Adam Lind is a major leaguer again. It’s probably because the Vladimir Guerrero thing didn’t pan out, or because the 25-year-old David Cooper doesn’t have the same power upside, or because Lind might actually be a better defensive first baseman than Edwin Encarnacion (or “E5”). It could be because of any of these things. But fantasy players may be tempted to think it was because Lind hit .395/.451/.669 in Las Vegas, and are probably ready to give Lind another shot. Should they?

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Today marks another installment of American League Outfield Stock Watch.

Bullish:
Cody Ross – After missing over a month of the season with a broken foot, Ross has finally returned to action. Though it has only been 24 plate appearances, Ross has already smacked three home runs and three doubles. His RBI chances should continue, as he has hit either fourth or fifth in four of the six games he has played in. Even if he is hitting from the seventh spot, he should be able to gather RBI’s. Boston has the fifth best team OBP  and have scored the second most runs. There should be no shortage of available runners on base to drive in for Ross, regardless of where he hits. With a seasonal line of .277/.349/.581, he has been one of Boston’s top hitters. Expect him to have very solid showing in the July rankings. For now, his Yahoo! ownership is at 34% and climbing and his ESPN rate is already 56%. If he is available, I’d pick him up immediately.
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Got two young players finally stepping into more prominent roles this week…

Brandon Belt | 1B, OF | Giants | Owned: 32% Yahoo! and 49.2% ESPN

It took yet another Aubrey Huff (knee) injury, but it appears as though Belt has been freed for good. The 24-year-old has started 15 straight games at first base — even against left-handed starters — and he owns a .362/.483/.702 line with more walks (ten) than strikeouts (nine) during that time. Over the last two weeks, his 236 wRC+ leads all of baseball.

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Kevin Youkilis needed a change of scenery. With the White Sox desperate for help at third, they happily obliged. While the 33-year-old third baseman carries a strong career line, Youkilis is batting just .233/.315/.377 this season. But Youkilis will also be moving into a better situation. He won’t have to worry about losing playing time to anyone, and will be moving to a more homer-friendly park. Even though Youkilis will be an upgrade for the White Sox, it’s unclear whether his performance will be strong enough for fantasy teams.
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On Saturday, I identified a couple of players who fantasy owners might consider buying high on. I purposely ignored players who were expected to be top guys to begin with, but were having even better season than projected (David Wright, Adam Jones), as I preferred to look at more of the cheaper players with surprising performances. Similarly, the sell low guys will be players that were expected to generate high dollar values. I think it’s tougher to recommend selling low on a player than buying high, because we always preach patience and believe that a player will bounce back to his established level of performance, rather than weight the first 3 months of the season so heavily. At the risk of being very wrong…

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Today’s Roto Riteup has a bullet with your name on it.

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• Uh oh. Frank Francisco is been battling a left oblique injury that he suffered Friday night. The Mets originally didn’t seem too concerned, essentially deeming him day-to-day, but as we’ve historically seen with pitchers, opposite side oblique injuries are “nothing to sneeze at.” Well, word has come down mid-sentence (no, literally) that Francisco is indeed hitting the disabled list. And in an obvious move of goodwill to the fantasy community, manager Terry Collins has made life easy on owners by decreeing that Bobby Parnell had the ninth inning tonight (when he knew no Francisco this evening but prior to the DL announcement). Parnell certainly brings the heat (mid-upper 90’s on the fastball) and has career 8.4 K/9 that he’s improved a touch on this year (9.0). Maybe most impressively, he’s a flamethrower who keeps the walks down (3.8 BB/9 career, down to 2.4 this year) — put the whole package together and he has a career 3.78 xFIP (3.12 since the start of 2010). Pick him up in all leagues; I already have. He may only be a short-term hold, but with oblique injuries having a tendency to linger (see Doug Fister), he might be a bit more than a short-term investment.

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Today’s Roto Riteup is like a box of chocolates; it’s pretty sweet.

• Even though it has only been 72 plate appearances, Andrelton Simmons has shown a ton of life in his bat. His BABIP is somewhat elevated, but he is approaching the threshold of when his contact rate can be accurately judged. His 93.0% Z-Contact% is well above the 87.3% average, and his 86.4% overall contact rate looks favorable when compared to the average 79.9%. Last year was Simmons’ big breakout year offensively, and even though he skipped Triple-A, it looks like Simmons is here to stay. If you need a boost to your middle infield, Simmons could be it. He is available in 95% of Yahoo! leagues and 93% of ESPN formats. Read the rest of this entry »

We are all familiar with the practice of buying low. Over the first couple of months of the season, nearly all of my trade offers involve attempting to acquire a player who has started off slowly. But have you ever bought high? Did the thought even cross your mind to target Jose Bautista in 2010 after he finished the month of May with 16 home runs? Probably not. But sometimes it could be a good idea because the other owner may be thinking he is selling high and you still get the player for cheaper then he is ultimately worth. But of course, this is a much riskier type of trade and so most shy away from it. If you have the cajones, here are some players who may be worth buying high.

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No high school anecdotes today people, just the good ol Roto Riteup.

• Keeping in line with catcher news, the Kansas City Royals activated Salvador Perez yesterday just before their game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Perez had been on the 60-day disabled list after having knee surgery back in March. Perez immediately proved his worth by smacking a two run home run in the fourth inning and going 2-4 overall on the day. He profiles as more of a higher average, lower power type catcher, but he is worth a look in dynasty formats. His on-base percentage won’t win him any awards due to his poor walk rate, but he very rarely strikes out either. Preseason ZiPS had him at a .274 AVG with 10 home runs. I might take the over on the average though, based on his upper minors BABIP profiles. If he hits .285 for 300 or so PA, he is a more than useful fantasy catcher. His Yahoo! ownership rate is just 9% and his ESPN is a mere 2%. In comparison to the catchers I examined yesterday, I would order them Perez > Rosario > JPA. Read the rest of this entry »