Author Archive

Week 13 Two-Start Pitchers

Here is the last-minute look at the two-start pitchers for Week 13. First the starters who you may be on the fence about putting into your lineup:

Dallas Braden – Since pitching his perfect game, Braden is 0-5 with a 1.417 WHIP. In his last three starts, he has allowed 26 hits in 17.2 IP. Leave him on the bench for his two road starts.

Jason Hammel – Upon being activated from the disabled list in mid-May, Hammel is 5-1 with a 2.58 ERA. While he has not pitched well on the road this season, he does get a start in Petco to go along with his home outing against the Giants. Ride the hot hand and make sure Hammel is in the lineup.

Ted Lilly – The Cubs lefty has hurled a Quality Start in eight of his last nine outings. He also has 30 Ks in his last 35 IP, so the Ks are coming back, too. With two home starts, including one against the Pirates, Lilly needs to be in your lineup this week.

Brandon Morrow – Wherever he pitches, Morrow piles up the strikeouts, with a 9.86 K/9. But he has not been a road warrior in 2010. Morrow is 0-4 with a 7.09 ERA and a 1.848 WHIP away from Toronto. It’s tough to pass up the possibility of 15+ Ks, but that ERA and WHIP are potential staff killers. Deactivate Morrow this week if you can.

Joel Pineiro – In his last four games, Pineiro is 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA. He also is doing nice in strikeouts, with 22 Ks in 30.1 IP over that span. Activate him for his two home starts this week

Other scheduled two-start pitchers in Week 13 are listed below. Please remember that these are projected pitchers and changes can and will happen during the week.

Jimenez, Wainwright, Carpenter, Lee, Cain, Gallardo, Strasburg, Liriano, Hughes, Haren, Hudson, Romero, Zito, Shields, Cueto, Leake, Nolasco, Buehrle, Carmona, Myers, Dickey, Billingsley, Bonderman, Takahashi, Matusz, Blanton, LeBlanc, Wells, Feldman, Correia, Kendrick, Blackburn, Parra, Westbrook, Maholm, LeRew, Norris, Karstens, Stammen.

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 11 pitchers and how they fared.
Kuroda – Advised to sit. W, 1.50 ERA, 17 Ks, 1.000 WHIP (2 starts)
Marcum – Advised to sit. W, 2.25 ERA, 10 Ks, 1.250 WHIP (2)
Masterson – Advised to start. 5.54 ERA, 9 Ks, 1.385 WHIP (2)
J. Sanchez – Advised to start. W, 3.48 ERA, 10 Ks, 1.645 WHIP (2)
Wilson – Advised to start. 2.77 ERA, 10 Ks, 1.308 WHIP (2)


Week 12 Trade Possibilities

Here are seven players for your consideration to either acquire or send packing.

BUY

Zack Greinke – Last Player Picked has Greinke’s 2010 season valued at $0 so far this season, the same as Brandon League and Hisanori Takahashi. Clearly, that is not what owners expected when they spent a second or third-round pick on him. He is underperforming in every category, especially Wins, where he really has a chance to turn things around from here on out. Many fantasy owners abhor chasing Wins but with Greinke we have a player with a .200 winning percentage who has an outside shot to finish above .500 for the season. (R) ZiPS sees him going 8-6 and while that won’t get him to .500 it will make him a much more valuable pitcher going forward.

Pablo Sandoval – Coming into 2009, most fantasy owners thought Sandoval would hit for a good AVG but not give much in HR. Then he went out and put up a .330-25 season and expectations went through the roof for 2010. Sandoval has not met those expectations, instead putting up numbers more in line with preseason 2009 projections. Currently, Sandoval is struggling on the road, where he has a .261 BABIP and a .100 ISO. He is also scuffling versus LHP, with a .229 AVG. Last year Sandoval hit .379 versus southpaws. Sandoval is not going to revert to 2009 levels but there is room for growth in both power and especially AVG.

Matt Wieters – Subjectively, Wieters looks terrible at the plate. Objectively, Wieters has been similar to what he was in 2009 except for poor luck on BABIP. His ISO of .115 is right in line with the .124 he put up last year. His BB/K of 0.38 is similar to last year’s 0.33 and his HR/FB rate of 9.1 compares favorably to last season’s 8.4 percent. But last year Wieters had a .356 BABIP while this year it checks in 90 points lower. Any owner who has watched him play will be happy to trade him. Anyone who believes in regression could see him being a serviceable fantasy catcher the rest of the year.

