Fantasy Baseball Tonight 7/12; The Break!

Red Sox super phenom pitcher Clay Buchholz will be called up and start for the Red Sox at Toronto. Although he has struggled some in his past major league outings (5-10, 5.56 ERA in 18 career starts), he has dominated at AAA this year with a 7-2 record with a 2.36 ERA and 86 Ks in 93 innings. I'm not sure if this is one start or he will be in the rotation following the ASG, but I am trying to find that out as we speak. If you are looking for a strong spot start, Buchholz is an amazing choice. In keeper leagues I think you have to grab him whether he only starts once or not. Unless you really can't afford a dead spot on your roster. If you want you can email me your situation and I will try to analyze if for you.

By the way, Jake Fox didn't start behind the plate, but he has come in to catch in the nightcap for the Cubs. See if that trend continues.

Another typical outing for Jordan Zimmerman. He allows just one run through six innings and then gives up a two run homer to put a damper on his appearance. And do the Nats do anything to help out his cause? Ah, no. No runs on 11 hits total for Washington and Zimmerman falls to 3-4. He did strikeout six in those six innings, so he is helping you there even if he can't buy a win. I still like this kid and think he is a great guy to have in keeper leagues. This was the first time he had given up more than two runs since June 4th. He is a good pitcher, and hopefully Washington will start to give him some support at some point.

Clete Thomas had three hits, including his fifth homer of the season and he drove in five runs. Do I really think that Clete Thomas is an exciting fantasy player? Actually, no. However, this is the guy that is supposed to platoon in the outfield with Magglio Ordonez, so the better he does the less and less that Ordonez will see the field. I'm not sure there are too many situations where I would continue to hold Maggs on my team, and the better that Thomas plays the fewer situations make sense to have Ordonez on your team.

J.A. Happ was great again and has ran his record to 6-0. If he is still available in your league WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? The guy pitches for one of the best offensive teams in baseball, plays in a division without a great offense, and hasn't lost a game yet. His ERA is just 2.90 and his WHIP is only 1.17. Definitely pick up Happ if he is on your waiver wire.

Kyle Lohse returned from the DL for the Cardinals and he STUNK! Lohse allowed four runs over five innings, walked three and struck out two. Now I don't expect Lohse to be Johan Santana, but he should be better than that. He could be a guy at the end of your rotation, or even better a guy you pick up to start when he pitches against a bad team.

Kurt Suzuki remains one of the hottest catchers among those that weren't drafted among the elite. Suzuki has gotten at least one hit in ten straight game, and has driven in six runs over that span. I picked him up in one league where I had a rough time with my catcher and have been more than happy with the results. If you don't have one of the elite catchers and are at all dissatisfied with your guy, pick up Suzuki. He won't win you the league, but he will stabilize that spot for you.

Yovani Gallardo had his second straight subpar start and lost his third straight decision. Of course the Brewers hadn't scored in his two starts before today, but even with run support he was bad. Gallardo allowed five runs over five innings, walked four and struck out three. Even with this little skid, he still has an 8-5 record and his ERA is only 3.22. Gallardo will be one of the top 15 pitchers in baseball when all is said and done in 2009, and he will have a great second half of the year. Fifteen wins is well within his grasp.

Clayton Kershaw had some control issues again on Sunday, but the kid has found his groove. He allowed just one run over six innings, walked five and struck out four. Sure the walks don't make you feel good, but he allowed no earned runs in four of his last six starts leading to the break, and hadn't allowed more than three earned runs in an outing since May. He will be one of the more coveted pitchers to keep when 2009 is over.

Jim Thome owners are probablywishing the All-Star Break didn't arrive. Over the past two days Thome drove in seven runs to bring his half season total to 50. He will turn 39 in August and is batting around .250 so don't get too excited about this little streak, but if you own him I would consider starting him on Thursday when the schedule resumes.

Brandon Morrow was sent down to AAA, and like Tommy Hanson it is because they Mariners won't need a fifth starter until July 25th, but unlike Hanson I'm not 100% sure that he will be called back up when the time comes. I don't know what other options that Seattle might have, but Morrow certainly hasn't pitched well enough to hold that spot down. He has been wildly inconsistent all season long, and if I owned him I think I would feel comfortable enough to let him go.

Injury News

Matt Lindstrom is doing fine in his rehab from his elbow injury, but according to the Marlins it will likely be another month before he is able to return. When this injury initially happened I worried about Lindstrom's ability to reclaim his job when he returned. Leo Nunez had been pitching well and I thought if he continued that while Lindstrom was out he could be the Marlins' closer for the remainder of the season. But seeing that Florida has given some opportunites to Dan Meyer, I am now guessing that Lindstrom will go back to closing when he returns, even though he has certainly had his moments of wildness. Stash him if possible.

Jay Bruce fractured his wrist last night and will likely miss several weeks. He is going to be examined today and the Reds are awaiting that report before they give a timetable for his return. My guess is that you will hear six to eight weeks as an estimate for the time he will miss. Stash the future star on your DL slot. Doesn't look like he will be back any time soon.

The New York Post reported that Jose Reyes ran without a noticeable limp, but there is still no indication of when he might return. Reyes will need at least a couple of weeks to get back into shape and some rehab games once he begins baseball-related activities. It is looking like you won't have your starting shortstop back any sooner than August 1st.

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 Tonight" podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday 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. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can't miss if you plan on winning your league.

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.