Mark Teahen - Teahen has returned to his 2006 post-break performance here in May, hitting 356/447/575 for the month so far. I know there were quite a few skeptics out there in April, but with a .401 OBP through the first quarter of the season, I've got to think that Teahen is the real deal at this point. At worst, he's turned himself into a non-injury prone Nick Johnson. I would believe the last 162 games worth of stats over the scouts right now.
Matt Stairs - It's a small sample size, but the Wonder Hamster's May (345/457/759), coupled with the slump of rookie Adam Lind, might have some more playing time coming Stairs' way. He's always been able to hit, and even at the tail end of his career is a worthwhile OF in deeper leagues, and one that may very well be available on the wire no less.
Frank Catalanotto - The Cat returned with a bang last night, scoring three runs in the Rangers' blowout win, one of which came courtesy of his third homer of the year. Despite the paltry batting average, Catalanotto has still posted an EYE of .111 and an ISO of .233 so far this year, and you have to figure that he has a .100-.150 boost in AVG in front of him. He's a solid OF in deeper leagues and AL-only formats, and should be put back into the lineup immediately.
Gerald Laird - Laird might be finally snapping out of his season-long slump, as another double and a homer last night make him 6 for his last 10, with three walks mixed in for good measure. Laird's ice-cold start has probably left him undervalued in most formats, and the weakness of the catching position in the AL (especially with Joe Mauer on the shelf) should be duly noted in assessing Laird's value. I would have no qualms at all about using him as my #1 catcher in an AL-only league....it's been so long since he played more than a half-season it's easy to discount his abilities, but I think he has the potential to be one of the better hitting catchers in the league.
Chien-Ming Wang - Chien-Ming Wang was a completely different pitcher last night, using his slider, his changeup, and even what looked like a curveball in keeping the Red Sox off balance for 6 1/3 innings. The evidence is primarily in the five strikeouts, since he only had two starts last season in which he recorded that many. Wang normally relies on a hard sinker to generate a slew of groundball outs, and while the sinker is still his primary pitch, the predictability of his arsenal will certainly be lessened with this new style that he and pitching coach Ron Guidry have developed. The downside is that his control was a bit shakier with the other offerings, but you could see the potential there for Wang to develop into a complete pitcher, instead of a one-pitch wonder. I think there may be even a bit more upside to the Yankee ace than we previously expected.
