Fantasy Baseball Tonight 6/27

Scott Kazmir returned to the Rays' rotation, and I have to say he pitched much better than I anticipated. Kazmir was struggling badly before he was placed on the DL, but his pitching line was pretty sharp on Saturday. Kazmir was his usual self, only lasting five innings, but allowed just two runs, walked only one and struck out five. While I expect Kazmir to be better than he was to open the year, I figured he would struggle in his first couple times to the mound. Regardless of whether he was good or not today, Kazmir is the kind of pitcher that you start every time out, regardless of the matchup. To make room for Kazmir the Rays sent Andy Sonnanstine to the minors, which is great news for David Price owners. It certainly seems like he was another candidate to be sent down.

A.J. Burnett has had a very up and down season for the Yankees, but today was what they expected when they handed out that contract. Granted the Mets have a ton of injuries, but Burnett was masterful none the less. He threw seven shutout innings, allowed just one hit and struck out ten. I don't believe that this is Burnett turning the corner, I still think that he will be very inconsistent and will have his share of difficult outings. On a positive note, he has been perfectly healthy so far in 2009.

For those of you who listen to the Tuesday podcast of Fantasy Baseball Tonight, you know I have been waiting for the start by Homer Bailey. I said he would stink, Jeff said pick him up. Now, he only allowed three runs in five innings, but Bailey walked seven. I stand by my position. DO NOT pick this guy up. Not every high ranking prospect always pans out, and I stand firm by my belief that Bailey will not be a successful Major Leaguer.

John Lackey finally pitched like the John Lackey that we know, and he is a guy that I think will round into shape and will begin to pitch better more often than not in the future. Lackey didn't allow an earned run over seven innings and struck out nine. Lackey has had some injury troubles in the past couple seasons, but when he is in there, Lackey is one of the more underrated pitchers in baseball. If you can get him kinda cheap I would think about making a move to trade for him, but if you have him, feel good that you should be getting more production from him in the future.

J.A. Happ had the performance of day though, making his fantasy owners Happ-y as he threw a complete game shutout against the Blue Jays. Happ allowed just five hits, didn't walk anyone and struck out four to raise his record to 5-0. He had a couple of rocky outings recently, so it was good to see him get back on track. To me Happ is the kind of guy that you can expect to give up three runs over six innings and strikeout four. That should be the average outing for him. Some will be better, some far worse, but overall he should be a useful pitcher to have.

Scott Podsednik continues to play for the White Sox, and he continues to produce. His four hit game on Saturday was his third straight contest with two hits or more, and all he needed was a triple for the cycle. I still don't have supreme confidence that he will be a reliable player all year long, but right now he is hot, and if you need batting average and stolen bases, Podsednik could be just the shot in the arm your team needs.

Nolan Reimold is perhaps my favorite rookie of the first half of the season. He hit his ninth homer of the year today, and continues to hover around the .300 mark. Reimold has been starting on every team that I own him on, and unless your outfield is unusually stacked, he should be starting for you as well.

I guess Pablo Sandoval wasn't happy about me saying that I didn't expect a ton of power out of him yesterday, because he went out on Saturday and hit two more homers. Sandoval is now up to 11 on the season to go with his .340 average. I was happy that I picked him for my guy in the 56 Game Hit Streak game on USA Today.com. He got my streak going again after it was broken by Curtis Granderson. Please join our group to see if you can do any better. Just follow the link above, and the private group is called Fantasy BBall 2nite and the password is fantasy.

Kyle Blanks drove in the first three runs of his major league career with a two double game against the Rangers. Blanks is one of the better power hitting prospects in the majors, but he has struggled to start his time with the Padres. Keeper league players will want to stash him on your bench, while seasonal players probably don't need to own him at this point.

Kazuo Matsui has hit in every game but two since returning from the Disabled List last week, and hit his first home run since the third game of the year. Matsui isn't the best option in the world, but if you have a need at second base or middle infield he could offer you a little help. He is traditionally a .280 hitter and has stolen 20+ bases in each of the last two seasons. He has a tough time staying healthy, but tends to be fairly productive when he plays.

Chris Davis hit his second homer in three days, and third in the last eight. He has also gotten his average above the Mendoza line, up to .212. Is this the start of the hot streak we all have been waiting for over the last three months? I am not ready to say that yet, heck I'm not even ready to take him off my bench yet. But he has my attention because of the power that he is capable of.