backs showed in July and August (29-26) have been replaced by a miserable September (6-15), as the team slithers to its first sub-.500 season since 2006.

After dropping two of three at home to both Colorado and San Francisco, Arizona gets its last chance at the Padres, who visit Chase Field for three games this weekend. With the Snakes heading into this series four games back of the Pads, even a sweep won’t pull them out of the cellar, but it will give them a decent shot at doing so next week, thus somewhat salvaging what has been a miserable season.

The rotation has been decent, at times brilliant, but the mess that has been the bullpen has ruined most of those solid efforts from the D-Back starters. And a middling attack has not been strong enough to overcome that ugliness.

Among the more pleasant surprises in ‘Zona this summer has been the emergence of Ryan Roberts. Finally given an extended look in the majors, Roberts has done a solid job in his utility role. We recommended him back in early August, and those smart enough to take our advice definitely reaped some rewards as he recorded an OPS of over 1000 last month, scoring 16 runs, drawing 15 walks and even pounding four dingers. September has been a different story (644 OPS), however, Roberts is showing signs of turning things around. He was 2-for-3 with a walk Wednesday, running his hit streak to five games, including three multi-hit efforts. If you need middle infield help in an NL-only league, Roberts might be worth a second look. Anyway you look at it, it’s been a career year for the minor league vet, who, having just turned 29 this past weekend, doesn’t really have any upside. Still, he’s shown gap power, good on-base skills and an ability to hit for a decent BA, so he may yet carve out a brief career as a bench player. Hell, there’s even some talk that he could be the starter next year, but I find that hard to fathom. A more likely scenario would be Arizona trying to parlay Roberts’ breakout season by dealing him for some pitching help this winter.

Another minor league veteran who saw more action this season than ever before is infielder Augie Ojeda. We recommended him as a short-term pickup way back in April when Stephen Drew was hurting, and he did enjoy a very fine first month of the season. However, Ojeda scuffled badly over the next three months, finally snapping out of it with a big August (.311 BA, 860 OPS). Like Roberts, Ojeda has gone into the tank in September, and until a 2-for-4 showing Wednesday, he had been mired in a 2-for-18 skid that had helped bring him OPS down to a marginal 599 this month. Ojeda has really only provided some value in very deep NL-only leagues, and even then, probably only because of his positional flexibility. At the age of 34, Ojeda doesn’t have much of a future in baseball, but he’s definitely done enough this year to get himself another back-up infield gig somewhere in 2010.

Perhaps the best thing to happen to Arizona this season, at least on the offensive side, is the emergence of youngster Justin Upton, who has truly arrived as a prime-time player. Okay, he hasn’t been great this month (just four runs, 10 RBI, 19 Ks, .260 BA, 735 OPS and an ugly 0-for-4, Golden Sombrero performance Wednesday), but he was absolutely sick in August (1212 OPS), despite missing a couple of weeks with an oblique injury. J-Up, who just turned 22 last month, could be the second NL outfielder off the boards come draft day 2010 – that’s how much progress he’s made this year. And when you think about his upside, it boggles the mind. He’s already shown such tremendous growth as both a power hitter and a basestealer that it’s clear the sky is the limit here, folks. Be prepared to pay quite handsomely for this kid next spring.

Speaking of breakout seasons, remember what Drew did last season? So, what the hell happened to him this year? He was 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI Wednesday, giving him hits in five straight and 13 of 14 games, but he hasn’t really been doing much damage. In fact, despite this run, Drew is batting just .244 with a 656 OPS in September, managing only one long ball. He’s really struggled badly since having a solid July (971 OPS). It’s been a big step backward for Drew this year, and he doesn’t steal enough bases to compensate for his relative lack of power and low average. We’ll cut him some slack and assume that his early-season hamstring problems had a lasting effect. Drew is still just 26, so I wouldn’t bet against him bouncing back next year, but 2009 has been a big disappointment for a player most expected to take it to the next level this season.

Of course, the biggest Fantasy darling on the D-Backs this season has been third baseman Mark Reynolds. He’s struck out another five times in the past two games, giving him 208 whiffs and extending a record that he’s now broken in consecutive seasons, but the common perception is who cares when he’s pounding the dingers, driving in runs, swiping bases and hitting for a decent average? Reynolds is yet another Snake who came up huge in August (11 homers, 21 RBI, four steals, 1030 OPS) only to crash and burn this month (10 RBI with a BA under .200 and an OPS of just 644), yet regardless, he’s had a superb second half. Reynolds has been durable this season, has taken strides as a hitter and run producer, his power has been off the charts and he’s even swiping a boatload of bases. Yes, he could have more upside still, considering he just turned 26 last month, but the fact that his BABIP is on the high side suggests that there could be trouble next year. I’d be careful with Reynolds in 2010, because he has potential dud written all over him.

Randy Wolf was absolutely filthy Friday night, combining with two relievers to one-hit the Cubs and lead the Dodgers to much-needed consecutive wins for the first time since August 10-11.

Shockingly, Wolf could very well be available in mixed leagues, and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why. Outside of a rough June, he’s been superb this season. He went 2-2, 2.84 in July and after Friday’s dominating performance (7 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), Wolf is now 3-1, 3.03 in August, having won his last three starts.

Having worked at least seven innings in each of his last four starts, Wolf has been a major bonus for a Dodger bullpen that’s had to work very hard this season. And his brilliant effort Friday helped continue the Cubs’ misery against the Dodgers. LA’s 2-1 win marked its 13th victory in the past 17 games over Chicago.

With Colorado having recently pulled within 4.5 games and the Giants inching closer too, the Dodgers really needed the kind of effort that Wolf provided Friday. Saturday, LA will look to earn its first three-game winning streak in over four weeks – not exactly the kind of run a division leader with designs on staying in front needs to be on.

Wolf has shaved almost a full run from his 2008 ERA, and one of the major reasons why is his massively improved control. The fact that he’s holding the opposition to a .230 BAA (his best since 2002) sure helps, too.

In our most recent starting pitcher rankings, we pegged Wolf at No. 45, but of course that list was compiled during his off month. Considering the roll he’s been on since, Wolf is now a top 25 pitcher. So why is he still available? If you need pitching help, he could be your answer.

Let’s talk about the Dodger bullpen for a moment. As I mentioned above, this unit has been put through the paces – only the Padres have used their pen more – but LA’s bullpen has held the fort, and is currently the second-best in the NL. But despite this significant workload, the Dodger bullpen is showing no signs of faltering. In fact, over the past six games, Dodger relievers have worked a combined 17.1 IP and surrendered just a single earned run.

One of the unsung heroes of this pen that intrigues me is sophomore Ramon Troncoso. Since the acquisition of George Sherrill, he’s been pushed a little further down the depth chart, but Troncoso still strikes me as a dark horse worth watching – especially since closer Jonathan Broxton’s toe woes are expected to continue all season long.

Troncoso had been exceptional all season until running into some troubles this month. However, on Thursday he tossed a third scoreless outing in his past four games, so he seems to be righting the ship. Perhaps we should have predicted a rough month for the 26-year-old righty, as despite a 2.19 July, he was battered around to the tune of a .340 BAA – a definite red flag.

As mentioned, Troncoso appears to be working through this difficult phase, and given that he’s already amassed five saves and 10 holds this year – he took over when Broxton missed some time last month — I definitely think he’s worth tracking in deeper NL-only leagues.

