We've reached that time of the season when fans vote for who they would like to see play in the All-Star Game. Now clearly the value of a player in real baseball can be quite different from his worth in fantasy baseball. You didn't come here for advice on how to fill out your All-Star ballot, though. Accordingly, let's see which players have been the fantasy All-Stars in the RotoAuthority League. As usual, it's not about overall production but rather profit relative to the investment.

Catcher

Evan Gattis

Owner: Forty 2 Twenty 4

Investment: Free Agent Pickup

Current 5 X 5 Value: $17

First of all, Gattis is the best story of the season from a human interest perspective. In the far less significiant world of fantasy baseball, he's also the leader among players with catcher eligibility in both HR and SLG. He came out of the gates on fire in April and then continued with a solid May. He's struggling thus far in June and no longer playing everyday with both Brian McCann and Jason Heyward back from the DL. Still, it's all gravy at this point, as this is a player who went undrafted in most Mixed Leagues.

First Base

Chris Davis

Owner: Gramma Nutt Crushers

Investment: 12th Round pick

Current 5 X 5 Value: $40

Who knew Miguel Cabrera would be available in Round 12 of fantasy drafts this year? Well, Crush Davis has been the closest thing to Miggy, and he came at a fraction of the cost. With better plate discipline and improved performance against southpaws, Davis is now a fantasy monster. To me, this looks completely legitimate, and I view him as a top ten player going forward. Say hello to a new member of Round 1 in 2014.  

Second Base

Matt Carpenter

Owner: Say It Ain't So Cano

Investment: 21st Round pick

Current 5 X 5 Value: $21

Second base has been somewhat of a wasteland in fantasy baseball this year. Case in point, Daniel Murphy has actually been a top-8 performer at the position even though his numbers don't really jump off the page. The same can also be said for the most profitable player at the position, the versatile Carpenter. Many fantasy pundits recommended drafting Carpenter in the preseason and then waiting for him to attain eligibility at second. Well, any fantasy owners who followed that advice have certainly reaped the benefits. This is a player who is even better in real baseball and looks like a solid option at second base for the next several years.

Third Base

Josh Donaldson

Owner: Brewsterville Bruins

Investment: Free Agent Pickup

Current 5 X 5 Value: $21

Often in fantasy baseball there's wisdom in the masses, and the fantasy community can anticipate breakout performances even before they take place. Sometimes we're not so prescient, but breakout campaigns do make sense in hindsight during the winter. At other times, though, a player takes his game to a new level, and it's difficult to explain even after the fact. For me, Josh Donaldson is one such example. Here's a player my beloved Cubs once traded to acquire the injury-prone Rich Harden, so this isn't a player who comes with a particularly great pedigree. Even so, we're now in mid-June, and he lies just outside the top 5 at third base. What's more, all of this production has come from a player whom any owner could have had in a Mixed League in April.

Shortstop

Jean Segura

Owner: Reedy

Investment: 21st Round pick

Current 5 X 5 Value: $37

The top value at shortstop is also the best player overall. In a season in which stolen base totals are down dramatically, Segura offers a rare combination of power and speed at a relatively thin position. In fact, he's the only infielder with double-digit totals in HR and SB thus far. Like Davis, this looks mostly real to me. Don't expect Segura to be available beyond Round 3 next year in drafts.  

Outfield

Domonic Brown

Owner: Smell the Glove

Investment: 20th Round pick

Current 5 X 5 Value: $28

A post-hype sleeper that has paid dividends, Brown has rewarded any fantasy owners who still believed in his tools. It's rather challenging to figure out whether Brown is for real. After all, he has just 2 No Doubt HR on the season. Also, there's certainly more to plate discipline than taking a walk, but a walk rate around 6% coupled with an ISO near .300 does not seem sustainable. At this point, fantasy owners have already turned a tremendous profit, but here's one player whose second half will be interesting to follow.

Starling Marte

Owner: Forty 2 Twenty 4

Investment: 17th Round pick

Current 5 X 5 Value: $25

Another player whose speed has led to enhanced value due to the leaguewide decline in stolen bases, Marte may be on the verge of fantasy stardom. The key category for his value going forward will be in the BA department. The BABIP is a tad high but not unsustainably so for a player with his speed. If Marte's BA approaches .260, he's a good but unspectacular fantasy option. However, if this is a true .290 hitter, we have another fantasy stud alongside Andrew McCutchen in the Pittsbugh outfield.

Nate McLouth

Owner: Smell the Glove

Investment: Free Agent Pickup

Current 5 X 5 Value: $22

Like Brown, McLouth is another excellent find in the outfield for the current leader in the RotoAuthority League, Tim Dierkes. Here's a player with a truly odd career path. Following the 2008 season, this looked like a fantasy superstar. For several years then, McLouth was simply waiver wire fodder in Mixed Leagues. In the second half of last season, though, something may have clicked in Baltimore. Fantasy owners who speculated early on him in light of his hot start have to be more than delighted with his second-best total of 23 stolen bases in the American League. Even if he slows down going forward, that speed is especially valuable this year, so McLouth will hold significant worth all season long.

You, on the other hand, should do no such thing. There's no next year in fantasy (unless you play in a keeper league, in which case this advice has little to do with your situation), so deal away. Because it makes a much easier transition, let's shake things up and start off with some great prospects to trade away....

Trade Away (All Your Favorite Prospects)

I suggested nabbing Zack Wheeler last week--and I spent nearly half my yearly FAAB budget to get him on one team--so why am I telling you to deal him away now? I mean, he hasn't even gotten to pitch yet! The reason is that now could very well be the peak of his value. For every Shelby Miller, there are several Kevin Gausman's (Gausmen?). If Wheeler pitches poorly in his first start, his value drops by a lot, but right now he's still got that new-car smell, that untainted, sky's-the-limit, prospect essence. If you sell now for a proven commodity, there is a real chance that you undersell his value. And a real chance that you win the deal big. What you can get, though, is the safety of acquiring the kind of proven player that can't be found on the waiver wire. 

Like Wheeler, it would have been a safe (and usually advisable) play to deal Gerrit Cole before his first start: though Cole is a higher-level prospect, uncertainty still remains with any pitcher in their situation. Owners are obviously glad they didn't trade him, as his value has gone up. Now he's proven to be able to handle big league hitters. I bet there are plenty of leagues in which you can get a star caliber return for Cole right away. Most of you probably already know which owner to offer the trade to....

Yasiel Puig is another prospect like Cole, who might be able to fetch a serious return. His early success really might carry into continued great hitting...or it might not, or he might slump just in time to get squeezed out of the outfield when the better-paid Matt Kemp and Carl Crawford return from the DL. Sell him while you can!

Jurickson Profar is another sell-high candidate another prospect worth trading. I actually released him in one league the week before Ian Kinsler got injured. I'm not exactly kicking myself for that decision, though I certainly did at first. Profar may or may not be "ready" for the Majors, but he hasn't hit like it, and certainly not well enough to push Kinsler to the outfield. While Texas hasn't said what they'll do when their second baseman is back from the DL, don't be shocked if Profar wanders back to AAA. Fortunately, his name value alone might be enough for you to get a usable fringe starter in a trade.

I mentioned above that you don't want to make trades like these in keeper leagues, but you also shouldn't make them in another situation: last place. If you're at or near the top of your league, then it makes sense to deal upside for likelihood of usefulness. Even when you're in the thick of the pack, that strategy makes sense (though you might want to hold out for better return). But when you're at or near the bottom, you need upside. If you get offered one of these players, or most other prospects, in a deal (except Profar) try to swing a trade, and remember that teams higher in the standings can still benefit from low-upside returns.

Trade Away (BABIP Heroes)

Two players stuck out to me as BABIP-induced sell-high's. Sometimes when a player's high BABIP is inflating their numbers, you know that everyone knows it's a big fluke. Seriously, nobody's going to give you anything good for Jhonny Peralta. (But take it if they do!) Instead, high-expectation players with high-BABIP's look much better when dangled in trade. If I told you Joe Mauer would have a high batting average, and derive most of his value from it, would you be surprised? Of course not. But that doesn't mean you should expect him to keep the .410 BABIP that has led to his .332 AVG. Similarly, Freddie Freeman entered the year with high expectations. He's only hit six homers, but his .314 AVG mitigates the sting of lost power somewhat. Unfortunately, a .314 AVG isn't that high when you consider that Freeman's BABIP is .381. Deal both of these guys, while their averages make them look elite. 

Trade For

Troy Tulowitzki is making his annual trip to the DL, this time for 4-6 weeks with a broken rib. If you've got depth at short and Tulo's owner is reeling, regretting using a second-round pick on a player who's always getting hurt, try sneaking him onto your roster--even discounting the injured time, there's still every reason to think the slugger will remain the top at his position when the year is out. Another injured shortstop, Jose Reyes, is beginning his rehab. This seems like a good time to swing a deal for him--though be aware he may be slowed by his injury after his return.

Anthony Rizzo started the year slowly, then hit like crazy, and now he's been slumping again for a while. It's early in his career to call him "streaky," but if he is, a low point in the boom and bust cycle is the right time to make a move for him. Not only that, but a .269 BABIP is suppressing his numbers at least a little.

