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Throughout the 2010 season, the Boston Red Sox have been on the cusp of making  the playoffs. With Dustin Pedroia hitting the disabled list for the second time this season, it appears that it’s finally time to throw in the towel. This team could still make the playoffs and Dustin Pedroia could be back by the end of September, but realistically, this is likely the end of the road.

It’s just been a horrible year full of growing pains for the Red Sox. They lack an identity and they’re not the team that we thought they were.

Besides Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and to an extent Daisuke Matsuzaka, the starting pitchers have been a disappointment.

Josh Beckett has been the poster boy for disappointment. Granted, he has spent a significant amount of time on the DL but really? 19 earned runs in his past three starts.

Has John Lackey really been even remotely close to good? Terry Francona will tell you he has but that’s just because he has to.

The offense exceeded expectations but they flamed out when everybody realized the season doesn’t end in July. Oh, and missing Kevin Youkilis has been a big reason for the flame out as well. Guys like Adrian Beltre and David Ortiz have quite frankly been the only impact bats on the team who haven’t been injured.

Injuries have definitely been a problem but they shouldn’t excuse the poor structure of the team. The only players on the team who have hit well have been Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Adrian Beltre and David Ortiz. Where is the big bat in the outfield though? Combined, Sox outfielders (Drew, Ellsbury, Hermida, Hall, Cameron, Nava, Kalish, Reddick, Van Every, Patterson, McDonald) have hit 55 home runs.

To put that into perspective, Red Sox outfielders rank dead last in the AL East in long balls. That’s right, they’re worse than the Baltimore Orioles at something.

The bullpen struggles go without mentioning.

It’s time for Theo Epstein and company to get on the phone and make some changes!

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Due to the financial disarray created by the McCourt divorce, Russell Martin may be growing too expensive for the Los Angeles Dodgers to retain beyond this season, and the Boston Red Sox could try to “make a run” at the All-Star catcher, according to NESN analyst Peter Gammons.

While the Dodgers have indicated they are willing to spend at this year’s trade deadline, their sincerity and ability must be questioned due to the financial gridlock caused by ownership’s protracted divorce proceedings.

Arbitration-eligible again at the conclusion of the 2010 campaign, Martin looks to receive a significant raise should he wish to take his talents before an arbitration panel. If the Dodgers wish to avoid that uncomfortable scenario, they will need to make a substantial offer of their own in advance of that. Gammons and others question whether they have the resources to do so.

Connecting the dots between Martin’s potential availability and the Red Sox’ need for a strong offensive and defensive presence behind the plate, Gammons has suggested Boston as a likely fit for Martin, perhaps before the trade deadline, perhaps in the offseason.

With Victor Martinez set to hit the market as a Type-A free agent, the Red Sox could very well wish to offer him arbitration, collect their compensation picks for a very strong 2011 draft class, and make a deal for Martin.

Los Angeles is currently 5.5 games back in the National League West, and firmly in third place in both the divisional and wild card races.

Martin is hitting a career worst .246 with an anemic .678 OPS. At the same time, the Red Sox are really in need of a solid defensive presence behind the plate, and the Gold Glover has thrown out 25 of 62 would-be base stealers this season. For his career, Martin has thrown out 32 percent, so he seems to be improving in that category.

Acquiring Martin doesn’t automatically mean the Red Sox would part with Martinez, who has produced excellent offensive numbers in Boston, but it would certainly mean that he’d be shifted to another role with the team, possibly playing first to Kevin Youkilis’s third.

If you’d like to know as soon as Peter’s Red Sox articles have posted, you can follow him on Twitter at BoSoxUpdate.

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What do Craig Biggio, Pablo Sandoval, and Neil Walker have in common? All three saw a significant amount of time behind the plate in the minors but found new positions in the big leagues.

The trend of moving young catchers to other positions because of their defensive deficiencies behind the plate or to increase longevity has left fantasy owners with a diluted pool of catchers from which to choose. 

The rankings that follow are designed to help you get as much value as possible at the shallowest position in the game. All percentage of ownership numbers are from ESPN Fantasy Baseball leagues. Stats through 7/18/2010.

Tier One

Joe Mauer (100 percent owned)- Mauer owners might have expected a decrease in power numbers this season (28 HR, .587 SLG in 2009 and just 4 HR, .433 SLG in 2010), but few could have expected his on-base percentage (.372) to fall to what it was in his first full season in the majors. 