This past week and change has been pure misery for the Cubs, who have lost six of seven while the Cardinals are surging. Suddenly, Chicago – looking to avoid a sweep against the Phillies Thursday afternoon – finds itself four games back of St. Louis, with the third-place Astros just three games back.

Injuries have played a role in the Cubs’ collapse, as starters Ted Lilly and Carlos Zambrano are both on the DL as is fourth outfielder Reed Johnson. Aramis Ramirez is essentially playing with one shoulder.

Speaking of Johnson, out since July 30 with a broken foot, he won’t be back as soon as expected as his injury has been healing slowly. In fact, it could be another two weeks before he returns, so Kosuke Fukudome will continue to benefit with extra at bats. Johnson was really scuffling in July before he got hurt, batting just .200 with a 529 OPS, so there’s really no reason to own him. His overall numbers are way down, a bit of a surprise as we expected Johnson to get plenty of action this season with the injury-prone Milton Bradley coming to Wrigley.

In the infield, second base has been a black hole all season long. Mike Fontenot –- someone we thought could do the job well enough — has not worked out, struggling all year after enjoying such a fine campaign in 2008. Aaron Miles has been even worse, and frankly, I suspect he has damaging photos of Lou Pinella that are allowing him to stay in the majors.

Bobby Scales was up earlier this season a couple of times as an injury replacement, but other than the fact that it made for a nice story to see a 31-year-old finally see some big league action, he’s not a real option. He’s hit well at Triple-A lately, but isn’t putting up the great numbers he did in the minors last season. More recently, new acquisition Jeff Baker has been doing a decent job, and he’s usurped Fontenot as the starter in the past few games. Go ahead and dump Fontenot in all but extremely deep NL-only leagues.

A potential solution I’ve been watching for some time is Nate Spears, whose overall numbers at Triple-A have been disappointing, but really he just got off to an awful start, improving every single month of the season. Spears could be the answer the Cubs are looking for at the keystone corner come 2010. Another darkhorse is Andres Blanco, who is currently on the DL, but showed a bit more gap power when summoned earlier this year after Miles got hurt. Once considered part of the future in KC, Blanco is rehabbing back at Triple-A (he was 3-for-5 with a double and a run Wednesday), and has proved he can hit Triple-A pitching. Will he get a bit more of a look down the stretch, especially if the Cubs continue to slip out of the race?

Rookie Jake Fox, recommended by Tim in his latest Wire Troll, continues to impress with three straight multi-hit games earlier this week. He’s driven in runs in his last three games, and while he’s cooled off since a big July showing, Fox’s productivity dictates that he’s worth a pickup in NL-only leagues.

Back-up catcher Koyie Hill has somewhat resurrected his career this season, but at the age of 30, it’s become clear he will never deliver on his once top prospect status. Not surprisingly, he barely saw the light of day in the majors last season, so the best thing we can say about him is that he’s set career highs in games and at bats this season. The dude has a solid glove and is a gamer, but who cares? In 150 career games, he’s barely managed to hit .200, so will clearly never be a Fantasy asset.

Alfonso Soriano, who finally woke up last month (five homers, 16 RBI, .345 BA) after a couple of miserable months, has gone right back into the tank lately. A dreadful final three games against the Rockies (2-for-13) has left him batting just .194 this month with one homer, no steals and a pathetic 500 OPS. Soriano’s owners have to be pleased that he’s remained healthy this year – he’s on pace to have the most at bats he’s had as a Cub yet – but given that his overall numbers are down substantially, it’s cold comfort. Soriano’s current .250 BA would mark his lowest ever since he’s become a full-time player. And where in the hell has his speed gone? Yes, I get that the Cubs aren’t much of a running team in recent years, a fact borne out especially so this year as they are dead last in the NL in thefts. But, as Gob would say in Arrested Development: “Come on!” This dude swiped 41 bags in his one and only season in Washington in 2006 and since then has a combined 46 in nearly three seasons with the Cubs. Soriano’s never-exactly-awe-inspiring walk rate has dipped a bit, too, but not enough to explain his low numbers. Hell, he’s even struggling defensively. What’s even weirder was that Soriano got out of the gates blindingly fast, even earning a nod on our early-season All-Star team. Now, remember that Soriano has been a slightly better second-half player in recent years, so there is hope, but the fact that Lou Pinella yanked him out of the lead-off spot and dropped him to sixth in the order about a month ago does not bode well.

Speaking of struggling, the Cubs dropped three of four in Colorado, and have now fallen three games back of the surging Cardinals in the NL Central. Below them, third-place Milwaukee is inching closer. Fortunately, the Cubs have a glorious chance to turn things around in the next little stretch, with a home stand against suddenly struggling Philadelphia followed by a home series against always struggling Pittsburgh. It’s then off to San Diego for a three-game set against a Padres team that is playing better lately, but is obviously going nowhere fast. This next week and half is pivotal for the Cubs who really need to win six or seven of these nine games to make some headway on the Cards. The Cubbies, who are six games over .500, have had their trouble with the Phils, losing two of three in Philly last month, and four of their last five against them overall.

Once Soriano was shifted out of the lead-off slot, Kosuke Fukudome got his chance at the top of the order, but Pinella – who has been doing plenty of tinkering lately – made another switch on the weekend, installing Ryan Theriot as the number one hitter. Theriot has taken to the change immediately, delivering three hits Saturday to break out of a 1-for-12 skid, and recording his third straight multi-hit game on Monday (7-for-14 in three games since the shift). He had a decent July (.306, five steals), but he’s absolutely on fire in August, batting .379 with one swipe. The closest thing the Cubs have to a stole base threat (he’s done a better job picking his spots on the base paths this year, going 15-for-20), Theriot has already set personal bests in triples, homers and – unfortunately – strikeouts. And he’s definitely on his way to career highs in plenty of other categories, including at bats and runs. While his BA has slipped slightly from last season, the way Theriot is smoking the ball lately, he’s likely to reach or surpass last year’s mark. It’s conceivable that he’s been dropped from shallower leagues, and if so, he definitely deserves another look. Okay, the power he flashed earlier this season has waned, but that’s no big shock – we called that one. Regardless, Theriot is pretty darned close to being a top 10 Fantasy shortstop now, making him a must-own in standard leagues.

Another Cub who has benefited from Pinella’s experiments is the scorching Milton Bradley. Moved to the two-hole, Bradley has stepped up, and has now hit in five straight games. In fact, he’s batting .400 over his last 11 games as he continues to put a lackluster start to the season in the rear view mirror. There haven’t been many good things to say about Bradley’s first season as a Cub. Okay, okay, he’s cut his K rate. There…that’s positive. However, his overall numbers are way down – thanks in huge part to his massive struggles batting from the left side (.230 BA) and a groin problem early in the season didn’t help matters. But the dude sure looks healthy now, and he’s starting to rake. He definitely no longer looks like a platoon candidate, finally overcoming his season-long woes against lefties. If Bradley has been dropped in your league – and it’s quite possible – now is the time to consider rectifying that situation.

Derrek Lee has also put a crappy start well behind him. Check out his OPS by month: April 537, May 955, June 973, July 1027, August 1054. Notice a trend here? Okay, Lee is no longer a stolen base threat, and that affects his Fantasy value, but after a .189 April, he’s managed to get his BA right back to where we expected. He’s doing a great job of getting on base and is enjoying a very solid campaign. And despite going hitless Monday, Lee is still batting .328 with five homers and 14 RBI in his last 16 games. We projected him to be a top 15 first baseman, and he’s pretty much been exactly that, but if he finishes the season out as strongly as he’s performed in recent months, he’ll force his way back into the top 10.