Manny Machado should be traded for if you play in a points league. Owners might be mystified why a player with a BABIP-inflated .316 AVG, and just five homers and five steals is among the league's best. They might anticipate a drop in his overall production. They might not know that he's got 30 doubles already. That's a crazy amount, putting him on pace for 72 two-sackers, breaking the all-time record, and netting you a ton of points. Even in standard leagues, it's a sign that his runs and RBI's are more solid than they first appear--though owners in these leagues will be hurt more by any drop in his BABIP.

Pick Up

Brandon Beachy is a pretty obvious add, as his rehab stint is nearly done and even the small chance that he can return immediately to his former glory is worth FAAB money, waiver claims, and whatever else it might take to get him on your team. Another obvious choice is Seattle catching prospect Mike Zunino. While Zunino might be with the big club for only a little while, expect him to stay if he hits at all well. If he's good enough for your fantasy team, he'll be good enough for the Mariners.

Josh Rutledge is the beneficiary of Tulowitzki's injury. Sent down after getting his shot earlier in the season, he's been slugging in AAA (which is sort of a given in Colorado Springs) and will have another month or more to prove himself against Major League pitching. Middle infielders with any chance for power are rare enough that he deserves immediate attention.

Remember Rick Porcello? Well, he's pitched rather well well in four games in a row, and six of the last seven, and is worth claiming for your team. If he's ever going to turn his talent into results, that time might be now. Hector Santiago was an add last month, then a drop, and now he's an add again. The strikeouts he generates are worth the lousy WHIP he'll probably give you. Finally, Erasmo Ramirez might be the next pitching prospect up to the big leagues with Seattle, and could be worth stashing. And maybe dealing when he does hit the Majors....

Brewers

Apparently, this is Sparta. Though closer Jim Henderson who, as his owners may remember, was filthy-dominant before his injury, is back from the DL, he's going to be seeing time in other innings for a while. This is a pretty normal thing, as teams like to see what their closers look like and let them shake off any remaining rust before handing them the ball with the game on the line. What isn't normal, though, is the team's reasoning for the decision to leave Francisco Rodriguez in the closer's role for the time being: K-Rod is just two saves from 300. (I told you this was Sparta.) Loving round-numbered milestones as we apparently do, the Brew Crew will let Rodriguez try to get to this one. Though they're being a bit coy with the details, it looks like Henderson will have an opportunity to get his job back after that, but we'll see. To be fair, K-Rod has pitched well enough. 

For now, owners should hang onto both pitchers, while we see how things shake out.

Dodgers

"Finally!" shouted everyone in the world not named Don Mattingly. Seriously, even Brandon League would have pulled himself from the closer's role before now. True, the Dodgers had plenty riding on using League as closer, but the latest meltdown was more than they could handle. After a while it does become pretty tough to justify using a guy with an ERA more than a point higher than his K/9 in the ninth inning while Kenley Jansen rattles around in the eighth. Anyways, though Jansen was already owned in most leagues, his ownership should jump to near 100%, because he could immediately be a top closer. No guarantees: I still suspect that Los Angeles knows worrisome things about his long-term health status, but that's just a guess. If he stays healthy, he should rack up saves, and he will rack up strikeouts.

Mariners

Ever have your boss tell you to come into her office and "talk about your role" at work? Yeah, that's what poor Tom Wilhelmsen is in for, according to manager Eric Wedge. I can't say what the result of that will be, but the former bartender has exchanged a strict menu of strikeouts for a open bar of runs scored. While the M's don't have a lot of other options in their bullpen, if Wilhelmsen keeps pitching like he has been, other pitchers won't have to be any good to be a lot better than him. I'm thinking my window for trading him has passed, but I'd still give it a shot. His ERA is still a respectable 3.77, so you may get something useful from an owner desperate for saves. If Wilhelmsen is tossed from the role, keep an eye on Carter Capps, who's struck out 34 batters in 28 IP this season.

Tigers

Before the season, everyone knew the Tigers weren't interested in re-signing Jose Valverde to close. And then nobody else seemed up to the job and nobody else wanted Valverde. It was a marriage of necessity; unsurprisingly, it's on the rocks at the moment. The closer's only blown three saves (he's had 12 chances), but he isn't striking people out (6.26 K/9), he's walking people (3.52 BB/9), and his xFIP is 5.01. In his latest blown save, Valverde didn't even start the inning--that honor went to Drew Smyly, to take advantage of the lefty-lefty matchup. The trouble is, you don't need to play matchups like that when you trust your closer. Though Detroit doesn't look ready to ditch Valverde for Smyly or anyone else, it's clear that the honeymoon period is over. If they do make a change, it wouldn't be a surprise to see a committee develop involving Smyly, Joaquin Benoit, and the rest of the pre-season's suspects.

Padres

Luke Gregerson just blew a save opportunity, but it looks like he and Dale Thayer will continue to see most of the opportunities in the current closer committee situation. That may not be for much longer, however, as Huston Street is rehabbing and may be just a couple appearances from a return to the Majors. As the replacements haven't really set the world on fire, I expect the Padres to get Street back into his role as soon as is viable. Of course, Street isn't the healthiest closer on the block, so I wouldn't drop Gregerson or Thayer until Street actually pitches a ninth inning.

Add-Vice

As I write just about every week, Jansen is a great add. Now he's an actual closer, so those in even the shallowest leagues should be picking him up, even if it means dropping a mid-level closer to get him. If you're a Wilhelmsen or Valverde owner--or if you're in so much need for saves that you could use some longshot speculative saves--try picking up Carter Capps or Drew Smyly. Also, don't forget about Rex Brothers or Vinnie Pestano as they fill in for Rafael Betancourt and Chris Perez, respectively.

Jake Westbrook, Michael Wacha -- The Cardinals draw the streamilicious task of facing the Marlins this weekend. Miami has actually made progress; thanks to the Mets they now rank 29th in the Majors in batting average instead of 30th! Fear not though -- their OBP and slugging are still in the cellar. While Mets fans lament trailing the Fish in any offensive category, fantasy owners can scurry to add one or both Cardinal right-handers. Wacha merits long-term ownership as opposed to just one stream, and he's still only half-owned on ESPN and Yahoo. Miami does have Giancarlo Stanton and Logan Morrison back, but the lineup still lacks punch.

Xavier Paul -- Paul hit his fifth homer Tuesday, all of which have come against right-handed pitching. Prior to that two-hit performance, Paul was hitting .288/.383/.462 against right-handers. He doesn't play against lefties and does his best work in Cincinnati, but he faces three right-handers in the next five days. The Brewers are in Cincinnati this weekend, and their staff has struggled with homers across the board.

Edwin Jackson, Scott Feldman -- Feldman is more widely owned than Jackson but is still out there in roughly half of Yahoo and ESPN leagues. Both north-side hurlers are facing the aforementioned Mets this weekend, which brings good news and bad news. The bad news is that Ike Davis isn't in the lineup anymore. The good news is that he'll be replaced by some combination of Josh Satin and Colin Cowgill (with Daniel Murphy moving to first and Jordany Valdespin playing second when Cowgill plays). The Mets are averaging 3.1 runs per game this month, and while Jackson's 5.76 ERA is scary, his 3.39 FIP and 3.59 xFIP are nice and inviting.

Cody Ross, A.J. Pollock -- Both Arizona lefty mashers get the Padres' dynamic duo of Eric Stults and Clayton Richard this weekend. Ross is hitting .404/.439/.596 against lefties, while Pollock is at .275/.298/.563. Stults hasn't pitched terribly poorly, but those are solid numbers against lefties for both (more in the power department for Pollock). Richard, on the other hand, has basically turned every player who's faced him this season into Miguel Cabrera.  Opponents are hitting .315/.384/.614 against Richard, and right-handed hitters are batting a silly .336/.406/.686 against him.

Adam Dunn -- Don't look now, but Big Donkey's on another homer bender, and he's facing the Astros again this weekend. I don't think this recommendation necessarily needs any more explanation, but I'll add that Dunn is hitting .300 with five homers in his past nine games. That includes this four-hit bonanza with two homers. It's unclear if the fog, the camerawork, or the fact that Dunn hit the ball all the way to the moon is the reason that you can't see where his first homer lands. Oh, and his first post-Astros opponent will be Mike Pelfrey.

Scott Kazmir, Corey Kluber -- Kazmir falls into the "Let's try this again" category after Scott Diamond managed to get lit up by baseball's most southpaw-friendly offense last weekend. Kazmir's punching out a batter per inning with respectable control in the AL, and the Nats are still hitting .210/.276/.310 as a team against lefties. Kluber is clearly an alien from another planet who has sucked the talent out of Matt Cain and made it his own (you've seen Space Jam, right?). His 3.40 FIP is identical to Cain's from last year, and he's averaging nearly a strikeout per inning and just 1.9 walks per nine innings. Washington's .242/.296/.396 line against righties doesn't scare me -- particularly with Bryce Harper still on the shelf after being bested by an inanimate object in Los Angeles.

This week's Jeff Baker watch shows that he'll face off against Mark Buehrle on Thursday. Baker is hitting .386/.491/1.000 against lefties and went 1-for-3 with a homer against Buehrle last week. That split is the goofiest baseball line I've seen since I hit .424 and broke the single-season hits record with Hank Blalock in my MLB '06: The Show franchise seven years ago (yes, that happened). No one has more homers against left-handed pitching, and my love for him knows no bound. The Jeff Baker Experience must be felt before it can truly be comprehended.

