Homer Bailey went seven strong innings against the Brewers, giving up 4H, 2BB and a couple ER.  Bailey settled down well after giving up both earned runs in the first.  He relied heavily on his fastball (71%) but his change-up looked better than it had in a couple starts.

Jay Bruce stole a base and collected a couple hits off lefty, Manny Parra.  Bruce has slowly been improving his platoon splits but it’s still quite sensible to sit him against top-tier lefties.  Jay Bruce is now hitting .280 on the year after a .223 ’08 campaign.  Bruce may be striking out more in 2010 but his swing-rate and swinging strikes are both down.  More importantly, Bruce has upped his walk-rate by swinging less outside of the zone.  You get the feeling that a break-out month is on the horizon for Jay Bruce.

Casey McGehee continued to absolutely punish the baseball with 3 hits on Tuesday.  After a 2009 season where McGehee owned the fastball, he’s been doing most of his damage this year on off-speed stuff.  McGehee’s BABIP isn’t spectacularly high — it’s actually the same .330 it was last year – but with only 10% of his hits as line-drives, there’s some concern.

The Toronto Blue Jays continued to light up mistake prone pitches against the Twins and Carl Pavano.  Aaron Hill, Vernon Wells, Lyle Overbay and Edwin Encarnacion all went yard.  Blue Jays not named Aaron Hill or Adam Lind will eventually regress but I’m not going to be the one to predict it.  With Hill’s homer and Adam Lind’s 2-hit game, their batting averages now sit at .175 and .231, respectively.  Adam Lind will have trouble duplicating his 2009 break-out season without cutting his Ks down to 2009 levels:  currently, he’s at 29% versus 19% in 2009.

Shaun Marcum continues to dominate with control after missing all of 2009 but the ERA is a bit lucky.  Expecting something closer to 2008′s 3.40ERA rather than 2010′s current 2.61 ERA seems to make sense.  Marcum’s ability to move the fastball and place the change-up wherever he damn-well pleases is extraordinary.

Rick Porcello’s sinker just isn’t sinking which is a problem when your value’s tied up in ERA and WHIP. At this point, I’m having major issues seeing Porcello’s upside, especially if he continues to walk almost as many batters as he’s striking out. Rick Porcello walked another 3 batters last night in a very mediocre performance (7IP, 4ER, 8H, 3BB, 2K) against the White Sox.

With 2 Hits and a steal, Brennan Boesch is now hitting .387 on the strength of a .426 BABIP.  The rook’s slugging percentage sits at a darling .680 but this can only last so long with a BB-Rate of 3% and a 51% O-Swing.

Andruw Jones went 1-for-2 in stolen base attempts last night; Can you believe Jones has 7 SB on the year?

Thankfully for White Sox fans, Bobby Jenks pitched a pretty clean 9th inning:  1H, 0BB and 2 Ks.  Sergio Santos walked a couple in one inning’s work to raise his WHIP to 1.08.  Hitters are only hitting .165 against Santos and his very live fastball (AVG Speed: 95.6mph).

Florida spanked Arizona eight to nil on Tuesday.  Justin Upton was the only Diamondback position player to record a hit — which he bundled with another 2 SO, lovely.

Cameron Maybin hit in the 2-hole and recorded a homer, a walk and a strike-out.  The kid’s still hitting just .242 (on a .341 BABIP) and striking out 32.6% of the time.

David Price pitched another solid game for his sixth win of the year.  I’d really like to see Price return to the BB numbers of 2008 (2.57) before I fully endorse him as elite, though.  While Price is getting a bit lucky on balls in play, he’s still pitching incredibly well with a 3.06 FIP and a True ERA (tERA) of 2.91.

Ben Zobrist is still without a homer, but i’d hardly call him a major disappointment after his 7th steal of the year.  His .340 BABIP is almost negated by a 5% increase in line-drives over last year.  The major concerns that I have with Zobrist is his huge jump in O-Swing (’09: 19%, 10: 27%) and decline in BB-Rate (’09: 15%, ’10: 10%).