Do the Phillies have a potential controversy brewing? Wednesday evening, J.A. Happ pitched a complete game shutout gem, allowing four hits and striking out 10 in moving to 8-2 on the season. His ERA on the year is now a superb 2.74. Down the road in Double-A Reading, recent Phillie signing Pedro Martinez was striking out 11 over six tidy innings. Unless we see a six-man rotation, somebody is heading to the bullpen in the not-so-distant future. Good luck sorting that one out, Charlie Manuel.

Tommy Hunter of the Rangers keeps making a liar out of me. Thursday afternoon, he held the Athletics in check to the tune of three hits and two walks over seven strong innings in winning his fourth game. Finally, after many years of frustration, Ranger fans might actually have the opportunity to witness a credible rotation. Derek Holland, Neftali Feliz, and Tommy Hunter are a great looking group of young starters to build around heading into the 2010 campaign.

Junichi Tazawa now has two starts under his belt since his recent promotion to Triple-A and he’s sporting a 0-2 record. It’s probably one of the best 0-2 records you could find anywhere in the game. In 11 1/3 IP he’s only allowed seven hits and one free pass, to go along with three earned runs. He has been particularly dominant against right-handed hitting having only allowed one hit. Yes, that’s correct, one hit against righties. After watching John Smoltz get rocked again Thursday by the Yankees (that’s four starts in a row for those counting) and with Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield both currently on the DL, Tazawa might not be all that far away from seeing his first action with the parent club.

The Diamondbacks placed Justin Upton on the DL with a strained right oblique, another large blow to a team already reeling from a continuous string of injuries. Conor Jackson, Eric Byrnes, and now Upton make for a fairly decent outfield all currently occupying spots on the injured list. The utter lack of confidence in Chris Young was aptly demonstrated Thursday when they shifted Geraldo Parra to centrefield and inserted the recently called up Trent Oeltjen into the lineup. Oeltjen responded by going 2-for-6 and smashing a game-tying homer in the eighth. He also managed to swipe a couple of bases. Stay tuned for more on this development in Sunday’s Wire Troll.

Rajai Davis just keeps on getting it done for Oakland. This week, he’s 3-for-11 with three runs scored, one RBI and an impressive three stolen bases. If you’re looking for a serious boost in your stolen base numbers down the stretch, don’t walk, but run to your waiver wire and get Davis rostered immediately.

Wrapping things up for today, let’s get a quick rant in for good measure. What has Matt Kemp done to piss you off, Joe Torre? Thursday night, Kemp found himself riding the pine while Juan Pierre hits in the ninth slot. Kemp has bounced all over the line-up card, mainly batting in the bottom third of the order this year. Have you looked at the numbers lately, Joe? Kemp is currently hitting to the tune of a .320 BA with 15 homers, 69 RBI and 63 runs scored and he’s swiped 22 bags. In his past four games, all he’s managed to do is hit two homers and drive in 10 runs. Might he not be a better option than Pierre? Who knows, maybe another couple of those five RBI games and Kemp might actually manage to make it into the fifth or sixth slot in that batting order. Sorry Joe, but having one of your hottest bats riding the pine for Juan Pierre just doesn’t make sense and is more than deserving of the wrath of baseball fans throughout the land.

Brian Roberts snapped an 0-for-12 skid Thursday with an RBI double, but after a huge start to the season, he’s been fading in recent weeks. After hitting .356 with 19 runs in April, Roberts hit just .256 in May (but he did score 24 runs, drive in 15 and smack four homers). June has been much less productive so far, with a .241 BA, 631 OPS and just five runs and no home runs. He has swiped four bases this month, maintaining that aspect of his game, but Roberts hasn’t quite lived up to our pre-season billing as the fourth-best man at the keystone corner. There’s no doubting the fact that Roberts is a solid veteran player, and his durability over the last three seasons has been admirable. The fact that his power is up slightly this season is also a good sign, but let’s face it: at the age of 31, Roberts is on the downward trajectory of his career. This doesn’t worry me as much as it used to when second baseman tended to flame out very quickly, but you can see that his numbers – both offensively and defensively (where his range has slipped after a couple of strong seasons) – are trending downward, and if not for that massive start, Roberts would be a massive disappointment. I might wait for him to heat up a bit, and then start listening to trade offers.

Another Oriole who’s been trending downward lately is Adam Jones. He’s enjoying a very fine season, but he’s hit the rails recently with a 3-for-32 skid. Jones has dealt with some minor injury woes this season, but he absolutely burst out of the gates with 24 runs, four homers, a .359 BA and an OPS of 1061 in April. May was slightly less spectacular, but still pretty damn impressive with 16 runs and a 959 OPS despite 24 strikeouts. So far in June, however, Jones is scuffling with just six runs, one homer, six RBI and a .204 BA. This 23-year-old kid has plenty of upside – I see him becoming a better player than Torii Hunter in time – and he’s shown plenty of reason for optimism this season. In fact, once all is said and done, I could see Jones cranking 25 dingers and stealing 15 bases or more this season, all the while maintaining a strong average (but probably not as strong as it currently is). Jones has shown an improved batting eye this year, but he still has a long way to go with that aspect of his game.

Nick Markakis has also been unable to build on his big start – are we sensing a trend here yet? He looked to be shaking off a lethargic June with a career-high tying four-hit night on Wednesday and then he comes right back and takes an 0-for-5 with three punchouts Thursday night. Markakis was unstoppable in April, batting .381 with an OPS of 1020, but those numbers slipped to .240/719 in May despite 15 runs and five homers. He’s rebounded somewhat with a .276 mark in June, but has a paltry five runs and just one jack so far this month. Overall, Markakis’ numbers aren’t hugely out of line from what he did last season, but the big difference has been the walks. He’s not drawing free passes anywhere near the rate he did in 2008, and that’s lopped 50 points on OBP from his numbers, taking his OPS tumbling down to 820 after he flirted with a 900 season last year. If you can talk that up and get him somewhat cheap, now is the time to do it. Markakis is a fantastic young player and given that his OPS has been 114 points higher in the second half over the last three seasons, I have no doubt that he’s going to be over 900 by season’s end, making him a strong buy-low candidate.

The parade of disappointing Oriole hitters continues with Aubrey Huff who, not surprisingly, has been unable to build on his huge 2008 season. He’s had a rough year, but had especially been scuffling in June, with just one homer and a 686 OPS. However, Huff came through big time on Thursday night, going 3-for-5 with a run, double and the game-winning RBI off Francisco Rodriguez to help the O’s rally past the Mets. Huff has now hit in six straight games, giving some hope to owners who have to be upset that they spent a seventh round pick on him. He’s actually wound up on a few waiver wires recently, so take a peak to see if he’s available. Huff’s extra-base hits are way down, yet somehow he’s on pace for a career best in RBI. He’s also improved his strikeout rate, yet is not getting on base like he has in recent seasons. From B-More’s perspective, it’s probably bad enough that Huff is hurting his trade value by having an off year, but what the hell is the deal with his futile attempts to steal bases? The dude is 0-for-5 on the basepaths this season. Hey, Aubrey: this is not part of your game. Cease and desist this activity immediately.