The power outage can be explained by the fact that about one out of every five Mauer fly balls left the yard last year while only about one out of every 20 is leaving the yard this year.  As for the on-base percentage, Mauer is simply chasing more balls outside of the strike zone. 

All that said, only Miguel Olivo was better than Mauer in the first half, so Mauer must still be considered the top option at catcher. 

Brian McCann (100 percent owned)- McCann provides great value at the catcher position, not only because he produces, but because he produces consistently. His home run totals the last four seasons are 24, 18, 23, 21, and he is on pace to finish this season in that range.  Although McCann is currently hitting .270, he is a career .291 hitter, and it is entirely possible he finishes the season close to that mark.

Buster Posey (96.2 percent owned)- Since his call-up on May 29, all Posey has done in 145 at-bats is hit .352 with 7 HR, 23 R and 26 RBI.  If you scale those numbers out to a full 162-game season, he would be on pace for 28 HR, 93 R, and 105 RBI. Sure, you are likely to see some regression from the young hitter, but to this point, Posey has done nothing but prove that he is the real deal.

Carlos Santana (92 percent owned)- In 125 big league plate appearances, Santana has walked a very impressive 25 times.  Add the fact that he has only swung at 22.1 percent of pitches out of the strike zone, and it looks like the kid who might now be the best athlete in Cleveland has the ability to succeed against big league pitching.

Tier Two 

Miguel Montero (78.8 percent owned)- Chris Snyder is cutting into Montero’s playing time a bit, but Montero is hitting .308 since his return from the DL after hitting .294 with 16 homers last season. 

Kurt Suzuki (50.3 percent owned)- Suzuki is basically a poor man’s Brian McCann. He has just a little less power, will probably end the year 15 to 20 points behind McCann in average, and trails McCann in counting numbers (R, RBI) simply because he hits in a weaker lineup. 

Geovany Soto (59.8 percent owned)- Lately, Soto has been ceding less time to Koyie Hill than he was earlier in the year.  That is probably because he is hitting more like Geovany Soto circa 2008.  In the last 30 days, Soto is hitting .309 with 4 HR, 8 R, and 15 RBI. 

Miguel Olivo (90.4 percent owned)- So many things point to a significant Olivo regression in the second half.  He is currently hitting .325, but he has never hit better than .263 in his career.

He also has a BABIP of .396 (Batting Average on Balls In Play; generally, above .300 means a hitter has been lucky, and below .300 means a hitter has been unlucky). However, no other catcher has been better to this point, so it may be worth it to try and ride the hot bat. 

Tier Three

Matt Wieters (49.9 percent owned)- My Wieters man-love knows no bounds, but he was one of the bigger disappointments of the first half and is likely to miss a week’s worth of games in the second half.  If you still believe, go ahead and stick with him, but you might be wise to temper your expectations.

Victor Martinez (100 percent owned)- If he were healthy, Martinez would undoubtedly be a top-five catcher option the rest of the way.  However, he has only recently become able to squeeze a baseball without feeling soreness in his thumb.

There is just too much uncertainty about how much time V-Mart will miss in the second half for him to be considered the elite fantasy option that he usually is.

Mike Napoli (79 percent owned)- The sub .250 average is not ideal, but at the end of the day, you know Napoli is going to hit for power as he averages a home run every 17 at-bats for his career.

John Buck (42 percent owned)- Buck’s 2010 numbers look great: .272, 13 HR, 27 R, 41 RBI.  The problem is that in the last 30 days Buck has only contributed 1 HR, 3 R, and 6 RBI to those season totals. 

Tier Four

Bengie Molina (35.3 percent owned)– The move to Texas has to make Bengie more valuable.

Jorge Posada (92.4 percent owned)– Yeah, he is healthy now, but how long is that going to last?

Ryan Doumit (59.8 percent owned)– Doumit may lose some playing time because he has been abysmal defensively.  His caught stealing percentage is easily the worst in the league, and he leads the league in passed balls.  However, as long as he keeps hitting while he is back there, Doumit is a viable fantasy option.

A.J. Pierzynski (9.3 percent owned)– To date, Pierzynski’s BABIP is fairly low (.245), and he is striking out less than he has in previous years.  There seems to be some potential for a better second half.

Tier Five

Russell Martin (58.6 percent owned)– Martin has no business even being discussed as ownable in a 10-team league, but in deeper formats, he has value simply because he plays alm ost every day.  Among catchers, he ranks third in at-bats behind Jason Kendall and Mauer.

