Albert Pujols, 1B, Los Angeles Angels: Proceed with Caution
Pujols finished 3-for-4 yesterday in a losing effort versus the in-state rival Dodgers. He, along with teammate Josh Hamilton, struggled a bit in the early going, but steadily, the perennial All-Star is pushing that average back up to fantasy respectability. Over the past 10 contests, Albert is hitting just over .250, but the averaged has climbed 12 points up to .254, and with eight home runs and 31 RBI this year, owners can't be too disappointed considering his slow start. It's sad seeing a player as dominant as Pujols was fall from prominence as Pujols' average, On-Base percentage, and slugging percentage have all decline each year for the past three seasons. But even so, he is a lock for about 30 long balls and 100 driven in barring injury, of course. Pujols' stats may go down, but his name remains the same, so he could be a prime candidate to trade come midseason if he is still on his mediocre pace. There is a least one player in every fantasy league who truly believes Pujols will break back out at some point, so find that person, and see if you can work something out.
Edwin Encarnacion, 1B, Toronto Blue Jays: Hot Batter
Encarnacion blasted a 3-run homer, his 14th of the year, yesterday to help the Jays rout the Braves, 9-3. He finished the game with 5 RBI, pushing his season total to 43 and giving him 13 in his last 10 games. For most of his career, he was known as a guy who had promise, but never panned out. Last year, everything finally clicked for him, and he has essentially been on fire since then, hitting 42 big flies in 2012 and already double-digits in 2013. He started off very slowly as well, hitting just .200 through 20 games with two HR and eight RBI, but since then, he has hit .292 with 12 HR 35 RBI in 31 games. Toronto has suffered some injuries, losing Jose Reyes, Brett Lawrie (who has since come back, but not strong) and Josh Johnson, so they need all they can get from Edwin, who turned 30 this year and has quickly turned into a very nice fantasy option, even for the talent-filled first base position.
Jason Hammel, SP, Baltimore Orioles: Slow and Steady Wins the Race
Hammel collected his seventh win of 2013 last night against Inter-League rival Washington, giving up just two runs on eight hits and no walks. After hitting a rough patch in early May (17 ER in 14.2 IP), the veteran right-hander has bounced back nicely in his last two starts, earning the victory in both and helping the reeling Orioles get back on track. Now he doesn't have pretty statistics (4.98 ERA and 1.46 WHIP), but he doesn't walk a crazy amount of people, which helps him minimize damage most of the time. Whether people like it or not, Baltimore is a good baseball team, and as long as they continue to hit, it makes Hammel a great source of wins, innings, and quality starts, if your league uses that statistic. He is currently owned in just 43 percent of Yahoo! leagues, so he is readily available if you need a pitcher. He was a solid options in 2012, posting a 3.43 ERA in 20 starts, and with every Oriole seeming to get progressively better as the season goes on, expect Hammel to settle in and continue to put together quality starts for his ball club.
Jose Valverde, CL, Detroit Tigers: Back to His Old Ways
The Tigers closer tossed a scoreless ninth to secure Detroit's 6-5 win over Pittsburgh. The save was Valverde's 6th of the year opposed to only one blown save. He started the year without a job, but after none of the Tigers late-inning options panned out, enter Valverde, who has giving up a run in just one of his 12 appearances and is sporting a pretty 0.75 ERA so far in 2013. Even more impressive, is that he owns a WHIP of 0.58 (3 hits, 4 walks in 12 IP). If you are letting a batter reach base every other inning, you are going to close out almost every game you pitch. Most of the time closers are snagged as soon as they get the nod because of how important saves are in every league, but in more than quarter of Yahoo! leagues, Valverde is available. If you already own him, ride the streak, as the veteran reliever has caught lightning in a bottle for seasons at a time.
James Shields, SP, Kansas City Royals: Rough Start
Shields took the loss in last night's game versus St. Louis, surrendering six earned over six innings of work and marking his fourth straight decision in which he has lost. He walked five batters as well as giving up 9 hits, so this start could have been even worse if he didn't work out of some early trouble. Kansas City starting the season nicely, but like in recent years, is faltering quickly. He hasn't picked up a win this month, which has to be killing owners considering his ERA is sitting at 2.96 and he only has two wins. Reminiscent of Cliff Lee's early season woes last season, simply put, Shields is getting no run support. In five May starts, KC has scored only eight runs with their ace on the mound. The good news is that Shields hasn't struggled to adjust to a new team, new catchers and a new stadium. As long as he continues to pitch like he has been, the wins will eventually come. Owners be patient because its only a matter of time before Shields rattles off four or five wins in a month.
