Welcome to our exclusive weekly player hot and cold feature. I recommend you use this like I do to identify players who might be worth picking up this week, as well as ones to consider benching or moving, perhaps.
I will be calling out names that may have eluded your notice that either could still be available on your waiver wire in a mixed league or perhaps stashed on someone’s bench in an AL or NL-only league. I will pick anyone who is on ice, as that information can help guide your line-up selection choices.
Fire
Catcher
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Atl
.385 BA, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 3 R
The Bravos’ failing Scott Thorman experiment at first base is opening up time there in addition to Salty’s backing up Brian McCann behind the plate. Moving from reserve to pseudo-starter makes for a significant increase in value in mixed leagues.
First Base
James Loney, LAD
.538 BA, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 0 SB, 5 R
How long could the Dodgers keep the talented slugger down? About one year longer than they should have. It finally took a long list of failures at the hot corner to give Loney his opening. With Nomah sliding across the diamond to third base, Loney has clear sailing ahead.
Second Base
Mike Fontenot, ChC
.538 BA, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2 SB, 6 R
Fontenot is hitting over .400 with an 11-game and counting hitting streak with 13 hits in his last five games alone since being called up on June 9. That should be good enough for any mixed league format.
Shortstop
Jason Bartlett, Min
.346 BA, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 6 SB, 8 R
One base swipe and one RBI per day is a pretty impressive rate. After a dreadful April and May (.239 and .243, respectively), Bartlett is hitting .291 in June will all fantasy states greater this month than the last two combined.
Third Base
Yunel Escobar, Atl
.462 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2 SB, 6 R
The Cuban rookie plays behind Chipper Jones, which should be good enough reason to keep him around in NL-only leagues. With Kelly Johnson having an uneven campaign at second, Escobar should be able to hang around. Yes, I am still bitter that Willy Aybar didn’t come through this season.
Outfield
Shannon Stewart, Oak
.464 BA, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 1 SB, 6 R
Stewart has been on fire, going 10-for-20 during a four-game series against Cleveland this past week. He remains a free agent in some leagues despite having hit .333 since the first of May.
Jack Cust, Oak
.375 BA, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB, 4 R
Well, it doesn’t look like Mr. Cust is going to give up his 15 minutes of fame just yet. Though his home runs and RBI are down from last month, Cust’s batting average rose from .222 (May) to .347 (June).
Joey Gathright, KC
.412 BA, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 3 SB, 5 R
Sure, we’ve all been teased by Joey before. But, this time, he looks to be back and ready to be a Major League contributor. Three free steals a week from a free agent could help what ails many a fantasy squad. Take a look.
Starters
Dustin McGowan, Tor
1 W, 14 IP, 3.21 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 11 K
McGowan just missed a no-hitter against Colorado last Sunday, settling for a one-hitter with seven strikeouts. Still, it was just his first career complete game and his season marks are not impressive (5.15 ERA and 1.38 WHIP).
Carlos Silva, Min
2 W, 14 IP, 3.86 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 10 K
Silva taunts us like this regularly. Then as soon as we grab him, he reverts to stinking performances. Just remember that Silva lost seven of his previous nine starts before this nice pair of outings.
Yovani Gallardo, Mil
0 W, 13 IP, 2.08 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 15 K
The news of Chris Capuano’s return sending the talented rookie to the Brewers’ bullpen led to him being immediately dropped in one of my leagues. I don’t get it. Does anyone not need ERA, WHIP and strikeouts?
Reliever
Matt Capps, Pit
2 SV, 0 BS, 1-0 W-L, 4.2 IP, 1.93 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 3 K
Capps continues to spark the Bucs’ late inning shutdowns and has yet to blow a save since taking over for Salomon Torres. Capps 2-2 with seven saves in June.
Ice
Catcher
A.J. Pierzynski, ChW
.190 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 2 R
It is not a good thing that I have the spelling of the Sox’ catcher’s last name firmly committed to memory. A.J. is one of the streakiest backstops around. This is one of those periods to have him benched – .213 April, .299 May and .238 June, along with comparable power outages/spurts/outages.
First Base
Adrian Gonzalez, SD
.083 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 2 R
“Yo, Adrian. Howz about some hits here, ya know?” Gonzalez got out of the gate fast, with seven home runs and 25 RBI in April. Problem is that it took him two more months to double those nums. His batting average in June is at .238. He’s been down for the count, but you gotta believe he’ll rise from the canvas.
Second Base
Rickie Weeks, Mil
.118 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 2 R
In nine games played since missing three weeks with his continuing wrist problems, Weeks has no home runs, no stolen bases, three RBI and four runs scored. He is hitting just .233 during that stretch.
Shortstop
Julio Lugo, Bos
.000 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 SB, 1 R
Earlier in the season, it was second baseman Dustin Pedroia and now it is Lugo whose poor play opened up additional time for Alex Cora. Lugo hasn’t had a hit in two weeks, an 0-for-29 stretch that has sent him to the bench.
Third Base
Troy Glaus, Tor
.143 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 3 R
Over the last two weeks, the slumping Glaus has no home runs and three RBI. While his average (.275) is fine, he is on pace for career full-season lows in the power categories.
Outfield
Manny Ramirez, Bos
.105 BA, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 1 R
Consider this a small correction only. From an average perspective, Manny is still hitting .337 in June. While his power numbers are down a bit, the potential for a sustained explosion remains.
Jason Bay, Pit
.130 BA, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 0 R
Coming off a .336 May with 22 home runs, Bay looked poised to carry it on. The reality is that he has just half as many RBI during June (11) to go along with a .173 average. There is still time to heat up come the second half, however.
Bobby Abreu, NYY
.136 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 2 R
Abreu has neither a home run nor a multi-hit game since going 4-for-4 on June 10, During the stench stretch, 20 points have been shaved off his batting average, now sitting at .252. Bench Abreu if you can until the inevitable hot streak comes.
Starters
Chien-Ming Wang, NYY
0 W, 12.2 IP, 7.11 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 1 K
Take a look at those nums – only one strikeout and five walks in his last two outings - this on the heels of what looks now to be a fluke ten K performance three starts ago. Sure, he gets wins being a Yankee, but he’s most valuable in a 4x4 setting that is becoming less and less popular.
Livan Hernandez, Ari
0 W, 12 IP, 5.25 ERA, 1.92 WHIP, 5 K
Livan has just two wins in his last ten starts and the strikeouts don’t come as often anymore. Far worse are the oodles of baserunners – his season WHIP is 1.61. You cannot afford this pitcher in your line-up. Simple as that.
Scott Kazmir, TB
0 W, 11 IP, 5.56 ERA, 1.85 WHIP, 14 K
A variation on the Livan theme introduced above. A 2007 WHIP of 1.56, bloated by a walk rate comparable to earlier in his career, more than negates the strikeouts. This is especially relevant considering Kazmir has logged just three wins in the last two months total.
Reliever
Todd Jones, Det
2 SV, 0 BS, 0-1, 2.2 IP, 10.13 ERA, 1.88 WHIP, 2 K
Just because Tigers manager Jim Leyland is standing by his man, it doesn’t mean that you have to do the same thing. Jones peripherals have to be killing many fantasy squads, negating any value from the saves he still does generate. Consider your “Plan B”.
Brian Walton’s work can also be found daily at stlcardinals.scout.com.