And he will get hurt again.

The guy makes Pete Rose look like Charlie Slacker. He probably hustles around the locker room. He probably hustles at the grocery store. He probably hustles in his sleep. He clearly hustles at the barber since they only have time to cut half his hair. The guy is going to hustle himself right onto the DL many more times in his career unless he can learn how to play smarter. I mean, what the hell was that play in right field at Dodger Stadium? That was bizarre at best and absolutely stupid at worst.

Now is the time to sell him, because even though he’s on the DL, you could still get great value for him, like a Cespedes-type or maybe even a package for a couple of 2nd-tier players. If Bryce comes back later this month and then gets hurt again, his value will be nil this year. You’ll just be stuck with him. So you might as well get what you can now (or as soon as he returns from the DL). You’ll be glad you did. Bryce will learn to play smart eventually, but it doesn’t look like this is going to happen anytime soon.

Cole Hard Cash

Gerrit Cole

When Gerrit Cole was the number one draft pick in 2011 and get a record $8 million signing bonus, expectations were high. Cole met and exceeded those expectations on Tuesday, when he went 6.1 IP with 7 hits, 0 walks, 2 ER and 2 K’s. Watching him blow away hitters with an effortless 99-mph heater was a thing of beauty. Cole’s strikeouts were down in the minors this year, but that was possibly done on purpose to throw fewer pitches in an effort to conserve his arm. For a guy who regularly flirts with triple-digit fastballs (he’s been clocked as high as 102 mph), I’m not too worried about the strikeouts. The K’s will come. Cole will most certainly have his struggles this year, but he looks like he’s going to live up to the pedigree. He’s an obvious buy in keeper leagues, and I’d certainly grab him in re-draft leagues too to see if he can keep it up. Hell, the guy even had a 2-run single in his first career AB... stick him in the Utility slot!

We Bought a Zunino

Mike Zunino

Baseball’s top catching prospect after Travis D’Arnaud got the call and went 1-for-4 in his first game yesterday. His hit looked good, a rip up the middle on an 0-2 fastball. The guy seems pretty beastly, but I’m kind of skeptical that he’s going to come up and immediately produce. He was striking out a 28.4% clip in AAA this year, not to mention the terrible lineup in a pitcher’s park. I grabbed Zunino in a couple leagues - if he starts out hot I’m going to sell, sell, sell. His power is real (he kinda looks like Mini-Gattis), but his promotion seems a tad early and there’s no telling how long he’ll even be up for.

Separate the Wheat from the Jaff

Jaff Decker

With Cameron Maybin hitting the DL again, the Padres called up prospect Jaff Decker to relieve Quentin, Denorfia, or Blanks in the Padres outfield and/or Jesus Guzman at first base. Decker has sneaky 20/20 potential and a great batting eye - even though he was hitting a paltry .251 in AAA this year, his OBP was .370. Decker is definitely worth throwing a couple bucks at in OBP leagues, particularly NL-only. Who knows? Maybe he’ll return to his 2011 ways when he hit more than 20 bombs and swiped 16 bases.

Drop It Like It’s Cold

Tony Cingrani

* Wade To Go.  Wade Davis' transition back to starting pitching hasn't exactly gone smoothly, as the right-hander has been rocked to the tune of a 5.66 ERA through 12 starts.  This said, I'm recommending Davis as a very stealthy fifth starter option for the remainder of the season since man, his bad luck has to eventually turn around, right?  Davis' .391 BABIP is the highest among all qualified starters and only five hurlers have a higher HR/FB rate than Davis' 17.2% mark.  That homer rate is almost twice Davis' career 9.8% HB/FB average, by the way, and it's even more perplexing given that the righty has just a 28.6% fly ball rate overall.  Davis has a 40.6% fly ball rate for his career, so he should be celebrating his newfound ability to keep the ball down were it not for the fact that a stunning number of those flies are turning into big flies.

Davis' advanced ERA metrics still aren't very pretty (4.76 FIP, 3.99 xFIP, 4.20 SIERA) but those numbers and his real ERA should all drop as his calamitous home run rate comes back to earth.  Even if you're in a deep league, Davis is probably available and might not be a bad pickup if you have a rotation spot to fill due to injury or lack of performance from one of your current starters.

* There's A Will, But Maybe Not A Way.  Josh Willingham has been an underrated fantasy weapon for the last couple of seasons but he's been a bit of a letdown to his owners in 2013.  Willingham had 10 homers and a .215/.361/.421 line heading into Tuesday's play and he's seen his ownership in Yahoo fantasy leagues slip to 69% as some managers have clearly given up hope that his batting average and general power numbers will rise.

A .262 BABIP is part of the problem but the bigger issue is that Willingham is simply not hitting the ball with as much authority as in recent years.  Willingham's line drive rate is down to 12.9%, well below his 18.8% career average, and his overall lack of pop has translated to more (cans of) corn --- Willingham's 22.6% infield fly ball percentage is well above his 12.8% career average.  He's still able to draw walks as regularly as ever, but now that Willingham is 34 years old, you simply have to wonder if he's finally hit his decline phase and that power won't come back.  I could see his average get back around the .250 range as his BABIP normalizes but to me, Willingham doesn't seem worthy of a starting position in a fantasy outfield at this point.  I'd bench him if you have a better option, or try to deal him before his power outage starts to extend to his seemingly okay home run totals.

* The No Homers Club.  This week's player whose performance can be expected to continue in a positive way throughout the season is Reds righty Homer Bailey.  While most weeks I use the advanced stats to indicate a guy's steadiness, I'm predicting Bailey will stay the course due to a couple of conflicting metrics that will eventually even themselves out. 

Let me explain.  Bailey has a 3.47 ERA that could be said to be unluckily high given his 2.56 FIP, 3.05 xFIP and 3.18 SIERA.  He has an even 83 strikeouts in 83 innings, and while his 9.0 K/9 would be a career-best, it's not a massive jump given his 7.5 K/9 average over the last three seasons.  His BABIP (.301) and strand rate (69.7%) are both perfectly average, so Bailey should be due for even more success as the season goes along, correct?

Maybe not.  Bailey has a 49.8% ground ball rate, well above his career average of 43.6%.  He's also posting a career-best 0.43 HR/9, which is surprising given that his name is actually Homer for pete's sakes Bailey carried a career mark of 1.1 HR/9 into this season and plays his home games at the hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark.  The righty's luck in keeping the ball on the ground isn't all due to luck, as Bailey has made the two-seam fastball a much bigger part of his arsenal this season, but you have to wonder if the one pitch will be enough to override a few years' worth of habits.  Bailey's home run rate is bound to tick up, which will in turn elevate his FIP/xFIP/SIERA numbers and leave him with....probably somewhere around a 3.47 ERA.  So this is a very roundabout way of saying that you can expect more of the same for Mr. Bailey.

* Corb Your Enthusiasm.  Well, you knew it had to happen sometime, but Patrick Corbin has finally made an appearance in this column.  His 9-0 start with a 1.98 ERA would've made him the talk of the town back in 1995 but with today's newfangled advanced metrics, we can see that Corbin isn't quite as his record indicates.

First, the good news.  Corbin is, in fact, a pretty good pitcher.  His strikeout and walk numbers are roughly the same through his 34 career Major League games (7.2 K/9, 2.2 BB/9) as they were over his 80 career minor league games (8.4 K/9, 2.3 BB/9), so it seems like you can count on Corbin to deliver a decent amount of punchouts without doing much to hurt his own cause.  If you drafted Corbin, you obviously didn't take him as your staff ace, so the fact that he's delivering his good numbers out of your fifth rotation spot is tremendous.

That said, Corbin will likely start pitching like a fifth starter sooner rather than later.  His 3.10 FIP, 3.82 xFIP and 3.83 SIERA indicate that his ERA is going to eventually take a jump, likely once his super-high strand rate (84.1%) and low BABIP (.258) normalize themselves.  Corbin has been pretty decent at keeping the ball in the park over his pro career but I think we can all agree that a 23-year-old who pitches at Chase Field is probably not going to keep up a 5.1% HR/FB rate for an entire season, eh?  You're not going to hurt yourself in the long run by keeping Corbin on your roster, but you might explore a trade and let one of your rival fantasy owners deal with Corbin's inevitable regression period.

Editor's Note: Mark's prediction that Corbin would start pitching like a fifth starter was made before his most recent performance. This editor's fantasy team is paying for that.

It's been awhile since we examined some of the trades in the RotoAuthority League, so let's take a look at some of the recent action.

05/21 - A Century of Misery trades Matt Wieters to Yu at the Animal Zoo for Victor Martinez, Andrew Bailey, and Junichi Tazawa

Our first trade today is the only one involving my squad. I've been playing from behind all season long in the saves category after leaving the draft with just one closer, so my main objective in accepting this offer was to acquire the highly skilled yet often hurt Andrew Bailey. While Victor Martinez has struggled this season, he only sits during interleague road games for the Tigers. He's begun to heat up recently, so perhaps he can begin to turn around this disappointing season. Oddly enough, I actually view Matt Wieters as a nice Buy Low target, but I desperately needed the saves. Overall then, I was willing to downgrade at catcher in order to address a need. 

