Fantasy Baseball Tonight 5/12

I've said it before, I'll say it again. Adam Jones will be a star. He is progressing even faster than I thought. With his two hit game tonight, Jones is still hitting .363. Oh, did I mention both of those hits left the ballpark? Jones now has eight home runs, after only having nine all of last season. His average obviously has to come down, but the power is legit, and he should improve on his stolen bases (three so far). It will cost you dearly at this point in a trade, but maybe you can trade a guy who has a better name for him and dupe his poor owner.

First Dexter Fowler, next Carl Crawford, now Jayson Werth stole bases in bunches. Werth stole four bags tonight, including one of home plate, to bring his season total to seven. After getting off to a terrible start, Werth has gotten back on track, and that 20/20 season he had in 2008 no longer looks like a fluke.

Rich Harden is still winning games, but he hasn't been nearly the pitcher he was last season. He improved to 4-1, but his ERA is at 4.54, and his strikeouts have been down his last three or four starts. I am assuming he is all right, but he hasn't been the same dominant pitcher he was in 2008. I know Harden owners don't even want me to say this, but it is a situation worth monitoring.

Josh Hamilton triumphantly returned to the lineup for the Rangers tonight, and promptly parked his third homer in the seats. It was his only hit of the night, and he did strike out twice, but it is good to see Hamilton back on the field. Get him back in immediately into your lineups.

Ian Stewart broke out of a wicked slump in a big way on Tuesday. Stewart hit his fifth and sixth homers of the year, after having only two hits in his last ten games. The Rockies are moving him all over to keep his bat in the lineup, but he will need to do more of this to get increased playing time.

Ubaldo Jimenez got his third win of the season, and he is starting to look more like the player we were expecting him to be when the year started. Tonight, Jimenez went seven innings, allowed just one run, didn't walk anybody, and struck out four. Over his last three starts, he has now allowed just five runs, and struck out 15 against just three walks. If Baldy can get his control where it needs to be, this could be a guy that you can count on to keep on your roster.

Luke Hochevar looked worse in his 2009 debut than he did at almost any time during 2008. Hochevar survived just two innings, allowed eight runs, walked two and struck out just one. It is hard to say why he can be so effective in the minors and then can't get anyone out in the majors, but that seems to be the case so far. If he earns himself another start, I still wouldn't hold on to him for it.

Armando Galarraga was bad again on Tuesday. After getting off to an incredible start, Galarraga gave up five runs for the third straight start, walked four and struck out four over 5.2 innings pitched. Thinking of dropping him? Well, after allowing just five runs in his first four starts, Galarraga has now allowed sixteen runs in his last three. And while he struck out 24 batters in his first four starts, he has fanned just nine in his last three. He was pretty good last year and the Tigers are playing improved baseball, but with the way he has pitched lately and the fact he doesn't strikeout a ton of guys, I can see letting him go.

Injury News

Kevin Youkilis was FINALLY placed on the Disabled List by the Red Sox, but the move was made retroactive to May 5th. This means that Youk will be able to retun in just eight days. Seeing that the Sox were talking like he could have played tonight, my guess is he will be ready to go when his fifteen days are up.

Carlos Zambrano is looking at starting a rehab assignment this weekend, and is eyeing May 22 as the date he will return to the Cubs. He is out with a strained hammy that he got running the bases trying to leg out a bunt. Hopefully he won't be as careless upon his return.

Chris Carpenter threw out of the bullpen today and it was positive. Carpenter is due to throw again on Friday, and if that is good as well, he could return to the Cardinals within two weeks. Even though his team is doing well, the Cardinals desperately need Carpenter to come back healthy soon.

Lastings Milledge broke his finger in the minor leagues and needed pins inserted into that finger. There has been no timetable given for his return. If you are holding on to him hoping he will be back soon, this might be the news that sways you to drop him.

Derek Jeter didn't play tonight due to a sore oblique and Hideki Matsui left the game tonight with a sore hamstring. Both players are listed as day-to-day for the injury ravaged Yankees. Get both guys out until you see that they are back in the lineup.

It was announced tonight that Scott Downs, not B.J. Ryan will be the Jays' closer when Ryan is eligible to come off the DL, perhaps this weekend. I would say that this could be a permanent move, and it should be safe to let B.J. go. I have a feeling that if you let him go, no one in your league will be dying to get him, and he should sit in free agency for a while if you see he is getting his job back.

Frank Francisco has some biceps tendonitis and will miss at least a few games. Rangers' GM Jon Daniels said that they can't rule out a trip to the DL for Francisco. I would think that C.J. Wilson would get the first chance at save opportunities.

Ryan Ludwick left the game with a strained hamstring and he will likely miss a few games. The Cardinals aren't exactly the most forthcoming with injury information, so I would plan on sitting Ludwick tomorrow, and hopefully more information will come out then.

New Feature

For those of you who are regular readers, I would like to offer a new service. I am starting a mailing list. Sometimes I see news during the day, but I wait until this nightly article to pass it along to you guys. Prospects coming up, injury news, closer movement, etc. Just send me an email to fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com with “Mailing List” in the subject line and I will add you to the list. Then, whenever I find news that I feel is breaking and important, I will send it to you as soon as I find out about it. Hopefully this is something that you all will find valuable to make a possible move before your competition.

Also, you can now follow me on Twitter for more updates. Go to www.twitter.com/fightingchance

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss “The Fantasy Baseball Gurus Show” every Wednesday night at 10pm EST on Blog Talk Radio. The show is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. The Fantasy Baseball Scouting Report is also back! Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the news, free agent pickups, minor leaguers, and injuries. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league. I also just met the people over at Baseball Trade Rumors and I invite you to visit their site. They have a page for rumors for every major league team, constant updates on the latest rumors, interactive polls, and overall some great content.