SELL

Cole Hamels – One of the most common questions asked in these columns is “What could I get for Player X in trade?” That’s an impossible question to answer because there are so many variables involved, not the least of which is an individual owner’s trading skills. But since he was listed as a “buy” above, how about trading Hamels for Greinke? Here are the current numbers:

CH – 6 W, 3.75 ERA, 85 Ks, 1.31 WHIP — $3
ZG – 2 W, 3.94 ERA, 83 Ks, 1.20 WHIP — $0

And here are the (R) ZiPS projections:

CH – 7 W, 3.98 ERA, 109 Ks, 1.23 WHIP
ZG – 8 W, 3.41 ERA, 121 Ks, 1.18 WHIP

Kevin Kouzmanoff – After a slow start, Kouzmanoff has been raking in the month of June, with a .402 AVG, 5 HR and 13 RBIs, and a week still to go to pad the counting numbers. Kouzmanoff has a good chance to reach 20 HR but he has never been very good with his BABIP, which currently sits at .320 for the season. His current AVG seems inflated and this feels like the right time to execute a sell-high move.

Ty Wigginton – Perhaps a bit past the peak time to sell high, Wigginton still has good overall numbers. He has additional value due to his position eligibility. He has played over 20 games at both 1B and 2B, which combined with his eligibility at 3B from last season, makes him available to fill multiple holes for potential owners. While the forecast is not pessimistic for Wigginton going forward, owners have to be concerned about playing time. He is a butcher in the field and with the Orioles going nowhere, he could easily lose ABs down the stretch to younger players.

HUNCH

Alfredo Simon – Earlier in the year it looked like Simon was grabbing hold of the closer’s role. But an injury put everything in flux and the Orioles have David Hernandez and Mike Gonzalez as immediate and future competitors for the position. But I like Simon’s chances to nail down the role. (R) ZiPS really can’t be used as a comparison in this case, as it sees him making some starts the rest of the season. But Simon has 7 Saves currently and has a shot to finish the year with 20.


Waiver Wire: June 21st

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.


Week 12 Two-Start Pitchers

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)


Week 11 Trade Possibilities

Here are seven players for your consideration to either acquire or send packing.

BUY

Nyjer Morgan – Owners drafted him for speed and Morgan has been successful on just 14 of 24 SB attempts. Also, he was hitting so poorly as the Nationals’ leadoff man that he was dropped lower in the order. But Morgan has played well the last two weeks while everyone is dumping on him. In his last 14 games (13 starts), Morgan is batting .286 with 9 R and 5 SB in 7 attempts. He is a three-category performer who struggled while suffering through a poor BABIP stretch. ZiPS (U) shows him with 35 SB and that seems to be on the low side of what he should be expected to do given his speed and recent success ratio.

Francisco Rodriguez – Ask any Mets fan or Rodriguez owner if they feel comfortable when he comes on to nail down the save. Tuesday he allowed a 2-run HR in the ninth inning but held on for the save, prompting Metsdradamus to label it an “8” on the Coronary Meter. But if you do not watch the games and just view the results in the box scores, you will see that Rodriguez’ results are more than satisfactory. In the last 30 games, he is tied with Jonathan Broxton for most Saves in the majors with 9. In that time span he has a nice 12.09 K/9 ratio. And even though hitters are enjoying a .393 BABIP against Rodriguez, he has a very acceptable 2.97 ERA in that stretch. The results can be even better in the future if his BABIP regresses to normal levels.

James Shields – He has dropped three straight decisions and now carries his highest ERA (4.55) since his rookie season in 2006. But Shields is on pace to record his highest K/9 (8.68) of his career and his xFIP of 3.39 is a personal best. The Rays righty is scuffling right now due to a 50 percent strand rate, the lowest of any qualified pitcher in the last 30 days. Once he improves with runners on base, Shields will be a pitcher to help in all four categories thanks to Tampa Bay’s offense and the chance for big Win totals.

SELL

Matt Cain – Everyone thought Cain was lucky last year but he is topping even that pace with his current hot streak. In 2009, Cain had an ERA 1.33 lower than his xFIP. This year it is 2.49 lower thanks to a 94.8 LOB% in his last six starts. Now, Cain’s ERA has been better than his xFIP each season of his career, so it is certainly not all due to luck. Still, now is a good time to look to sell high on a pitcher who has gone 4-0 with a 0.55 ERA in his last four starts.

Aubrey Huff – After a poor start to the season, Huff has been on an extended hot streak. In his last 41 games he is batting .333 with 8 HR and 26 RBIs. That has caused his ownership in CBS Sports leagues to rise from 40 to 75 percent. But it is questionable if Huff can maintain this pace going forward and there are also some playing time concerns going forward. With Buster Posey and Pat Burrell both making the case for consistent at-bats, Huff may find it hard to match last year’s 536 ABs.