05/27 - Yu at the Animal Zoo trades Felix Hernandez, Starling Marte, Justin Morneau, Gerardo Parra, Marco Scutaro, and Brandon McCarthy to Forty 2 Twenty 4 for Edwin Encarnacion, Norichika Aoki, and Ben Zobrist

As you'll see shortly, Yu at the Animal Zoo has been very active over the past few weeks. In this particular trade, this owner sought to consolidate some pieces on his second-place roster. Given that Yu at the Animal Zoo currently leads every pitching category except saves, he can certainly accommodate the pitching needs of Forty 2 Twenty 4. If we try to break down this colossal deal, Felix Hernandez and Starling Marte for Edwin Encarnacion and Norichika Aoki seems pretty fair. I actually prefer Edwin to King Felix by a hair, but the added power-speed production from Marte over Aoki offsets that edge. One can make the case that the remaining pieces that Forty 2 Twenty 4 received are all replacement level to slightly above so in 12-team mixed leagues. If you don't own Ben Zobrist, you might assume that he's in the middle of another solid fantasy season. In reality, however, he enters today with just 4 HR and 4 SB; this is a player who seems to have more name value than actual value at this point. In summary, Forty 2 Twenty 4 improved his staff while Yu at the Animal Zoo beefed up in power. 

05/29 - Say it Ain't So Cano trades Angel Pagan to Philly Cheez for Rafael Betancourt

Sometimes both teams improve in a trade; at other times, there is a clear winner. Still other times, though, neither owner improves his roster as a result of a deal. At least to this point, this trade falls into that last category. After all, both players have gone on the DL since the transaction. I actually liked the trade at the time for Say It Ain't So. While Angel Pagan is undervalued just about every year, there are outfielders on the waiver wire who can contributely reasonably close to the production that he provides. Rafael Betancourt is nothing special among closers, but acquiring a closer for a low-end outfielder is more often than not a good move. Ultimately, though, any analysis of this deal is incomplete until we know when each player returns from the DL. One thing that Philly Cheez may have had in mind is that Betancourt is a free agent at season's end, so he seem very likely to be dealt at the deadline. Rex Brothers may very well hold that job all season long.

06/06 - Smell the Glove trades Steve Cishek and Josh Johnson to Forty 2 Twenty 4 for Brett Lawrie

The league's current leader, Tim Dierkes's Smell the Glove, recently got roster-crunched and made this trade to acquire an injured player instead of being forced to drop either Steve Cishek or Josh Johnson. For Forty 2 Twenty 4, this trade make sense, too. While the Marlins are certainly miserable, Cishek does still seem to be the go-to guy for saves, so adding another closer never hurts. Johnson, meanwhile, is exactly the type of high-variance player that owners near the bottom of the standings should seek to acquire at this point. Along those same lines, it's worth pointing out that Dierkes wisely chose to make a deal with an owner who's currently not a direct competitor in the standings. Moreover, Forty 2 Twenty 4 may be able to pass up second-place Yu at the Animal Zoo in the saves category, so there's an added benefit here for Smell the Glove. This is an often neglected element in the game theory behind fantasy baseball.

06/07 - Yu at the Animal Zoo trades Heath Bell and Adam Dunn to Men With Wood for Sergio Romo

Here's a trade in which we have one owner clearly putting his money on sabermetrics with another content to simply acquire the best player in the deal. Over the past several seasons of competing against Men With Wood, it's been easy to see that this owner appreciates the advanced metrics. Here's yet another example. Adam Dunn enters today with the lowest BABIP among all qualified hitters in baseball. Now we should never expect Dunn to post a league-average BABIP given his propensity to hit the ball in the air. Even so, we should anticipate that he'll receive better fortune going forward. Heath Bell, meanwhile, may be one of the top closers to target via trade at this point. The old veteran seems to still have the perception of the poor reliever that he was for the past couple seasons. In reality, though, the skills are stellar this season. In fact, there's very little difference in his peripherals and those of Sergio Romo this season. Another factor to consider in this trade is that Men With Wood is already in last place in AVG, so perhaps this is the first step in a strategy to punt the category. 

06/08 - Yu at the Animal Zoo trades Michael Morse and Jarrod Parker to Brewsterville Bruins for Jim Johnson

Here's yet another trade for the hyperactive Yu at the Animal Zoo. Just like in the previous deal, he acquired a closer. In this deal, though, he didn't give one up in return. After a hot first week of the season, Mike Morse has cooled down considerably. Quite the contrary for Jarrod Parker, who was rocked the first month of the season but has slowly begun to turn around his season. Jim Johnson is a player whom the fantasy community has maligned so much so that it may have gone too far. Say what you will about his strikeout rate, but he keeps the ball in the yard. More importantly, with full support behind Manager Buck Showalter, Johnson has one of the longest leashes among closers, in spite of his mediocre skills. That being said, the Bruins could certainly afford to move the closer, as this squad leads the saves category. Overall then, this trade appears to have bolstered both rosters.

06/08 - Smell the Glove trades Michael Pineda to Philly Cheez for Chris Perez

Just yesterday, it appears Dierkes landed a closer on the cheap. Both Michael Pineda and Chris Perez are expected to be back some time around the end of this month. In the case of Pineda, however, he's coming off very serious shoulder surgery, so there could always be a setback. One would expect Perez to resume closing duties soon after he returns from the DL. He was the one and only closer for Philly Cheez, so at this point this owner is clearly punting the category. Given that Philly Cheez resides near the bottom of the standings, there's some incentive to try to catch lightning in a bottle with a player like Pineda. Still, kudos to Dierkes for actively seeking out a trade and acquiring a closer at a very reasonable price.

Biogenesis Scandal

By now, you've probably heard more about this scandal than you care to, and--unlike the witch-hunting masses--your main worry is probably about whether your fantasy stars will be suspended and for how long. You're probably wondering what to do with players like ****** and ****, let alone *******. That's right--I didn't include their names! Why? Because none of the players involved has yet been proved guilty of anything, and none of them need their reputations tarnished by me any more than already has been. But I also need to provide useful fantasy advice, so I'll take the via media of linking to an article that mentions the players you should be concerned about. Among them are superstars, minor leaguers, rookies, veterans, and just about everyone else. 

Who will be suspended and for how long? I can't say. How long will the process take? Still don't know. Will players who've already received PED suspensions get more punishment? Tough to say, but the one bet I wouldn't make is for this process to be carried out in a way that's transparent or fair. Maybe I'm overly pessimistic about MLB's anti-PED unit, but that seems the safest route to me. While the players implicated haven't failed tests, they don't need to to get suspended. Many are mentioned by name in Tony Bosch's ledgers, but others are in by code name or mere association. It might be worth mentioning that Mr. Bosch has plenty of incentive to roll on Major Leaguers, the bigger the names, the better. More worrisome for owners is the report that MLB has" tons of witnesses" to corroborate the allegations. (Report from RotoAuthority alum, Mike Axisa.)

What to do if you own these players? I own several across a few leagues (though I did shy away from most during drafts), and I'm standing pat. Right now will be a very difficult time to trade these guys, because your leaguemates will be watching as much ESPN as you, and you aren't likely to get much value from them if you shop them. Trading for them doesn't seem like a great strategy either, as you may be paying for useless assets. If you want to shoot off some lowball offers, go for it, as the strategy could pay off big, despite a low probability of success. By the same token, if someone offers you, say, 70-80% value on a big-name player, make that trade and hope for the best. And, of course, keep following along with the news to see what happens next.

One guy you might not have to worry about--and whose name I don't mind mentioning--is Gio Gonzalez. Reportedly, he is mentioned but exonerated by the evidence found at Biogenesis, having only purchased legal and unbanned substances. Good news for Gio owners. If you happen to find yourself looking at a good deal for him, pull the trigger.

A final thought is that the suspensions handed out may be lengthy--perhaps 100 games, perhaps more--but they will probably not include lifetime bans. This may be a great opportunity to get quality players on your keeper roster for a low price--especially if you're already out of contention this year. Note that this is a pretty long-term plan, as some of the repercussions of the scandal may last into next season.

The most important thing to do is not to panic and make a bad deal, as any suspensions handed out may take a long time to end up happening--others may not happen at all.

Struggling Shortstops

Most shortstops are bad fantasy players--we all know this. That's why we spend so much auction money or used high draft picks to get the few who can hit. This year, not only are several injured (Jose Reyes, Derek Jeter, Asdrubal Cabrera), most of the other top choices have been pretty terrible.

Ben Zobrist
After putting up consecutive 20-HR seasons and enjoying Swiss-Army position flexibility, Zobrist was one of fantasy's hottest commodities going into the season. He's on most of my fantasy teams, making me glad that I decided to diversify and stay away from him in my final draft of the season. His slugging is down over .100 points, as he's hit just three homers. His batting average is down significantly, despite a BABIP in line with his career norms. His LD% is down and his HR/FB rate has absolutely cratered. The only good news is that his K%, BB%, and OBP haven't taken big hits, but the Rays care more about those numbers than our fantasy teams do. While Zobrist might well bust out of his protracted power slump, his age might be catching up to him. He may only be 32, but he didn't break out until age 27. Late  success is often an indicator of early decline. Sell him if you still can.

