Here at RotoGraphs, we don’t always give too much of our time to OBP leagues. Sad, but true. More and more leagues are converting to OBP, or adding OPS, so it’s about time that we made time for them.

Some players have much more value in OBP leagues, and some have much less. The easiest (or is it the laziest?) way to determine this, is to simply subtract a players’ batting average from their OBP. Let’s take a look, shall we?

The Studs
1. Chipper Jones (.141)
2. Josh Willingham (.139)
3. Prince Fielder (.137)
4. Jose Bautista (.127)
5. Kevin Youkilis (.123)

While Bautista has much more value in OBP leagues, his OBP is only around 10 points above average. Chipper, however, is amazing. He is waiver wire fodder in standard leagues, but he needs to be owned in every OBP league. His injury problems mean you’ll need a reliable backup, but when he plays, he reaches base. Willingham is owned in 65% of Yahoo! leagues, so he won’t be widely available. Even though Youkilis and Fielder are big time fantasy players, Bautista and Chipper are nice values in OBP leagues.

The Middle Class
83. Alfonso Soriano (.072)
84. Shane Victorino (.072)
85. Alex Rodriguez (.072)
86. Hideki Matsui (.071)
87. Denard Span (.071)

A-Rod in the middle of the road? Gasp.

The Duds
173. Pedro Feliz (.025)
172. Julio Borbon (.025)
171. Alberto Callaspo (.026)
170. Carlos Gonzalez (.027)
169. Cristian Guzman (.027)

Feliz should never be owned, period, and hasn’t been worth your time since 2007. Borbon is having a nice season, especially after the way he started off, but his value needs to be altered in OBP leagues. The speed is nice, but a .319 OBP isn’t going to cut it. Callaspo has always had a decent walk rate in Kansas City, so his struggles to take a free pass are strange. Guzman’s Nationals career has always been the definition of “empty average”, so this is not a shock. Gonzalez’s walk rate was decent last year, but he’s swinging more while making less contact. Borbon and CarGo both have some value due to their counting stats, but don’t get too excited.

Max Scherzer, Tigers

Max was a mess prior to a mid-May demotion to Triple-A Toledo, but he has been dealing since his vociferous, 14 K return to the majors on May 30th. Scherzer’s fastball velocity has climbed:

Scherzer’s averaging 94.1 MPH since his recall, compared to 91.8 MPH prior. What’s interesting is that his increase in whiffs comes largely from his secondary stuff — the whiff rate on his fastball has improved (6.3% since his recall, 5.2% before his demotion; 6% MLB average), but his slider whiff rate is up to 20.3% from 14% (13.6% MLB average), and his changeup whiff rate has climbed to 20.4% from 10.5% (12.6% MLB average). It’s entirely possible that the increased zip on Scherzer’s fastball makes his slider and change more effective — pitches don’t exist in a vacuum, independent of one another.

Overall, Scherzer now has 8.26 K/9, 3.33 BB/9 and a 4.17 xFIP in 73 innings pitched. However, his early season struggles and ugly 5.67 ERA (the result of a .332 BABIP, 64.1 LOB% and a 14 HR/FB%) have scared off many owners — Scherzer is rostered in just 34% of Yahoo leagues. ZiPS projects a 4.07 FIP with 8.59 K/9 and 3.62 BB/9 for the rest of 2010. This is a great buy-low opportunity.

Chris Young, Diamondbacks

Young had a disastrous season at the plate in 2009, batting .212/.311/.400 with a .314 wOBA and an 85 wRC+. Those looking for a silver lining pointed to Young’s career-high 11.8% walk rate, solid power (.187 ISO) and low .268 BABIP. However, he whiffed 30.7% and basically earned that low BABIP due to an absurdly high infield/fly ball rate. Young popped the ball up 22.4% last season, nearly tripling the major league average. Those weakly hit infield flies are gimme outs, and help explain why Young’s expected BABIP was just .276.

