Chris Coghlan (OF-FLA) – Playing left field with Josh Willingham out, Coghlan was one of eight hitters with at least two hits on Sunday, going 2-for-4 with a double and a pair of walks Sunday against the Blue Jays. Most notable was that Coghlan did this as the leadoff man, and considering his OBP (.263/.375/.377). Coghlan isn’t your prototypical leadoff hitter as he doesn’t have top-shelf speed, but a .375 OBP and four steals to go with a 1.00 EYE, and Coghlan may find himself hitting in front of guys like Hanley Ramirez and Jeremy Hermida for awhile. Coghlan is now batting .333 in June after batting just .212 in May, so feel free to use him in 12-team mixed leagues if you need help, particularly at 2B or MI.
James McDonald (SP-LAD) – With the Dodgers struggling to find a healthy and effective No. 5 starter option, it might be about time for McDonald to get a second chance. McDonald won the No. 5 starter job with a solid spring, but struggled out of the gate and was demoted in April after a 6.75 ERA in 18 2/3 innings. Sunday though, McDonald spun a gem for Triple-A Albuquerque, tossing seven scoreless two-hit innings with 13 strikeouts. This comes after a start in which he only fanned 10 and allowed one run over seven innings. Get McDonald back on your radar in NL-only leagues.
Delwyn Young (OF-PIT) – Young may very well have stolen the majority of the RF at-bats on Sunday, going 3-for-4 as the No. 5 hitter against the Tigers. Young is now batting .358/.416/.432. Now as is obvious by Young’s .074 OPS, Young doesn’t have prototypical RF power, but with Brandon Moss batting just .243/.293/.343, there’s no reason NOT to give Young a legitimate shot at the job. He’ll never be more than a 12-15 homer guy (and that may be optimistic), but Young is a legitimate .300 hitter and deserves his chance. He’s a great NL-only guy to grab right now.
Jason Hammel (SP-COL) – Hammel has been a nice surprise (like Jason Marquis) for the Rockies this year, winning his fourth consecutive start on Sunday. Hammel allowed just one run on five hits to the Mariners, walking none and striking out six over 5 1/3 innings to run his record to 4-3 with a 4.10 ERA. Hammel still has a 5.58 career ERA and a sub-2:1 K:BB, but you have to like the progress. In 59 1/3 innings, Hammel has a solid 42:15 K:BB after entering 2009 with a 140:96 mark. Sunday’s game was in Coors Field, which was notable in relation to Hammel, who entered Sunday’s game with an 8.53 ERA at home versus 2.06 on the road. He’s certainly made himself an NL-only option, but Hammel also deserves consideration as a spot-starter, especially on the road, in shallower leagues as well. He’s just 26 and could be blossoming into a solid No. 3 starter.
Josh Johnson (SP-FLA) – Watching ESPN today, one stat jumped out at me and that was Johnson averaging 96.4 mph with his fastball in Sunday’s game. Some guys recover quickly from TJ surgery (Johnson) while others don’t (Francisco Liriano). Johnson spun a complete-game seven-hitter against the Blue Jays on Sunday, allowing three runs (thanks to a pair of HRs) while walking three and striking out six. JJ sits at 6-1 now with a 2.76 ERA and he’s now allowed more than three earned runs just once in 14 starts this year and is tied for the league lead with 12 QS’s. Bottom line: guys who throw hard and exhibit excellent command (Johnson’s BB/9: 2.1) are guys who are, more often than not, going to have success.
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