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| Orlando Hudson was held out of the lineup on Wednesday night due to a sore ankle, according to MLB.com. X-rays taken of the joint were negative. Augie Ojeda started in his place. |
Our View: Hudson was hit on the ankle with a pitch on Tuesday night, and the team held him out as a precaution. He hopes to be able to return to action on Friday when the D'backs take on the Giants.
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| Juan Uribe could be on his way to wearing both Sox jerseys in once season, according to a report on CBS Sportsline. According to Danny Knobler, the White and Red Sox are in "deep conversation" in regards to sending the veteran infielder east. |
Our View: The report further speculates that Alex Cora could be headed to the White Sox while this move might also be a precursor for one last push to acquire the Orioles Brian Roberts.
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| Yunel Escobar, in his second game back in the lineup, had two hits and three RBI for the Braves. |
Our View: This was the first sign of life we have seen from Esobar's bat in a while as he is hitting just .200 over his last 50 AB to drop his average to .284. Now that he is healthy, it stands to reason that the average could pick up a bit.
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| Gregor Blanco had a big day at the plate on Wednesday as he went 4-for-5 with three runs and three RBI for the Braves. |
Our View: Blanco has a hit in four of his last five starts. Though he has only one home run on the year, he does have 10 stolen bases giving him some value in NL only scenarios.
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| Ricky Nolasco fell to 10-6 after allowing the Braves to score five runs in five innings on Wednesday. |
Our View: Nolasco had a streak of 7-straight quality starts that ended after his last start, so he is now 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in his last two trips to the hill. He has been a spectacular waiver-wire pick up so far, but he has also been outperforming his career marks by a substantial margin.
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| Dan Uggla went 0-for-4 on Wednesday and is now just 1-for-22 since his terrible All-Star appearance. |
Our View: As if Uggla's struggles weren't enough, Hanley Ramirez is also 2-for-21 since the break. Both are too talented to keep up this level of ineptitude for long.
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| Tim Hudson shutout the Marlins for six innings on Wednesday to pick up his 11th victory but he was forced to leave after six innings because of tightness in his pitching elbow, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: We have no further information to report at this time, but we are holding our fingers crossed that the Braves just removed him to be on the safe side.
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| Steve Holm was recalled to join the Giants on Wednesday to be Bengie Molina's backup, according to the Associated Press. Eliezer Alfonso was optioned back to Triple-A after hitting .091 in 11 AB. |
Our View: Holm, who will start on Thursday for the Giants to give Molina a day off, was hitting .324 with nine RBI in 11 games since being demoted. He is nothing more than a depth play in NL only leagues that start two catchers.
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| Joey Devine hopes to return to action some time next week from his elbow strain, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. |
Our View: As important as that news is the fact that the Chronicle speculated that if the A's do move Huston Street in a deal that it would be Devine who would take over ninth inning duties. For those of you who like to speculate, you'll want to keep that in mind.
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| Mark Ellis, who is out of action because of a sore shoulder, hopes to return to the field on Friday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. |
Our View: Ellis has been able to take BP but has experienced some pain while throwing. Considering that Ellis had an extremely serious injury to the same shoulder in 2004, the team plans on being very careful with him this time around.
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| Jim Edmonds aggravated an old injury to his left knee and as a result he was unavailable to play on Wednesday, according to MLB.com. He will have an MRI on Thursday to make sure the injury isn't serious. |
Our View: Edmonds has been pretty healthy since joining the Cubs, but we all know that he is more than accustomed to spending some time on the shelf. The good news for the Cubs is that Alfonso Soriano was back in action on Wednesday to help fill the loss of Edmonds' bat.
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| Kerry Wood's blister is not healing as quickly as hoped, so he will visit a hand specialist on Thursday, according to MLB.com. "He's not capable of throwing a full bullpen where he throws his fastball, throws his slider," manager Lou Piniella said. "I think that would send him totally backwards." |
Our View: Wood hasn't appeared in a game since July 11th, but given that he hasn't even been able to throw a complete bullpen since, there is obviously a growing likelihood that he will end up on the DL. Carlos Marmol will continue to fill in until Wood is healthy enough to return.
