NL Player Spotlight - June 12, 2008

Jorge Cantu - Will Cantu continue to fly under the radar or will his 2-HR game bring his season to the forefront? Cantu has a 0.70 FPI with a .296 average, .878 OPS, HR/AB of 17.9, and a total of 14 HRs. This isn't as fluky as you might think. Looking back on his career, Cantu had a tremendous season with Tampa Bay back in 2005 when he hit 28 HR and drove-in 117 RBI while posting a 0.60 FPI. He's showing signs of a repeat season. 3B is already a deep fantasy position, but Cantu makes a great backup if you have a guy like Chipper Jones who may be injured. At the worst, a 0.70 FPI with power out of your utility spot isn't a bad option either. Khalil Greene - Greene hit his first HR of the month (and his first since May 22nd) as he tries to steer his season back in the right direction. Let's take a look at his 2007 season to remind ourselves why the Padres gave him that big contract in the off-season: .254 average, .759 OPS, 0.54 FPI, 22.6 HR/AB, BB/K of .250. These numbers aren't going to make the front pages, but they are decent stats (especially the power) for a fantasy middle-infielder. This year, he's hitting just .217, .597 OPS, .36 FPI, 40.7 HR/AB, BB/K of .254. Every one of his statistical measures are way off last year's career high (except for his batting eye), leading me to believe that there's a turn-around coming soon. I'd take a flier on him at SS if he's still available and you're just piecing it together as you go. Ubaldo Jimenez - Jimenez was one of my value picks in yesterday's First Pitch as a good 2-start candidate for Fantasy Week 12. Yesterday was continuing evidence that he's on his way to pitching better than his numbers might be showing. Against the Giants yesterday, Jimenez hurled 7.0 shutout innings and gave up just 4 hits while striking out 3 and walking 1. Reiterating the point I made yesterday, Jimenez's totals since May 1st include a 4.34 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and is 4-for-8 in quality starts. Not bad, but if you take out that one blow-up game against the Phillies, Jimenez is suddenly 4-7 in QS with a 3.30 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 7.2 K/9. His two start week comes against the Braves and the Mets and he's my cheap-pick for next week. Corey Hart - Hart went yard twice last night and has brought his power-rates back to last year's rates in just a couple of games. After hitting 24 HR last year for a HR/AB of 21.0, Hart now has 9 (including that inside-the-parker) for a HR/AB of 27.2. His FPI of 0.72 is steadily creeping back to last year's level of 0.76. Its nice to have an underrated outfielder on your team that will hit 20+ HR and steal 20+ bases without raising many eyebrows. He already has 10 SB in 13 attempts, in-lnie with last years 23 SB in 30 attempts. Nothing but up-arrows for my boy Hart. Ian Snell - Could Snell be turning it around? A quality start against the Nationals last night is a good start. He went 6.0 IP and gave up 1 ER on 6 hits, 3 BB, and 6 K's. It was his second straight outing of giving up 1 ER. His K rate is a little down this year, but I think he has the ability to recover and increase his rate back to previous season levels. Two years ago, his K/9 was 8.2 and last year he posted a 7.7. This year, he's at 7.2. Still solid, but its a strike-out per nine less than his level two years ago. A high ERA and high WHIP is the price you'll pay for investing in Snell's K potential, but its probably worth it. There are over 100 player news blurbs posted in the member area each morning. Members can read the rest of today's player news by clicking here. Not a member? Join today.