Starlin Castro
Another well-hyped early-rounder, Castro was drafted a bit for the success he's already had and a lot for the success he was expected to grow into. He may still grow into a superstar, but maybe the fantasy community was a bit premature drafting him like he already was one. His steals are down, his homers are down and his low-walk nature has kept him from getting on base in spite of his low average. Like Zobrist, his BABIP isn't bad (it's a nearly-average .296). Compared to last year, Castro is hitting slightly fewer line drives, popping up less, and grounding out a bit more. It's tough to be sure why his average is struggling so much, but slumps are a part of playing baseball, especially for young players. He's a good (but not slam-dunk) candidate to improve, so I'd call him a cautious buy.

Jimmy Rollins
At 34, Rollins is a pretty old shortstop, but unlike Ben Zobrist, he came up to the Majors at a young age and had a strong peak as one of the game's top stars. His years have been pretty up-and-down lately, but last year was an up, with 23 homers and 30 steals. This year has not been so good, with just four homers and six steals, despite a batting average and OBP better than what he put up last year. At .293, his BABIP is the highest it's been since 2007, but his HR/FB is his worst since 2003. Shortstops aren't expected to carry power or speed into their mid-30's and it's entirely possible that Rollins' bat and legs have slowed down. Then again, he gave us that impression for all of 2010 and managed to bounce back. Still, I'd say he's a cautious sell.

I was going to talk about Ian Desmond next, but his recent homers put his numbers in a pretty decent place--enough to make him one of the better shortstops this season.

Good luck navigating this week's muddy waters--and pick up Zack Wheeler and Gerrit Cole  if you still can.

As for injured pitchers, keep Vinnie Pestano in for the aforementioned Perez, but Jim Henderson looks to be back as early as tomorrow for Milwaukee. In San Diego, Luke Gregerson seems to be the primary closer and Dale Thayer the secondary in a quasi-committee situation for Huston Street.

Why burn through the roundup so quickly? So we have the chance to take a look at the season's top saves-getters. As we continue into June, we no longer get to talk about hot starts and have to start thinking about good seasons. As the trading season begins, it might help to have an idea about which top closers are worth targeting if you need saves...and which ones you might want to deal away before things head south. 

Alone Above the Wreck

Jason Grilli: 22 SV
Grilli has been a beast this year. He was relatively unheralded coming into the season (this author may have made the mistake of alerting his father to Grilli; said father is now dominating their shared fantasy league), but had pitched seriously well in setup last year. It doesn't look like smoke and mirrors for Grilli, as his 1.01 ERA is actually worse than his FIP of 0.63. His xFIP is a bit of a downer at 1.92. If that isn't enough, he's rocking a 14.51 K/9 and has yet to allow a home run. Grilli remains a great investment going forward, though his rate of save opportunities is likely to go down--he's on pace for 59 of them. 

Mariano Rivera: 21 SV
The Best Reliever in Baseball doesn't have that name because he has the best season of any reliever very often, it's because he has that rare ability to always have one of the best seasons. This year is no exception so far. In fact, his purported final season is shaping up to be one of the best of his career. (Let's hear it for making sure I drafted him one last time!) His 2.26 FIP and 3.09 xFIP aren't as great as his 1.61 ERA, but his 8.06 K/9 and his amazing 0.81 BB/9 should do the job just fine. With the Yankees success, he should see plenty of save opps for the rest of the season, though, like Grilli, it will probably be at a somewhat lower rate than he has so far. Otherwise both these guys will be challenging the record. Rivera is a great bet for quality production over the rest of the year, but his trade value will be inflated due to his well-earned brand name. If you need saves, Grilli might come at a better (but still high) price.  

 You're Not as Brave as You Were at the Start

Jim Johnson: 19 SV
How are you among the saves leaders despite going through a stretch of blowing three in a row? Get a ton of opportunities, of course. Johnson hasn't pitched terribly bad (except that one stretch), and his FIP (3.71) and xFIP (3.54) are both better than his ERA. Moreover, his 7.71 K/9 is much better than what we're used to from him. Johnson is a decent bet for good production the rest of the way, but his non-saves numbers are far from elite. All it will take is a little rough luck--or even normal luck--and his saves total won't be elite either.

Joe Nathan: 18 SV
Nathan's resurgence continues, and Texas is giving him plenty of opportunity to lock down saves. His 8.88 K/9 and 1.85 ERA are excellent, but his 2.59 BB/9 rate might be contributing a little to his not-as-amazing 3.15 FIP and 3.75 xFIP. Though his is a strong candidate for continued success, his peripherals and the likely high trade value associated with his brand and strong team mean he might be an even better sell-high candidate.

Addison Reed: 17 SV
Until yesterday, Reed was all over the closers' leaderboards. I don't feel bad about setting aside his weird extra-innings performance, but then, I wasn't totally sold on his previous success. His 10.67 K/9 rate gives him more value in strikeouts than many closers, and his 2.29 FIP is markedly better than his 3.67 ERA (which his 3.56 xFIP thinks is spot-on). His 3.00 BB/9 is a little high, but not terrible. Now is far from the time to trade Reed, but his short track record of greatness suggests he's at least as good a trade candidate as a keeper.

Edward Mujica: 17 SV
Jason Motte was supposed to be one of the year's top closers, but instead we've got his third-in-line replacement on this list. Mujica has a nifty 1.67 ERA, with a very good 2.36 FIP and 2.83 xFIP. His 8.00 K/9 gets the job done, while his 0.33 BB/9 makes Mariano Rivera look wild. Pitching for the dominant Cardinals, Mujica is a great candidate for continued success. His owners probably know that, but make him a trade target anyway to be sure.

Craig Kimbrel: 17 SV
Kimbrel was expected to be the season's best closer from beginning to end, so I guess this counts as a disappointment. I'll say now that if his owner really is disappointed in his performance, you should jump on that with a trade offer. His 12.34 K/9 and 1.93 ERA put him with the game's elite. His 3.02 FIP isn't terribly optimistic, but his 2.39 xFIP looks plenty good. Expect him to continue in greatness as the season goes on, but his high draft position and name value will probably give him a high price tag.

 You'll Never Settle Any of Your Scores

Sergio Romo: 16 SV
Romo has been almost definitively serviceable this season. None of his stats are with the elite, but none show cracks in his armor either: 9.25 K/9, 1.11, BB/9, 2.59/2.45/2.97 ERA/FIP/xFIP. He rather epitomizes great-but-not-the-best. To me, that means Romo might make a high-quality trade target, as he may not be the best closer on his own fantasy team--or at least not the one who's seemed the best so far.

Aroldis Chapman: 15 SV
Like Kimbrel, Chapman has been a big disappointment so far. This is mostly because of the unreasonable expectations put on him (by his own incredible 2012 season). Chapman leads all closers with a 15.92 K/9, and he's doing it without walking people at rates like Carlos Marmol or Ernesto Frieri. Not that his 4.15 BB/9 is particularly good. His FIP (2.41) is a dead-on match for his ERA (2.42), while his xFIP is a tad better, at 2.29. Having underperformed huge expectations, Chapman might make a good trade target--but his owners are probably still able to enjoy the saves and strikeouts, so he'll probably come at a high price in most leagues.

Rafael Soriano: 15 SV
The Nationals were expected to be one of baseball's top teams, and Soriano one of the top closers. Though Sori has 15 saves, neither expectation has come to pass. Though Soriano has a solid 2.74 ERA, it comes with a mediocre 3.24 FIP, and a downright bad 4.16 xFIP. With just a 6.65 K/9, something seems to be wrong. Either trouble is coming, or Soriano will find his strikeout pitch again. For now, his solid saves and ERA stats make him a very good trade candidate...if you're dealing him away.

Tom Wilhelmsen: 14 SV
Wilhelmsen burst onto the scene from obscurity last season (a pretty common closer story, actually), and was highly regarded by many going into this year. Part of the reason he was so well-liked was the fact that he struck batters out in bunches last year. This season, not so much; he's got just a 6.49 K/9 rate. That alone is enough for me to shop him, but a 4.44 BB/9 and 4.24 xFIP should be enough to convince most everyone else. Sell him while you can, because he won't hold onto that 2.05 ERA much longer.

Well, that's what we get for having a slow news week. Hopefully your opponents don't look terribly far into the numbers when evaluating your upcoming trade offers. We'll look at some of the lower-level performers next time no closers manage to lose their jobs or endanger their careers with injury. Until then, don't forget to check out our Closer Depth Chart and follow @CloserNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute information.

Question #2: Are any of the guys below still unowned in your league? They’re are all likely to be called up this June. You can use this as a checklist; if any of these dudes are still out there, snag ‘em like a flyball and piss off all of your opponents:

Wil Myers (duh)
Zach Wheeler (double duh)
Oscar Taveras (he’s on the DL but should be owned anyway)
Gerrit Cole (has had some control issues but has the best pure arm in the minors)
Billy Hamilton (probably won’t be up for a while but will be a gamechanger)

Honorable Mention:

Christian Yelich (also on the DL but should still probably be owned)

Now onto some other goings-on around the minors:

Olt Is The New Young

Mike Olt

Nelson Cruz might be suspended because of the Biogenesis scandal, and Olt is probably the number one candidate to replace him. He struggled early in the season, but that can probably be chalked up to the vision issues that put him on the DL. Olt is a stud. Stash him if you have the room.

