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| Juan Uribe injured his leg on Thursday night and had to be removed from the game in the sixth inning, according to the Chicago Tribune. |
Our View: Uribe tried to beat out a groundball but had to pull up and run "gingerly" according to the report. Alexei Ramirez replaced Uribe and would likely do so moving forward if the injury is serious.
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| Zach McAllister had a dominant performance for Low-A Charleston on Thursday, allowing only seven hits in seven scoreless innings. He struck out 11 batters. |
Our View: McAllister, a third-round pick in 2006, struggled last season. However, he has put those struggles behind him this season with a 5-2 record, 2.20 ERA and an outstanding groundball rate. He is starting to become a noticeable prospect.
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| Jamie Richmond allowed only one hit in eight innings on Thursday for his fourth win of the season for Low-A Kane County. He walked one and struck out eight. |
Our View: Richmond is the type of pitcher that breezes through the low minors, as he has plus command. His ERA currently stands at 3.07, and he has five walks in 44 innings. The former 31st round draft choice was acquired along with Joey Devine in the off-season from Atlanta for Mark Kotsay, and he has a long way to go in order to prove that his fringe stuff will be playable in the majors.
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| Chris Tillman was terrific for Double-A Bowie on Thursday, throwing six scoreless innings for his fourth win. He allowed three hits, two walks and struck out nine. |
Our View: The 20-year-old continues to impress, as he is dominating Double-A hitters. His ERA is down to 2.41 with more than a strikeout per inning through eight starts. His control is still an issue, but Tillman has incredible upside.
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| David Huff threw a complete game shutout for Double-A Akron on Thursday, allowing only three hits and one walk while fanning two. |
Our View: Huff was a supplemental first-round pick in 2006, and he has not had any problems as a pro. This season he is 3-1 with a 2.14 ERA and 43/11 K/BB ratio in 46.1 innings. The Indians have several options ahead of him, but Huff could find himself in the majors by next season.
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| Liriano had his third straight solid minor league start on Thursday, allowing three runs on seven hits in eight innings. He walked one and struck out four.
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Our View: The results have been good, but Liriano’s strikeout rate and velocity is not what it was before he had Tommy John surgery. The Twins have no reason to rush him back, especially with the way Glen Perkins has pitched for the team recently.
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| Hank Blalock was scratched from a scheduled start in Double_A on Thursday night after his injured hamstring tightened up during warmups, according to the Dallas Morning News. |
Our View: The report was very critical of the Rangers for rushing Blalock back to the field and predicted that he likely wouldn't be back in the Rangers lineup until June 1st. Whether or not the report is accurate, Blalock did suffer a setback which puts his return next week in doubt.
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| Derek Jeter continued his strange season with two hits and an RBI on Thursday for the Yankees. |
Our View: Jeter is hitting a solid .302, but he has just one home run and not a single stolen base through 36 games, a shocking revelation for the HOF bound Jeter. Based on his track record, you have to think that a run of SB and HR will be coming shortly.
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| Shawn Riggans hit his third home run of the season on Thursday as he scored two runs, had two RBI and produced two hits for the Rays. |
Our View: Riggans continues to split time with Dioner Navarro, and with tonight's effort he is hitting .250 in 48 AB. He doesn't figure to overtake Navarro but he has been a serviceable second catcher in AL Only leagues.
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| Akinori Iwamura lost his 11-game hitting steak last game out, but he started a new streak on Thursday as he went 2-for-3 with his third home run of the season. |
Our View: Iwamura hasn't really lived up to expectations so far this year but his bat has come alive of late making him someone to consider playing in a middle infield slot.
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| Scott Kazmir held the Yankees without a run over six innings to improve his record to 2-1 thanks to only three hits and three walks allowed. |
Our View: Kazmir only had three K on the day, but it's quibbling to complain about that. Through 16 innings Kazmir owns a 1.69 ERA and seems intent on making us forget that he missed the first month of the season.
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| Ian Kennedy returned to the Yankees rotation but the results were eerily similar to his work prior to being demoted as he fell to 0-3 on the year. Kennedy allowed five runs to the Rays in five innings thanks in large part to two home runs. |
Our View: Kennedy only walked on batter, an encouraging development, but overall this outing would have to be viewed as a disappointment given his work in the minors.
