Michael Young - Young has now hit in 18 straight games after three hits last night and raised his AVG.....10 points. Lots of 1-5's in there for the 31 year old of late, which makes for good press but not good production. Since Young's K rate returned to (what I guess is) normal after a three-year hiatus to stardom, Young, at least to me, is an overvalued player that offers slightly above average production at star cost. He isn't terrible by any stretch, but consistent .300 hitters in decline are excellent candidates to offer around in trade. I would certainly shop him around and see what interesting offers you can find.
Jeremy Reed - Reed has picked up three straight starts in right field for the M's, going 4-13 with a homer and offering about the same production as Balentien has with 1/3 the K's. Reed has nothing left to prove at the minor league level, and probably both he and Balentien should be playing every day at the expense of the carcass of Jose Vidro, who was an excellent player.....back in 2004. I don't trust the Mariners to be intelligent about this, but as long as Reed can keep hitting without a prolonged cold streak he should be able to hold onto enough to playing time to see what we really have with him as a player. He certainly doesn't merit a pickup in shallow leagues, but in deeper leagues he's getting closer depending on your OF situation. I do think there's still potential here.
David Price - How long can it possibly be before David Price is called up to Tampa? Yes, I know that it's A-ball, and as a college draftee he should pitch well there, but 18 IP, 8 H, 0 R, 2 BB, and 19 K is a great line no matter what. Even though Edwin Jackson and Andy Sonnanstine are decent back-end options at present, they aren't going to be able to keep spots long-term with the talent the Rays have coming. Price may very well end up in Tampa this fall, and he is a potential ace in all formats starting in 2009.
Andy Pettitte - Andy Pettitte is battling through this season with a higher K rate, a lower BB rate, and a higher GB% than he's had in almost a decade. The end stats don't show it very much because Derek Jeter is moving like he's shackled so far this year, which incidentally probably isn't going to change....I know how I feel most mornings and Jeter is three months younger than I am. At this stage of his career, at least in the AL, Pettitte is a mid-rotation guy with some likelihood of decent win totals because of the offense behind him. As long as he keeps the walks and homers down he will continue to be successful...just not quite as much as he would in front of a solid defense.
Joe Mauer - Mauer got on the HR board last night with a towering blast off of Andy Pettitte, which incidentally was the first HR allowed this year to a lefty by the Yankee veteran. Mauer just completed a month with 19 BB and 8 K, but everyone wants to focus on the lost power with him. He's actually hitting a few more flyballs than last year, they just haven't been leaving the park yet. He likely isn't going to have 30-homer power anytime soon, but at age 25 with this skill set we probably should be focusing on what he does do instead of what he doesn't. He's a terrific player that likely will have to move from catcher before he's 30. Some years he might hit 20 homers and some years he might hit 10, but he's valuable enough.