This season, Young has cut his IF/FB rate to a much more palatable 9.3%, and his punchout rate is down to 23.6%. He’s hitting .278/.341/.483 in 288 PA, good for a .366 wOBA and a 122 wRC+. As an added bonus, Young has already swiped 12 bases this season and is on pace for a career-best 28 SB.

While Young has certainly been better offensively this season, we probably shouldn’t expect him to suddenly keep this pace from here on out. His BABIP so far is .319, compared to a .307 xBABIP. And, while the big drop in his pop ups is a great sign, infield/fly ball rate doesn’t become reliable until a batter takes about 500 trips to the plate. ZiPS projects .247/.321/.456 for the rest of the season, with a .343 wOBA and a .285 BABIP. Young could best that line if he can keep on limiting the infield flies.

Hiroki Kuroda, Dodgers

Injuries have been a problem for the former Hiroshima Toyo Carp ace since he came stateside in 2008 (shoulder tendinitis in ’08, an oblique strain, a sizzling line drive to the head and a herniated disc in his neck in ’09), but he’s been highly effective when on the mound — his career xFIP is 3.79.

This year, Kuroda’s got 7.13 K/9, 2.45 BB/9 and a 3.68 xFIP in 88.1 frames, keeping the ball down with a 53.5 GB% to boot. The 35-year-old righty is going to his 92-93 MPH fastball less often this season — about 52%, compared to 66% in 2009. In place of the heater, he’s relaying more on a mid-80’s slider/cutter (about 37%) while also mixing in high-80’s splitters (11%). All of his pitches are getting more whiffs than the big league average — 7.7% with the fastball, 14.4% for the slider and 18.1% for the splitter (16.1% MLB average). Kuroda’s still on the waiver wire in 23% of Yahoo leagues, but he’s a rock-solid starter when healthy.

Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays?

Demoted and then DFA’d by the Jays, Encarnacion’s future in Toronto is up in the air — another team could claim him and what’s remaining of his $4.75 million salary (he’s arbitration-eligible next season, too), though GM Alex Anthopoulos doubts that’ll happen.

The 27-year-old Encarnacion, picked up as part of the Scott Rolen swap last summer, is having a bizarre 2010 season. In between a DL stint for a right shoulder injury, he has hit .200/.298/.467 in 141 PA, with a .267 ISO and a wacky-low .167 BABIP.

During his big league tenure, Encarnacion has a .257/.339/.449 triple-slash, a .344 wOBA and a 107 wRC+. He has drawn walks at a slightly above-average rate (9.3 BB%), and he’s got power (.193 ISO). He has generally had a below-average BABIP because he pops the ball up often (16 IF/FB%). Encarnacion is not a lost cause at the plate, but the problem lies on the other side of his game.

The former Red has proven to be a ghastly defender at third base, with a career -12.4 UZR at the position. He could revive his career if he proves to be a capable corner outfielder, but he’s likely going to be a drag defensively at whatever position he mans, and his bat isn’t good enough to pick up the slack. DH’s with modestly useful lumber don’t stick around the majors.

Bronson Arroyo, Reds

On the surface, the guitar-strumming righty with the high leg kick is having another season of innings-munching adequacy — a 4.53 ERA in 93.1 frames. However, Arroyo’s peripheral stats aren’t music to anyone’s ears. He’s got 4.63 K/9, 3.57 BB/9 and a 5.20 xFIP. He’s not putting many pitches within the zone (46.1%, compared to a 47.2% MLB average) and his contact rate has climbed to 85.6% (it was 84.7% last season and around the 81% MLB average from 2006-2008). Remember how Scherzer is owned in just 34% of Yahoo leagues? Well, Arroyo’s 6-3 record has earned him a roster spot in 36% of leagues.

Unless Arroyo picks up the pace K-wise and displays his characteristically quality control, he’s going to start getting hit harder — he’s not likely to keep a .266 BABIP or a 7.1 HR/FB% all season long.

