1. Adam Dunn (1B - White Sox) - Adam Dunn still hasn't turned it around and it has forced Ozzie Guillen to drop him in the lineup. He struck out 4 times on Thursday and that's all Ozzie had to see before making the move. He'll probably be hitting 7th, a move to help him "relax" and not try to press too much. Dunn is currently at an AB/HR of 31.2 which is more than double his career rate of 14.1. In fact, his rate has been under 15.0 for each year since 2002. If this isn't a buy-low situation, I don't know what is. Sure his K% is now over 35%, continuing the steady increase over the last few years of 25.2%, 26.5%, and 30.7% from 2008 - 2010. This may be the year he flirts with an AB/HR in the 20's, but that would still mean he'll go on a hot power streak. I'm targeting Dunn now while owners begin to second guess him at the 2-month mark.
2. Daric Barton (1B - A's) - Daric Barton got the day off on Thursday after going into an extended slump that dropped his average to .206 and his OBP to .319. Barton, who is only an AL-only type 1B at this time, is best known for his ability to contribute to OBP for fantasy owners. He led the league in BB in 2010 with 110, yielding an OBP of .393. That was good for a BB/K of 1.08 and a BB% of 16%. This year, it has dropped to 0.80 with a BB% of 13.5%. Still not terrible, but when you don't contribute power (career ISO of just .129) and the OBP disappears, you tend to be relegated to the scrap pile.
3. Max Scherzer (SP - Tigers) - Scherzer struggled on a wet and rainy day yesterday, allowing 7 ER in 2 IP, increasing his ERA almost a full point from 2.98 to 3.86 overnight. This marks the 3rd non-quality start in his last four outings and his 4th in the last six. That gives him a WHIP of over 1.40 for the month of May. Scherzer's K rate has remained consistent and he has given fantasy owners the strikeouts they expected. He is averaging almost a K an inning with 61 K's in 65 IP, but after starting the season with 4 straight QS, he has struggled at times and has been inconsistent ever since. There is no move to be made here as patience is going to be the main factor that will pay-off for fantasy owners, but I doubt Scherzer will ever be a true ace and will probably always remain a #2-#3 fantasy SP.
4. Erick Aybar (SS - Angels) - Aybar, who is still unowned in more than 30% of public leagues, has slowed down a little in May, but is still posting a .309 average for the season to go along with a .354 OBP and 12 SB. Put it together and he's posting an FPI at about 0.74. Not bad for a SS on the scrap heap of most fantasy leagues this year. Aybar obviously won't give you much power, but an OPS of .775 is still respectable for someone with only 2 HR (he has 9 doubles and a triple to help boost the power numbers). I've been a proponent of guys like Ian Desmond this year who at least give you stolen bases at a weak position, but Aybar gives you speed and average at an underrated price.
5. Brett Anderson (SP - A's) - Anderson is underrated and if it wasn't for one lone game against Texas, we'd be talking about him much differently. Four of his last five starts have yielded 3 ER or less with 3 of them coming as official QS. Yesterday, he went 8.0 shutout innings and allowed just 3 hits, 3 BB, and recorded 4 K's to earn his 3rd win of the year. Anderson doesn't stand out in the K, posting a K/9 of 6.9, but he has a solid WHIP of 1.18 and with those shutout innings an ERA back under 3.00 for a 2.84. Anderson really has had just one bad start this year where he allowed 7 ER to the Rangers. Take out that game and you're talking about a pitcher with a 2.12 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, just 1 HR allowed, and a K/BB of 3.3.
Follow us on Twitter all year: @Fantistics and @jribando