To wrap up this segment on struggling Oriole hitters, Melvin Mora is turning things around a bit. Thursday, he extended his hit streak to seven games by feasting (2-for-4) against one of his favourite pitchers to batter (Livan Hernandez, who Mora was hitting a career .308 against before Thursday’s action). Mora actually had a big April, although an injury limited him to just a few games of action. He slumped in May and had been scuffling even worse in June until the past week or so. The truly scary aspect of Mora’s season has been his complete inability to hit with any pop – his extra-base power has never looked more pathetic. He’s drawing more walks, but overall is enduring his worst season since he was a rookie with the Mets. After Mora’s big comeback season in 2008, we ranked him as a top 20 third baseman, however, we did caution at the time that he could easily drop like a stone. And he has, barely playing to top 40 status at this point. Like I said, he’s heating up a bit, and that’s worth monitoring, but right now he’s a borderline Fantasy option in mixed leagues.

The Tigers are starting to play better, downing the Pirates Friday 3-1 for their sixth win in eight games. The AL Central leaders are now 6.5 games ahead of the third-place ChiSox. Detroit’s success has been predicated by its pitching staff, which has been harder to hit than any staff in the AL. Team speed continues to be a weakness, but the team is actually doing much better in that department than they did last season. What’s up with the offense in general? On Friday, for the first time in 13 games, the Tigers amassed over 10 hits in a game. Their collective BA in June before Friday? Try .217.

It looks like Brandon Inge is turning it on again after a very sluggish May. He snapped a two-game hitless drought Friday by turning around the first pitch Pirate reliever John Grabow tossed and smacking it over the left-field wall for his 14th jack of the season. The dinger helped Detroit salvage some pride over Pittsburgh with a 3-1 win on a night when the city’s hockey club was improbably losing its fourth game in five tries to the Penguins to be denied back-to-back Stanley Cups. As we discussed a few weeks ago, Inge jumped out to an absolutely sick start in April, and while he mashed another five dingers in May, he hit just .235 with a 709 OPS. In June, however, he’s been raking again. Inge has been healthy this season, and is enjoying a tremendously productive year. Believe it or not, in extremely shallow league, he may still be available on the wire, but with him heating up again, that won’t be the case for long. While Inge hasn’t been as sharp at the hot corner this season, there’s no complaint with his work at the plate as he heads towards a career year.

Jeff Larish, optioned back to Triple-A last week when Marcus Thames came off the DL, was fairly impressive in his most recent stint with the Tigers, showing more patience, improving his strikeout rate and hitting with more pop. Heading from the first-place Tigers to the last-place Mud Hens hasn’t seemed to derail Larish, who’s been extremely productive since his demotion. At the age of 26, I’d like to see him get a more extended look in Motown, but the way he’s raking, it’s just a matter of time.

Josh Anderson’s season has gone steadily downhill after a huge April, and even when it looked like he’d have some value when Thames went down, he continued to struggle. Well, Thames is back now, and Anderson also failed in his chance to take over the lead-off job from Curtis Granderson, as the Tigers search for ways to ignite their middling offense. Now, Anderson is starting to lose PT to Don Kelly and Ryan Raburn, and the fact that he wasn’t starting Friday night against the Pirates – a team he’s hit .600 against in his career – is very telling indeed. With Detroit facing plenty of lefties lately, Anderson hasn’t been playing much, and he hasn’t had a hit since last Saturday. He’s been getting his chances this year, and you need to pay some attention in AL-only leagues because of his stolen base potential, but the fact is that Anderson has not been able to develop on his promise of yet, and while it’s still early, he’s beginning to look like a potential bust.

Another Tiger starter who got off to a nice start, but has been sinking badly since is Gerald Laird. He hit .286 with a 780 OPS in April, but he slumped badly in May and hasn’t exactly turned it around much so far in June (.200 BA, 635 OPS). However, on Friday, Laird snapped a three-game hitless streak, getting a double and a run (but he whiffed twice). That’s his first extra-base hit in a week, and it’s the first time he’s tasted the sweet nectar of home plate in over a week. Sure, he does the little things well, like laying down the sac bunt, and he’s an excellent defensive catcher, but why do Fantasy owners care? This is a catcher we ranked 21st heading into the season, and while he hasn’t been that far off our ranking, he’s not really worth owning at this point unless you’re in a darn deep AL-only league. Laird has actually been drawing walks at a significantly higher rate than ever before, but his BA has not matched this improvement. So while the OBP is decent, his power has been awful, with a paltry 10 extra-base hits so far. Remind me again why the Tigers are having issues offensively?

Thankfully, the Tigers sent Clete Thomas back where he belongs, to Triple-A. I’ve been wondering what the deal is lately; why has Detroit been platooning Thomas in right field, starting him against righties in favour of Magglio Ordonez? Thomas, the strikeout machine (another two Ks in an 0-for-4 performance Thursday), is batting just .230 vs. RHPs. Ordonez, meanwhile, is batting .267 against righties. Oh, I get it. So, let’s keep sitting an All-Star and in his place, keep trotting out a dude hitting .120 with a 465 OPS in June. Uh, yeah. How are the Tigers in first place in the AL Central again? Good thing it’s the worst division in baseball.

Another Tiger back-up outfielder who has failed to wow me is Ryan Raburn. I wasn’t exactly bullish on his prospects when he was called up, but he hit well in May in limited action (.300 BA, 914 OPS). However, he’s been awful in June, batting just .160 with a 516 OPS. He’s currently mired in a 3-for-21 slump, but one of those hits came Thursday night and, followed by a stolen base, it helps sparked a rally as the Tigers scored twice to tie the game in the top of the ninth, only to lose it in the bottom of the inning. I can’t really figure out Raburn’s career trends. He’s improved his strikeout rate and his batting eye just keeps getting better, yet his BA continues to slip. He’s on pace for a career high in at bats and his extra-base pop has bounced back somewhat this season, so the news isn’t all bad. But at this point, Raburn has essentially zero Fantasy value, regardless of the format you play in. Okay, maybe in a 40-team AL-only league, you might find him useful. Maybe.

Still with the clawless Tigers, Placido Polanco’s slow start has stretched into June, and while that might make him a tremendous buy-low candidate, we’re still waiting to see that career .303 hitter rear his head. On Tuesday, Polanco showed some signs of life, going 2-for-4 with a double, walk and three ribbies, but he was 0-for-3 with a walk Wednesday and then was given the day off Thursday. He did appear as a defensive replacement in the ninth after Ramon Santiago had to shift over to shortstop to replace Adam Everett, lifted for a pinch-hitter. Anyways, it was kind of ironic that Polanco was put in for defensive reasons, given that he was unable to make a diving stop of Scott Podsednik’s game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth. Polanco has been getting dumped in some leagues as owners grow impatient. I can’t say I blame them – after all, he’s barely a top 40 second baseman so far, a far cry from the top 15 where we had him ranked in the preseason. But the fact is Santiago is now outplaying him and if Polanco doesn’t get his act together soon, you have to wonder how often Polanco will be sitting in favour of Santiago.