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| Pedro Feliz hit his sixth home run of the year on Thursday as he knocked in two runs for the Phils. |
Our View: Feliz has been unable to get any traction this season with just 11 runs and 18 RBI on the year, but at least he has brought his average up in May (.304). He figures to hit his customary 20 HR with 75 RBI
but it's often a very bumpy ride.
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| Ryan Howard homered for the third time in five games on Monday, though of course he also struck out in the game. |
Our View: That's nine home runs and 58 K for Howard who continues to be a vexing mix of power and whiffs in the early going.
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| Chuck James allowed three home runs and five earned runs to fall to 2-3 on the year. James gave up six hits and five walks in four innings of work. |
Our View: James just isn't right, a fact that appears to be obvious to everyone other than the Braves decision makers. James has now allowed seven home runs in just 23 innings covering five starts, and until he reverses that trend he has little chance of being a productive hurler.
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| Cole Hamels twirled a brilliant complete game shutout of the Braves on Thursday night for the Phillies. Hamels allowed four hits and two walks while striking out six. |
Our View: The only thing holding Hamels back from being a Cy Young candidate this year will be his health as he has continued dominating hitters just as he did last year.
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| Michael Bourn went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts as his average fell to .181 for the season. |
Our View: Bourn may have 17 SB, but the fact that he has just 16 runs scored batting in front of Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee and Miguel Tejada should tell you all you need to know. Look for him to be demoted to the bottom of the lineup, that is if Cecil Copper has any idea of what he is doing.
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| Lance Berkman hit his 15th home run of the season into the San Francisco Bay against the Giants on Thursday. Berkman had another hit on the night with three RBI as he is now batting .391. |
Our View: Berkman cannot make an out as he is treating NL pitchers as if they are softball pitchers in a beer league. Berkman is now 26-for-42 (.619) and 30 for his last 54 (.556).
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| Aaron Rowand continues to be a force in the middle of the Giants batting order as he had two hits and two RBI for the Giants. |
Our View: Rowand is hitting .333 but only has 20 RBI on the year thanks to batting behind the lumbering Bengie Molina who can barely score on a home run. If Rowand continues to bat behind Molina, his RBI totals will likely lag behind his other numbers.
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| Omar Vizquel had three hits and scored three runs for the Giants on Thursday pushing his batting average up to .444 in the process (18 AB). |
Our View: Vizquel has come back swinging the bat with authority, something that certainly doesn't figure to continue moving forward as he is old, has lost a step, and offers no power.
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| Jose Valverde picked up two strikeout to close out the Giants on Thursday on his way to his 11th save. |
Our View: May has started out in spectacular fashion for Valverde who has one win and six saves while posting a 0.00 ERA in 8.2 innings as he is once again asserting that he can be a dominating presence on the hill.
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| Tim Lincecum dominated the Astros for six innings on Thursday striking out 10 batters in a no-decision (the bullpen blew the game). Lincecum allowed five hits, three walks and three runs in the outing. |
Our View: Tim left with a 7-3 lead but the Giants pen imploded blowing what seemed like a sure win. Lincecum now has a 1.92 ERA and 63 K in 56.1 IP in what is shaping up to be one of the most dominating seasons seen on the west coast in years.
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| After a rain induced postponement Thursday night in Cincinnati, the Reds will keep their pitching schedule intact for this weekend against Cleveland. That means a marquee matchup: Edinson Volquez vs. Cliff Lee. Dusty Baker said after the rain out was made official that Matt Belisle, who had been scheduled to start today, would be skipped until Tuesday against the Dodgers.
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Our View: Johnny Cueto will start Friday night against the visiting Indians. No makeup date was set for the finale of the scheduled four-game series. The last-place Reds had won the first three against the NL East-leading Marlins.
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| Ryan Garko owners are desperately hoping the right-handed slugger can feed off his Wednesday night home run. The Indians' first baseman hasn't hit into much luck this season and at times has looked frustrated, even lost, at the plate. |
Our View: Considering that Garko has only 17 strikeouts in 124 at bats -- and has walked 15 times -- his minor league peripherals would suggest his batting average should be much better than the current .234. Garko was 1-for-4 in Thursday's game against the A's with one RBI. Expect his boxscore lines to improve as the May turns to June.