The Royals and Orioles game was a thriller, just ask the reported 9,715 fans that showed up at Camden to take in the baseball super-event.  Kevin Millwood, a man that I’ll never roster, continued his hot streak going 8 strong innings, striking out seven without a walk.  Millwood’s ERA is now 3.65 on the year and he’s striking out more than 7 batters per 9.

Jose Guillen had two more hits and is now batting .261 with 8HR.  Guillen has quietly gone about matching his 2009 power numbers in about half the games.  He’s already accumulated one more double, one fewer homer, seven fewer runs, and 15 fewer RBI in 41 fewer games.

Zack Greinke got yet another no-decision, despite 7IP, 2ER, 6K and 1BB.  That’s one whole win on the entire year, folks.  If there’s anyway that you can acquire Greinke, I’d do it.  He’ll still end up with at least 10-12 wins on the year.

I’m a bit sensitive about Josh Beckett as the former Texas Highschooler was one of my first ever keeper picks.  In 4.2IP, Beckett gave up another 3ER — That’s good for a season ERA on the wrong side of 7.

C.C. Sabathia allowed a single run in seven solid innings but I’m somewhat concerned about the strike-out and walk totals.  C.C. has a habit of starting out poorly but he’s barely striking out six batters per nine and walking almost 3-per-9.  He should eventually round back into form before that .239 BABIP catches up to him.

Roy Halladay’s complete game, two ER, six K, performance was out-dueled by Zack Duke et. al.  Evan Meek pitched another solid inning in relief, striking out one and walking another.  On the season, Meek has a ERA of 0.69 and has managed to strike-out a batter per inning while only walking 2.42-per-9.  Evan Meek’s added a couple of MPH across the board and his average fastball hitting 95mph is starting to look closer-worthy.  All the plate discipline indicators show that hitters are having trouble with his stuff; it’s just a matter of sustaining the BB-Rate, which he’s lopped in half since 2009.

Ike Davis hit a dinger, his first in a couple weeks.  While the strike-outs are worrisome, he’s walking almost 16% of the time.  There will inconsistency but Davis has looked pretty good thus far:  .275 AVG /.393 OBP/ .466 SLG.

Kris Medlen continued to prove his case with 6.1 innings of 4 Hit ball.  Medlen allowed a couple homers while striking out six and walking a couple.

I have absolutely no fucking clue how Carlos Silva continues to pitch this well.

Five walks in just over five innings got Jhoulys Chacin into trouble.  He still managed to strike-out six batters and his season ERA is now at 3.12.  If Chacin can keep his K:BB on the right side of two, he’ll have success going forward.  Expect the normal bumps and bruises, though.

Carlos Zambrano pitched a perfect ninth: two strike-outs and no walks!  The Cubs want him and his gigantic salary back in the rotation, which at least gives Big-Z owners hope.

Tyler Colvin took advantage of the playing time, knocking in a run and scoring a couple on three hits.  I’m not sure how the Cubbies can make this work but this kid needs to see some consistent at-bats.

Carlos Gonzalez had two hits for the Rockies but there is something dirty about his 2.7% BB-Rate hitting lead-off.

Ian Kinsler hit his first dinger of the year to help Texas beat the Angels.  On the season, Vladdy Guerrero now has eight homers after another one last night.  The question is not if Guerrero will come up with a bum hamstring but when.

Neftali Feliz is rounding back into form, pitching a scoreless ninth with two K’s.

At what point do the Angels just give up on Brandon Wood? Another hitless game for Wood.

Felipe Lopez lead off for the Cardinals last night.  You know the deal with Lopez, he’ll score runs and steal bases but it won’t be pretty.  I’ve got a feeling that Lopez might return to his 20 SB days after stealing just 14 over the course of the previous two years.

Six hits over two games was all it took Ian Desmond to raise his batting average from .246 to .279 — Wonky, eh?    This is a guy that flashed 30SB potential throughout the minors but it’s yet to translate.  In 2009, across two levels and a cup of coffee (AA-AAA-MLB,) Desmond stole 22 Bases.