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| J.J. Putz looked good on Wednesday as he worked two innings and limited the Red Sox to just one hit while striking out three. |
Our View: A couple of outings like this and Putz could find himself back in the closers role with Brandon Morrow moving back to the setup role. Still, Morrow also worked two innings in the game and didn't allow a run, so it's not like the Mariners need to rush Putz back into the closers role.
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| Felix Hernandez needed 108 pitches to make it through six innings on Wednesday in a no-decision against the Red Sox. King Felix allowed six hits and five walks, leading to three runs (two earned). |
Our View: Felix continues to tease with his stuff as the results continue to be a bit mixed. Still, he has 118 K in 125 innings and owns a 2.95 ERA, so even amidst some struggles he is dominating most hitters.
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| Clay Buchholz struck out seven Mariners in 5.1 innings, and though he allowed just three runs he wasn't involved in the decision on Wednesday. |
Our View: Buchholz looked powerful on the hill today at times, but he was victimized by two long balls, this after allowing just four dingers in his first 10 starts. This was his best start since being recalled, but he still has a 6.60 ERA and 1.93 WHIP over three starts in July as he continues to struggle to put it all together.
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| Dustin Pedroia had two hits on Wednesday and is now batting .374 in 179 AB since the start of June to raise his average to .321. |
Our View: Pedroia has erased his slow start to become one of the best second tier second basemen in the game. The average is legit, and if he continues to bat near the top of the Sox lineup he will continue to pile up the runs (he has 70).
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| Jose Lopez extended hit personal hitting streak to 11-games on Monday as he went 2-for-6 with a run scored for the Mariners. |
Our View: Lopez continues to produce solid numbers with a .297 average, six home runs and 52 RBI, and though he isn't a sexy name or a big time contributor, he has proven to be a reliable option up the middle this season.
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| In a surprise move, Mike Hampton could be called upon to start for the Braves this Saturday, according to MLB.com. "I told [the Braves] that I'm ready," Hampton said. |
Our View: If Hampton goes on Saturday, he hasn't pitched in the majors since August of 2005, he would replace Jo-Jo Reyes who has been awful of late going 0-5 with a 7.65 ERA. We put the odds of Hampton making the start and not leaving with an injury at about four to one.
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| Derrick Turnbow has been placed on the Triple-A disabled list due to issues with his right arm, according to MLB.com. Turnbow will have a full set of tests run, including an MRI, to find out if there are any structural issues in his throwing arm. |
Our View: Turnbow has walked an amazing 41 batters in 18 minor league appearances in the minors and has completely lost "it." Whenever he is deemed to be healthy, he will be sent to Arizona to play with the team's Arizona League ballclub in yet another demotion.
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| Updating an earlier report, Colby Rasmus's injured knee has been determined to be a sprained knee ligament, a Grade 1 sprain of his MCL, that will force him out of action for at least a month, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: This injury obviously makes it doubtful that Rasums will see any time with the Cardinals this year. Another side bar is that Rasmus was obviously removed from the US Olympic squad as he will be replaced by Nate Schierholtz of the Giants.
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| Jeremy Hermida was one of the majors best hitters last year after the All-Star break hitting .340-10-36, and he hopes that a similar hot streak is in store for this season, according to MLB.com. "Last year was a great second half, and I'm trying to get something close to that." |
Our View: Hermida has a long way to go if he hopes to even resemble the hitter he was in the second half last year as he is hitting just .190 over his last 16 games. Still, the talent is obviously there.
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| Esteban German has 11 hits in 22 AB in July leading manager Trey Hillman to comment that he will find more opportunities to get German's bat in the lineup, according to the Kansas City Star. |
Our View: German owns a career .282 average and has been a useful fantasy performer in the past with a .326 average in 2006 an 11 SB in 2007. Don't look for him to become an everyday starter, but German might finally be at a place where he can be a nice play in AL Only leagues.