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| Jose Arredondo made his major league debut on Wednesday night - and didn't carry his Triple-A success to the next level. The right-hander pitched the ninth inning of a game where the Angels were down 5-1 - but ended at 6-1 after Arrendondo allowed a solo home run to the slumping Nick Swisher. |
Our View: Before getting the major league phone call, Arredondo had allowed 12 hits and four runs in 17 innings of Triple-A work. The hard throwing righty also recorded 10 saves, struck out 15 and posted a palatable 2.12 ERA. His numbers are almost a mirror image of his 2007 campaign when he climbed from the Rookie League - through four levels - to Triple-A. Owners in deep AL-only leagues are advised to follow his bullpen work this year.
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| Jose Contreras, who held the Angels to one run on four hits on Wednesday night, earned a quality start. The White Sox right-hander walked and struck out three in seven innings and now has four quality starts in eight appearances this season. |
Our View: In reality, all of Contreras starts were close to being qualifying efforts, and his peripherals this year far exceed his career splits. He has one complete game, a 3.35 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. Only his K Rate (4.70) lacks top-tier status.
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| It appears that Brandon Lyon is going to hold serve as the Diamondbacks closer this year. After blowing two of his first three save opportunities, the right-hander has converted 10 straight. |
Our View: Arizona's ninth inning option has struck out 12, allowed two walks and carries a 2.00 ERA and 1.07 WHIP through his first 19 appearances.
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| Will the real Brett Myers please take the mound? Myers took an 8-5 beating at the hands of the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night. The hard-throwing right-hander allowed eight runs (six earned) on nine hits, walking three and striking out six in 4.1 innings of work. |
Our View: Myers now has only three quality works in eight starts and his 5.91 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, H/9 of 11.1, and a HR/9 of 2.53 are terribly disappointing.
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| Boof Bonser was slow to warm on Wednesday night. For those who watched the game it was obvious that the right-hander was overthrowing, and losing break on his dynamite curve ball. Bonser allowed four of his five runs in the first inning on a Matt Stairs grand slam, but finished strong, walking three and striking out three in six innings of work. |
Our View: For the year, batters are hitting .359 in Bonser's first 30 pitches and .219 after that point. Get the Boof out of the first two innings, and he's tough to beat.
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| There seems to be some concern with Ichiro Suzuki's current form. The veteran went hitless for the second straight game on Wednesday, taking a 0-for-6 bagel. |
Our View: Note, however, that he lost 16 points of average in the last two games -- which tells us that May averages are still volatile. His peripherals are not any different than a year ago, and the Mariners outfielder started slow in '07 as well.
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| Wes Helms escaped serious injury when he was struck by a fastball just above his elbow on Wednesday, according to MLB.com. "It hurts," Helms said. "But I'm fine. It's not going to alter my swing." |
Our View: With Mike Jacobs hurt, he hopes to return by the weekend, the team could certainly use the bat of Helms in it's lineup. Unless Jacobs is out long-term don't expect Helms to be much more than a corner infield play in NL Only leagues.
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| Eric Byrnes was not in the starting lineup on Thursday night as he was given a night off to clear his head, according to MLB.com. "He's going to take it easy today, a little separation," Melvin said. "Hopefully, a little bit of a distance and kind of process some things," manager Bob Melvin said. "Whether or not I give him two [days off] or not is yet to be determined, but if that's the case, two tops, but there's still a chance he'll be in there [Friday]." Jeff Salazar is starting in his place. |
Our View: Byrnes is in the mother of all slumps toiling in a 6-for-62 streak that has dropped his average to .214. We all know that Byrnes will give it his all, but given that nothing is working right now it seems like a benching might be a good idea. Hopefully you have also done the same and have him riding the pine.
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| Clay Hensley, out with a shoulder strain, has resumed throwing in extended spring training after experiencing a setback in the first week of May, according to MLB.com. "He had a little bit of a setback, but he's back throwing again," manager Bud Black said. "He's going to throw again [Friday], and if he comes out of that, he's going to be shot back to [Triple-A] Portland." |
Our View: Hensley was a solid starter last year with a 3.71 ERA and 1.34 WHIP at the backend of the Padres rotation, and though he could offer some value at some point, don't count on that being any time before the all-star break.
