Jose Reyes, Derek Jeter & More: Fantasy Baseball Around the Majors

Carlos Pena and Brandon Phillips, two of the hottest hitters in baseball, continued to slug away Saturday. Yet aside from Pena and Phillips, other questions remain: Is Wandy Rodriguez even worth using? Has Delmon Young finally turned things around? Let’s look at these stories and all the rest from yesterday’s games:

Hitters:

• Carlos Santana (2-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 R) - In his second major league game he once again found himself hitting third. As I’ve been saying, especially hitting in the middle of the order, he’s a must own option in all formats.

• Delmon Young (1-3, 1 RBI) - Don’t look now, but Young is on a 9-game hitting streak. Over that span he’s gone 12-32 with 2 HR, 10 RBI and 5 R. Clearly he’s never going to live up to the lofty expectations people once had for him, but in five-outfielder formats he certainly has value while he’s hitting like this.  Is this the streak he can finally maintain? That’s the million dollar question, but I would like to have him on my roster to find out.

• Carlos Pena (1-5, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R) - This is six straight games with a home run and even with just 1 RBI in five of the six games, does anyone really care?

• Brandon Phillips (3-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 R, 1 SB) - Is there a hotter hitter in the game? His heating streak is up to 15 games, going 31-67 with 2 HR, 8 RBI, 14 RBI and 3 SB.

• Jose Reyes (2-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R) - He’s on a five-game hitting streak going 10-20 with 2 HR, 2 RBI, 4 R and 2 SB. Does anyone remember that he was hitting .210 on May 19? He’s up to .262 and finally appears to be back in form playing like a Top 5 shortstop.

• Derek Jeter (2-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3 R, 1 SB) - He’s hitting .295 with 8 HR, 39 RBI, 42 R and 7 SB.  No, those aren’t blow away numbers, but he’s solid across the board. He’s got a chance to be 20/20 for the first time since 2004 which would be a huge bonus for fantasy owners.

• Daniel Nava (2-4, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 R) -  He homered in his first career at bat.  He was hitting .294 with 8 HR, 38 RBI and 28 R over 197 AB at Triple-A prior to his recall and has never shown significant power in his minor league career (27 HR in 806 AB entering the season).  He’s not likely to have value outside of AL-only formats, especially since once the Red Sox get healthy, he’s not likely to play.

• Prince Fielder (0-5) -  He’s mired in a 2-19 slump and has just 22 RBI on the year.  Sooner or later you would think he is going to bust out in a big way, wouldn’t you?

• Carlos Guillen (2-5, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R) -  The home run was a walkoff in the tenth inning.  Guillen is on a five-game hitting streak and has gone 15-45 with 3 HR and 9 RBI in June. In deeper formats he certainly has value, especially with eligibility at 2B and OF. Of course, word is he would have needed a pinch runner for last night's game due to cramps in his calf, so there’s a chance he’s out of the lineup on Sunday. Injuries are always a concern, but when healthy he’s worth owning.

• Adrian Gonzalez (2-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R) -  Over his last seven games he’s gone 12-27 with 4 HR, 10 RBI and 6 R. If he only played in a better ballpark/better lineup, huh?

• Kevin Kouzmanoff (3-5, 1 RBI, 1 R) - He has very quietly turned things on.  He has an RBI in four straight games. He has five straight multi-hit games. In fact, he is now on a 13-game hitting streak going 23-51 with 3 HR, 10 RBI and 6 R.  He has his average up to .287 to go with 6 HR and 34 RBI. Granted, the home run total is still a little low, but he does have value in all the deeper formats.

• David Freese (0-4) - The Cardinals had him batting leadoff?  Really? Don’t look for that to continue for long.

• Adam Laroche (2-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R) - His first home runs since May 21, he’s notorious for slow starts and bigger second halfs.  If someone in your league gave up on him, don’t hesitate to grab him.

Pitchers:

• Wandy Rodriguez (5.0 IP, 8 ER, 7 H, 5 BB, 4 K) - Disaster after disaster after disaster.  He had “turned” things around, giving up just 4 ER over his last two starts (12.0 IP). He’s sporting a 5.60 ERA and has made it impossible for owners to trust him in all formats. His next start comes against the Rangers, one I certainly would have him on my bench for.

• Mark Buehrle (6.2 IP, 0 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 7 K, W) - Not only did he produce a solid start, he actually contributed a few Ks as well. He’s significantly better then the 5.40 ERA and 1.49 WHIP he entered the day with, as he has been plagued by a .318 BABIP and 61.6% strand rate. The luck is going to change, which means better days are ahead. He’s not an option if you are looking for Ks, but if you are strong there he’s a usable option in all formats.

• Ricky Nolasco (2.1 IP, 5 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 2 K) - He’s allowed 22 ER over his last 24 innings. It’s not walks that are hurting him but hits, with 42 hits allowed. He can’t continue to be this unlucky, can he? I would expect a rebound to come sooner rather then later.

• Neftali Feliz (0.1 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 0 K) -  It was not a pretty outing, but Chris Ray bailed him out. If Frank Francisco was pitching well, maybe you’d be concerned, but he allowed a run today, as well as allowing 3 ER to the rays last Sunday. For now, Feliz’ job continues to be safe.

• Brandon Morrow (6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 6 K) - It was a solid start, though he lost 1-0 to Jason Hammel (8.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 6 K, W). It was his third consecutive start allowing just 1 ER, with the first two coming against the Rays and Yankees. He can be erratic, making it tough to depend on, but he has a lot of promise.  In deeper formats, that’s more then enough to be ownable.  With his next start coming against the Giants, his even recommendable depending on the format/league size.

• John Ely (5.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 2 K) - It’s his second consecutive start allowing 4 ER over 5 IP.  He was due to hit a bump in the road, so I wouldn’t panic. Of course, if I had other viable options, I probably would have him on my bench for the upcoming week as he is scheduled to face the Red Sox.

What are your thoughts from yesterday’s games?  Which ones caught your eye? And which ones did I miss?

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