Ryan Braun (OF--Brewers) Ryan Braun was out of the starting lineup on Friday for the Brew Crew. It was the first time all season that Braun didn't start a game. Braun has a sore shoulder and the team decided to give him a day off to rest it a little more. But in the ninth inning, Braun hit a pinch-hit home run that propelled the Brewers to victory. Braun's been putting together another top notch season with thirteen home runs under his belt and 42 RBI which projects him out to 36 home runs and 120 RBI on the year. Perhaps the nicest improved facet to his game this year is his improved patience at the plate increasing his EYE up to a very good 0.84. His pitches per plate appearance are at a 4.05 this season compared to a 3.70 career average. As a result his OBP is at a very robust .402 for the year. Hopefully the soreness in the shoulder alleviates with the day's rest and he's back in action regularly over the weekend. Keep an eye on his day to day progress.
Brandon Phillips (2B--Reds) Brandon Phillips was out of the starting lineup for the Reds on Friday. He has an ailing sore wrist after he was hit by a pitch on Wednesday. At this point the rest is just precautionary after he tried to take batting practice on Friday and the wrist was not reacting well. Philips got off to a blistering start in April hitting .355 for that month. But since May rolled around, Phillips tailed off hitting just .246 with an OBP of .307. The good side is that he did collect 17 RBI last month which was four more than he had in April. Overall, Phillips excellent start has buoyed his average and is still hitting an above average .290 on the whole. He's shown an above average EYE this year at 0.90 which is considerably better than his career EYE of 0.42. Now that he has come back to earth for his blistering start, we should see Phillips continue to produce solid results at a scarce position. Reds are taking the wrist seriously and may decide to sit him on Saturday as well, but owners should keep a watchful eye on this situation and hope that down time on the DL won't be necessary.
Jose Contreras (RP--Phillies) Jose Contreras was activated from the DL on Thursday after spending time on the DL since April 25th. At the time of his elbow injury, Contreras had been the Phillie closer having collected five saves in 10.2 innings of work without allowing a run. It was unfortunate timing for Contreras owners. Since that time on the DL, Ryan Madson has stepped into the closer role and fortified his role with a considerable amount of consistency and success that will make it difficult in the time being for Contreras to get his old job back. He logged two outs on Friday, allowing a walk and a hit but still keep his ERA at 0.00. Contreras does have some appeal in leagues that reward holds as he will probably move into the 8th inning slot. But if Madson should falter, you'll want to be quick on the trigger because Contreras will most certainly be the go-to guy should the circumstances change.
Shane Victorino (OF--Phillies) As expected Shane Victorino was back in the Phillies' lineup after spending some time on the DL with a sore hamstring. Victorino's rehab games weren't especially impressive as he hit just .154 (2-for-13) in four games. Prior to the DL stint Victorino had been hitting .284 on the year, displaying a solid balance between power and speed. His .219 ISO is perhaps lofty for him but Victorino owners certainly aren't complaining. Even with the time away, Victorino should project out to hit about 18 home runs on the year. But expect going forward, with the caveat of healthy hamstrings, that there will be more stolen bases than home runs. He went 0-for-5 on Friday with his average dropping to .275. Since his rehab outings were a little rough and his first game back from the DL, daily leagues may want to hold back on starting him until he starts seeing the ball better and gets into a regular groove.
Jeff Karstens (SP--Pirates) Jeff Karstens pitched a strong game on Friday against a tough, fully-loaded Phillie lineup, but unfortunately walked away with a no-decision. He pitched seven innings, allowed just one run on four hits, no walks and struck out two. Karstens lowered his ERA to 3.30 on the year but despite the tidy ERA, his FIP going into the game on Friday was a much higher 4.65. Karstens has put together a K/9 of 7.15 but isn't typically going to strike out many batters. It was great that he was able to give the Pirates seven innings of work on Friday, but that hasn't been his usual way. He's only gone six innings or more three times this year out of twelve starts and the seven inning stint was his longest of the season. Karstens also has been giving up the long ball at a rate of 1.79 per nine innings which accounts for the elevated FIP. He's a risky start despite the good performance against Philadelphia. You could try him for a spot start here or there but it's unlikely you should expect the same numbers that he put up on Friday.
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