Felix Hernandez got hit pretty hard (11H, 2BB) without it translating into ER (3).  Ben Sheets came back down to earth as he walked 4 more batters en route to 4ER.

Kurt Suzuki had 3 hits to raise his batting average from .239 to .264.  He’s still a viable option at catcher.

The story of the extra-innings game between the Padres and the Giants was Mat Latos.  Neither Latos nor the Padres got the win thanks in part to Mike Adams’ blown save in the eighth.  Mat Latos’ WHIP now sits just below 1.00 in part because he’s given up just 1 walk in his previous three starts.  Definitely someone worth locking your sights on.

Bud Norris exploded yet again against the Dodgers.  With a couple of hits and a homer, Carlos Lee may finally be starting to heat up.

It’s that time of the year again, the annual dumping of contracts, better known as the dog days of August.  In a perfect world, players would sign contracts that compensate them based on their production and performance.

Unfortunately, mediocre teams sign mediocre players for not-so-mediocre sums of money to show their fans that they’re committed to winning.  Eventually these contracts become blockades that prevent them from competing for anything other than the first overall selection in the June Draft.

Thankfully, there’s a solution in most cases.  Uncompetitive teams place gaudy contracts on waivers and hope that another team’s desperate enough to make a claim, and if they’re lucky, a trade. Occasionally it makes sense to eat a large contract if it drastically increases your chances of a playoff birth.

Older proven players along with the youngsters that fill the void offer the best value you’ll get in a fantasy baseball league now that the fantasy baseball trade deadline has also come and gone.

Alex Rios is now a member of the White Sox, which opens the door for the beloved Travis Snider.  Snider’s still going to have his issues with strikeouts, but he absolutely mashed in AAA-Las Vegas (.337 AVG / .431 OBP / .633 SLG).  Snider led off his second ’09 major league stint with an opposite field shot against Josh Beckett, but has also struck-out three times in two games.  If you’re in need of power, Snider should fulfill that need with every day ABs as promised by Jays’ manager, Cito Gaston:

Manager Cito Gaston said the team’s top prospect will play pretty much every day from here on out as they prepare him for 2010, and Snider feels he’s much more ready to handle the ups and downs of life in the majors than before. Canoe

Aubrey Huff is now a Detroit Tiger, although his role is still unclear.  Huff’s versatility should prove useful and he should settle into the DH-spot nicely.  How the Orioles address this situation will prove to be much more interesting.  Immediately, it seems as though Reimold will occupy the DH spot on a full time basis with super-utility man, Ty Wigginton, getting first-base at-bats.  Wigginton currently has first, third and outfield eligibility in all leagues; However in many leagues he’s amassed enough games at second and shortstop to qualify at MI as well.   Wigginton is always useful if he’s given a shot and in deeper leagues, the situation’s well worth monitoring.  The Orioles also recalled former top-prospect, Michael Aubrey. Aubrey doesn’t have the bat, but really reminds me of a Lyle Overbay -type player.  Obviously Lyle just proved that anyone can go on a tear and everyone’s worth monitoring.  Even though Felix Pie has continued to be a huge dissappointment, I’m still keeping my eyes peeled.

The Indians placed Trevor Crowe on the 15-Day DL and V-Mart’s still a Red Sock — Really, Pinch yourself.  It’s not a dream, he is a Beantowner — which opened up a spot in the line-up for Matt LaPorta.  Much like Travis Snider, LaPorta has absolutely destroyed AAA pitching.  Unlike Snider, LaPorta has focused on exactly what needed improvement.  LaPorta’s seen his K-Rate decline while raising his BB%, which is good for a promising 0.75BB/K ratio. With Jamey Carroll as his only competition for the left-field gig, LaPorta should get more than his fair share of playing time.  If you’re looking for a spark, I’d be hedging my bets towards LaPorta rather than Snider.

