Derrek Lee (1B—Braves) Rather ironic that Derrek Lee made his Braves debut against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Friday. And it was far from impressive as Lee went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Last year for the second half of the season Lee went on a blistering tear batting .336. And this year Lee is performing solidly batting .300. It's not quite eye-popping stats, but it is good enough to be in your every day lineup. My colleague Joe here at Fantistics commented that Lee's fantasy value really doesn't get a substantial boost with his move to Atlanta but his RBI opportunities might increase. I would agree with Joe but I'll go a step further in that moving to a team that is in the heat of the battle and vying for a division title, tends to bring out the best in players. I think Lee will pick up the pace and perform better with something on the line. Having said that, it's also noteworthy that Lee hasn't performed all that well for his career at the TED with a slash line of .237/.338/.388 with 8 home runs.
Jason Bay (OF—Mets) Is he returning this year or isn't he? Well, no one seems to know whether Jason Bay will be back on the field this year, least of all Mets' manager Jerry Manuel who had indicated that he thought Bay's season might be over and then retracted the statement after Friday's game indicating that Bay was dong much better after sustain a concussion that has him sitting on the 15-day DL. How unlike Jerry Manuel to flip-flop n his statements. That never happens. Whether he comes back or not, it's been a disappointing year for Bay who has suffered career low numbers. So far Bay has the lowest ISO (.144) of his career along with averaging a home run every 58 at-bats compared to his career average of a home run every 19.2 AB's. His XBH% is down to 8% compared to a career average of 10.1% and his .259 BA would be his second lowest out of 8 Major League seasons. Is it New York? Is it CitiField? Is it signing a big contract? Or is it just playing for the Mets and the perpetual dark cloud that rains all over them? Even if Bay does come back, chances are he will be handled with great care and may see limited playing time since the Mets are essentially not playing for anything but pride. Or something like that. Don't expect much, if anything, for the rest of the season from Bay.
Ronny Paulino (C—Marlins) Ronny Paulino was suspended 50 games on Friday for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. Paulino had indicated that the PED was found in a dietary supplement to control his weight. Regardless of whether his PED usage was done knowingly or not, fantasy owners will have to find a replacement for Paulino. Paulino had some minor fantasy value in deeper N.L. leagues as he put together a slash line of .259/.311/.354. Chances are his loss won't have a huge impact on anyone's fantasy team as Paulino had a poor wOBA of .293. Obviously, it's time to drop Paulino as he will miss the rest of the season and some games into 2011.
Scott Podsednik (OF—Dodgers) The situation is getting a little murky in the Dodger outfield. With Manny Ramirez on his way back next week, that could mean that Scott Podsednik may be spending more time on the bench. It would be tough to sit Matt Kemp although he has been slumping and Pods over the past eleven games is batting .370 . Still, Manny will probably need his rest and Podsednik's speed and OBP are valuable elements to the Dodger offense so there is little doubt that they will find ways to get Podsednik some at bats. On the year as a whole Podsednik has 34 stolen bases, a .354 OBP and a .306 average which has made him a fantasy sleeper. Monitor this situation closely because despite his excellent play, Podsednik may find himself in a game of musical chairs where he is the one left standing (or sitting...on the bench that is.)
J.A. Happ (SP—Astros) Well, the bottom hasn't completely fallen out as I've expected, but we are certainly seeing a different J.A. Happ than the one that pitched for the Phillies briefly this season and all of last year. Happ took his second loss of the season on Friday and since his arrival in Houston he's accumulated an ERA of 4.62. To his credit, this season, batters are hitting just .213 but he has struggled considerably with control as his BB/9 is 6.42. The flyball rate at 53.6% is very much a concern especially with him not be a strikeout pitcher. His fastball clocks in at the high 80's and as a result his xFIP is a dangerously high 5.62 indicating that he has been getting somewhat lucky in avoiding the home run. But if he keeps serving up fly balls, the more likely he is going to get stung. Again, I still put warning flags all around Happ. Use with caution.
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