Chase Headley - Headley hit a two-run homer last night to account for the Padre offense, giving him three in his first 40 AB's for the Pads. People tend to discount stats from the Cal League and the Texas League at times, but it's important to recognize that San Diego's affiliates at those levels have parks that play very closely to the big league park in terms of depressing offense, so Headley's minor league numbers should be taken at face value. The 24 year old has greatly developed his power over the past two years to the point where a 280/350/475 initial campaign, even in the cavernous Petco, wouldn't be out of the question. I would absolutely own him in all formats regardless. He's probably not an All-Star level talent, not at 3B in the NL right now, but he is a very solid offensive player.
Chan Ho Park - I am absolutely stunned by the resurgence of Chan Ho at nearly age 35, especially after watching last night's dismantling of the Angels. Park's last two outings have consisted of 11 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 2 BB, and 16 K's, bringing to mind his first tenure with the Dodgers. The 90% strand rate is enough to give one pause, but Park hit 95 mph on the radar gun last night, something he hasn't done to my knowledge this decade, so there's something here. I don't want to get too excited about a couple of outings, but I don't think this is a complete fluke. The walks and homers will continue to be an issue, but he could provide league average performance going forward, which is always worthwhile.
Chris Coste - his is the worst of Coste's three months this year, and still he's hitting 268/311/463 after bashing his 7th homer of the season last night. He only plays 30-35% of the time, but for a second catcher in deep mixed leagues or NL-only leagues you could do a lot worse, particularly if rate stats are used in any fashion. Coste is 35, so his shelf life is limited.....it's a damn shame he didn't get more of an opportunity when he was younger, but scouting the indy leagues has become much more common this decade than it has been in many years.
Brett Myers - The problem checklist keeps growing for Myers, who has now allowed nine homers in his last 21 innings. His walk rate is up by 35% from two year ago, his velocity is off almost two full mph, his K rate is down about 10%, and his home run rate has gone through the roof. He's had four straight poor outings, and the Phillies are actively talking about yanking him from the rotation. In all but the deepest of leagues, it's time to cut bait on the former top prospect. The combination of that BB rate and HR rate is going to be too much to overcome.
Jair Jurrjens - Jurrjens keeps coasting along, going another eight shutout innings last night to bring his streak to 21 2/3 in a row. He doesn't necessarily have the strikeout rate that you'd like to see in a young pitcher, but the 22 year old limits walks and homers to the point where he's going to be effective anyway. Because of the low K rate I don't think his ceiling is much past that of a mid-rotation starter, and thus I think his ERA is likely to move up over the course of the season, but that doesn't mean I think he'll fail to help you the rest of the way.