Seeing Reds

Pedro Villareal

Pedro was called up to make a spot start for Johnny Cueto and was promptly demolished by the Rockies. He can be ignored in all fantasy leagues. The man to own is:

Tony Cingrani

Cingrani should be up again soon. Cingrani was dominant in his first three starts this year (18 IP, 28 K’s, 1.50 ERA), then fell back to earth for his next three (15 IP, 13 K’s, 5.40 ERA). He has been more or less his same old self in three games in the minors since being sent down (lot of K’s but some control issues), and should be an asset to any squad for at least the next couple weeks... and maybe longer if Cueto’s injury lingers. Cingrani threw 78.4% fastballs when he was in the bigs earlier this year; maybe if he starts mixing up his pitches he’ll have more success.

Where In The World is Hector Santiago?

Hector Santiago

He’s not a prospect anymore, but Santiago is worth picking up in AL-only leagues now that Jake Peavy pulled a “Jake Peavy” and hit the DL yesterday for 4 - 6 weeks. He’s outperformed his peripherals (3.40 ERA, 4.43 xFIP), and he walks too many batters, but if you’re desperate for K’s, Santiago has been a strikeout machine the last two years, striking out more than a batter per inning. And after the series against the A’s this week, the White Sox face the Blue Jays, Astros, Twins, Royals, and Mets. Those matchups are all muy delicioso.

Erasmo Money, Erasmo Problems

Erasmo Ramirez

Also not technically a prospect (by 9 innings) but I’m mentioning him anyway. Ramirez was in line to be Seattle’s 3rd or 4th starter before the season began, but was out for the first couple months with an arm injury. He’s back in Double-A getting stretched out, and should re-join the rotation in the next few weeks.

Pros: Excellent control, lot of K’s, pitcher-friendly park, played well last year in the bigs, his name is Erasmo

Cons: Is coming off of injury, probably won’t win many games, not a lot of experience

While I try to think of another GoT-related fantasy team name (Brian Bannister Always Pays His Debts?  A Song Of Rice And Fiers?), here are this week's underrated and overrated advanced metric players...

* Wood Cutting.  Everything's coming up Milhouse for Travis Wood this season.  Not only does he have a 2.75 ERA, he also has two homers, including a grand slam against the White Sox on May 30.  You might say that Wood's really good and that the Cubs have found themselves a quality young arm, and while that might be true in future seasons, he's not quite there yet.  This Wood has a few termites.  His peripheral ERA measurements aren't good (3.62 FIP, 4.48 xFIP, 4.49 SIERA), he has one of the league's lowest BABIPs at .218 and he's only averging 6.25 K/9 against 3.00 BB/9.

Wood's strong start has boosted his fantasy stock to the point that he's owned in 71% of Yahoo fantasy leagues.  If you've got the southpaw on your team, start shopping him over the place and sell high while your can.  See if you can trick one of your fellow owners into thinking that Travis Wood is actually Kerry Wood and that we've time-traveled back to 1998.  Play a Ma$e album while you're negotiating, that'll do the trick. 

* Still El Hombre.  The good news is, Albert Pujols owners, your guy might be rope-a-doping us into another second half surge.  Sure, his 12.5% strikeout rate is on pace to be his highest since his rookie season and sure, he's swinging and missing at most pitches outside the strike zone than ever before and...wait, this is supposed to be the pro-Pujols item, right?  Overall, there's no escaping the fact that Pujols' contact rates are down from his career averages...but let's remember, those career averages are all pretty awesome.  He might not be vintage Albert anymore, but he should still be hitting better than .244/.313/421 with just nine measly home runs.  I lay the blame at his .245 BABIP and the Pacific air in Anaheim that's keeping his fly balls in the park.  This won't help ease the pain of those who picked Pujols in the second or third round this year, but if you just alter your perspective and think of Pujols as a second-tier first baseman from now on, his numbers will seem a lot better.  I'm predicting he'll still end up with around 30 dingers and a solid (if not Pujolsian) OPS.

* Mark Of Consistency.  It seemed inevitable that Nick Markakis would eventually end up as one of my weekly "he'll keep doing well" guys since Markakis is one of the more pleasantly stay-the-course players in the game.  He's never broken through into superstardom like the Orioles thought he would, but really, can you argue with a guy that keeps churning out .800 OPS seasons like clockwork?  "Markakis" is, in fact, the Greek word for "metronome."  (Editor's note: pure lies)  Markakis is hitting .305/.355/.445 with seven homers, 33 RBI and 34 runs though 259 PA and yeah, this is all basically in line with what he's done his entire career.  Even the advanced stats scream "nothing to see here" -- he owns a .307 BABIP and while his 7.7% K% is below his career average, Markakis' strikeout rates have been dropping every year since 2008. 

Markakis is almost underrated from a fantasy perspective since he's not a guy who does any one thing spectacularly well, yet his ability to do everything pretty well makes him a great asset; if Markakis is your second or third OF, you're in terrific shape.  If you have a tantalizing but unproven prospect or streaky player in your fantasy outfield, offer them to Markakis' owner in your league to see if he doesn't appreciate what he has.

* 4 8 15 16 23 42.  The LOST numbers aren't only a good intro to discussing Ian Desmond, but also to point out that Desmond has been pretty "lost" at the plate this year.  Ha ha, wordplay!  Like many in the Nationals lineup, Desmond has been an underachiever this year, following up his breakout 2012 campaign with a nasty .265/.298/.460 line.  This is where I point out that Desmond's HR/FB rate did jump up to 18.2% out of nowhere last season and that his current 11.1% rate exactly matches his career average, so perhaps we all got a little carried away in thinking that 2012 represented Desmond's new reality.

His walk (4.9%) and strikeout (23.5%) rates are a bit lower and higher, respectively, than usual....but only a bit lower.  Desmond is still something of an unpolished hitter and he has no easy out to remove himself from long slumps like this.  With a .318 BABIP, you can't even chalk his hitting up to bad luck.  It may just be that Desmond isn't quite yet the star we thought he was, and if you drafted him in your sixth-seventh round to lock up your shortstop position, you should probably start poking around for backup options.  Frankly, I blame the whole thing on the Teddy Roosevelt mascot.  It's pretty suspicious that basically everything has gone wrong for the Nats ever since Teddy won a race, eh? 

Tommy Milone, Jarrod Parker, Dan Straily, A.J. Griffin -- None of these A's hurlers are owned in more than 52 percent of Yahoo! leagues, and all will be facing a White Sox offense that is hitting .236/.288/.367 as a team. Those figures rank 27th, 28th and 29th, respectively. If you're hurting for pitching in fantasy leagues, you could do a lot worse than just streaming against Chicago and Miami.

Chris Carter -- Houston's first baseman has three homers in his past five games, and he's coming up on a particularly meek run of opposing pitchers. Carter will face Freddy Garcia, Miguel Gonzalez, Ervin Santana, Wade Davis and Luis Mendoza before the week is over. Santana's ERA may look nice, but he's averaging 1.5 HR/9, and Carter can rack up homers in bunches when he's swinging well. I've got him in three leagues right now, so I'll live or die by this recommendation myself.

Scott Diamond -- Diamond will line up against the Nationals on Saturday -- the lone team in baseball with a sub-.600 OPS versus left-handed pitching. Washington is getting Jayson Werth back, so that will presumably give them another weapon against southpaws, but I doubt if he's going to magically make them a formidable opponent for Diamond. His ground-ball rate is down a bit, but Diamond still has some of the best control in baseball, and as an added bonus they're playing in Washington, so he doesn't have to mess with a DH.

Chris Johnson -- The man with the most generic name in baseball is anything but generic against left-handed pitching. Johnson is raking against southpaws: .415/.448/.642, and as luck would have it, he'll face at least three lefty pitchers in the coming days. The Braves square off against Wandy Rodriguez, Chris Capuano and Ted Lilly in the coming days. Johnson, who's owned in about 30 percent of both ESPN and Yahoo leagues is a great short-term add.

Delmon Young -- I don't like advocating anything involving Delmon (unless it's watching this epic left field .GIF), but he's homered twice in the past week and is headed into a four-game series against the Brewers where he will face Wily Peralta, Mike Fiers, Marco Estrada and Kyle Lohse (who just gave up four HRs in a start against the Twins). It feels dirty, I know, but there are worse adds for short-term power/RBI assistance. Erik Kratz is another good Phillie to keep on the radar for this weekend series. He's 7 for his last 21 with a pair of homers and should start three of the four games with Carlos Ruiz on the DL.

Jordan Lyles -- Recommending Houston pitchers doesn't initial seem like a good way to endear myself to the audience, but Lyles has a 1.90 ERA over his past four starts -- one of which came against the Royals, whom he faces this weekend. Kansas City has struggled more than just about any team in baseball, batting .226/.273/.285 over the past week. Lyles held them to a run on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts in his last outing against them. Plus, Lyles isn't your standard journeyman like much of Houston's other pitchers. He's a former No. 38 overall pick who ranked 42nd on Baseball America's Top 100 list prior to the 2011 season. He's still only 22 but already has 273 big league innings.