Jason Kendall (7.4 percent owned)– To reiterate, Jason Kendall leads the league in at-bats with 309. Add his .269 average and six steals, and it is clear that Kendall is a nice option in deeper league and AL-only formats.

Jonathan Lucroy (0.1 percent owned)– Lucroy is likely to receive the majority of the playing time in the second half for the Brewers, and he is hitting a respectable .280 with two homers and two steals so far this season.

Chris Ianetta (2.9 percent owned)– Ianetta could see increased playing time if Miguel Olivo does actually regress. His ISO (Isolated Power measures a hitter’s raw power based on his ability to get extra base hits) indicates that if he does see more ABs, he might be able to do some serious damage with them.

Just missed the cut: John Jaso (1.7 percent owned)

Agree or Disagree with the rankings? Leave a comment and let us know, or reply to us on Twitter@TheFantasyFix.

Article written by Brett Talley exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com

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Busy as Blue Jays Catcher John Buck was collecting his first hit as an All-Star, he still found time to discuss his former teammate, David DeJesus, with WEEI’s Alex Speier yesterday in Anaheim. Put bluntly, Buck thinks DeJesus would perform tremendously with the Red Sox or another playoff contender.

Little does Buck realize that he may be playing in Beantown just as quickly as Kansas City’s much-discussed outfielder. Perhaps they’ll reunite at Fenway.

According to MLB Trade Rumors’ founder Tim Dierkes, Buck could quickly follow SS Alex Gonzalez out of Toronto. Dierkes suggests that the first-time All Star and soon-to-be free agent catcher might land in Boston.

With both Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek on the disabled list, Boston probably couldn’t find a better option than Buck before the trade deadline, and Toronto probably couldn’t find a more desperate buyer.

Even beyond this 2010 playoff run, the Red Sox would probably have significant interest in Buck, who has thrown out roughly 25 percent of would-be base stealers both this season and throughout his career. Varitek and Martinez have combined to throw out only 19 percent this season.

That six percent may not seem like much, but it could be critical down the stretch in at least hindering a running game, and realistically, the Red Sox don’t have many other options. They need a Major League catcher now if they’re to remain in the race for the hotly contested American League East division title.

Through the All-Star break, Buck is hitting a career-best .272/.502/.306 with 13 homers.

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The fans may not have given the Red Sox much love when casting their ballots for the all-star game, but opposing players and managers- as well as Major League Baseball itself- certainly did as six Red Sox were chosen to play in the Mid-Summer Classic next week in Los Angeles.

And now Sox fans can help to make certain that another player gets to go along too, as a seventh player (1B Kevin Youkilis) is one of five non-selectees nominated in the MLB.com Final Vote.

The American League starting squad will consist of two players each from the Minnesota Twins, NY Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers, as well as one Seattle Mariner… and in spite of the fact no Red Sox player was selected to start the game, The Olde Towne Team tied the Yankees for the most players to be selected for the AL squad, with six.

Boston players so honored were C Victor Martinez (4th selection), 2B Dustin Pedroia (3rd), 3B Adrian Beltre (1st), DH David Ortiz (6th), RHP Clay Buchholz (1st) and LHP Jon Lester (1st).

Unfortunately, Martinez and Pedroia are injured and won’t be able to participate in the ballgame. They will be replaced by Texas 2B Ian Kinsler and Toronto C John Buck, respectively.

And we will learn in the next 24 hours if Clay Buchholz will share their fate, as unconfirmed reports indicate he will likely join his teammates on the disabled list sometime this week.

Red Sox fans also have the opportunity to send Youkilis to the game- which would give the Red Sox an MLB-high seven all-stars!

He is one of the five players eligible to be selected to the team by fan balloting, along with 1B Paul Konerko of the Chicago White Sox, OF Nick Swisher of the NY Yankees, OF Delmon Young of the Minnesota Twins and 3B Michael Young of the Texas Rangers.

Voting can be done exclusively at MLB.com… click here to vote for YOUK!

