Skip Schumaker (OF-STL) – No sense writing about Albert Pujols and his two homers / six RBI day, as we all know how good Pujols is. Instead, let’s look at Schumaker, who went 2-for-4 with a double, walk, RBI, and two runs scored on Saturday. Schumaker is batting a quiet .295/.346/.397, though three homers and one stolen base in 234 at-bats doesn’t leave him with a whole lot of fantasy value. After opening June with a 7-for-46 slump, Schumaker is 11-for-24 in his last six games, perhaps giving him an edge over Chris Duncan once interleague play mercifully comes to a conclusion after this week’s slate of games. Schumaker hits the ball on the ground far too often to try and forecast anything other than well below average power (61.2% GB% this year, a few ticks under for his career), but hit him leadoff and there will be some value to be had.
Mike Pelfrey (SP-NYM) – The Mets’ struggles to find quality starting pitching behind Johan Santana (even he’s struggled lately) has to be putting pressure on Jerry Manuel and especially pitching coach Dan Warthen. The Mets starters rank #19 in the league with a 4.57 ERA, and take out Santana and that jumps to 4.98. With a 6:5 K:BB, Fernando Nieve isn’t going to keep up the 2.13 ERA he has through two starts and the Mets may actually be looking forward to the returns of John Maine and Oliver Perez, though whether that helps is debatable. Sunday, Pelfrey allowed four runs on eight hits over five innings to the Rays, leaving him with a 4.74 ERA through 13 starts. Even uglier – a 4.0 K/9. Perhaps the Mets should consider pitching Pelfrey only during night games, as he has a 3.80 ERA under the lights and 8.79 (three starts) during the day. That’s somewhat flukish, but for his career, Pelfrey also has an ERA more than a full run higher during the day than at night. Just something to keep in mind.
Kyle Blanks (OF-SD) – You’ve probably heard by now that the Padres’ top prospect was promoted from Triple-A, and apparently he was actually promoted to play – what a concept. Blanks was 0-for-2 with a walk and run scored on Sunday and is 1-for-6 with three strikeouts since his promotion from Triple-A. Blanks was batting .283/.393/.485 for Triple-A Portland and though a 73% CT% likely means a sub-.270 AVG in the big leagues this year, he’s at least worthy of an NL-only and deeper mixed league pickup. Blanks is listed at 6’6”, 280, and if the 22 year-old can harness some of that physical ability over the next couple years, the Padres might actually have a solid compliment to Adrian Gonzalez. It remains to be seen how Bud Black will apportion the LF/3B at-bats, but with Chase Headley batting .228 and Kevin Kouzmanoff .238, Blanks should get his share of at-bats.
Troy Tulowitzki (SS-COL) – If the Rockies are going to go anywhere this year (or next for that matter), they are going to need to get Tulowitzki going. After going 3-for-3 with a walk on Sunday, it’s pretty clear that the Rockies have done just that. In fact, after sitting with a .216 average as recent as June 6, Tulowitzki is 18-for-43 (.419) with five homers, three doubles, and an 11:9 K:BB. Factor in five stolen bases in that time as well, and Tulowitzki’s buy-low window is locked down tight. Tulowitzki’s LD% is the most obvious symptom of his struggles, as the 15.6% mark is five points below what we’ve seen from him in the past. Something tells me however that that’s a number we’ll see trend up.
Matt Downs (2B-SF) – With Emmanuel Burriss having been optioned to Triple-A, the Giants are in desperate need of offensive help at second base and perhaps Downs is the guy. Sunday batting seventh, Downs was 1-for-3 with a walk, leaving him 4-for-16 with four walks for an impressive .400 OBP since his promotion. Considering Downs was batting a so-so .288/.333/.453 prior to his promotion, it’s wise to not expect a whole lot, but Downs is a guy who makes good contact, and after hitting 20 homers and stealing 25 bases in the minors a year ago, he’s worth looking into in NL-only leagues. It’s not like he has a whole lot of competition there in San Francisco.
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