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| Chipper Jones injured his hamstring on Wednesday and was forced to leave the Braves game in the fourth inning, according to the Associated Press. |
Our View: Ugh. Jones is a walking injury report, yet more times than not he is able to drag his weary body out onto the field and perform at a high level. Given that he continues to have troubles with his legs, we wouldn't be shocked if this latest setback leads to some DL time.
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| Billy Wagner has declared himself ready to go after dealing with a sore shoulder the past few days, according to MLB.com. "I'm going tonight," Wagner said. |
Our View: Wagner has been dissed a bit this season, but the numbers suggest there is little support for having a negative opinion of Wagner given his 2.20 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 10.54 K/9 mark.
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| Though recently demoted to the minors due to the return of Troy Tulowitzki, Jayson Nix does have some good news in his life now that he was named to the USA Olympic baseball team, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Nix struggled along hitting just .125 in 56 AB with the Rockies, but he is hitting .300-15-46 at Triple-A this season.
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| Carlos Delgado has been moved into the cleanup spot with the Mets due to a hot bat that has produced a .403 average and a .731 SLG in July, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Delgado has turned around what was an awful start to his season and has now gone deep 19 times while producing a .260 average. Delgado should push 30 home runs and 100 RBI, though expecting his average to climb much above his current mark is likely wishful thinking at this point of his career.
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| Jake Westbrook, six weeks removed from Tommy John surgery, is doing well in his rehab, according to MLB.com. "It's stable," Westbrook said of his elbow. "I'm pleased with it. It's still a little achy and a little sore. Now it's a matter of letting it heal and doing some rehab." |
Our View: Westbrook will likely miss the first half of next season, and therefore is likely not worth really thinking about in terms of fantasy production until late in 2009.
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| Scott Linebrink, who missed about two weeks with some shoulder soreness, didn't feel any lingering affect after making an appearance on Tuesday, according to MLB.com. "Now, it's a matter of the layoff contributing to being rusty out there," said Linebrink. |
Our View: With Bobby Jenks back in the closers role, and Octavio Dotel continuing to mow down hitters, Linebrink should have some time to work back into the form that has led to a 2.31 ERA and 0.92 WHIP over 39 innings this season.
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| Jered Weaver, forced to leave his start on Tuesday due to a sore shoulder, was feeling much better on Wednesday, according to MLB.com. "Weav is a little sore, but is feeling better than he could have been," manager Mike Scioscia said. "But right now, we're pretty comfortable he'll make his next start." |
Our View: Good news for Weaver owners who had to be feeling a bit nervous. Look for Weaver to rebound next time out, he is scheduled to face Boston on Monday, though it might be wise to bench him for that one.
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| Mike Napoli (shoulder) will join the Angels on Friday though he is still a ways away from returning to the lineup, according to MLB.com. Napoli has been throwing since Monday, playing catch at 90 feet, but the team has still not commented as to when he will be back behind the plate. |
Our View: Napoli appears to still be at least a week away from returning, so Jeff Mathis owners can breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now.
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| Scott Eyre was activated from the DL on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. The team also optioned Micah Hoffpauir and Kevin Hart to make room for Eyre and Alfonso Soriano. |
Our View: Eyre has been on the DL since June 28th due to a strained left groin. With Kerry Wood ailing, Eyre could be a nice addition the Cubs pen, though he certainly isn't a fantasy worthy option at this point.
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| Ryan Garko hit his eight home run of the year on his way to producing three hits, two runs and four RBI for the Tribe. |
Our View: Garko has failed to deliver on the promise he flashed last season when he powered 21 long balls in 484 AB. Though he has 10 RBI in his last 16 games, in 13 of those games he failed to push a run across the plate.
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| Casey Kotchman had a special outing on Wednesday as he was a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate with one run and one RBI. |
Our View: Kotchman has been but a shell of his former self since the start of June hitting just .226 over 42 games before today. Maybe today will get his bat going, but without a .300+ average, he is currently hitting .289, Kotchman is nothing more than a bottom level corner infielder in mixed leagues.