In Texas, the catcher’s spot just got that much more confusing.  Salty’s on the DL and while Taylor Teagarden’s been told that the job is his, the recent acquisition of Pudge should interest deep-leaguers.  A return to Arlington shouldn’t hurt and Rodriguez has always been one to raise his level of play for a late-season push, but we’re still talking very-deep leagues only.  The player of interest here, is Julio Borbon who has 8 SB and 13 Hits in 9 games.  Borbon definitely has the speed, but his base running skills still need refinement.  This is a situation you’ll definitely want to monitor as Nelson Cruz is slated to come of the DL today or tomorrow.  If Borbon can find a way to stick with the big club or manage a September call-up, he’ll be very useful in short stints.

St. Louis has taken a chance on John Smoltz.  Old Grey Beard Smoltz has sparked more discussion than his NFL Counterpart, Brett Favre (okay, maybe not that much).  In Boston, Smoltz was all over the place with an ERA over eight.  He was however, still striking people out while posting solid peripherals. This has definitely become a must-watch situation, with Smoltz recently suggesting he’d be better suited to start rather than set up Ryan Franklin.   A return to the National League could prove the cure to Smoltz’s ailment and where else could you find a potential late-season ace?  If you’re riding high in your head-to-head league, you’ve probably got 3 weeks before your first playoff game which would allow Smoltz to show his worth or give you time to cut-bait.

Milwaukee has cut ties with Bill Hall, trading him to Seattle to replace the nutty Adrian Beltre.  Hall’s not particularly interesting, McGehee’s still doing what he does, and the Mat Gamel-era isn’t all that far away.  Gamel should be called up as rosters expand and barring utter-insanity, should see plenty of games at 3B to close out the season.  Just how hard is it to get rid of one of these high-paid under-producing veterans?  Milwaukee will eat the entirety of Hall’s 2009 contract, along with 7.5 of the 8.4 Million owed to Hall in 2010!

With Willy Tavares hitting the DL, the Cincinnati Reds recalled outfielder Drew Stubbs who promptly hit a walk-off, game-winning, extra-innings home run.  Unfortunately, Stubbs probably won’t produce as advertised.  Stubbs’ 46 SBs in AAA are tantalizing, until you realize he’ll have issues getting on base.  It shouldn’t surprise you to see Stubbs strike-out more than 1/3rd of the time and how well his walk-rate will translate is still up in the air.  There’s definitely power-potential in Stubbs’ 6’4″ frame, but probably not in 2009.

There are a couple interesting moves that don’t particularly have fantasy implications.  Firstly, Vicente Padilla is now a Dodger with all of their recent pitching injuries.  In extremely deep leagues, there’s a shot that Padilla could contribute in wins and maybe ERA.  The strike-outs are long gone, but I’m sure there’s a league somewhere interested in him.

Gaby Sanchez was called up and VandenHurk optioned, but more importantly it appears as though Anibal Sanchez may be healthy.  With the Marlins back in the playoff race, there’s a shot that Sanchez could be quite useful down the stretch.  If Sanchez is back to throwing 95mph (as advertised), there’s definitely intrigue.

After waivers comes the expansion of rosters in September.  A lot of two or three category youngsters will get the call.  These players will definitely contribute in small stints based on match-ups.

I guess it’s time to rub it in, Kendry Morales is a beast.  On the season, Morales has 60 R / 75 RBI / 25 HR and a .300 AVG.   My only concern with Kendry Morales was his work ethic or his “fat and lazy” rating, which is still a concern.  I thought I was going out on a limb when I predicted 25 HR, but apparently not as Morales continue to smoke the ball.

In both Yahoo and ESPN standard leagues, Morales is still only owned in 80% of leagues, despite being a top-50 player in both.  Over the past two weeks, Morales has caught fire.  Only Mark Reynolds has more HR over that span, and his season is so inexplicable that I’ve given up trying to understand it.    On the season, Morales has kept a steady BB% while limiting his strike-outs.  Finding an OPS on the green side of .900 shouldn’t be this easy.  So, obviously if Morales is available, snap him up — but realistically, this is more about me just jerking off my ego.