David Murphy -- Murph still isn't owned in many leagues but he's hitting .292 with five homers over the past month. He also has the added bonus of facing the Blue Jays in Toronto this weekend. The Jays have the second-worst OPS allowed at home this season and the third-worst home ERA. They'll run out Mark Buehrle, Esmil Rogers and Josh Johnson this weekend. Murphy's a solid add, and really, his ownership totals should be higher than the current 28 percent of ESPN leagues and 18 percent of Yahoo leagues. And of course, with Buehrle on the mound, that means that Jeff Baker gets to face a lefty! Baker's still hitting .389/.500/.889 with five homers against lefties. Look out, Mark.

As we sit here in the first week of June, Tim Dierkes currently sits atop the RotoAuthority League standings with a nice round total of 100 points. Let's see how the Commissioner and founder of the league has been able to lead his squad into first place. 

In my recap of the league's draft two months ago, here's what I wrote about Tim's team, Smell the Glove:

"I’ve drafted with Tim for 5 years. I have a good feel for his general draft approach. He values positional scarcity and multi-categorical production, and this year was no different. After Round 5 Smell the Glove already had a player at each infield position. As usual, Tim also selected several hitters who should contribute across the board in David Wright, Ian Desmond, and Alex Rios. While the bulk of his offense reflects his basic drafting principles, Tim did chase upside late to fill out the bottom half of his offense more so than in years past with talented players who have yet to put everything together like Dexter Fowler, Pedro Alvarez, Chris Carter, and Domonic Brown. If there is a hole on this roster, it is the starting pitching. Jeff Samardzija, Derek Holland, and Lance Lynn all have some downside in the WHIP category with their shaky control. On the other hand, the strength of this roster lies in the fact that Tim has 4 legitimate closers. In a league in which it is a daunting task to grab a closer from the waiver wire, Smell the Glove has trading leverage. Overall then, I think Tim bounces back from his recent struggles."

Dierkes clearly entered Draft Day with a plan. After building a foundation of reliable multi-category producers, he embraced increasingly more risk as the draft continued. In addition, he wisely grabbed four closers, a true luxury in this league. I thought Smell the Glove looked strong on paper following the draft, but today it appears dramatically more so.

First of all, this squad has received expected superstar-level production from Robinson Cano, Buster Posey, and David Wright. In the early rounds the goal should be to return fair value, and each of those studs has certainly been worth the investment. As good as that trio has been, though, the best player on this roster thus far lasted until Round 8. One of the top Draft Day values, Carlos Gomez looks like a 3rd round pick entering 2014. 

While I had questions about Smell the Glove's staff, those concerns now look foolish in retrospect. Jeff Samardzija, Lance Lynn, and Derek Holland have all returned profits on their Draft Day prices. In today's game of a depressed run environment, it's more and more challenging to build a solid offense yet still reach categorical goals in pitching. The key, of course, is selecting the right starters, and Dierkes has certainly done just that.

As I said, unlike in years past, Tim chose to embrace risk at the end of the draft. Well, he sure is reaping the rewards today. Entering Monday, Round 17 pick Dexter Fowler is one of only four players with double-digit production in HR and SB. The other three such players include consensus first-rounders Mike Trout and Carlos Gonzalez as well as the aforementioned Gomez. The long-awaited breakout seems to finally be taking place for the talented Fowler. 

Let's end with a player whom if one were to describe as on fire, it would be the understatement of the year. Since the calendar turned to May, former top prospect Dominic Brown has been hitting like he came down from a higher league. With another HR on Sunday, Brown now has 13 HR in 116 at-bats since May 1st. While he did receive some hype this spring, nobody could have seen this type of breakout coming. It's a daunting task to acquire a player who can lead the league in HR outside the first couple rounds of a fantasy draft. Well, don't look now, but Brown currently leads the NL in HR. Somehow, my fellow leaguemates and I let him slip all the way to Round 20. Here's Exhibit A in support of those who annually recommend drafting post-hype sleepers.

That said, let's get to this week's recommendations.

Trade For

Much has been made of the struggles of a certain catcher named Montero--hitting around the Mendoza-line, getting sent down, having his #1 prospect status replaced with that of ex-prospect, getting sent down to the minors, maybe going on the DL--but what about the other catching Montero? Well, he's been pretty bad too, to the tune of a .206 AVG and a .291 SLG. Yeah, I had to double-check to see that those numbers belonge to the previously-dependable Miguel and not his Seattle doppelganger. What's up with Miguel? It's hard to say for sure, but a .246 BABIP sure isn't helping. In hitter-friendly Arizona, expect that number to go up. Meanwhile, it seems like a decent bet that when his luck materializes other things might start to fall into place, raising his HR/FB and his ISO back to their previous rates. All this means that Montero's owner might be ready to dump him cheap, and you might be able to get a decent catcher for a bargain price.

Speaking of Prices, how about David Price? He's been a pretty significant disappointment, and now his sitting on the DL. He still doesn't have a timetable for return (not a good sign), but he's played catch for a couple days in a row (a good sign). With an ERA of 5.24, his owner might be glad to get someone healthy and effective, but his FIP (4.05) and xFIP (3.53) suggest he's been a lot better than his results. If you've got depth, use it to go after Price.

Matt Cain has been inarguably awful this season, but despite his most recent poor performance, he's got some significant bright spots. First of all, his strikeout rate of 8.60 is the best of his career, while his 2.91 BB/9 has been worse before without hurting Cain too much. What have hurt him are the homers and the stranded runners. His HR/9 rate to 1.57 after staying below 1.00 in every other season of his Major League career. His strand rate is just 62.8%, much worse than his career norms. Something seems to be going on with the homers, but the strand rate can be chalked up to luck. When Cain makes whatever adjustment he needs to, expect everything else to fall in line. His FIP (4.52) and xFIP (3.87) are already a lot better than his 5.45 ERA.

Need some help in the middle infield? Check out J.J. Hardy: despite a low batting average (and correspondingly low BABIP), he's smacked 12 homers. If his .228 BABIP goes up much, he'd be one of the best at his position. Actually, considering the scarcity of SS power, he already is. If he's got an owner who doesn't know that, make a deal.

Trade Away

Zack Greinke sports a 4.80 ERA with just a 6.00 K/9. His FIP is more optimistic, at 3.50, but xFIP isn't so impressed at 4.23. Sure, things could be worse, but that's when we get to his 2.50 K/BB ratio: sure, it isn't bad, but it's his worst since 2006--a time in which his number was usually around 3.50. Perhaps most worrying of all, though, is that his velocity is down by at least 1 mph on all three fastballs listed by Fangraphs.com. Greinke's injury seems to be the split between him being effective and being smacked around badly. Maybe he's (still) just rusty and will find his groove and be fine. Or maybe the injury is lingering. How badly do you want to stick around and find out? Your safest strategy is probably to try swinging a deal for a decent quality player--like Price or Cain. If Greinke gets it figured out, good for him. If not, he'll be on someone else's fantasy team.

Of course, if someone takes this advice to the extreme and offers you Greinke for a backup OF, take the chance on Greinke....

Pick Up

Some weeks are all about the trades, but others are all about those free agent targets. This is one of those weeks. Rumors are swirling about an unusual number of prospects--and several are already up to the majors. There are different levels of team commitment to each prospect, so we'll examine each in his appropriate category.

In Majors, Job to Keep

Nick Franklin has displaced former-top-prospect Dustin Ackley in the Mariners' 2B job, and it will be Franklin's to keep unless he plays his way out of it. On the off-chance Seattle brings Ackley back up to the bigs, Franklin can slide over and play short, so playing time is very much his to lose. That said, he's not an impact prospect so much as a pretty good one, so don't go dropping a productive player for him.

Filling in for Now

Alex Presley wasn't hitting much at all, so Pittsburgh sent him back to AAA in April. He hit well for Indianopolis and went three for five for the big club on Saturday. How much chance he'll be given to stick has yet to be determined, but he's well worth the fantasy shot.

Jackie Bradley, Jr. had one of those unbelievable springs...and then showed us why we shouldn't have believed it in his first Major League week. He torched AAA after getting sent down, however, and now he gets a chance to fill in for Jacoby Ellsbury. The idea is that he'll got back to Pawtucket when Ellsbury returns, but if he really hits the ball, I bet the Sox find him at bats. Plus, Ellsbury isn't exactly the healthiest guy in the world.

Michael Wacha dominated the Royals in his Major League debut and should be getting regular starts for the Cardinals. If you've already missed out on Wacha, don't feel too bad: his AAA K/9 rate wasn't anything special, he'll be on an IP limit, and, well, it was the Royals. That said, pick him up! He's a high-quality prospect and the Cardinals are just about the best team to be a pitching prospect for.

Just Wait Till We Get There

Anthony Rendon is playing second base in the minors, which seems to spell impending doom for the struggling Danny Espinosa. Though he fell flat last time through, the top prospect could certainly do better in his second chance. Adding 2B eligiblity would be nice for the 3B prospect too. It can be hard to get a prospect in a deep league, so this might represent the last chance to get him for lots of us.