Colby Rasmus – Last year LHP devoured Rasmus as they limited him to a .474 OPS in 115 PA. But this year Rasmus has a .951 OPS versus southpaws in 44 PA and he is faring even better against RHP. In his last 30 games, Rasmus has been hitting everything in sight, as he has a .444 BABIP and a 25.0 HR/FB rate. Neither the overall success nor the results versus LHP are likely to keep up their current pace, making Rasmus a sell-high candidate. ZiPS (R) has him for a .269 AVG and 11 HR, and it is hard to believe his trade value is not higher than that.

HUNCH

Mark Teixeira – A notorious slow starter, Teixeira got off to his usual slow start and then turned things around in May. But ZiPS was not all that thrilled with Teixeira to start the year and the updated version shows reduced totals in AVG, HR and RBIs. I am going to side with history and predict that Teixeira exceeds his ZiPS (U) totals of .252-27-104.


Waiver Wire: June 14th

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

Pat Burrell, San Francisco Giants (owned in 2% of Yahoo! leagues)

It must be the National League cooking. In his last time in the senior circuit, Burrell put up a 33 HR season with a combined 160 R + RBIs. His time in the American League with the Rays is better off forgotten. But now back in the NL with the Giants, Burrell is batting .375 with 8 R + RBIs in 9 G. He has only hit 1 HR in that span but has earned additional playing time. And if Burrell gets the at-bats the HR will come sooner or later. He only has a 9.1 HR/FB rate this year (similar to last season’s mark) but in his career Burrell has a 15.9 percent rate.

Travis Hafner, Cleveland Indians (owned in 3% of Yahoo! leagues)

He has 3 HR in his last 5 G, including Sunday when he turned on a Stephen Strasburg fastball clocked at 99.7 mph. (R) ZiPS projects 10 HR for Hafner in 240 ABs. Both of those totals could be on the low side. He will not give you anything in SB and is unlikely to be helpful at all in AVG. But Hafner has big-time power and could contribute in three categories for the remainder of the season.

Ryan Spilborghs, Colorado Rockies (owned in 1% of Yahoo! leagues)

In 9 G this month, Spilborghs is batting .481 with 3 HR. Right now the only thing holding back Spilborghs is playing time and with the Rockies playing an Interleague series on the road against the Twins, Spilborghs should see lots of action in the week ahead. Previously, he has crushed LHP and been poor against RHP. But this season, Spilborghs has a .297 AVG with 4 HR in 64 ABs against righties.


Week 11 Two-Start Pitchers Update

Here is the latest update to Week 11 two-start pitchers. Again this list is subject to change going forward.

Pitchers not listed on last update

PHI – Roy Halladay
SDP – Jon Garland
DET – Max Scherzer
OAK – Trevor Cahill
SEA – Luke French
STL – Jeff Suppan

Pitchers from Friday no longer scheduled for two starts

OAK – Dallas Braden
DET – Rick Porcello
PHI – Kyle Kendrick (much to the dismay of Phillies Red)
PIT – Zach Duke
SEA – Ian Snell

Halladay has a 1.96 ERA and four losses. The losses have been two that were deserved (12.2 IP, 11 ER) and two of the hard-luck variety (17 IP, 3 ER). In his first start, Halladay renews acquaintances with the New York Yankees, against whom he is 18-6 with a 2.84 ERA lifetime. In his second start, Halladay goes up against the Twins, a team he is 8-1 lifetime against.

Garland has given up 9 ER in his last 13 IP and picked up back-to-back losses for the first time since his first two decisions of the year. Still, his ERA is a nifty 2.84, even if it is a run and a half lower than his xFIP. Garland gets home starts this week against Toronto and Baltimore. This year in Petco, Garland has a 1.15 ERA in 39 IP.

Scherzer followed up his 14-strikeout performance with a mediocre effort, but in his last outing he went 7.1 IP, allowed 3 ER, 1 BB and had 7 Ks. He gets two home starts this week, including a game against his old Diamondbacks teammates at the end of the week.

Cahill is second on the A’s with 5 W and has picked up a victory in four of his last five starts. He has pitched a Quality Start in each of his last six games, including his last outing when he went a season-high 8 IP and permitted just 1 ER. Cahill is succeeding despite a 4.85 K/9 and a 1.58 K/BB. He has a normal HR/FB rate and is excelling thanks to a .235 BABIP and a 77.3 strand rate.

