The following was just a sampling of the more than 100 player notes you'll get here daily as a subscriber...
Allen Craig (OF-STL) - Tough break for Allen Craig, who is batting .336/.405/.523, but who is headed for the DL after crashing into the wall in Houston Tuesday. Looks like it's just a contusion (no ligament damage), so Craig should need the minimum 15 days before he's ready to return. Craig has been mostly playing LF in Matt Holliday's absence, but he's also seen quite a bit of time at second base. If you're thinking Craig's season is coming out of nowhere at age 26, it's not. He put up consistent 20+ HR / .370+ OBP seasons in the minors and finally is getting a change at regular playing time. Andrew Brown is getting the call to replace Craig, and as Brown was hitting .351/.449/.625 with 11 homers in Triple-A, he's worth a look in deeper leagues. Still, I wouldn't expect Brown to play every day, and with Holliday due back in the next week or so, his time in STL appears limited.
Paul Goldschmidt (1B-ARI) - Pretty big news Sunday out of Arizona, where Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers indicated that Goldschmidt could be called up from Double-A to the big leagues around the All-Star break. Goldschmidt is only still in Double-A due to the presence of Brandon Allen at Triple-A Reno, but there's little doubt at this point that Goldschmidt would destroy PCL pitching considering what he's doing in the pitcher-friendly Southern League - .344/.465/.687 with 21 homers and an impressive 1.16 EYE. He's crushing LH pitching to the tune of .433/.547/1.033 in 60 at-bats, so platooning him with Juan Miranda is a possibility. I'm not sure that Arizona would bring him up to sit on the bench that often, so if he does get the call, he's probably playing most every day. Arizona's first baseman have a collective .776 OPS, so there's certainly room for improvement, and with the Dbacks just one game back of the first-place Giants, they will be looking to improve across the board.
Trayvon Robinson (OF-LAD) - Rather than let you know that Matt Kemp is a great player who hit another home run Sunday (both true), here's a preview of an attraction coming to a left field near you. With Jerry Sands needing more seasoning, the Dodgers are going with Tony Gwynn, Marcus Thames, and Trent Oeltjen in left. Hopefully I don't have to tell you that is sub-optimal. Robinson meanwhile remains the team's top prospect who's yet to see the big league roster this year. Sunday for Triple-A Albuquerque, Robinson knocked out four singles and a double to drive in four runs, this after driving in three the day before and walking twice. On the year, Robinson is batting .1299/.357/.543 with 13 homers and seven stolen bases. Robinson hit just .229 in May after a hot April, but he's got it rolling now with a .390 average in June. He's stolen as many as 47 bags in the minors, and while the total this year pales in comparison, Robinson has been hitting in the middle of the order while Dee Gordon has been leading off. We don't know where Robinson will wind up in the order eventually, but leadoff is a possibility. On the down side, Robinson's EYE has regressed from 0.58 to 0.28 this year, so the Dodgers may just wait another couple months and see if he can turn that around. Regardless, his legs and power give him a nice fantasy ceiling once he does make it up.
Scott Elbert (RP-LAD) - It's always fun to see the random names that pop up with a "S: Player Name (1)" next to their name in the box score. That was the case for Elbert Sunday in Colorado. Elbert entered Sunday's game with the team up 10-8 with two outs, and Blake Hawksworth having just surrendered a home run to Todd Helton and a single to Troy Tulowitzki. Elbert proceeded to get red-hot Seth Smith (2 hits, HR Sunday) to ground out to notch his first save. Elbert becomes the seventh Dodger reliever to record a save this year, with no reliever having recorded back-to-back saves since Vicente Padilla did it on May 8 and 11. So all that said, is Elbert (5.40 ERA, 9:5 K:BB in 8.1 innings) worth picking up in deeper leagues? Doubtful - would have to be a VERY deep league, as it could just as easily be Josh Lindblom or Blake Hawksworth next time out. Elbert has the stuff to be a late-innings guy, but the control has always been an issue and looks to be something that will keep him in the middle innings.
Ryan Roberts (2B/3B-ARI) - After a .313/.413/.594 April, I suppose we shouldn't be too surprised to see that Roberts hit .244 in May without a home run. Entering Sunday's action, Roberts had two June home runs, but was batting just .194 for the month, so it was starting to look like Arizona was going to give more of his at-bats to Melvin Mora. Sunday Roberts homered again, but it was his only hit in five at-bats leaving him with a decent .257/.352/.476 line overall. It still appears that Roberts will get most of the 2nd base at-bats versus left-handers and a lot of the 3rd base at-bats versus righties, but just keep in mind he's 30 years old with just 580 big league at-bats. There will be ups, and there will be plenty of downs.