Ian Desmond, Nationals

Washington’s third-round selection in the 2004 draft is falling short of pre-season expectations. Both CHONE (.265/.326/.412, .324 wOBA) and ZiPS (.270/.334/.388, .325 wOBA) gave forecasts of league-average hitting, but Desmond currently sits at .256/.290/.388, with a .296 wOBA.

A major reason for the 24-year-old’s sub-.300 wOBA is his huge strike zone. Desmond’s swinging at 34.5% of pitches thrown outside of the zone (28.3% MLB average), which has often put him in the pitcher’s clutches. The Nats’ shortstop has a 63.5 first pitch strike percentage, far exceeding the 58.4% big league average. Not surprisingly, Desmond’s walk rate is just 4.1%. He’ll need to show a better eye to avoid being a liability at the plate.

With Rick Porcello demoted to Triple-A, the Tigers are turning to another young arm to fill his spot this week, 2009 second round pick Andy Oliver. You may or may not know about Oliver’s plight with the NCAA, which essentially disqualified him from playing at Oklahoma State after he used an agent to negotiate a contract with the Twins when they drafted him out of high school in 2006. All of that is behind him now, and just 14 starts into his professional career, he’s a big leaguer.

Aggressive promotions and the Tigers are nothing new. Aside from Porcello, remember that Justin Verlander make a pair of July starts in 2005, barely more than a year after they made him the second overall pick in the 2004 draft. He then joined the rotation full-time in 2006. Clearly, the team will not hesitate pushing a young player if they believe he’s the best option.

Baseball America rated Oliver as the team’s fourth best prospect coming into the season, noting that he pitches “at 92-94 mph and occasionally reaching the upper 90s,” but his array of secondary pitches (two-seamer, slider/cutter, curveball) all need work. Power lefties are a rare breed, hence the high draft selection and $1.495M signing bonus.

Assigned to Double-A to begin 2010, Oliver has has performed admirably in his young pro career, holding opponents to a .253 AVG against (lefties .242), striking out 8.1 men per nine and limiting the walks to just 2.9 per. MinorLeagueSplits.com has him at 39.3% ground balls, 16.3% line drives, 38.5% fly balls, and what strikes me as an absurdly high percentage of infield flies at 19.1%. Nothing too out of the ordinary there, a rock solid performance. If you want to nitpick, Oliver is perhaps giving up a few more homers (0.81 HR/9) than you’d like to see from a pitcher with his stuff and pedigree, but that’s not an awful rate.

The Tigers are marching him out there against the lefty heavy Braves on Friday, though they are a good fastball hitting team (0.59 wFB/C, fourth best in baseball). Chances are this is just a one or two start cameo, similar to Verlander half a decade ago, but I like the matchup this week. Granted, Atlanta looks as if they’ll never lose again, but they’ve never seen Oliver before and his stuff is good enough that smoke and mirrors won’t be needed. It’s a risky play, but the good news is that you have three more days to see what kind of shape your pitching is in before deciding whether to go for it or not. If you can risk some ERA and WHIP in favor of strikeouts and a possible win, then I see be bold and go for it.

Okay, it’s not that recent of a promotion anymore, but Nava is still new enough to the bigs that he’s owned in just 2% of Yahoo! leagues despite a rather splashy debut. The Red Sox have been without Jacoby Ellsbury basically all year because of a rib issue, Mike Cameron is playing through an abdominal tear, and J.D. Drew is now battling a hamstring issue (though he should be back this week). Needless to say, playing time in Boston’s outfield is plentiful at the moment for Mr. Nava, who has started every single game in leftfield since being called up on the 12th.

