Have you been playing fantasy baseball long enough to remember when Delmon Young was supposed to be the next big thing? How about when he threw his bat at the umpire? Well, it is looking more and more like he is just a mild bust now and not a complete bust. There is also plenty of news on hitters that have gotten hot, and some pitchers that are definitely not. The last day of the week is upon us, make those last second moves to give you the weekly win.
Delmon Young continues to hit and drive in runs as he looks to shed the bust label that he has been carrying around for the past few years. He drove in his tenth run in the last seven games, and now has 37 RBI on the season. At this point it is time to pick him up and hope that he starts to hit for a little more power, but his average is fine at .286 and the ribbies are looking good.
Have you officially lost faith in Wandy Rodriguez? I have been preaching patience all year long, and I know he lost to the Yankees today which is nothing to be ashamed of, but I think I am starting to lose faith myself that he is going to turn it around. The Magic Wand fell to 3-9 with a 5.60 ERA in 2010 and he has just been unable to have too many effective starts. I didn’t think he would match last year’s numbers, but he hasn’t even been anywhere close to them, and I wonder if he will finish anywhere close to a .500 record. If you decide to cut Rodriguez for a reliable second option I would be fine with letting him go from your team.
Are you jonesing for football already? Want to know what we at Fighting Chance think of the upcoming season? Well, pick up the USA Today’s Pro Football 2010 magazine and you will find an article with ten predictions for the 2010 season written by Fighting Chance’s own Ryan Hallam. There are regional cover boys including Mark Sanchez in the Northeast, Drew Brees, Jay Cutler, Patrick Willis, Ricky Williams, Tony Romo, and Kevin Kolb. Please be sure to pick up the magazine for all of your preseason needs as we prepare for the upcoming football season.
Sean Rodriguez is showing what he is capable of now that the Rays are giving him fairly regular playing time. Over his past ten starts, S-Rod has 16 hits, including his third home run over that stretch on Saturday although he has driven in just three runs. Rodriguez is getting more time on the field with the injury to Jason Bartlett, so I don’t think this is going to be something that lasts the whole year. You can pick him up and enjoy the production while it lasts, but just be aware that when Bartlett is ready to return, Rodriguez is going to go back to being a very skilled part-time player.
Sometimes I feel like I am a kiss of death. It seems like sometimes I will write something about a player being finished or at least not going to turn it right around and then the next thing you know he is hitting the ball, or in this case pitching better. Mark Buehrle threw 6.2 shutout innings and struck out a surprising seven batters. Buehrle is still probably not worth the trouble he has been this season and is probably better served as a pitch and ditch guy right now until he can prove he is more consistent.
Congratulations to rookie Carlos Santana who connected on his first major league home run on Saturday, which should be his first of many. He also doubled for the first time and drove in his first three runs of his major league career. This should be just the beginning for the young catcher as I mentioned yesterday the sky is the limit for him. He should be owned in every format, regardless of who your catcher is.
Jose Reyes is on another one of his hot streaks over the past four or five games. Since June 8th, Reyes has four multi-hit games, two home runs and two stolen bases. He is certainly rewarding those who drafted him in March when his status was up in the air as he has begun to run well again as well as hit for a little bit of power. Keep Reyes in your lineup on a daily basis.
Johnny Gomes is somehow among the league leaders in RBI and is still hitting over .300. How is this possible? Gomes is a guy who has been bouncing back and forth between the majors and minors over the past couple of seasons, but now is closing in on a possible All-Star berth. I really can’t believe that this is going to last more than the next few days, but apparently he has a little bit of a run left in him. If it is at all possible, I would be selling high on Gomes as he doesn’t have a chance of keeping this up.
Chris Coghlan is on an even bigger tear than Gomes. Since May 31st, Coghlan has nine multi-hit games and has raised his batting average from .227 all the way up to .282. He also has six ribbies in the last ten games and has worked his way back on to the fantasy landscape. I am still not a Chris Coghlan fan though, and you might want to ride a little bit of a hot streak, but I have a feeling that this one is going to be ending soon, so jump on the bandwagon quickly and be ready to jump off when he goes cold.
Carlos Pena homered for the sixth straight game and it is still safe to say that he is going to hit at least 30 home runs. However, like I said a few days ago when I wrote about him the first time, Pena is never going to hit for a good average but will definitely give you solid numbers in the power categories. I still wouldn’t want him as my starting first baseman, but is a great utility or corner infielder.
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