Yet another Tiger enduring a very slow start is Magglio Ordonez, who as discussed above, has been sitting against righties with regularity in recent games. Can someone explain to me why he’s batting cleanup for Detroit? Sure, the Tigers are still atop the division, but if just one of those teams below them finally wakes up, this team is in trouble. The fact that Maggs is struggling in the four-hole is not helping. He hit .241 with a 649 OPS in April, and while he bounced back in May (.315), he failed to go yard in the entire month. Where is his power? He’s struggling again (654 OPS) in June, and even a date Wednesday against one of his all-time favourite pitchers to hit against, John Danks, failed to spark Ordonez. He came in a 10-for-17 career hitter against Danks, but went just 1-for-4 with a run and a strikeout on Wednesday. And then Thursday, he was on the pine. Small wonder that Ordonez has started to get jettisoned from some shallower leagues. We projected this dude as a top 30 outfielder, and while he’s doing a great job of drawing walks, with his power MIA, Ordonez is barely playing like a top 80 outfielder right now.

Hell, even Miguel Cabrera, who was impossible to get out the first two months of the season, has suddenly gone into the tank. He’s chilled considerably in June, currently mired in a 3-for-26 slump which has seen him drop to sixth in the American League hitting race. While Cabrera is hitting better than his first season in Detroit, his power is at its weakest since he was a rookie. Perhaps that’s because he’s hitting fly balls less often than ever before in his career.

While his OPS has dipped this year, Fantasy owners are not going to complain about Curtis Granderson, considering he’s headed for career highs in both home runs and stolen bases. Thursday, Granderson snapped a 5-for-30 slump with a big night, going 3-for-4 with a double and a game-tying, two-run homer with two outs in the ninth. It looked like Grandy would be the hero until, of course, the Tigers allowed the White Sox to score the winning run in the bottom of the frame. Granderson started sluggishly, batting .241 in April, but he upped that to .270 in May and is raking at a .310 clip with an OPS of 824 in June. The key for him has been good health so far this year, and that’s one of the reasons why an outfielder we expected to be a top 20 flyhawk has been nearly good enough to be among the top 10. One caveat: don’t expect Granderson’s home run rate to continue at this pace. Currently, he’s hitting at any extremely high flyball rate, but I’d be shocked if that can proceed for much longer. It may be reasonable to think Granderson will hit 30 bombs this year, but approach 40? I don’t think so.

How about a tip of the hat to Matt Herges? This dude wasn’t even on the Indians’ roster to start the season, and after getting hammered in Colorado last season, it was safe to wonder if his career was nearly over. But to his credit, Herges has been dominant since Cleveland gave him another shot when an imploding Rafael Perez needed to be farmed out for a while last month. Tuesday night, the journeyman tossed his seventh straight shutout outing, a run that’s been predicated on superb command.

Herges has been so brilliant, in fact, that he’s be given a key role in the Indian pen and he’s run with it. One of the keys for Herges so far this season has been that for the first time ever, he’s not pitching like a flyball hurler. Yes, it’s a small sample size, but he’s actually getting neutral results. Could the 39-year-old hurler have picked up a new trick? Either way, it’s time to start considering him as an option in your AL-only league.

Ryan Garko has started to see some time in the outfield this season as the Indians look for creative ways to get him in the lineup and also to help compensate for the myriad injuries they are facing. He got off to a great start, batting .291 with a homer and 10 RBI in April, and while he smacked four dingers in May, he hit just .226 with a 735 OPS. Currently, Garko is mired in a 3-for-20 slump and PT is becoming a bit of an issue, leaving him as an asset strictly in pretty darn deep AL-only leagues, and one that I wouldn’t touch at this particular time. I like the fact that his extra-base pop has bounced back a bit, and he continued to show signs of re-emerging into that 21-homer man from 2007 when he went yard Friday. Additionally, Garko has cut his strikeouts, and is doing a better job of drawing walks – he’s never had such a strong batting eye as he’s showing this year. Yet his BA continues to slip – a trend that logically should reverse itself. In fact, I think it’s reasonable to assume he’ll wind up around .280, which would make him a fine AL-only asset if he continues to hit with power. In the preseason, we had Garko pegged as a top 30 first baseman, something which he hasn’t quite accomplished, although he hasn’t been far off.

The Indians have brought rookie outfielder Trevor Crowe up a couple of times this season, but he continues to disappoint. And it’s not as if his work at Triple-A is demanding he get a chance in the majors. Most recently, Crowe was brought up on May 26 to replace Matt LaPorta, who was inexplicably promoted and then left to rot on the bench. Anyways, since that most recent promotion, Crowe has hit a bit better, but not well enough to pose a serious threat to LaPorta. Of course, the Indians would be unwise to bring LaPorta back unless they planned to give him a full-time gig. And even though they are floundering at 25-34 this season, because they are in baseball’s worst division, they’re just 3.5 games out of second place, so there’s no reason to tank the season just yet. In the meantime, Crowe really isn’t seeing enough action to even be on the Fantasy radar.

Back in the infield, Luis Valbuena cranked his first major league home run Sunday against the struggling White Sox. He’s starting to perform a bit better, hitting safely in five of his past six games, so if you need infield help in an AL-only league, Valbuena should at least be on your radar. With Asdrubal Cabrera on the DL, Valbuena is getting more of a chance to play and he’s been starting about half the time, already setting a new career high for at bats in a season. His extra-base pop is slowly developing and he’s shown the ability to steal bases and hit for average in the minors, so this former Southern League All-Star and Mariner prospect is definitely a player worth tracking.

Among the bigger disappointments for the Indians has been the play of Kelly Shoppach. He was one of the best-hitting backstops in the Junior Circuit last year, pacing all AL catchers in home runs. Well, he got off to a slow start this season, batting just .231 with six RBI and a 754 OPS in April, but that made him seem like Johnny Bench compared to his May (.196 with four RBI). And so far in June? He’s mired in a 3-for-26 slump and has an OPS of 554 for the month. Small wonder that Shoppach is winding up on waiver wires everywhere. He’s on pace to see more action than ever before, but is making last year’s breakout look like a fluke thanks to a far less patient approach. The strikeouts are adding up at a ridiculous pace, and the power – Shoppach’s main appeal last season – has faded drastically. We ranked this dude as a top 15 catcher, but he’s not even playing like a top 30 at this point. However, if you’re in some kind of freaky league that gives bonus points for getting drilled by a pitch, Shoppach is a stud. According to Bill Chuck of Billy-Ball.com, Shoppach recorded 12 singles and 11 HBPs through his first 100 at bats of the season. Hey, whatever it takes to get on base, man. Still, even though his OBP isn’t down that much from last season, Shoppach is on pace to fall short of his run total from 2008, despite seeing much more action.

When Jeremy Sowers failed to hold his rotation spot (temporarily losing his spot, at any rate), David Huff was given a chance and, if you recall, we advised picking him up, but keeping him on the bench for a couple of starts. Well, we were bang on there, as Huff got hammered in his first two starts, but since then, he’s been more effective, giving up 17 hits, seven runs, two homers and four walks in 14 IP while fanning 10 over his last three starts. Sunday, he earned his first major league win. The problem with Huff is his pitch counts tend to run high early, so he hasn’t been able to go longer than five innings, and that’s going to really limit the amount of wins he’ll get. Also, he’s had some issues with the home run ball. However, the former first round pick looks like someone who is capable of helping you out in strikeouts, so we again suggest that he’s worth a pick up in AL-only leagues.