The Atlanta Braves are only 3.5 out of the wild-card spot (when I looked that up I nearly shat myself.)  I get to catch the occasional game on TBS, and definitely enjoy “THE BRAVES PLAY HERE” commercials between re-runs of Friends, or Seinfeld, but it never clicked in that the Braves were in a playoff race.  Either way, Adam LaRoche is home, and is a prime “BUY NOW” candidate.  LaRoche is only owned in 28% of Yahoo! leagues, and has 3HR and a .395 AVG over the past two weeks.  ZiPS has LaRoche pegged for 23 HR on the season, or 7 more, but I’m taking the over.  LaRoche will get to 25HR on the year, and he’ll do it while batting…gasp…275ish.

If you read any other Fantasy Sports websites, odds are that you’ve already rushed out and picked up Big-Fat Billy Butler.  I love the kid, and I’m not sure if he’ll be overrated or underrated going into next year, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.  As for this year, Butler’s mashing with a .353/.397/.588 slash-line.  He’s still only owned in 36% of leagues, but should definitely finish the year as a top-12 first basemen.

Sticking to America’s mid-west like Angus Chili to your ribs, I’ll deal with my biggest mistake in Alex Gordon.  There’s no explaining Alex Gordon, and I’m sure I’ll be hyping him going into next year too.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Gordon manages a decent surge to close out the 2009 season, though.  There’s no reason to recommend Gordon, and I probably should be recommending Gordon Beckham, but I’ve got a gut feeling.  Gordon’s still striking out way too much, but I can see a nice little home-run tear in the near future.

I’ll close things out with a Blue Jay:  Lyle Overbay has been absolutely killing the ball, when he’s not walking (25% BB) or striking out (25% K.)  I won’t whole-heartedly recommend Overbay, but he’s always had the talent to be a doubles-machine.

Brian Burress and his brand-spankin’ new 12.76 ERA and 2.54 WHIP will not be included in this article.  The main benefactor, Alexei Ramirez and his 5RBI, will also be left out of this discussion.

In case you haven’t figured out by now, the Jays are my home squad and while they’re not my favourite club — I manage to watch at least a few innings of each game.

As always, the small-sample size warning is in effect, but here are your Toronto Blue Jays with some quick analysis and statistics that stand out, at least to me.

1. Marco Scutaro – SS – 69 AB -  .275 AVG – 4 HR – 18 R – 11 RBI – 1 SB

   • 1.45 BB:K Ratio – Scutaro’s posted a career best, and is getting on base at a ridiculous clip
   • .414 OBP - could you ask for anything more in an under-priced lead-off hitter?
   • Scutaro’s also barely swinging and when he does swing, he’s making ridiculously high contact
   • Conclusion - Scutaro’s still terribly undervalued, but there’s no way he keeps up his torrid pace.  Expect his .920 OPS to come down to the .790 OPS range.

2. Aaron Hill – 2B -  83 AB - .373 AVG – 5 HR – 13 R – 18 RBI – 1 SB

   • Healthy, Finally Healthy. This is the most important point with Hill.
   • 1.024 OPS and .253 ISO – This will fall in line as other statistics regress…
   • .388 BABIP - …and this’ll be the reason.  Hill should be sitting around .310ish.
   • 17.9 HR/FB – This’ll also help.  Hill hasn’t topped 9% HR/FB in his career, and even an optimistic projection will put him somewhere around 11 or 12 %
   • Conclusion – Aaron’s going to be an above average second basemen this year, with the possibility of competing with someone like Dan Uggla.  He won’t match Uggla’s power numbers, but he wont kill your Batting Average. The Run and RBI totals also look good for Hill this year.