Through 30 plate appearances, the former independent leaguer is hitting a cool .370/.433/.667 (.455 wOBA) with five doubles, five runs scored and seven driven in. Even if you take away that storybook first pitch grand slam, he’s still batting a robust .346/.414/.577. His minor league track record tells you the guy can flat out hit, so this isn’t coming out of nowhere. Nava’s career minor league batting line sits at .342/.434/.545 in close to 1,200 plate appearances, and he hit .294/.364/.492 in 220 Triple-A plate appearances before taking Fenway by storm.

How is he getting done? Well, 52.6% of the balls he’s put in play have been airborne and a whole bunch of those balls are dropping in for hits, 47.4% to be exact. Nava had much more reasonable rates of 41.8% fly balls and a (still high) .389 BABIP in the minors according to the great MinorLeagueSplits.com. It’s also worth noting that the switch hitter performed much better against righthanders in the bush leagues, but so far has come to the plate just four times against southpaws in the majors. Unless the baseball gods smile down on Nava like they have been for seemingly his entire career, a regression to normalcy is coming.

That said, there’s no reason we can’t ride out Nava’s hot streak, especially in an AL-only or deeper mixed league. He’s likely to keep playing every day, but if you do take the plunge and pick him up, make sure you watch the matchups. Boston has dates with a pair of good lefthanders this week (Jonathan Sanchez and Barry Zito), so you’re going to have to pick your spots. CHONE predicted a .256/.325/.361 batting line before the season, but I can definitely see him maintaining a .280-ish AVG with doubles power going forward. Given Boston’s lineup, the RBI and run scoring opportunities should be plentiful.

Toronto Blue Jays recalled INF Jarrett Hoffpauir from Triple-A Las Vegas.

A former St. Louis Cardinals farmhand claimed off waivers by the Jays during the off-season, Hoffpauir can hit. He’s a career .288/.366/.427 batter in the minors, including a .293/.365/.448 line in nearly 1,400 PA at the Triple-A level. Hoffpauir draws a decent number of free passes (10.4 BB%), rarely punches out (9.2 K%) and while no one will mistake him for a power hitter, he manages not to get totally bullied at the plate (.133 ISO). Prior to 2010, ZiPS projected a .264/.331/.394 showing at the major league level (.323 wOBA) for the 27-year-old, while CHONE had a .272/.349/.402 forecast (.332 wOBA).

If Hoffpauir could capably man an up-the-middle position, a league-average bat could make him a passable starter. However, the 5-10, 190 pounder isn’t well-regarded with the leather by either scouts (Baseball America called his speed, range and arm fringy in 2008) or the stats (Total Zone rates him poorly at second base). Hoffpauir also played some third base with the 51’s this season, and that’s the position where he’ll try to crack the lineup with Toronto following the club’s decision to DFA Edwin Encarnacion. He could have some short-term fantasy value in AL-only leagues if the Jays opt against moving Jose Bautista to third more frequently.

Houston Astros recalled 3B Chris Johnson from Triple-A Round Rock.

Houston’s fourth-round pick in the 2006 draft, Johnson will mercifully take over for Pedro Feliz at the hot corner. Feliz, 35, has been a black hole on a roster full of them — with his normally stellar D rating poorly and his slack bat entering a whole new realm of futility (.237 wOBA), Feliz has been nearly a win and a half worse than a replacement-level player.

Which brings us back to Johnson. To say that he’s Houston’s best internal option at third base is sort of a backhanded compliment, akin to being the most articulate Hilton sister or the most popular BP executive. The 25-year-old holds a career .277/.315/.429 line in 1,800+ PA in the minors. Johnson doesn’t work the count much (5.1 BB%), and he has generally shown just mid-range power (.152 ISO).

To be fair, he has hit with some force at Triple-A this season (.329/.362/.570 in 163 PA), but his overall performance record just doesn’t offer much to get excited about. According to Minor League Splits, Johnson’s 2008 season split between Double-A Corpus Christi and Round Rock translates to a .246/.276/.351 big league triple-slash. His ’09 season in the PCL equates to a .239/.271/.379 line, and even that 2010 work comes to .272/.297/.429. Johnson’s rest-of-season ZiPS projection (.245/.280/.360) is similarly bleak. Even if you’re desperate, you’re best off looking elsewhere.