So you’re an Asdrubal Cabrera owner and you’re wondering what to do after he hit the DL last week with an AC joint sprain in his shoulder. Well, if this is a redraft league, you might simply want to follow the Indians’ lead and plug Jamey Carroll in there – he’s been hitting extremely well in Cabrera’s absence. But if this is a keeper league, now might be the ideal time to play up his great start and the fact that he’s already qualified at both shortstop and second base for 2010 and peddle the 23-year-old to a non-competing and rebuilding team that thinks he’s all that. Try to target a veteran middle infielder like Orlando Hudson or maybe even Michael Young, if you specifically need a shortstop, and play up the age difference. Cabrera has shown great development at the plate this season, but he’s slowing down after his huge April and given that he isn’t drawing as many walks as last season, I suspect his .316 BA will continue to slip over the course of the season, likely winding up around .285-.290. Still, you have to be impressed with the way Cabrera has exceeded expectations through the first couple of months of the season. In the preseason, we ranked as the 22nd-best second baseman, but he’s been playing at a near top 10 level. Play that up, and deal him if you can.

It’s been a very tough start to the season for the Tribe, a team many expected to win the AL Central, but one which currently sits in last place in the division. Yes, injuries have played a role here. In addition to Cabrera’s injury, Cleveland has recently lost reliever Rafael Betancourt and outfielder Grady Sizemore. The Sizemore injury, in particular, is a tough pill to swallow. While his slow start got even worse in May, he was showing signs of life, with hits in six of seven games before the elbow pain finally became unbearable and forced him to the DL a week ago. The greater concern here is what will happen if he’s still undergoing discomfort when he’s eligible to come off the DL in a week’s time. The possibility of surgery has been discussed – and that’s something that could knock Sizemore out until the end of July – which would turn an already awful season into a serious nighmare. In the meantime, we recommended Ben Francisco as the logical replacement for Sizemore, but he hasn’t exactly been tearing it up in the past week (2-for-16 in the past four games), so you might want to seek alternatives.

Victor Martinez’s incredible comeback season continued Sunday with a 2-for-5 performance that included another dinger, giving him hits in six of the last seven games. After a huge April (.386, five homers), he hit .321 with 25 RBI in May. While he’s batting “only” .300 in June, V-Mart has already smacked more long balls than he hit in the entire month of May. Even crazier is the fact that he has five times more homers than he hit in 2008…in 47 less plate appearances. Martinez is enjoying a career year, so small wonder he earned a berth on our early-season Fantasy All-Star team.

By winning two out of three in Chicago against the Sox this weekend, the Indians took a road series for just the second time all year – one of their major problems in the early going. In beating the Sox, they battered a former Indian, Bartolo Colon, as Shin-Soo Choo followed V-Mart’s homer with one of his own – two of the four long balls the Tribe launched off Colon. For Choo, he has now also hit safely in six of his past seven games, and he also drew two walks Sunday as he continues to do a fantastic job of getting on base. Choo hit just .274 in April (although he did steal five bases), but after a .311, four homer, 21 RBI showing in May and continued solid play so far in June, he’s been a popular waiver wire pick in leagues where he is still unowned. You should double check whether Choo is owned in your league; depending on how shallow this league is, there’s a slim chance he’s still available. He shouldn’t be unowned in any league at this point. Choo has finally arrived as a full-time player, and he’s massively exceeded our expectations that he’d be a top 50 outfielder, currently playing more like a top 15 flyhawk. Yet, obviously, given the fact that he may still be out there in some leagues, Choo has flown under the radar to an extent.

One Indian who has been a huge disappoint in the early going has been shortstop Jhonny Peralta. He turned things around in May (.316, one homer, 15 RBI) after an extremely sluggish April (.211, no homers, six RBI, 570 OPS), but he’s gone right back into the tank in June (.136 BA, 481 OPS). And after a very forgettable weekend in Chicago in which he went 0-for-11 (although he did draw a walk and score on Sunday) with a key error in the loss on Saturday, there’s no sign of relief for Peralta owners. The normally durable Peralta has already missed more games this season than all of last year, and while those were not all injury-related absences (he’s just simply been given days off thanks to his ineptitude), he’s really hurting his owners right now. The fact that he has no speed is no surprise, but Peralta is not hitting for either average or power this season, and you’d think with all the injuries Cleveland is currently dealing with, it’s a perfect opportunity for him to step up, but it’s not happening. Surely you expected way more out of the man we ranked as the sixth-best shortstop heading into 2009, but he hasn’t even performed like a top 30 shortstop up to this point. Peralta gained some waiver wire traction after his nice May, but I’d recommend steering clear for the time being until he starts to show some extra-base pop.

Jeff Niemann drew plenty of attention after tossing the finest game of his career on Wednesday, a two-hit shutout with nine Ks and just one walk, but the truth is, he’s been pitching much better for a few weeks now, and it’s time to start considering him if you need help on the mound. In his last six starts, the hulking righty has given up just 30 hits and 10 runs (nine earned) in 34 1/3 IP, going 3-1 in the process. He’s allowed four homers, walked 10 and struck out 23 – showing markedly better command than he did to begin the season. Niemann should be picked up in AL-only leagues and it’s time to start watching him in mixed leagues – after all, the dude is on pace to win 14 games this year. He’ll get the Angels at home Tuesday – not a bad matchup considering Niemann has been much sharper at home this season, and the Angels – although hitting better lately – are hardly an offensive force so far in 2009.

While he probably only has value in an extremely deep AL-only league, it’s worth mentioning that Lance Cormier has really found his groove as the long reliever in the Ray bullpen this season. The groundball specialist (actually, he’s not inducing ground balls as often as he did last year) may have been a bit lucky so far, given how low his BABIP is, so while he’s clearly enjoying a career year, it’s reasonable to expect his ERA to rise closer to the 4.00+ he had last season. Cormier was solid in April and then absolutely superb in May, and the key for him has been dramatically improved control. He’s also never been this difficult to hit, but again, the fortuitous BABIP is a factor here. With the Rays rolling lately, Cormier hasn’t been needed for a week and a half, another reason he’s not a particularly strong Fantasy play. However, his career season deserves a nod.

J.P. Howell is the flavour of the week in the Ray bullpen, having earn the save Thursday. On Saturday, however, Howell blew the save and had to be bailed out by Randy Choate, although at least he wound up earning his first win of the season. Still, I think Howell is a good pickup in AL-only leagues at this point. He’s tossed seven straight scoreless outings and has been getting sharper as the season has progressed. Howell is another Tampa Bay reliever who has been aided by improved control, but even more impressive is the massive spike he’s seen in his K/9. His strikeout rate has risen every season he’s been in the bigs, but after averaging over nine Ks per nine innings last season, he’s racking up over 11 in 2009. Remember, he did a bit of closing last season when Troy Percival made one of his frequent trips to the DL. With Percival out yet again, and not guaranteed by any stretch to return this season – if ever – Howell is definitely worth a pickup in AL-only play, and should be on your radar if you’re playing in a mixed league.

In case you hadn’t noticed, B.J. Upton has finally awoken from his season-long slumber. He’s now hit safely in seven straight, including back-to-back multi-hit games with a stolen base in each one. On Wednesday, Upton came through with a two-run double to help spark Tampa Bay’s rout over the Royals, and get this – it marked his first multi-RBI game of the season. Upton started the season on the DL, and has been very slow to get going, striking out way too often, walking less frequently and suffering from a lack of power. It’s not exactly what you expected from a dude we had ranked as the ninth-best outfielder in the game, is it? Well, younger brother Justin has been that good, but B.J.? He hasn’t even been a top 50 flyhawk through the first two months of the season. But it looks like that’s all changing now, so hopefully you bought low on the elder Upton.