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| Michael Barrett (strained elbow) could be sent out on a minor league rehab assignment as early as next week, according to MLB.com. "Michael is going to throw to the bases on Friday in Seattle to further test the elbow," Padres manager Bud Black said, "but he's making great strides. With the bat, he's swinging great, so there's no issue swinging the bat at all." |
Our View: Josh Bard has really struggled at the plate barely hitting above .200 as he has been dealing with his own health concerns, so the Padres would welcome back Barret with open arms when he proves himself to be healthy.
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| Mark Prior is currently meeting with Dr. James Andrews to discuss his shoulder and the results of a recent MRI, according to MLB.com. "Prior is in Birmingham, as we speak," manager Bud Black said. "We'll know more probably over the weekend, or maybe early next week, about the plan for Mark as we move into the summer." |
Our View: Prior appears to be a setback machine whose once luminous career is nothing more than a series of last gasp efforts to return to the mound. This latest setback would appear to signal that the earliest Prior could return to the mound would be June.
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| Updating an earlier report, Scott Schoeneweis is fine after receiving a medical scare, this according to MLB.com. "I woke up at like seven o'clock and I thought I was going to die," Schoeneweis said. |
Our View: Turns out the doctors think that scar tissue from his bout with testicular cancer caused an inflammation to his appendix, but the decision was made that he doesn't need any further medical work which is great news.
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| Chipper Jones tweaked his right groin in his last AB on Wednesday, and as a result the Braves will sit him out on Thursday night, according to MLB.com. The pain in the groin continued Thursday while hitting off a tee, but Chipper isn't likely headed to the DL with this latest ailment. "I feel confident that we'll get this thing knocked out and I will get back in there in no time," Jones said. |
Our View: Jones is the heart of the Braves and all the fantasy teams he currently plays for thanks to a .418-11-32 line through 37 games. You know what you're getting with Chipper, and this is just one of those times that you have to be patient. Omar Infante figures to fill in.
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| Roger Clemens remains undecided about his retirement according to the words of Astros CEO Drayton McLane, according to MLB.com. "I think if he was ready to retire, and that was clear, he would have already said that to us. But that has not happened." |
Our View: Give us a break, you've already disgraced the sport Roger, so just go away. We all know you aren't going to pitch again, so tell the Astros to keep your name out of the press so we can all move on. We feel better now that we've vented.
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| Josh Willingham's recent setback with his back will likely keep him out of the lineup for at least a couple of weeks, according to MLB.com. Willingham is now dealing with a strained lower back in addition to a herniated disk. "In my opinion, I might have been a little overanxious," he said. |
Our View: The "S" word, surgery, continues to not be in the lexicon of Willingham who says it won't be needed. However, another setback like this one will cause everyone to rethinking that position. Regardless, his breakout campaign has ground to a halt.
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| Ben Broussard cleared waivers and should find himself with another team within the next couple of days, according to the Star Telgram. |
Our View: Broussard's new club will only have to pay a prorated portion of his salary while the Rangers will have to pick up the vast majority of it for a player that hit .159 with three home runs for them this year.
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| It turns out that John Smoltz did a little more than first thought on Thursday as he ended up throwing 25 pitches off the mound instead of just working on long toss, according to MLB.com. "I wanted to see if I could get that [downward movement]," Smoltz said "It went well." |
Our View: Smoltz will throw his first bullpen session on Saturday when he will throw all his pitches, but today's results are very encouraging news for the potential HOFamer. If all goes according to plan, Smoltz hopes to start a minor league rehab assignment on next Tuesday or Wednesday.
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| Kyle Lohse skipped his normal between starts throwing on Thursday and may miss his next start due to a sore shoulder, according to MLB.com. If Lohse is unable to go on Sunday, the team will turn to rookie Mike Parisi. "We're just taking precautions to make sure it doesn't get any worse," Lohse said. "It's just been a little rough getting loosened up. But once I get going, it's all right." |
Our View: Lohse has been a solid starer in NL Only leagues this season, but after giving up 19 earned runs in his last three starts it's clear to all that the shoulder is bothering him. Don't be surprised if he misses a start or two.
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| Bartolo Colon worked six fantastic innings for the Pawtucket Sox on Thursday, according to MLB.com. Colon held the Buffalo Bisons to just one hit while throwing a fastball that reached 95 mph as he needed just 64 pitches to complete the six innings. |
Our View: It's not clear if the Sox will leave Colon in the minors to build up some more arm strength, but they could call him up to fill the #5 spot in the rotation to make two starts next week. Stay tuned.