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| John Lackey improved to 8-2 on the year but it was an ugly victory as he was hit hard to the tune of eight hits and six runs in five innings against the Indians. |
Our View: This is the third time in four starts that Lackey has surrendered five or more runs, and on the year his ERA sits at 3.02, almost identical to his 3.01 mark of last season. Guess that old regression to the mean has something to it doesn't it?
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| Aaron Laffey was pounded until he cried uncle on Wednesday in his seventh loss of the year. Laffey allowed two walks and 12 hits in just four innings which led to eight runs allowed, the third time in 10 starts in which he has allowed eight runs. |
Our View: Laffey has permitted 16 runs over his last 7.2 innings, though only 11 of the runs were earned leading to a 12.91 ERA. Obviously Laffey should be benched for the moment, and given his alarming lack of strike outs, just 43 in 93.2 IP, he simply doesn't have enough "stuff" to overcome those days when his control is off.
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| Howie Kendrick had four hits on Wednesday, three of which were doubles, on his way to raising his average to .341. Kendrick also scored three runs and had three RBI. |
Our View: Kendrick actually has more stolen bases (seven) than walks this season (five), and that just isn't a recipe for long term success. There is no doubting the man can rake, but until he gains a better control of the strike zone he will likely continue to be nothing more than an empty average hitter in the mold of Placido Polanco.
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| Jeff Mathis had the best day of his major league career with four hits and a career-high six RBI for the Angels in their 14-11 victory over the Indians. |
Our View: One of the hits was Mathis' eighth home run, the second straight game that he has gone deep. Mike Napoli should be back soon to take away some at-bats from Mathis, but regardless of who starts, the Angels have quite the power hitting duo to turn to behind the dish.
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| Michael Young had two hits, including his eighth home run of the season for the Rangers on Wednesday. Young also had a single while adding his seventh stolen base of the year. |
Our View: Young continues to be one of the most productive shortstops in the game even though he was 1-for-16 over the previous four games. He may do anything exceedingly well, but he provides enough runs and stolen bases, not to mention his yearly 200-hits, to be worthy of running out there every day.
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| Orlando Cabrera, whose name has come up lately in trade talks, when 2-for-3 with two runs, an RBI and his 16th stolen base for the White Sox. |
Our View: Cabrera continues to be a solid source of steals, but after a great month of June (.336) he has fallen on some hard times of late including just one hit in his last four games leading to a .221 average in July.
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| C.J. Wilson blew his third save of the season as his ERA climbed to 5.06 on the season after allowing a home run to Carlos Quentin. |
Our View: So you think it's time for the Rangers to turn to Eddie Guardado? We might have agreed with you before seeing his line (0.2 IP, three hits, one walk, four ER). The Rangers pen simply doesn't have too many reliable arms, though Wilson would appear to be "the man" at the end of the game for the time being.
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| Bobby Jenks picked up his first save since coming back from the DL working a scoreless ninth inning against the Rangers. Jenks was set up by Octavio Dotel who earned the win, his fourth of the year. |
Our View: Jenks is good to go and obviously should be active in all formats now that he is back on the hill.
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| Carlos Quentin hit two home runs, including a game winning shot off of Rangers closer C.J. Wilson on Wednesday. This was the third time this season that Quentin has hit two home runs in a game. |
Our View: Quentin has pushed his totals up to 26 home runs and 76 RBI, simply massive production from a bat that wasn't even believed to be worthy of starting at the beginning of the year (something Jerry Owens owners won't soon forget).
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| Matt Holliday had two hits which led to a run scored and three RBI for the Rockies. |
Our View: That's 4-straight games with at least two hits for Halladay who is hitting .667 (10-for-15) with seven RBI in that time.
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| Matt Kemp extended his hitting streak to 13-games on Wednesday with two hits in four trips to the plate. |
Our View: Kemp hit leadoff on Wednesday and is now batting .316 in 79 AB out of that spot filling in for the injured Rafael Furcal and Juan Pierre.