The Rays got more good news Wednesday, when it was reported that Evan Longoria will likely avoid a DL stint for the sore left hamstring he suffered Tuesday. He’s considered day-to-day. The reigning AL ROY had already been dealing with an elbow problem that had limited him to DH duties in the preview two games, and then he was out Wednesday because of the hammy. Longoria had gone just 1-for-10 in his past three, but these health woes have been the only thing to slow him down so far. He had a huge April and was pretty darned good in May, too. Longoria’s overall development at the plate has been very impressive indeed: the power is incredible; he’s been extremely productive; he’s been more patient and has cut his Ks, as well. No wonder he made our early-season All-Star Fantasy team.

Another member of that All-Star team was Carlos Pena, and while he’s slowed down somewhat since his torrid start, he continues to put up the power numbers, leading the AL in both home runs and walks. Pena is currently mired in a 3-for-25 slump, although he did get the party started Wednesday night with an RBI double as the Rays thrashed the Royals 9-0. He’s now on pace for his first ever 30-double season. Oh, by the way, Pena is also headed towards his first 50-homer season. Look for him to shake off whatever slump he’s in Thursday with Gil Meche taking the hill for KC. Pena has owned Meche over the years, hitting .320 in 25 career at bats against him.

With Longoria out of action Wednesday, Willy Aybar of all people took his spot at third base and in the three-hole in the batting order. Aybar came into the game in a 1-for-13 skid, but went 1-for-3 with a run and two walks. He was awful in April, but enjoyed a nice May, batting .306 with a 900 OPS. Overall, Aybar’s strike zone judgment has bounced back and it’s helped his BA rebound somewhat. We recommended him back in August when he heated up, and it might be time to put Aybar back on your radar now that Akinori Iwamura is out for the season and Tampa Bay is dealing with other injuries.

We hope you took our advice on the weekend and scooped up Ben Zobrist, because he’s now one of the hottest acquisitions in the game, and given that he’s gone yard in the past two games – including a grand slam Wednesday to help the Rays win their fourth game in 10 tries – his popularity won’t be waning any time soon. Zobrist, who enjoyed an excellent April (1004 OPS), was even better in May (1064), and with his current nine-game hitting streak and exploits this week, apparently he isn’t slowing down. Can you believe this dude has already gone yard 10 times this season? And how about that patience? He’s matched his career high with 25 walks and we’re in the first week of June. Yes, Zobrist took a nice step forward last season, but who the hell saw this coming?

Veteran minor leaguer Joe Dillon homered and singled for the Rays on Saturday, but those are the only hits he’s had since his recall on May 26. Even with all the injuries the Rays have now, there’s no reason to give Dillon any consideration regardless of the size of your league.

Gabe Gross, who has been slumping lately (2-for-16) woke up Wednesday with a 2-for-4, one-run performance, but I doubt that’s good enough to earn him much more action. Gross actually played much better in May after a sluggish start and he’s been seeing almost identical the PT that he did last year, but I’ve been calling for the Rays to upgrade this position for a while. And with the arrival of Matt Joyce, it definitely looks like Gross’ very negligible value has disappeared.

While we’re talking about extra Tampa Bay outfielders named Gabe, let’s not forget about Kapler. His inability to consolidate that big comeback season has helped open the door for Joyce to win the right field job. In fact, Kapler’s been so bad that we’re now wondering whether he should have quit while he was ahead and headed back to his rocking chair after that fine 2008.

The injury to Jason Bartlett has opened the door for regular action for rookie Reid Brignac, but we’re still waiting to see the kid who was No. 29 on our top prospect list before missing the cut last season. He’s definitely performing a bit better lately, but not enough to draw interest in anything but deeper AL-only leagues for now. Still, put him on your watch list; there’s some serious upside potential here.

Despite being shorthanded Tuesday, the Minnesota Twins won the opener of their three-game set against the Cleveland Indians, 4-3, managing to pad their lead over the last-place Tribe to 4.5 games. With their second straight win, the Twins have now moved into a tie for second place in the AL Central with the Chicago White Sox and are now just 3.5 games behind the first-place Tigers. It’s been a truly underwhelming first couple of months for Minny, yet it’s right there in the thick of things for the division title.

Since Alexi Casilla got recalled from Triple-A, Matt Tolbert has been shifted to a utility role, sucking away what miniscule value he had in AL-only leagues. He’s been in a 4-for-26 slump since May 22 and has now been demoted to a utility role. The minors could be next (once Nick Punto returns) for Tolbert, who is struggling to get on base. On Tuesday, with both Joe Crede and Michael Cuddyer out of the lineup, Tolbert and Mike Redmond were the only bench options for manager Ron Gardenhire. Luckily, he didn’t need either of them as the Twins rode another huge night from Joe Mauer to victory.

Taking the hill for the Twinkies in the second game of this series Wednesday will be rookie Anthony Swarzak, recently recalled from Triple-A. We recommended him after his brilliant first start, and while his second start wasn’t quite as dominating, Swarzak still threw a quality outing despite some control problems. He’s been hard to hit so far, but will face a challenge going up against Cleveland ace Cliff Lee. Swarzak, who got nailed with a 50-game drug suspension in 2007 reportedly for smoking weed, really found himself last year when he traded in his roach clip for two-seam fastball. Since then, it’s been smooth sailing for the 23-year-old righty, and Fantasy owners are starting to take note as he’s been gaining traction on the wire. With the Indians’ bats cooling off lately, Swarzak has a chance to rack up a third straight quality start, something that will likely spurn some serious Fantasy interest in him.

Remember when Jesse Crain was one of the AL’s better set-up men? Well, he’s definitely struggling in his efforts to get back to that level. He sucked in April then landed on the DL. Well, maybe he’d be his old self when he returned, right? Unfortunately, he’s been only slightly better in May, the victim of way too many dingers allowed. In fact, Crain is already halfway towards matching his career high in home runs given up – in just 14 2/3 IP. He’s been passed on the depth chart by Jose Mijares and is now an unreliable option in the real world and the Fantasy one.

Denard Span enjoyed a huge game against the BoSox last week, but he’s gone into the tank since, sputtering into a 2-for-17 run – a slump that’s dropped his BA 17 points and under the .300 mark. He gained good traction on the waiver wire recently, and a big start certainly helped, but Span has cooled off in May. However, he’s scoring plenty of runs at the top of the Twins’ order, and while he’s not showing the same level of power he did as a rook and his walk rate has slipped, Span has also cut his strikeout rate. We projected him to be a top 50 outfielder, but he’s been much more valuable than that as he’s playing full time, something we didn’t expect. However, Span’s all-around play has dictated that he’s in the lineup everyday, and his defense in particular has been stellar. If you need outfield help, there’s a good chance Span is available on your wire.

We all knew Joe Mauer would be great, but the general perception was that his power would be limited. Uh, yeah. About that…the dude comes off the DL on May 2 and in just 99 at bats he cranks 11 home runs (just two shy of his career mark for an entire season), draws 19 walks and hits a ridiculous .414. And no, he’s not slowing down, going 4-for-8 in the past two games with a run, two doubles, a triple and a walk. Okay, so Mauer no longer steals bases, but the dude is an on-base machine and no one can get a pitch past him this season. And just think — he still hasn’t hit his power prime.