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| The Marlins/Reds game was postponed on Thursday due to bad weather, and as a result the Fish will simply push back starter Andrew Miller a day and have him start on Friday against the Royals, according to the Associated Press. |
Our View: Miller has allowed only two runs in his last two starts thanks to a huge improvement in his K/BB ratio (11 K, three BB). If he can continue to throw strikes he certainly has the stuff to be an effective starter even though he is inexperienced.
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| The Marlins/Reds game was postponed on Thursday due to poor weather, and as a result the team will skip starting pitcher Matt Belisle and go with Johnny Cueto on Friday, according to the Associated Press. Belisle won't pitch until May 20th. |
Our View: Cueto will be looking to turn around a few rough outings that have befallen him of late. He still has 46 K in 45.2 innings, but the nine home runs he has allowed have conspired to push his ERA to almost six (5.91).
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| Magglio Ordonez hit two doubles on Thursday to up his average to .310 on the year for the Tigers. Ordonez also knocked in his 26th run of the season. |
Our View: Even though the Tigers can't beat anybody right now, Ordonez continues to produce runs from the middle of the Tigers lineup on almost a nightly basis. He won't hit .363 again, but a .300-25-100 season sure seems possible.
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| Geoff Geary was removed from his appearance on Thursday due to a strained right groin. No further information is currently available. |
Our View: Geary has been a solid under the cover of night type reliever in the NL this season with a 1.50 ERA covering 18.1 innings. Stay tuned for updates about his health.
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| Matt Joyce continued his hot hitting in the early going by hitting his third home run in his eighth major league game for the Tigers. |
Our View: Joyce also knocked in three on the day and is hitting .292 marking him as a great AL Only play. The Tigers are running him out there every day and he has rewarded their faith in him by far outproducing the production they were getting from Jacques Jones.
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| Jose Guillen continued his hot hitting of late with two hits, including his fourth home run of the year, and three RBI for the Royals on Thursday afternoon. |
Our View: Guillem has now amassed two hits in four of his last five games and hits in each of his last seven games to raise his average from .165 to .224. You didn't really think he would stay down forever did you?
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| Gil Meche had his third strong start in his last four outings as he held the Tigers to three runs over seven innings. Meche allowed six hits and two walks while striking out six. |
Our View: Meche has been a major disappointment thus far, but don't forget about him in mixed leagues as there is still plenty of talent left in that right arm of his.
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| Kenny Rogers allowed 11 hits, three walks and seven runs over four innings to fall to 3-4 for the Tigers. |
Our View: Rogers may have stuck around one season too long as he has basically been only slightly better than a batting practice pitcher on most days. Only the desperate have Rogers rostered.
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| Alex Rodriguez (quadriceps) will return to action on Saturday to play the first of three scheduled games in extended spring training, according to the Associated Press. “We have one more day tomorrow to see how my body is going to react,” Rodriguez said. “Saturday, Sunday, Monday, play, and then hopefully tee it up Tuesday.” |
Our View: The Yankees have sorely missed the big fella, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of fantasy gamers who selected him first overall. Once active, get Arod back in your lineup immediately.
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| Justin Morneau had two hits and an RBI on Thursday to give him 32 RBI and a .302 batting average. |
Our View: Morneau is batting .365 in May bring his value back in line where a former league MVP's should be. Overlooked in many drafts this year because of the plethora of power hitters ahead of him, Morneau may turn out to be a steal.
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| Alex Rios continues to struggle at the plate as he went 1-for-5 on Thursday though he did knock in his 16th RBI of the season. |
Our View: Rios is now down to .255 thanks to a stretch of 12-for-67 (.179) in May. At this point you may want to give him a few games on your bench until he figures out what ails him since he is a huge drain on an offense at this point.
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| Glen Perkins had his second straight quality start allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over six innings against the Blue Jays. |
Our View: Perkins is holding a rotation spot until Francisco Liriano and Scott Baker are healthy, but if he keeps pitching like this, maybe he will hang on for a while. Perkins is still a bit of a risk in mixed leagues though, so tread with caution.