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| Brian Fuentes earned his 17th save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning. |
Our View: Though the team has said that Manny Corpas will likely be the pitcher they turn to in the ninth inning if Fuentes is traded, Taylor Buccholz worked the eighth inning today and continues to be the more effective hurler.
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| Hiroki Kuroda fell to 5-7 on the year after allowing five runs to the Rockies in six innings on Wednesday. |
Our View: Kuroda continues to be extremely inconsistent despite solid overall ratios (3.98 ERA, 1.29 WHIP). After two straight scoreless outings, Kuroda has allowed 13 runs in his last 13.2 innings covering three starts leading to a 8.56 ERA. He remains a solid hurler, though his propensity to blow up is frustrating.
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| Glendon Rusch earned his third straight victory on Wednesday despite a less than impressive effort that included seven hits, two walks, three runs and just two K in five innings. |
Our View: Rusch may have some value in NL only leagues, though we find it difficult to recommend a guy with an ERA that is pushing six and a WHIP of over 1.60 to anyone no matter what type of league they are in.
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| The Jarrod Washburn to the Yankees trade talk is gaining steam with the proposed deal now likely to include Jose Vidro, according to the Seattle Post Intelligencer. |
Our View: This deal is really about money as Washburn is due about $14 million over the next two seasons. The report centers around the idea of the Yankees swapping their high priced left handed failure, Kei Igawa, to the Mariners along with his $14 million in remaining salary. Stay tuned.
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| Kazuo Matsui had a hit, knocked in a run, and scored three times for the Astros. Matsui also stole his 17th base while walking three times. |
Our View: Matsui was in the leadoff spot today with Michael Bourn hitting second (he had two hits and stole a run). Bourn still isn't suited to hit at the top of the order at this time, but Matsui is a fine top of the order replacement for the Astros.
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| Doug Mientkiewicz had a big day at the plate on Wednesday with a single and three doubles on his way to a 4-for-4 performance for the Pirates. |
Our View: Mientkiewicz is hitting only .274 with a single home run in 164 AB, but he qualifies at first base and third base giving him value as a depth play in NL only leagues.
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| Brian Moehler let in six runs, five earned, in just 2.1 innings against the Pirates on Wednesday. |
Our View: Moehler has a 6.33 ERA over his last five outings during which time he has eight walks and 12 K in 21.1 IP. Numbers like that are best left on waivers.
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| Ian Snell had another brutal outing on Wednesday as he allowed six hits, three walks and five runs over just three innings. |
Our View: About the only good news here is that he escaped without picking up a loss. This was the fourth time in six starts that Snell has failed to pitch five innings, and it was the eighth straight outing of at least three walks. He belongs nowhere near a starting lineup.
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| Xavier Nady extended his hitting streak to 12-games on Wednesday thanks to two hits. He also scored twice. |
Our View: Nady is hitting a robust .328 with 56 RBI on the year, and with each passing day his cost in a trade seems to grow in proportion to his work on the diamond. If he is moved he shouldn't lose much value if any as he will certainly continue to operate as a starter wherever he ends up.
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| Derek Jeter had two hits to push his average up to .285 for the Yankees. The shortstop also scored a run against the Twins. |
Our View: Jeter has struggled all year to put together a string of "Jeter-like" effort at the plate, but we are still holding out hope that he will be able to hit .300 when all is said an done. He remains a bottom tier starter in mixed leagues.
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| Alexi Casilla had two more hits on Wednesday, leading to a run scored, as he upped his average to .323 in the process. |
Our View: Casilla is hitting a robust 10-for-26 since the All-Star break, a .385 clip, in what is shaping up to be a truly special season for the Twinkies. It would be nice if he stole a few more bags, but he has clearly played himself into a starting role in mixed leagues up the middle.
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| Mariano Rivera picked up his 25th save of the season on Wednesday by retiring the only batter he faced in the Yankees victory over the Yankees. |
Our View: Rivera has 25 saves against zero blown saves. If not for the work of Francisco Rodriguez, Rivera would likely be the talk of AL relievers at this point as he has been simply marvelous.