3. Alex Rios – RF – 77 AB -  .247 AVG – 1 HR – 10 R – 12 RBI – 2 SB

   • .295 BABIP - Rios generally sports a higher than normal BABIP, and it should eventually come up to the .320-range. Last year Rios posted a .335 BABIP.
   • 4.8 HR / FB - The Polar Opposite of Aaron Hill.  They both should end up somewhere around the league average of 11 or 12 percent.
   • 23.4 In Field Fly Ball Percent – Rios shouldn’t be anywhere near this high, and this isn’t one of the lucky/unlucky indicators.  Rios was just off to start the year, and he’s starting to turn it around.
   • Conclusion - Still a tremendous talent, but his draft value assumed he’d develop some power to go with his stolen base potential.  I’d expect an improvement in Rios’ counting stats, which should make up for a slight decline in SB numbers.  Once the Jays  stop hitting, Rios may start running a lot more. A 20-20 season is a very real possibility, but 30-30 is asking a bit too much. I’m buying Rios at 90-95 cents on the dollar.

4. Vernon Wells – CF – 75 AB – .280 AVG – 3 HR – 15 R – 9 RBI – 3 SB

   • .300 AVG – Wells hasn’t reached these numbers for a couple years
   • .269 BABIP – …and he’s not just getting ass-faced lucky either
   • 42.3% FB and .97 GB/FB Ratio - Wells was nowhere near these numbers last year and this is a return to the Vernon Wells Hey-Day.
   • Conclusion – Everything looks great for Vernon, and I’m definitely buying it.  His predictor stats are starting to fall in line with the ones he posted during his career years.  The only concern with Vernon is his injury history.

5. Adam Lind – DH – 72 AB – .347 AVG – 3 HR – 13 R – 15 RBI – 0 SB

   • .423 BABIP – Al Pacino says, “H00 – Haah!”   Adam Lind is primed for some regression
   • 24% LD Rate — Lind doesn’t possess your typical uppercut swing, and is more of a doubles machine.  He’s increased his line-drive rate 3 percent all of which has come from his GB rate.
   • 18.8 HR / FB - Lind should eventually regress to league average, or somewhere around 12%
   • 10% BB Rate – This is a huge improvement for Lind, and his plate discipline in generally is up.
   • 51 % First Pitch Strike Percentage - This is down 13 percent from previous years.
   • Conclusion – There’s some good, some bad, and some ugly with Adam Lind.  You’ve got to expect regression, but Lind’s plate approach is stellar.  Lind’s not a top-50 guy over the course of the season, but he could easily crack the top-80 or top-100.  Lind could easily pop his head into Ryan Ludwick land, even after all of the regressions.  Just be sure to keep an eye on his plate approach — if he starts pressing, it’ll show up there first.

6. Scott Rolen – 3B – 63 AB- .317 AVG – 2 HR – 10 R – 7 RBI – 0 SB

   • .317 BA - After two years of hitting in the .260- range, Rolen’s found himself a time-machine.  The big thing with Rolen is definitely his health, and I really can’t see him staying healthy all year.
   • 9.5 K Rate – This blows my mind, and really confirms the fact that Rolen is probably as healthy as he’s going to get. Rolen gradually reduced his K rate during his time with the Cardinals, and this is the logical in the progression of an aging power hitter. I’d prefer to see an older slugger understand the aging process, rather than swinging for the fences even after his power’s been robbed.
   • Conclusion - In Deep Leagues, ride Rolen while he’s hot.  He’ll end up injured soon enough, as the Rogers Centre surface is anything but friendly to veterans. I wouldn’t be expecting a return to greatness, as Rolen’s still not making terrific contact, but he’ll be serviceable.

7. Lyle Overbay – 1B – 42 AB - .310 AVG – 3 HR – 7 R – 10 RBI – 0 SB

   • 42 AB – At this point, Overbay is splitting time with Kevin Millar.  Cito maintains that it’s not a platoon, but it’s really starting to look that way.
   • 2.17 BB:K Rate – Overbay is taking a lot of walks  (23.6% BB Rate) and it’ll pay off assuming that he’s got hitters batting behind him. Overbay’s plate discipline has improved across the board.  If Overbay ever finds his way to the top of the line-up, he could prove to be quite useful in deeper leagues.
   • 52.8% GB Rate – Unfortunately, as we all know, Overbay doesn’t bring the kind of power you’d hope for in a Corner Infielder.  While this sample-size is tiny, Overbay’s hitting far too many ground-balls (19 in total, thus far.)
   • Conclusion – In deeper leagues monitor Overbay’s spot in the line-up as he could provide half-decent production.