It’s a relatively slow week for starting pitchers with fantasy value, though the Giants will skip Joe Martinez the next time through the rotation, pushing their big three up a day (all on normal rest). Here’s some other notes…

Carlos Carrasco & Aaron Laffey | Indians | both 0% owned

The Indians finally had enough of David Huff’s 6.40 ERA (5.70 xFIP), sending the southpaw down to Triple-A. They have yet to announce who will take his spot in the rotation, though they will announce the move before they start their series with the Phillies tomorrow. Carrasco and Laffey are the two obvious candidates.

Carrasco got his brains beat in for four starts after coming over in the Cliff Lee trade last year, though this season he’s been okay in Triple-A (4.29 ERA, ~4.50 FIP). Laffey was demoted earlier this year after a failed bullpen stint, though he’s walked 15 and struck out just nine in four Triple-A starts. Whoever Cleveland calls upon with start in Cincinnati Friday then against the Blue Jays early next week, and my best advice is to avoid both at all costs.

Vicente Padilla | Dodgers | 2%

The Dodgers welcomed back their Opening Day starter after he battled a nerve issue in his forearm for close to two months, and he promptly got smacked around by the Red Sox this weekend. (R) ZiPS is a little rough on Padilla, forecasting a 5.11 ERA (4.70 FIP) the rest of the way with an acceptable strikeout rate 6.57 K/9). I don’t think he’ll match the 3.20 ERA he posted with LA last year, but I can see him maintaining a low-to-mid-4.00’s mark with more than seven strikeouts per nine. His next two starts come against the Yankees (sit) and at the Giants (start), and he has value in NL-only leagues as long as you pick your spots.

Rick Porcello | Tigers | 42%

Last year’s wunderkind hasn’t been able to repeat 2009’s success in 2010, earning him a demotion to Triple-A. The Tigers have yet to announce his replacement, calling up Triple-A closer Jay Sborz for bullpen depth for the time being. Detroit has plenty of options for that now vacant starting spot, including Enrique Gonzalez, Brad Thomas, and Eddie Bonine, none of which salivates your fantasy tongue. Whoever they call on with start at the molten hot Braves then at the Twins the next two times out, and they have no one to call up to make those starts viable fantasy options.

Ownership rates listed based on Yahoo! leagues.

CF Nyjer Morgan entered 2010 as a coveted fantasy pick. The former Pirates prospect, shipped along with LHP Sean Burnett to Washington last summer for OF Lastings Milledge and RHP Joel Hanrahan, batted .307/.369/.388 in 2009. With a .340 wOBA, 42 steals and superb defense, the man who dubbed himself “Tony Plush” posted a 4.9 WAR season. His 2010 pre-season ADP, according to KFFL, was 122nd overall.

So far, Tony Plush has kinda been a bust. Realistically, fantasy players should have expected at least a mild downturn at the plate — Morgan had a .355 BABIP last season. Granted, he’s a burner, as his career 7.4 Speed Score in the majors and .355 minor league BABIP from 2005-2008 attest, but both CHONE and ZiPS figured he wouldn’t be quite as prolific on balls put in play:

ZiPS: .281/.339/.359, .334 BABIP, .318 wOBA
CHONE: .281/.345/.367, .332 BABIP, .321 wOBA

Unfortunately, Morgan has fallen well short of those projections: he’s got a .248/.310/.326 triple-slash in 287 PA, with a .283 wOBA that puts him in the same company as out-making luminaries like Orlando Cabrera and Jason Kendall. What has changed between Morgan’s breakout ’09 and heartbreaking 2010? Not much, actually:

2009: 7.5 BB%, 15.8 K%, .081 ISO, 19.4 LD%, 54.3 GB%
2010: 7.0 BB%, 17.4 K%, .078 ISO, 24.1 LD%, 53.9 GB%

Morgan’s walking slightly less and punching out a bit more, with just about no change in his “power” or ground ball rate. His rate of line drives hit is actually much higher this season. Yet, his BABIP has fallen from last year’s .355 to just .300 in 2010. Nyjer’s expected BABIP, based on his rate of homers, K’s, SB’s, line drives, fly balls, pop ups and grounders, is .341. That’s much closer to those pre-season forecasts, and I think we can safely conclude that Morgan has been unlucky on balls in play this season. He’s been more of a .290/.350/.370-type hitter than the absolute cipher on display so far.

So, Morgan should bounce back at the plate — his ZiPS rest-of-season line is more circumspect, but still calls for improvement (.273/.330/.352, .309 wOBA). But there’s another area of his game that’s been off this season — Morgan has been a liability on the base paths.

Last year, he swiped bases at a 71.2 percent clip (42 for 59). In 2010, Nyjer has 15 steals, and he’s on pace for a mid-thirties SB total. However, he has been caught red-handed ten times. That gives him a paltry 60% success rate, and he has also been picked off three times already, after getting caught napping four times last season. According to Baseball Prospectus’ Equivalent Stolen Base Runs metric, Morgan has cost the Nats about three runs on steal attempts this season. So what, you say. But, Morgan costs your team potential runs, too, when he heads back to the dugout with his head hung low after getting gunned down at second or third.

While Morgan has surely drawn the ire of many who expended a mid-round pick on the basis of his wheels, this might be a good time for others to pick him up at a discount. He’s no great shakes offensively, but he’ll almost assuredly improve at the plate. And, it’s very likely that a 29-year-old player with a career 75% stolen base success rate in the minors and a 70% major league success rate from 2007-2009 won’t continue to be such a hazard when he tries to nab a bag. Morgan’s no fantasy stud, but he should hit passably and provide speed-starved players with more efficient base thievery from this point forward.

Here are three players with low ownership rates who could pay immediate dividends in fantasy leagues:

Kevin Frandsen, Anaheim Angels (owned in 1% of Yahoo! leagues)

With injuries to Erick Aybar and Maicer Izturis, Frandsen is getting a shot at regular playing time at third base. He may not have a starting job for long but Frandsen has a nice .352 AVG (thanks to a .373 BABIP) and if you are weak at the position, there is no reason not to ride the hot streak, even if it’s just for two weeks. Depending on your league’s eligibility rules, Frandsen may qualify at any of three infield positions.

J.J. Putz, Chicago White Sox (owned in 3% of Yahoo! leagues)

With Bobby Jenks having pitched on back-to-back nights, the White Sox opted for Putz for the save opportunity over Matt Thornton. While it is unlikely that Putz will get many more save opportunities this year, he has been pitching very well in his setup role. Putz has a 2.19 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and an 11.68 K/9. Even in leagues that do not value holds, those are numbers that would help any staff.

Dayan Viciedo, Chicago White Sox (owned in 2% of Yahoo! leagues)

A disappointment last year in his first season in this country, the Cuban defector was enjoying a big season in Triple-A before getting the call to Chicago. Viciedo was batting .290 with 14 HR and 34 RBIs in 238 at-bats for Charlotte. He played mostly first base this year in the minors, perhaps in preparation for replacing Paul Konerko down the road. But he was back at third base for his major league debut. Viciedo may be in a platoon situation, as his first start came against LHP John Lannan after he sat out versus Stephen Strasburg. But there is also the chance he may play full time at the position while Mark Teahen is out with a finger injury. Viciedo is worth a flyer based on his power potential.

Here is the last-minute look at the two-start pitchers for Week 12. First the starters who you may be on the fence about putting into your lineup:

Wade Davis – In his last three starts he is 0-3 with an 8.22 ERA. While he has two home starts this week, you might want to bench him until you see some better results.