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Here are your 2010 all-stars… starters are in bold-faced type:

American League:

C: Joe Mauer, MIN (Victor Martinez, BOS*; John Buck, TOR)

1B: Justin Morneau, MIN (Miguel Cabrera, DET)

2B: Robinson Cano, NYY (Dustin Pedroia, BOS*; Ian Kinsler, TEX; Ty Wiggington, BAL)

3B: Evan Longoria, TB (Adrian Beltre, BOS; Alex Rodriguez, NYY)

SS: Derek Jeter, NYY (Elvis Andrus, TEX)

OF: Carl Crawford, TB; Josh Hamilton, TEX; Ichiro Suzuki, SEA (Jose Bautista, TOR; Torii Hunter, LAA; Vernon Wells, TOR)

DH: Vladimir Guerrero, TEX (David Ortiz, BOS)

SP: Clay Buchholz, BOS; Trevor Cahill, OAK; Fausto Carmona, CLE; Phil Hughes, NYY; Cliff Lee, SEA; Jon Lester, BOS; David Price, TB; and C C Sabathia, NYY

RP: Neftali Feliz, TEX; Mariano Rivera, NYY; Joakim Soria, KC; Matt Thornton, CWS; and Jose Valverde, DET

National League:

C: Yadier Molina, ST L (Brian McCann, ATL)

1B: Albert Pujols, ST L (Adrian Gonzalez, SD; Ryan Howard, PHI)

2B: Chase Utley, PHI* (Brandon Phillips, CIN; Martin Prado, ATL)

3B: David Wright, NYM (Omar Infante, ATL; Scott Rolen, CIN)

SS: Hanley Ramirez, FLA (Troy Tulowitzki, COL*; Jose Reyes, NYM)

OF: Ryan Braun, MIL; Andre Ethier, LAD; Jason Heyward, ATL (Michael Bourn, HOU; Marlon Byrd, CC; Corey Hart, MIL; Matt Holliday, ST L; and Chris Young, AZ)

SP: Chris Carpenter, ST L; Yovani Gallardo, MIL; Roy Halladay, PHI; Tim Hudson, ATL; Ubaldo Jimenez, COL: Josh Johnson, FLA; Tim Lincecum, SFG; Evan Meek, PIT; and Adam Wainright, ST L

RP: Jonathan Broxton, LAD; Matt Capps, WAS; Arthur Rhodes, CIN; and Brian Wilson, SFG

NL nominees for fans Final Vote: RHP Heath Bell, SD; OF Carlos Gonzalez, COL; 1B Joey Votto, CIN; LHP Billy Wagner, ATL; 3B Ryan Zimmerman, WAS.

* unable to participate due to injury

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And with that, there is already much discussion about the snubs from each team.

In the American League, the biggest snub was Youkilis- who has been the best player on the Red Sox thus far in 2010.

But beyond Youk, I have to admit I was surprised that LAA RHP Jered Weaver wasn’t named to the team- since he leads the league in strikeouts and the game is being played on his home field.

Also, what about Seattle righty Felix Hernandez- who is arguably one of the three or four best pitchers in the league even though his record doesn’t reflect his ability (he does, after all, play for the woeful Mariners)? Or maybe DET OF Magglio Ordinez or CWS OF Alex Rios, who finally appears to have harnessed his immense potential?

NOTE: NYY lefty C.C. Sabathia is scheduled to pitch on Sunday and, by rule, he won’t be permitted to take a spot on the AL’s active roster. While I suspect Joe Torre would prefer to name his own pitcher, Andy Pettitte (who has 10 wins) to replace Sabathia, it seems likely the league will say the Yankees already have enough players on the roster, and that either Weaver or Hernanadez will be tabbed to replace the big lefty on the active roster.

The betting here is Youkilis wins the Final Vote, and Weaver is chosen to replace Sabathia because of the fact the game is being played in Anaheim.

In the National League, Bell, Gonzalez and Votto are on the Final Vote ballot. In addition I would add a couple of other snubs – C Miguel Olivo of the Colorado Rockies (.308 / 11 / 39) or RHP Mike Pelfrey of the NY Mets (10-2, 2.93).

It says here that Votto will win the Final Vote, although I will vote for Bell, who leads all of baseball in saves.

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Victor Martinez is officially on the 15—day DL with a fractured thumb. So far, this has been the year of the thumb injury, from Aramis Ramirez to Jason Heyward and now to Victor Martinez.

Martinez’s injury is a bit different though, with an actual fracture, unlike A-Ram and Heyward’s bruises. V-Mart will also be the hardest spot to fill in a weak catcher position.

Here is a list of catchers owned in less than 50 percent of Yahoo! Fantasy Leagues, who are hopefully available for you on the waiver wire. They aren’t great, but beggars can’t be choosers…

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Yesterday, Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Clay Buchholz pulled up lame in the top of the second inning against the San Francisco Giants, slightly hyper-extending his left knee running from first to second base after collecting his first Major League hit.

