Chien-Ming Wang (SP – Yankees) - Chien-Ming Wang had a very nice outing in Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday night, going 6.0 shutout innings with 6 K's and 3 Hits. He threw a total of 82 pitches in the outing and certainly looks ready to return to the big leagues. With Hughes having a couple of rough outings for the Yanks over the last couple of weeks, it wouldn't surprise me to see Wang make the move back to the Bronx by Fantasy Week 7. Wang's fantasy ownership fell off the table when he struggled in his first three starts of the season (and rightfully so). Those three starts yielded a total of just 6.0 innings with 23 ER, 23 hits, and 6 walks (I'll let you do the math on those - the ERA and WHIP are so high they're meaningless). ESPN Fantasy leaguers own him in about 50% of all leagues at this point. If you're thinking about taking a gamble (and I would recommend you doing so), grab him now and stash him for the week. It'll take just one decent outing from Wang to regain his confidence and send fantasy leaguers flying to the waiver wires.
Frank Francisco (Closer - Rangers) - Closer down! Rangers' closer Frank Francisco has biceps tendinitis and will be out at least a few days. They're discussing the disabled list, but haven't made any official decisions just yet. An MRI didn't reveal anything serious, but GM Jon Daniels indicated they haven't ruled-out the DL. Francisco was cruising this season, converting all 9 of his save opportunities successfully with no earned runs, 13 K's, and just 7 hits in 14.2 IP for a WHIP of 0.75. CJ Wilson is the logical choice to get the majority of the save opportunities with Francisco on the bench.
Russell Branyan (1B - Mariners) - Branyan was raising eyebrows in the first week of May, hitting 3 HR in just 4 games in the opening series against Oakland and Texas. Since then, in his last 7 games, Branyan is hitting just .154 (4-for-26). Of those 22 outs, 11 of them were K's. Branyan is coming back down to earth after having his 30-HR fantasy hopes smashed. Being that he only has 1B eligibility, he remains an AL-only option only at this point.
Dontrelle Willis (SP - Tigers) - Each week, I go through the exercise of what pitchers I would consider adding / dropping to my rotation. I typically keep one rotational spot to allow for the flexibility to grab hot players or to put a waiver claim on mistake-drops by other league members. I would be lying if I didn't stop at Dontrelle's name for more than a few seconds this week. His marquee name still elicits a response and begs fantasy owners to make a claim. He'll make his first start of the year on Wednesday against Minnesota after being placed on the DL with an anxiety disorder. He's also had physical problems, mostly knee related, that has kept him bouncing back-and-forth from the DL and the rotation for a couple of years now. It has been some time since Dontrelle was able to find the magic that made him so dominant in those early Marlin years. He threw just 24.0 innings last season for a 9.38 ERA and his last full season in 2008 (200+ innings) yielded a 5.17 ERA and 1.60 WHIP. He'll always be on "be sure to monitor this guy" lists and for now, that's where he belongs. Tonight should be telling if the anxiety disorder issue is addressed.
Luke Hochevar (SP - Royals) - Its funny to see Hochevar's massive add & drop stats for this week. Being Week 6's more popular 2-start pitchers, many fantasy owners took the chance with Hochevar heading into Tuesday night's start against Oakland. It backfired. He lasted just 2.0 IP after a 7-run 2nd, giving up a total of 7 hits, 2 BB, and a total of 8 ER. His next start comes on Sunday against the Orioles. One start is hardly worthy of completely forgetting about someone. The former #1 pick was tearing-it-up in Triple-A before being recalled. In Omaha, Hochevar posted a 0.90 ERA in 40.0 IP with 5 W's, 30 K's, OAVG of .204, and a GB/FB of 3.58. The talent is there, but it may take time for it to translate to the big-league level.
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