Gio Gonzalez – Roughed up in his last two starts, both on the road, Gonzalez returns home for two games this week. In Oakland he has a 2.90 ERA in six games. Make sure he is active for games against the Reds and Pirates.

Jamie Moyer – A terrible outing against the Red Sox two starts ago has masked a string of solid pitching by Moyer since early May. Activate him for his two home starts this week.

Jon Niese – Since returning from the disabled list, Niese is 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA. He has a tough matchup against Justin Verlander in his first outing but has two home starts, where the Mets are 24-10. Keep him active this week.

Jason Vargas – Not everything has been disappointing this season in Seattle. Vargas has a 2.88 ERA and has hurled a Quality Start in 11 of his last 12 outings. Get him in your lineup for this week’s action against the Cubs and Brewers.

Other scheduled two-start pitchers in Week 12 are listed below. Please remember that these are projected pitchers and changes can and will happen during the week.

Verlander, Lincecum, Lester, Kershaw, Oswalt, Hanson, Danks, Dempster, Burnett, J. Garcia, E. Santana, Latos, Leake, Baker, Cecil, A. Sanchez, L. Hernandez, Hunter, Chacin, Talbot, Guthrie, Narveson, Ohlendorf, R. Lopez, Chen.

Now I want to provide some accountability and check in and see how previous recommendations turned out. There needs to be a two-week lag, since last week’s pitchers have not completed their second start yet. So here are Week 10 pitchers and how they fared.

Cueto – Advised to Start. W, 6.75 ERA, 11 Ks, 1.667 WHIP (2 starts)
E. Jackson – Advised to sit. 4.26 ERA, 9 Ks, 1.895 WHIP (2)
Lewis – Advised to sit. 2 W, 1.80 ERA, 15 Ks, 0.753 WHIP (2)
Matsuzaka – Advised to start. W, 0.00 ERA, 5 Ks, 0.750 WHIP (1)
Slowey – Advised to start. W, 3.86 ERA, 9 Ks, 1.143 WHIP (2)

You comment, and I listen. Seriously, your input is very important. I’m only one person with one vantage point, and challenging my rankings makes me revisit them and rethink my evaluations. We’re going to continue on without including any stats, so without further ado…

The Big Three
Victor Martinez
Joe Mauer
Brian McCann

Victor holds on to the number one spot, and that shouldn’t change (barring injury). McCann continues to try remedies for his vision, so we may see his batting eye improve sometime soon.

Happy To Have
Jorge Posada
Mike Napoli
Kurt Suzuki
Miguel Olivo

Want power without completely killing your batting average? You’re going to have to pay for it. Olivo will always have to look over his shoulder, but I think the Rockies will give him the benefit of the doubt and stick with him as long as they possibly can.

The Prospects
Carlos Santana
Buster Posey

I am loving Santana going forward. While our sample is small, he is showing signs of being worth all of the hype. And more. Posey may not show much power right away, but he should develop more as his career progresses.

I am Jack’s Catcher
Ryan Doumit
Miguel Montero
Geovany Soto
Matt Wieters
John Jaso

I think Sweet Lou just likes to screw with fantasy owners. Jaso seems to be the real deal, while Montero and Doumit could be higher if I trusted them to stay healthy.

Buckaroos
Russell Martin
John Buck
Ivan Rodriguez
Rod Barajas
Carlos Ruiz
Ronny Paulino
Nick Hundley

Martin drops way down, as does Ruiz. Pudge is back and started hitting right away, and he is fitting in nicely with the Nationals. Hundley continues to impress me, and his added playing time has been nice.

The Rest of ‘Em
Bengie Molina
Yadier Molina
Chris Iannetta
Jason Kendall

I’ll always love Iannetta, and am looking forward to someone taking him off the Rockies hands in the offseason (if not the trade deadline).