The Red Sox were still trying to digest the broken foot star second baseman Dustin Pedroia suffered the night before when they were forced to watch Buchholz walk with a significant limp down the dugout steps and into the clubhouse. Now, they had to find a way to piece together eight innings of relief. They did, and brilliantly, something I did not expect.

Boston won as seven relievers combined to toss eight innings of two-run ball.

In Sunday’s game, the final of their series with the Giants, the relief core was given a well-deserved rest by Jon Lester . The offense that knocked around National League aces Roy Halladay and Ubaldo Jimenez over the past few weeks tagged another usually dominant pitcher. Tim Lincecum was roughed up, allowing a solo shot to David Ortiz that splashed into McCovey Cove in the first, two runs in the second, and one more in the third. Having thrown 79 pitches, and uncharacteristically walked four batters, he was replaced.

Just as the Red Sox bullpen did before, the Giants’ performed admirably after his short exit. Boston was ahead 4-1, and San Francisco allowed just one more run over the remaining six innings. But the Red Sox advantage was more than enough, as Lester performed as San Francisco expected Lincecum would.

Lester allowed a first inning run and nothing else. The Giants couldn’t handle his repertoire: his biting cut fastball, his deceptive changeup, and his loopy curveball. He kept his pitch count low, worked out of jams when he needed to, kept the hitters off-balance, and ultimately cruised to toss a complete game , in which he allowed just five hits and a walk while striking out nine.

Boston needed this effort from Lester who, after a rough start to the season, continued his magnificent performance on the mound to record his ninth win and lower his ERA to 2.68.

But, dampening his outing, the team suffered their third blow of the series, as hot-hitting catcher Victor Martinez went down,  fracturing his thumb . He took a foul tip off the bat of Pablo Sandoval off the thumb in the second inning, then took another from Andres Torres in the third, ending his day behind the plate.

It is definitely unfortunate that injuries have hit Boston, but they keep on winning in spite of them. Buchholz may make his next start and Martinez is on the disabled list for hopefully a short stint. But Pedroia, who was fresh off a five-hit, three-homer game against the Colorado Rockies, is expected to miss up to six weeks.

The offense picked up in his stead in the series finale, as replacement Bill Hall had two hits, scoring and driving in a run. Just as Lester picked up the slack for a weary bullpen, Hall stepped up with one of their better hitters on the shelf.

Boston, now 41-26 and only a game-and-a-half behind the New York Yankees in the AL East, will need more production like they received against the Giants, and if they do, they will surely be in the divisional race for the long-haul.

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It’s almost unbelievable to comprehend, but the Boston Red Sox have suffered yet another injury—their third in two days, in fact.

According to the Boston Globe‘s Peter Abraham, (click here for the article) catcher Victory Martinez, “has a fractured distal phalanx, which is the bone on the tip of his thumb.”

While it’s a bit of a surprise, Martinez may avoid the DL. Red Sox manager Terry Francona was quoted in the article as saying, “What bothered him today … it was swollen, he was having trouble getting it in his glove. It’s not a given that he’ll go on the DL. It’s not a given that he’s going to be OK, either. We’ll get him examined tomorrow and see where we go from there.”

Getting the glove on should not be the only concern. Can he swing a bat effectively with this type of injury?

Martinez is an incredibly risky play for the upcoming scoring period. Then again, he’s the type of hitter, especially at a shallow position, who is worth gambling on. Even if he only plays a game or two, the potential production from Martinez is greater then what his potential replacements could provide. 

Even getting zeros from him for the week may be better then taking negative statistics if you are in a really deep league.

If he finds his way onto the DL, you can’t avoid Martinez’s lack of production for that long. Here are a few names that may be available, and could be viable replacements, for those in two-catcher formats.

Here are a few names to consider:

Jason Castro, Houston Astros—The rookie is a concern, for sure, but he has been hot out of the gates and gets regular playing time. Hopefully, you won’t need him for long, so you can catch lightning in a bottle for a few weeks.

Jason Varitek, Red Sox—He’s going to replace Martinez in the lineup, especially given the Red Sox’ current lack of depth at the position (their two Triple-A catchers are also on the DL). Of course, the Red Sox have long been rumored to be shopping for a catcher, so this could expedite the process.

