1. Edinson Volquez (SP - Reds) - Another shaky outing led to an early departure for Volquez on Wednesday. He lasted 4.0 IP and allowed 3 ER, 3 H, and 5 BB. He is now only 1-for-9 in QS for the season and with each start continues to fall deeper and deeper out of favor with his fantasy owners. Sure the K/9 of 8.72 is nice, but at the cost of a 7.02 BB/7, 1.24 K/BB, and WHIP of 1.65. Everyone can see the potential dominance and the flashes of "ace-like" stuff, but until he can put it all together consistently, he's waiver-wire bound in mixed leagues.
2. Casey McGehee (3B - Brewers) - McGehee is showing some signs of breaking out. He has two straight multi-hit games and 3 in his last 5 games. He has had a couple of 0-for's mixed in there, so his average is still lingering around the .270 mark. With a few multi-hit games under his belt, I'm now hoping the power comes back. His AB/HR over the last two seasons was 22.2.and 26.5. This year, he's at 67.5. A statistical correction is way overdue. Give it a few more weeks - I think he's going to end May strong.
3. Ricky Nolasco (SP - Marlins) - Nolasco gets a little overshadowed by Josh Johnson, but he's having one heck of a year as well. He didn't factor into the decision against the Phillies on Wednesday after his bullpen blew the lead, but Nolasco posted another quality start. That makes him 7-for-8 in QS for the year, bringing his ERA to 3.02 and WHIP to 1.08. Throw out his one non-QS and he's got a 2.40 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. Not bad for the Marlins "#2."
4. Ian Desmond (SS - Nationals) - Desmond hasn't exactly lived up to his fantasy potential this year, but he is still making a case for himself at SS. He's starting to fall into that "one-trick-pony" category where he can only do one this really well. For Desmond, that's stolen bases. He swiped two more last night, making him 12-for-13 on the season in the SB department. At least he is doing that right, because everything else has been a major disappointment. He's still hitting just .224/.254/.384 and has 33 K's in just 5 BB's. If he could just boost his OBP, imagine the stolen base potential.
5. Kelly Johnson (2B - Diamondbacks) - Remaining patient with Johnson since my post last week, he has shown some recent signs of breaking out. He had a couple of days off over the weekend to clear his head. Maybe it worked. Over the last two games, Johnson has collected 3 hits and 2 SB, "raising" his average to .188. Again, I'm giving Johnson another couple of weeks (end of May) for him to straighten this all out. I'm sure the D-Backs have a short leash too. For now, I look at his 2010 and see a 22.5 AB/HR potential second baseman. If it was any other position other than MI, he'd be long gone to the waiver wire.
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