French is a soft-tossing lefty acquired by the Mariners in the Jarrod Washburn deal at last year’s trade deadline. His best pitch is his changeup and he also complements his 87.7 mph fastball with a slider. A flyball pitcher, French has very little margin for error. He has a road start in St. Louis and a matchup against the Reds this week.

Suppan is back with the Cardinals, hoping to recapture the form that earned him a $42 million contract following the 2006 season. In his three previous years with St. Louis, Suppan won 44 games and had a 3.95 ERA. In the last three-plus years with the Brewers, Suppan notched 29 Wins and had a 5.08 ERA. In 15 games with the Brewers this season, Suppan had a .399 BABIP.


Interesting Week 11 Two-Start Pitchers

Everyone is happy when one of their pitchers is scheduled for two starts in a week. But that is not always a good thing. Here are five pitchers you may be on the fence about (or should be on the fence) putting into your lineup for Week 11.

Hiroki Kuroda – He has been a reliable pitcher for the Dodgers this season with eight Quality Starts. But on the road Kuroda has allowed 4 HR in 31 IP. This week he has road starts in Cincinnati and Boston. The Reds and Red Sox rank second and third in most HR hit this season. Put Kuroda on the bench this week if you have other options.

Shaun Marcum – Like Kuroda, Marcum has been a very good pitcher this year. But Marcum has struggled in his last two starts, allowing 11 ER in 12.1 IP. Additionally, Marcum has a pronounced home/road split. This year at home, Marcum has a 2.59 ERA but it is nearly two runs higher on the road at 4.42. With West Coast road games in San Diego and San Francisco, sit Marcum this week.

Justin Masterson – All season long Masterson has out-pitched his peripherals. Finally, in his last three starts Masterson is starting to see some positive results. He is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA and a 1.078 WHIP. Masterson still struggles with his control and versus LHB. But this week he faces the Mets and Pirates, who are both below-average in walks and neither team is dominated with LHB. Masterson is still on the waiver wire in most leagues and is worth an add this week.

Jonathan Sanchez – Despite great numbers, Sanchez has not racked up the wins this season. In his last four games, Sanchez has 20 Ks in 23.1 IP and a 2.31 ERA yet is only 2-2 in that span. A home game against the Orioles offers a nice chance for Sanchez to break into the win column. Ride the hot pitcher and make sure Sanchez is active this week.

C.J. Wilson – The Rangers’ lefty endured a tough stretch where he gave up 17 ER in 16 IP but has been much better in his last two outings, in which he has picked up two Wins with 10 Ks in 12 IP. Wilson does have two road games this week, but they are against the last-place Marlins and the 25-36 Astros. Activated Wilson for his two starts this week.

Other scheduled two-start pitchers in Week 11 are listed below. Please remember that these are projected pitchers and changes can and will happen between now and next week.

J. Santana, Wainwright, J. Johnson, Sabathia, Price, Buchholz, Pavano, Zambrano, Braden, Wolf, Saunders, Harang, Porcello, F. Garcia, Paulino, Cook, Kendrick, Tillman, Duke, Lincoln, Davies, Lannan, Snell.

Check back Sunday night for an update of two-start pitchers.

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 Nine pitchers and how they fared.

Bonderman – Advised to start. 6.59 ERA, 3 Ks, 1.683 WHIP (2 starts)
Harden – Advised to sit. W, 6.30 ERA, 7 Ks, 1.700 WHIP (2)
Noalsco – Advised to sit. W, 4.38 ERA, 10 Ks, 1.541 WHIP (2)
E. Santana – Advised to start. 2 W, 1.39 ERA, 8 Ks, 1.308 WHIP (2)
Takahashi – Advised to start. 10.61 ERA, 6 Ks, 1.929 WHIP (2)


Week 10 Trade Possibilities

Here are seven players for your consideration to either acquire or send packing.

BUY

Carlos Lee – In his first 44 games, Lee was absolutelIn his first 44 games, Lee was absolutely dreadful. He was hitting for neither AVG (.192) nor power (5 HR in 167 ABs). But in the last two weeks, Lee has broke out of his slump in a big way and is batting .340 with 12 RBIs in 13 games. ZiPS (R) sees a .280 AVG with 15 HR and 62 RBIs the rest of the way and that might be selling him short. There is still a lot of room for growth with his BABIP (.227) and even with the awful start, when he did not hit a HR in April, his HR/FB rate is at 9.2 percent.