Chris Iannetta, Colorado Rockies—He had a slow start and unfortunately hasn’t produced upon his return from Triple-A. Still, we all know the power is there, so he could be worth the gamble.

Clearly, it is pretty slim pickings.

Let’s hear who is actually available in your league to potentially replace Martinez with? Would you take the gamble on him this week?

This article is also featured on www.rotoprofessor.com

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It was definitely a big week for the league’s corner infielders. The names of Youkilis, Glaus, Konerko, Rolen, Kouzmanoff, and Cabrera were on the tops of all the statistics. The guardians of the baselines spoke with their bats, and ruled the diamond.

Martinez, Gardner, Rasmus and Suzuki spent last week blasting the hardball. Injuries and rest days couldn’t put out their fire.

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It was definitely a big week for the league’s corner infielders. The names of Youkilis, Glaus, Konerko, Rolen, Kouzmanoff, and Cabrera were on the tops of all the statistics. The guardians of the baseline spoke with their bats and ruled the diamond.

Martinez, Gardner, Rasmus and Suzuki spent last week blasting the hardball. Injuries and rest days couldn’t put out their fire.

1)       C Victor Martinez Bos

The Red Sox catcher was 12-for-20 with one home run, five RBI, and finished last week with a league best .600 AVG.

V-Mart had a few days off this past week to rest a sore toe. However, the injury didn’t keep Martinez from having a phenomenal week.

Martinez had a career best four doubles with two RBIs and went 5-for-5 on June 1.

2)       OF Colby Rasmus StL

The Cardinals outfielder was 11-for-22 with three home runs, knocked in nine runners, a stolen base, touched the plate himself eight times, and finished last week with a .500 AVG.

Rasmus has benefited from taking swings after Pujols and Holliday.

After having a slump of a month in May, he looks like he found the magic he had at the start of the season. An injury this past Sunday may throw a roadblock on his hot streak.

3)       3B/1B Troy Glaus Atl

The Braves corner infielder was 8-for-26 with four homeruns, sent ten teammates across the dish, touched the plate eight times himself, and finished last week with a .308 AVG.

Glaus had the most homeruns and RBIs this past week.

Fantasy owner might be taking a second look at the once injury plagued Glaus and consider him on their squads.

4)       3B/1B Kevin Youkilis Bos

The Red Sox corner infielder was 12-for-26 with two homeruns, nine RBI, and finished last week with a .462 AVG.

The “Greek God of Walks” did more than take free passes to first base this past week.

Youkilis had a fantastic game on June 5, hitting a homer and earning two doubles. Add that to his five-game hitting streak and I can assure you that Red Sox Nation couldn’t be happier.

5)       1B Paul Konerko CWS

The White Sox first baseman was 6-for-16 with three home runs, eight RBI, and finished last week with a .375 AVG.

Konerko has been battling Jose Bautista for the top spot in home runs recently. The three bombs he let loose this week keeps him in the running.

6)       OF Brett Gardner NYY

The Yankees outfielder was 9-for-17 with one home run, three RBIs, and finished last week with a .529 AVG.

Usually falling back on the ninth spot isn’t a good thing. Gardner however is especially productive at the bottom of the order.

When Gardner took the second spot he had a terrible May. The month of June is already looking better.

7)       OF Ichiro Suzuki Sea

The Mariners outfielder was 13-for-27 and drove in five teammates, four stolen bases, and finished last week with a .481 AVG.

On June 3, he found his wheels and stole three bases.

Suzuki stepped on the dish for his 1,000 run of his career this past Sunday.

8)       3B Scott Rolen Cin

The Reds third baseman was 12-for-26 with two homeruns, nine RBIs, and finished last week with a .462 AVG.

Rolen had a big day on June 1, going 3-for-5 and blasting two into the stands.

9)       3B Kevin Kouzmanoff Oak

The Athletics third baseman was 10-for-25 with three homeruns, six RBIs, and finished last week with a .400 AVG.

The “Crushin’ Russian” came back in a big way after slumping the last two weeks of May.

10)   1B Miguel Cabrera Det

The Tigers first baseman was 9-for-26 with three homeruns, touched the plate seven times, and finished last week with a .346 AVG.

Cabrera has been all over this week’s highlights for the controversial call costing his teammate a perfect game.

What wasn’t in the highlights was Cabrera’s outstanding performance at the plate. He could take a stab at the Triple Crown if he can continue his blazing streak.

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