Justin Morneau continues to scorch, delivering timely hit after timely hit as he’s now hit safely in 10 straight games, driving in runs in the past three games. He enjoyed an excellent April with five homers and a 922 OPS and was even hotter in May with nine dingers and an OPS of 1172. Morneau is on track to crack 100 runs for the first time in his career and will match his career high in doubles at his current pace. Sure, he’s striking out more often, but who cares? We ranked him as the sixth best first baseman heading into the season, but besides Albert Pujols, who has been better?

Jason Kubel was back in the lineup Sunday after sitting the game before with a sore knee, however, his mini slump continued as he’s now 0-for-11 with six strikeouts in the past three games. Kubel is enjoying a solid all-around season, but is not hitting with the same kind of power he showed at the start of the season. In April, he looked headed to smash the career-best 20 long balls he stroked last season, but after managing just one dinger in May, that’s no longer the case. Kubel is enjoying a productive season, but the lack of homers has him winding back up on the waiver wires after being such a hot pickup in April.

With Nick Punto hitting the DL, it might be time to take another look at Brendan Harris in AL-only leagues. He got off to a great start, batting .350 in a part-time role in April, but he struggled most of May. However, Harris has shown signs of life lately, homering Sunday to run his hit streak to six games. I’d like to see more patience from Harris, but he’s enjoying a decent season and should be somewhat of an asset as long as Punto is sidelined.

Mike Redmond has been one of the better hitting back-up catchers in baseball for many years, but his regression in recent seasons seemed to accelerate this season when he got off to a super-sluggish start. However, a 2-for-4 performance Sunday capped a .310 month of May for Redmond. Obviously, given that he plays behind Mauer, Redmond only has value in extremely deep AL-only leagues, but it’s nice to see that the vet still has something left in the tank.

We were happy to see that Sean Henn got called up by the Twins a couple of weeks ago, something we felt he deserved. He got hit hard in his first appearance, but has tossed five straight scoreless outings since, including Sunday when he recorded his first hold. Henn’s got a long way to go before working his way onto the Fantasy radar, but he’s pitching better than he ever has in his four previous major league seasons, and that’s worth a tip of the hat if nothing else.

In addition to Punto and Joe Crede (knee), the Twins may be missing Michael Cuddyer for a few days thanks to a sprained finger. He got off to an awful start, but really tore it up in May (1046 OPS), leading to a recent recommendation from us. However, Cuddyer has slumped since then, and now he’s day-to-day with this injury. He had been healthy so far this season after missing most of last year, so let’s hope this current woe doesn’t derail what was shaping up as a career season for Cuddyer.

Luis Ayala had an awful April, but was much more effective in May, capping the month with three straight scoreless outings (5 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K) as he looks to rebound after enduring the worst season of his career in 2008. It’ll take some time before Ayala works his way into Fantasy relevance, but at least it looks like he’s headed in the right direction for now.

Brian Buscher actually was given a chance to win some serious PT this spring, but he’s been awful. He was 1-for-4 with the game-winning run Sunday, but that was his first hit in 11 days. I’d say he’s much closer to a trip to the minors than any real value in an AL-only league at this particular juncture in time.

With the BoSox in an offensive funk (13 runs in five games heading into Sunday’s action), manager Terry Francona juggled his lineup, dropping Jacoby Ellsbury from the lead-off spot down to eighth in the order. The change worked, with Boston avoiding a sweep by pounding the Jays 8-2, but if this is a long-term move, Ellsbury owners have to be upset. But the fact is here, he’s struggled to get on base – especially against lefties, so with southpaw Ricky Romero taking the hill for Toronto Sunday, Tito thought the move made sense. Ellsbury, having recently seen his 22-game hitting streak end, was just 2-for-9 in the first two games in Toronto. Sunday, he responded to the move with a single, a walk, and the team’s first sac bunt of the year – making the Red Sox the final team in the majors to record one. We ranked Ellsbury No. 23 on our outfield list, and the fact is that even though he hasn’t had a stellar start – his power, for instance, continues to wane – his performance has easily made him a top 20, probably even top 15 flyhawk so far. Batting eighth will obviously affect this, especially in the runs department, but it could help him in ribbies – a category Ellsbury is already headed towards a career high in. The bottom line here, however, is that Ellsbury really needs to improve his on-base skills if his long-term future will be as a top-of-the-order hitter.

Taking over the lead-off job, at least temporarily – I’d find it extremely surprising if this shift lasts longer than a game or two – was Dustin Pedroia, who has also been in a bit of a funk, entering Sunday’s action in a 2-for-13 skid. Now, the Little Pony didn’t exactly bust out, but his three-run homer broke up a pitcher’s duel in the fourth inning and was the key hit as Boston managed to avoid a sub-.500 record in May. It was also his first dinger since the very first at bat of the season, a good sign for a player who in April didn’t exactly look like the defending AL MVP. In May, however, Pedroia has turned things around, batting .370 with 10 RBI, five steals and some nice extra-base pop. Sure, his power has slipped from the MVP effort of last season, but how about that freaking batting eye? Pedroia has walked twice as often as he’s struck out, and his play last month made him look much more like the player we ranked as the third best second baseman heading into the season.

If you’re seeking outfield help, you might want to take a chance on J.D. Drew. No, he’s not exactly blazing right now – he was 1-for-16 before going 1-for-4 with an RBI Sunday – but he did take over the third spot in the batting order for the struggling David Ortiz. On Sunday, however, with Boston juggling its lineup, Drew moved up a spot to the two-hole to take over Pedroia’s spot. Still, there’s a very good chance Drew will see lots of time in the three-hole (against righties, anyways) going forward, and that makes him a solid Fantasy bet. Batting third in the powerful Red Sox lineup should boost his value over the long haul, so now’s the time to scoop Drew up.

Unless resurgent Jason Varitek gets hurt, there’s no point in considering George Kottaras for Fantasy purposes, but it’s nice to see the Canadian kid getting some action. He earned a bit more PT in May and responded with hits in three of the last four games he appeared in. Kottaras is starting to show more patience, and you’ve got to figure as the season wears on and Varitek needs more rest, the rookie will get his chances more often.

Now that Kevin Youkilis is back, Jeff Bailey is no longer getting to play much, but it’s nice to see him deliver when he gets a chance as he did Thursday, going 1-for-4 with a double and a run. He’s not impressing as he did last season in his brief trial, and there’s really no upside here, but Bailey has managed to match his career high with 10 runs before he soon fades into obscurity.

Julio Lugo is someone we recommended picking up last month, but he hasn’t really worked out as he tries to wrestle the shortstop job from Nick Green in the absence of Jed Lowrie, whose injury has left a big hole in the BoSox lineup. Lugo looked to be earning the lion’s share of the PT, and enjoyed a fine game Friday, going 2-for-3 with a walk, and then he sat on the bench in favour of Green the past two games. Lugo has hit decently since coming off the DL, but I’d like to see him get on base more often. The other issue is he’s struggled defensively the past couple of years. In fairness, he’s spent plenty of that time hurt, but his contract ($9 million this year and next year) means that Boston is probably stuck with Lugo, even though the Sox would love to try to upgrade at shortstop. From a Fantasy standpoint, it’s really hard to justify owning him now unless he’s playing at least five games per week.