8. Travis Snider - LF – 42 AB – .310 AVG – 3 HR – 8 R – 10 RBI – 1 SB

   • 42AB - Same deal as Overbay, except Snider’s splitting time with Jose Bautista in left-field.  Cito’s going to have to hit Snider against lefties sooner or later, or the youngster will lose his confidence.  Wearing kids gloves while handling youngsters is always a wise idea though.
   • .357 BABIP – It’s not like we should expect regression; Snider’s posted high BABIP at every level.  I just wanted to make a note of that in case some foo’ told you he was getting lucky. This number’s actually perfectly in line with Bill James’ projection model for Travis Snider.
   • 5 BB - Snider’s already matched his walk total from 2008, in 5/8ths of the plate appearances.  Snider’s 10% BB rate is nice, but Snider still appears to be pressing from time to time.
   • Conclusion - Snider has some interesting numbers, but I’m going to write most of them off as random fluctuations.  I wouldn’t expect Snider to continue hitting 52% Fly-Balls compared to merely 10% line-drives.

9. Rod Barajas - C – 52 AB – .250 AVG – 2 HR – 5 R – 9 RBI – 0 SB

   • 0.30 GB/FB – Barajas is one of the few Jays that has yet to click.  Barajas is getting under the ball a lot, but I wouldn’t worry:  he’ll eventually finish close enough to his career average of .60 GB/FB.
   • 67.9 Fastball Percent - It really looks like pitchers are challenging Barajas this year, and he hasn’t quite caught up to the fastball.  He’ll adapt with time, so long as the Jays don’t trot him out there *too* often.
   • Conclusion - Barajas has been bating pretty late in the order, but the order has exceeded everyone’s expectations.  In two catcher leagues, Barajas is a viable option but otherwise I’d probably avoid him in most other leagues.  Unless of course you can stomach his .250 batting average.

…and that is that, maybe I’ll get around to doing the Jays Pitchers tomorrow but with so many of them currently injured, I’m not sure it’ll be worth it.

As always, thanks to fangraphs.com for their lovely website.

As I mentioned earlier, ESPN released their NEW AND IMPROVED fantasy baseball rankings for 2009 a couple days ago.  I’m not sure how improved they are, but they’re definitely new.

Let’s take a look at the first base rankings, and there are some notable exceptions:

What’s Missing?

Kendry Morales – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: I know I’m higher on Morales than others, but to completely leave him off the list seems a bit goofy. I’m parking him somewhere in the range of former Angels’ first basemen, Casey Kotchman.

Micah Hoffpauir – Chicago Cubs of Chicago: Obviously the ESPN loves the Derrek Lee, but I think Hoffpauir manages to grab himself at least a couple hundy at-bats this year.  If Lee goes down, Hoffpauir has the tools to be a nice fill-in in deep leagues.

Nick Evans – New York Mets: He’s almost certainly going to start in Triple-A (maybe double-A, if they’re cautious), but he’s been killing the ball in spring training.  As I mentioned earlier, I’m not certain that Delgado stays healthy.  Evans may get an early audition and could stick if given the chance.

The Baltimore Orioles: Who knows who ESPN has playing first base for Baltimore, but considering the guys they list as “first basemen” you’d figure they’d include Aubrey Huff? Ty Wigginton? Someone has to play first base, and whoever does should excel.  Obviously it’s going to be Huff, who has greater value as a third basemen but that didn’t stop them from listing Atkins and Sandoval.

Ryan Shealy and Kila Ka’aihue – Kansas City Royals: Both are parked behind Billy Butler and Mike Jacobs in the 1st base / DH log-jam.  Shealy’s proven to be a resiliant hitter, and Ka’aihue was one of my favourite prospects coming into the year.  The odds favour Shealy and his ability to play the outfield, but if Kila keeps mashing — he’ll find himself some AB.