Welcome back to our exclusive weekly player hot and cold feature. I recommend you use the information in this column to identify players who might be worth picking up this week, as well as ones to consider benching or moving, .
Consider this the ultimate in short-term gratification. We’re not looking at histories of contact rates or command or anything other than what has occurred over the last week in the ten standard fantasy scoring categories, whether good or bad.
FIRE
Catcher
Chris Snyder, Ari
.333 BA, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB, 5 R
Snyder has put together a decent season in the catching shadows. He is batting just .249 but has a dozen home runs and 54 RBI in just under 250 at-bats. Positives in two categories from a catcher are decent.
First Base
Ryan Garko, Cle
.370 BA, 0 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB, 2 R
Too inconsistent to stick in many mixed leagues, the Cleveland first baseman is hot again. Still, a first baseman batting under .250 on the season whose highest monthly home run month was two should not be in your lineup.
Second Base
Chris Burke, Ari
.333 BA, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 0 SB, 7 R
With Orlando Hudson out, Burke has a chance to show he deserves to be a regular again. However, he won’t have the added motivation in returning to his old park in Houston every week.
Shortstop
Felipe Lopez, StL
.409 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 SB, 7 R
Under Tony La Russa, a former middle infielder himself, Lopez will get considerable playing time, as much in the outfield as in the infield. Lopez won’t put up superstar numbers, but St. Louis is an ideal situation for him.
Third Base
Willy Aybar, TB
.320 BA, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB, 5 R
With Evan Longoria out, Aybar seems to have third base pretty much to himself again, as he did when the season began. He should be considered short-term help only.
Outfield
Juan Rivera, LAA
.400 BA, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 SB, 2 R
If you need outfield at-bats, take a look here. Rivera seems to have wrested time away from 2008 bust Gary Matthews, Jr. While Rivera hasn’t been consistent and he is a drain on average, he offers decent power.
Gabe Kapler, Mil
.286 BA, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 0 SB, 7 R
“Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back...” Kapler will be playing only as long as Ryan Braun is out, so consider him short-term NL-only help at this point.
Daniel Murphy, NYM
.350 BA, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 0 SB, 4 R
For the second week in a row, the former minor league third baseman is here for the taking. You should be trying to ride the hot hand if you are in contention and few are hotter than Murphy right now.
Starters
Jason Davis, Pit
0 W, 13 IP, 1.38 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 6 K
Such is life pitching for the Pirates. Despite allowing just two runs total in his first two starts of the season, Davis earned a no-decision and a loss. Unless you are a gambler, consider a higher-upside option than this 28-year-old with a 9:9 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Kevin Correia, SF
0 W, 12.2 IP, 2.84 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 10 K
Ditto from above. In 15 starts this season, the Giants hurler has just two wins. Of course, an ERA over 5 and a WHIP approaching 1.60 shows that record may be justified. Keep moving along.
Daniel Cabrera, Bal
1 W, 11.2 IP, 2.31 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 5 K
Sorry to be so negative on my "hot" pitchers, but who hasn’t been burned by Cabrera by now? Unfortunately, instead of leading the AL in strikeouts, Cabrera is out front in three negative categories – hit by pitch, walks and wild pitches. Too bad miracle worker Leo Mazzone isn’t there to help him…
Reliever
Chris Perez, StL
3 SV, 0 BS, 0-0 W-L, 3.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 6 K
Jason Isringhausen has been moved out of the closer’s role again, and Tony La Russa finally tried the guy who has been trained for the job in the minors. Perez has an upper-90s fastball, but struggles with location at times. The job is his to lose. I don’t think he will.
ICE
Catcher
Jason Varitek, Bos
.056 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 2 R
One for eighteen. How the mighty have fallen. In the 54 games since June 1, the Red Sox captain is hitting a putrid .161 (28-for-174) with two home runs and 12 RBI. Two and a half months is more than a slump. Could be nearing toast time for the 36-year-old free agent-to-be.
First Base
Justin Morneau, Min
.100 BA, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 0 SB, 2 R
The Twins star is coming off a .360 July, but has been struggling badly over the first half of August, going 6-for-44 (.136) with no home runs. Still, Morneau has performed admirably this season, especially considering the lineup around him.
Second Base
Robinson Cano, NYY
.182 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 0 R
He's still hitting .327 since the break, with 4 home runs, 16 RBI and 13 runs scored, so consider this a small bump in the road and continue to play Cano.
Shortstop
Cristian Guzman, Was
.150 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 2 R
I admit it: when I saw the ugly numbers, I immediately assumed he reverted to form as soon as the ink was dry on his contract extension. Turns out I was wrong, as Guzman has a thumb injury. With the Nats going nowhere this season, Guzman owners should prepare to consider other options.
Third Base
Adrian Beltre, Sea
.190 BA, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB, 1 R
Here are some more ugly numbers: Beltre’s average in the second half is .217. Against right-handed pitchers this season, .220. At home in Seattle in 2008: .219 with just 19 RBI in 61 games. If only he could face lefty hitters on the road in the first half every day, he’s be a winner.
Outfield
Adam Dunn, Ari
.208 BA, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 1 R
Dunn was also right here last week. The only thing that changed was the team designation. A notoriously streaky hitter, Dunn is colder than cold right now. Despite 32 long balls on the season, he has none yet in August, during which he is batting just .173.
Torii Hunter, LAA
.095 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 SB, 2 R
Hunter’s best month of the season by a considerable margin was July (.314, nine home runs, 21 RBI and 25 runs scored), so don’t get overly concerned about one rough week.
Shane Victorino, Phi
.211 BA, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 2 R
I just love to hear Harry Kalas pronounce this player’s name. While Victorino has returned to the lineup, he is dealing with a back problem, so that may be what is behind the subpar numbers recently (.234 BA, one stolen base and six runs scored in August).
Starters
Carlos Zambrano, ChC
0 W, 10.1 IP, 12.19 ERA, 1.94 WHIP, 9 K
Where did this come from? Despite the terrible week, the strikeouts remain, at least. Big Z was slapped around by the Cardinals and Marlins, but unless he's hiding an injury, assume it will soon pass.
Bronson Arroyo, Cin
0 W, 12.1 IP, 5.11 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 12 K
Arroyo is just too inconsistent and pitches for too bad a team to be counted on in any league. So why are people continuing to run him out there in their fantasy lineups? Those are some expensive strikeouts.
Dan Haren, Ari
1 W, 13.1 IP, 5.40 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 13 K
Surprisingly, prior to taming the Rockies in Denver his last time out, Haren had yielded ten runs across his previous two starts. See what signing a contract extension can do to you? Seriously, keep Haren in your lineup, as if you needed me to tell you that.
Reliever
Aaron Heilman, NYM
2 SV, 1 BS, 0-1, 3.1 IP, 8.10 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 3 K
Two consecutive weeks here for the Mets’ shaky interim closer. His loss and blown save were on Monday at home, against the Pirates no less, so Heilman’s leash should be kept very short in real life. In fantasy, look elsewhere unless you are so desperate for saves that you can deal with the ERA and WHIP hits. (In 17 games since the break: 8.80/1.90.)
Brian Walton’s work can also be found daily at stlcardinals.scout.com.