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| Dustin McGowan rebounded somewhat from his horrific last start holding the Twins to just two runs in five innings. However, he walked five batters. |
Our View: McGowan has had a bumpy ride on the road to fantasy dominance this season thanks to a high walk rate and a k/9 that about a full batter less. He has still been serviceable and figures to improve when he dials his control up.
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| B.J. Ryan hurled a shutout 11th inning to pick up his seventh save of the season for the Jays. |
Our View: Ryan has 14 K in his 12 innings on the mound and he has still not allowed a run to cross home plate. The time has long passed when you could get Ryan on the cheap, and he appears ready to reassume his spot amongst the top-10 closers in baseball.
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| Joey Devine picked up four outs on Thursday, three via the strikeout, to lower his ERA to 0.55 on the year. |
Our View: Devine now has 20 K and just three BB on the year. Combined with Santiago Casilla's 0.93 ERA over 19.1 innings, and the A's have two excellent setup men in front of Huston Street.
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| Rafael Betancourt just isn't getting it done right now, he has allowed runs in five of his last seven appearances after allowing another run on Thursday. |
Our View: Masa Kobayashi picked up his second save in as many appearances on Thursday for the Tribe and is certainly is worth a pickup in AL Only leagues, and he may have worked his way into mixed league consideration as well. As for Betancourt, keep an eye on his role, it might be changing.
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| Masa Kobayashi picked up his second save in as many appearances on Thursday for the Tribe. |
Our View: Rafael Bentancourt just isn't getting it done right now, he has allowed runs in five of his last seven appearances, and the team has given Kobayashi a shot to fill the role he used to in Japan. Kobayahsi is certainly is worth a pickup in AL Only leagues, and he may have worked his way into mixed league consideration as well.
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| Brian Giles had three hits on Thursday to improve his average to .272. |
Our View: With the insertion of Jody Gerut into the lineup, Giles has slide down the order from his leadoff spot into the third hole. Obviously this is a much better RBI slot, but whether or not Giles can take advantage of that opportunity remains to be seen at this point of his career.
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| Kerry Wood finished off a great start by Ryan Dempster to preserve a 4-0 shutout victory over the Padres. Wood stuck out both batters he faced in the ninth inning. |
Our View: Wood now has 20 K in 20.2 IP with only four walks. As long as he keeps throwing strikes at that rate, there should be little stopping him from being one of the better closers in the NL, provided he can stay healthy of course.
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| Jason Bay had a pinch-hit, 3-run home run for the Pirates on Thursday, his eighth home run of the season. |
Our View: Bay has and OBP just under .400, and those eight home runs, but he has a horrific 17 RBI though 40 games thanks to a sub .200 average with RISP. Look for that number, and his RBI total, to improve as the season progresses.
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| Ronny Paulino, starting for the injured Ryan Doumit, went 2-for-5 with two runs scored for the Pirates. |
Our View: With Doumit out for possibly up to four weeks, Paulino will get the chance to show that he should have been receiving more AB all along.
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| Chris Duncan had a single and a double which led to two runs and two RBI for the burly slugger. |
Our View: This was only the second extra base hit for Duncan in his last 11 games, so he is still trying to find his power stroke. Look for it to happen soon, so Duncan makes a nice buy low candidate.
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| Ian Snell had another rough outing on Thursday as he was hammered for 11 hits and five runs in only four innings against the Cardinals. He received a no-decision for his efforts. |
Our View: Snell has failed to even remotely approach the expectations that most had for him entering this season, but there are no indications that he is injured meaning he likely would make a nice target to acquire via the trade route with his value being depressed.
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| Jason Isringhausen picked up his sixth blown save of the season and fell to 1-5 after allowing four hits and three runs to the Pirates in the eighth inning on Thursday. |
Our View: It's pretty ugly right now for Izzy. Those who picked up Ryan Franklin may be in for a few more saves than originally thought as Isringhausen seems pretty lost on the mound.
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| Jim Edmonds went 1-for-4 and left seven men on base in his Cubs' debut on Thursday, in a 4-0 win over the Brewers. |
Our View: The Cubs' hitters put him in position to rack up several RBI today, but he failed to come through with a single one. He also struck out once. He will be given an opportunity to succeed and generate favorable numbers in Chicago, like today, but it remains to b | |