Ted Lilly – He got off to a late start to the season and then got knocked around in both his second and third outings of the year. But in his last six starts, Lilly has been as good as ever, even though his 0-3 mark in that frame does not show it. Lilly has recorded a Quality Start in each of those past six outings and has a 2.49 ERA over 43.1 IP. With a 4.62 xFIP, Lilly’s current owner may be in a mood to sell. Most of that number comes about because of a decrease in Ks and an increase in BB. But Lilly has picked up the pace with his strikeouts and in his last outing he did not walk a batter in 8 IP.

Clayton Richard – It is easy to see a Padres pitcher with a low ERA and an xFIP one and a quarter runs higher and make the conclusion that he is succeeding thanks to Petco Park. But Richard has pitched just as well on the road so far this season and his ERA was consistent in both April (3.00) and May (3.00). Richard has shaved nearly a full walk off his BB/9 from a year ago while his K/9 has remained steady. Some will point to his 81.0 LOB% as the main reason for his success. But Richard gets grounders, has a low LD% (16.7) and his O-Swing% is up to 28.5 percent. And he helps himself by having one of the toughest pickoff moves in the game.

SELL

Adam Dunn – One of the three true outcome kings, Dunn is walking less and hitting fewer HR this year. But the most surprising thing is his .280 AVG, which would easily be a career high. Of course, that comes with a .362 BABIP, which eclipses last year’s personal-best .324 mark. The additional base hits have Dunn just as valuable as ever with a .396 wOBA. But his fantasy value will fall when the AVG drops and unlike past years, Dunn will not prop it up with 40-HR power.

Derek Lowe – Great run support, especially early in the year, has helped Lowe to 8 W so far this season. But the rest of his fantasy numbers are underwhelming. His ERA is 5.04, his WHIP of 1.45 is just barely better than last year’s disappointing number and his K/9 of 5.28 is below-average. Lowe did real off wins in three straight outings before getting roughed up in his last start. His FIP and xFIP are three quarters of a run better than his ERA. See if that or his win total or his reputation can get someone to bite on him and take him off your hands. The slider which was such an effective pitch for Lowe while he was with the Dodgers is now a below-average offering.

Jon Rauch – After getting quality fantasy numbers from Rauch for two months, the time has come to try and sell high on Rauch and his 15 Saves. The 6-11 Rauch has done an admirable job filling in for Joe Nathan. But his WHIP is nothing special, he no longer is a big strikeout pitcher and his ERA is being propped up by a 5.9 HR/FB rate. Rauch has yet to give up a HR in 13 road innings and has allowed just 2 HR at home despite a 63.6 FB% in Target Field.

HUNCH

Troy Glaus – In the seven seasons prior to 2010, Glaus played in 115 games or fewer four times, including last year when he appeared in just 14 games and had only 29 ABs. But when healthy, Glaus has delivered consistent numbers, as good or better than the .377 OBP and .480 SLG he holds currently. Playing time is the big concern with Glaus, but he has already exceeded the amount of action he saw in two of his four injured seasons. I like Glaus’ chances to stay healthy and appear in 140 or more games this season and top his ZiPS (U) line of .271-22-92-64-1.


Waiver Wire: June 7th

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

Eric Hinske, Atlanta Braves (owned in 6% of Yahoo! leagues)

Anyone in a league with daily transactions should have Hinske on their roster. He may only be a platoon player, but he is destroying RHP this season. He has a .974 OPS versus righties, including a .326 AVG with 4 HR in 89 ABs this season. Yes, that comes with a BABIP of .379 versus RHP. It may not last the whole season. But there is no reason not to pick him up and ride him while he is hot.

Nick Hundley, San Diego Padres (owned in 5% of Yahoo! leagues)

In his last seven games, Hundley is batting .522 with 2 HR and 8 RBIs. Hundley most likely will not keep his current .306 AVG but he does have pretty good power and currently has an 11.8 HR/FB rate. (U) ZiPS forecasts him to finish with 11 HR and even 15 would not be a surprise for the 26-year old. Hundley splits time with Yorvit Torrealba although no strong patterns have emerged. Hundley catches Mat Latos for the most part while Torreabla has a similar relationship with Kevin Correia. If Hundley breaks away to become the primary catcher for the Padres, he could be a boon to fantasy owners.

Ronny Paulino, Florida Marlins (owned in 5% of Yahoo! leagues)

Since John Baker went on the disabled list on May 15th, Paulino has a .308 AVG with 8 R and 13 RBIs in 18 games and 16 starts. Baker is still several weeks away from returning and even when he does come back, Paulino should still see the bulk of the playing time versus LHP. Versus southpaws, Paulino has a .377 AVG with 2 HR and 14 RBIs in 61 ABs this year. Lifetime versus lefties Paulino has a .339/.393/.494 mark in 494 PA.