Dee Gordon - Dee Gordon is up to play SS for LA until Rafael Furcal returns from his latest leg injury. We've seen evidence of some maturation in Gordon's game at AAA this year, as the 23 year old has cut down on the K's a bit and vastly improved his success on stolen base attempts. Gordon will likely never hit for any power to speak of, but he's managed a .299 AVG in the minors and is a flat-out burner, so he probably will be able to help out in the speed categories right away. He's certainly an NL-only pickup right off the bat, and if you need some steals he could be justified in mixed league formats as well.
Jonny Gomes - Just a few weeks after being relegated to bench duty, Jonny Gomes appears to be taking back the LF job in Cincy. Fred Lewis has offered basically nothing in his playing time, and in Gomes' last five starts he's 7-18 with two doubles and a homer with a OBP of .450. A .223 BABIP is depressing Gomes' AVG below its normal level, but you don't have him on your roster for batting average. He's still providing power, patience, and a handful of steals, and with his playing time heading back in the right direction he's at least an NL-only option again.
Chris Nelson - Former #1 pick Chris Nelson is making an impression in Colorado, as the Rockies are trying to get him into the lineup every day at either 3B or 2B. A few more games apiece and he should have eligibility at both for the rest of the year, and we all know the rules on new Rockie bats.....pick 'em up when you can, even with the humidor. Nelson is 25 with decent power for a middle infielder, and he has enough speed to contribute there a bit as well. The usual Colorado Springs stat caveats apply, but Nelson could clearly give you a bit of a boost right now at 2B particularly.
Clayton Richard - Richard finally looked like the 2010 version of himself yesterday, holding the Rockies to one run on five hits over seven innings, walking three and fanning eight. His K rate and velocity are both down significantly this year, and due to his propensity to issue free passes any other issues are magnified in his ERA. His home/road splits still favor Petco by about 3 1/2 earned runs per game, so despite the paucity of wins he remains a decent spot-start option at home. A upgrade of his status might be forthcoming if he can build on last night's outing...if his velocity has returned the K rate should jump commensurately, in which case we're right back where we were last year with Richard.
Greg Dobbs - Dobbs has stayed hot, reaching base in 11 of his last 12 on the strength of a .400 BABIP...much of which can be explained away by an excellent LD rate of 26.5%. Dobbs has been modestly productive when given consistent playing time in the past, so I wouldn't feel badly about using him in both deeper mixed leagues and NL-only leagues as long as he's starting at the hot corner in Florida. His power has been gradually dissipating the past handful of seasons, but batting 5th he's going to see plenty of RBI opportunities, and the LD rate is keeping his AVG well into the "helping" category.