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| Glen Perkins gave up eight hits and a walk on his way to five runs allowed over six innings in his third loss of the season. |
Our View: This was Perkins worst effort since May 30th. Perkins may not dazzle in most outings, but he continues to be a serviceable depth starter in deep mixed leagues, albeit one with a dearth of strikeouts (just 46 in 90.1 IP).
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| Mike Mussina improved to 13-6 by pitching eight masterful innings against the Twins on Wednesday. Mussina allowed six hits and didn't walk a single batter on his way to seven strike outs and zero runs allowed. |
Our View: Mussina has now worked five straight games of at least six innings with less than two runs allowed each outing. He continues to amaze given his recent history, largely the result of simply not walking any batters (only 16 in 21 games).
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| Placido Polanco went 3-for-5 with two runs scored to push his average up to .312 on the year. |
Our View: Polanco has three hits in three of the last four games during which time he is 9-for-21 (.429). He isn't much of an offensive threat other than the average and his runs scored total (52), but he is still a fine middle infield option in mixed leagues.
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| Miguel Cabrera continued to flash his bat on Wednesday as he had two hits which led to three RBI for the Tigers. |
Our View: Cabrera has been on fire in July hitting .329 with six home runs and 23 RBI in just 18 games. He still has a ways to go to produce the numbers expected of him this year, hut he is up to .290-17-71 for the Tigers with this recent hot streak.
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| David DeJesus broke up Armando Galarraga's perfect game in the seventh inning and he also added another hit in his final at-bat to go 2-for-4 for the Royals. |
Our View: DeJesus continues to produce in the average category (.304), and his other numbers including 10 home runs, 54 RBI, 48 runs and nine SB mark him as a solid third outfielder in mixed leagues.
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| Zack Greinke fell to 7-7 after allowing five runs in six innings against the Tigers. |
Our View: Greinke has now gone five outings without a win, he has lost his last three decisions, and he has posted a 6.67 ERA over his last five starts to bring his ERA up to 4.06. Greinke has still had a solid season, but his effort of late is starting to seriously diminish his overall production.
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| Armando Galarraga had a perfect game through six innings before ending up allowing three hits, a walk, and one runs scored in seven innings against the Royals to pick up his eighth victory of the season. |
Our View: This effort dropped Armando's ERA to 3.27. If he keeps hurling gems like this one, he might yet squeeze his way into the AL Rookie of the Year race with Jacoby Ellsbury and Evan Longoria.
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| Jason Bartlett has been activated from the DL following his battle with a sprained right knee, according to the AP. The team optioned Ben Zobrist to Triple-A Durham as an adjoining move. |
Our View: Bartlett is expected to resume his role as the Rays' starting shortstop. He notably had a seven-game hitting streak prior to going down, and is worth a look in larger AL-only leagues.
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| Joe Thatcher has been optioned to Triple-A Portland, according to the AP. |
Our View: Thatcher struggled with the Padres this season, and was optioned after giving up a grand slam to Adam Dunn in a loss to the Reds today.
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| Jody Gerut went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI in Wednesday's 9-5 loss to the Reds. He hit a single and a solo home run. |
Our View: Gerut picked his average back up a few points to .278 and snapped a three-game hitless streak. He should remain active in larger NL-only leagues.
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| Adam Dunn went 2-for-4 with five RBI in Wednesday's 9-5 win over San Diego at the Great American Ballpark. He hit a single and a grand slam. |
Our View: Dunn hit his 29th homer of the year, and his third over his last seven games. His average will always be low, but he should remain a great source of power for fantasy owners.
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| Kevin Kouzmanoff went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in Wednesday's 9-5 loss to the Reds at the Great American Ballpark. |
Our View: He collected his 13th homer of the season, which is only his second in the month of July.
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| Bronson Arroyo allowed three earned runs on six hits over seven innings in Wednesday's 9-5 win over the Padres, with no walks and seven strikeouts. |
Our View: He improves to 9-7, and has now won in five straight starts. He struggled at times this season, but should remain active in your lineups while he is hot.
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