Yasiel Puig has generated a lot of rumors this year, but there hasn't been any room in the crowded (and struggling) Dodgers outfield. With Matt Kemp on the DL, we have our opening. It might be temporary, but if Puig does come up, and he does hit, are the disappointing Dodgers really going to send him back down? Don't bet on it. 

There are a lot of if's with Rendon and Puig, but both have the talent to provide a lot of fantasy punch if those ifs work out--they're well worth the risk.

Not a Prosepct, Just a Closer

Surprise! Huston Street is hitting the DL with a calf injury. While he may not be out long, it's still worth picking up Luke Gregerson for some saves in the meantime. Technically Dale Thayer could get some opportunities too, but Gregerson should be the top guy. 

Indians

Chris Perez hit the DL with "mild tendonitis" and will be replaced by Vinnie Pestano for the time being. Fantasy pundits have been recommending for the last couple years that Cleveland make this move, though Perez might actually have been outpitching his understudy this season. While Pestano claims to have found the mechanical flaw that has kept his velocity down (and his ERA over 5.00), Perez doesn't have a timetable yet. There's nothing to indicate that it will be a long DL stay...but nothing to assure us it will be short, either. Pestano is a good option, even as a short-termer, so he's well worth picking up.

Brewers

Just when Milwaukee fans thought they finally had their ninth innings locked down with Jim Henderson's sub-1.00 ERA he goes on the DL. Ouch. Literally, as he's got a pulled hamstring. So far, word is that it isn't serious and that the DL stint is mostly so that the team can't give into the temptation to rush him back. I don't blame them: their fill-in options don't inspire much confidence, unless you believe John Axford's got the magic back from 2011 or Francisco Rodriguez does from 2006. The Brewers say they'll do the committee thing in Henderson's absence, but I'm betting that K-Rod gets the majority of the opportunities.

Rockies

We had a bit of a frenzy to add Rex Brothers last week, when it looked like Rafael Betancourt was going on the DL, but that ended up not being much of a thing. Of course, Betancourt immediately went and blew a save, but that doesn't change anything in the Colorado bullpen hierarchy, so don't get worried.

Update: Betancourt just hit the DL and Brothers will be taking care of the closer's duties. So pick him up if you still can.

Mets

Bobby Parnell didn't have much to worry about in the Mets' closing job, but now he has even less, as Frank Francisco is now on the 60-day DL. If you had stashed him in the hope that he'd come back and steal the job, it's time to let that dream die.

Cubs

Kevin Gregg should never be considered "one of the most secure closers," but he really is at this point. Not only has he been lights-out (weird), but Kyuji Fujikawa will be having Tommy John surgery, so there goes basically his whole Cubs contract. When manager Dale Sveum was asked what he thought about Carlos Marmol closing again, he responded, "I hope not." So he's not likely to threaten Gregg's job.

Dodgers

Brandon League looked just about ready to cede his job to, well, anyone else, not that long ago, but he's in better shape now. He's locked down five consecutive scoreless outings and is up to 11 saves. His overall numbers aren't awesome, but there definitely seems to be a desire to keep him in the ninth instead of Kenley Jansen--who hasn't earned a save in two weeks. So long as League is just good enough not to demote, expect him to keep his job. That probably goes for manager Don Mattingly too, which is good news if you own League. Any new manager could make an easy splash by changing closers. So hang on to League if you've got him, but Jansen is still too good and too close to the job not to be owned in all fantasy formats.

Rays

Fernando-mania 2.0 seemed ready to fizzle out for good with Fernando Rodney being so inneffective of late. He's now gone four straight scoreless outings (and three straight walkless) so things are looking up. His overall numbers are still ugly (5.40 ERA, 19 BB in 21.7 IP) but they weren't bad enough for him to lose the job before and they won't be now while he's on a hot streak. Sure, he may lose the job if he gets into trouble, but the Rays have a lot invested in keeping him installed in the ninth, as their other options are not inspiring. He'll be given the chance to right the ship, which is great news if you own him, as you've probably got a lot invested in him too. If he does falter, Joel Peralta is the most likely replacement.

Add-Vice

Vinnie Pestano is a must-add right now. While Chris Perez is probably not going to be out very long, you can never be sure. Plus, Pestano is a good enough pitcher that the Indians may decide that he's a better guy to have in the ninth anyway. Francisco Rodriguez is a good pickup too, as he's most likely to benefit from Jim Henderson's absence. Beyond those two, Joel Peralta is still a decent speculative guy if you don't believe in Rodney, and the strikeouts Rex Brothers generates make him potentially useful even if Rafael Betancourt stays healthy all season.

Clayton Kershaw (yes, he has the best career ERA of anyone who has pitched 1000+ innings):

107.2 IP, 4.26 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 8.36 K/9

Sandy Koufax (I combined his first two seasons):

100.1 IP, 4.13 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 5.38 K/9

Bob Gibson:

75.2 IP, 3.33 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 5.71 K/9

They all had control issues across the board. So the question is: why do we fantasy baseballers expect so much of young pitchers, when literally the greatest pitchers of all-time struggled when they first came up?  We shouldn’t. Matt Harvey and Chris Sale are the exceptions to the rule. Even Matt Moore, who was ranked side-by-side with Trout and Harper before 2012, struggled mightily with his control last year and failed to live up to our Harmon-Killebrew-pop-up-high expectations.  So I want to talk about Wacha and Skaggs, and I’m as excited about them as the next baseball-obsessed fan, but I urge you to temper your expectations. And if you’re choosing between rostering one of these guys and, say, a young stud hitter like Profar, Myers, or even Zunino or Yelich -- I’d always go with the hitter, especially in re-draft leagues.

Wacha Back

Michael Wacha

The Cardinals have the best farm system in baseball, and the mark Dave Duncan left on their young pitchers is indelible (before he left, he told Shelby Miller, “if anyone tries to change your two-seamer, call me”).  Wacha is the latest young Cardinal arm to be called up to fill the void left by Carpenter/Garcia/Westbrook/Gast. Wacha was fantastic during spring training and has been killing it on Triple-A to the tune of 4 - 0 with a 2.05 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. But the major red flag against Wacha (other than the fact he’s only a year out of college, obviously) is that he only has been striking guys out a clip of 5.81 K/9 rate. That’s not good. He has a plus-fastball and solid changeup, but his curveball needs some work (although he’s not afraid to throw it). He’s still worth taking a flyer on, but I’d only trot him out there against sub-.500 teams for a month or so to see how he fares... Remember, he only has 60 professional innings under his belt -- and he’s no Bob Gibson.

Skagg Reflex

Tyler Skaggs

Skaggs made his 2013 debut on Monday against the tough Rangers lineup, and absolutely dominated: 6 IP, 9 K’s, O ER, 6 baserunners.  Before the season began, many experts thought that Patrick Corbin would lose out on the rotation spot battle to Skaggs, the more highly-touted of the two. But Corbin has perhaps been the biggest surprise in baseball this year and isn’t going anywhere. Skaggs was called up to start a doubleheader, but showed that he’s ready to take the big step to the bigs after struggling during his cup of coffee last year. It’s only a matter of time before Skaggs will be up in the rotation on a more permanent basis, so he’s worth a stash if you have the room, especially in NL-only leagues.

McLovin: Every week I feature a player whose good performance can be believed since their peripherals are pretty normal, and last week I chose to highlight David DeJesus over Nate McLouth.  There was no particular reason behind my choice and I just figured I'd save McLouth for this week's column...and of course, then spent the week hoping that McLouth kept hitting.  There are few superstitions more powerful than the sportwriter's "oh, I'll save my story on him for later" curse, but thankfully, McLouth delivered yet another strong week and looks like an even better fantasy option than he did seven days ago. 

McLouth took a .289/.372/.434 line, 34 runs scored, 15 steals and four homers into Tuesday's action and looks all the world like the player he was during his fantasy heyday of 2007-09.  This doesn't mean there aren't a few outlier numbers --- his 11% strikeout rate is well below his 17% career average, his contract rates are all career highs, and he has a 1.45 grounder/flyball ratio when his career rate in that category actually swings in the other direction at 0.94.  This all said, the answer to those stats simply could be that the lightbulb has come on for McLouth in Baltimore, as he has a .790 OPS in 417 PA since joining the Orioles last season.  The stolen base has made a triumphant comeback to McLouth's arsenal and with 15 swipes already (in 16 attempts), he's on pace to smash his career high of 23 steals.  McLouth's OPS could drop 50 points and his speed would still make him a viable option for a fantasy outfield spot.  All that's left is if he avoids the dreaded "Mark Praised Him In A Column" curse that I seem to have bestowed upon Jason Heyward.

De Aza's Diz Asta: Hey, remember when I was talking about players you can give up on now that we're two months into the season?  Alejandro De Aza, come on down!  After posting a .291/.361/.435 line over 756 PA in 2011-12 and stealing 38 bases in the process, De Aza looked like a good bet to score runs and swipe some bags atop the White Sox lineup in 2013.  Instead, the Sox have been collectively terrible at the plate, with De Aza's paltry .243/.286/.411 line fitting right into this modern-day creation of the Hitless Wonders (minus the World Series title, I'm guessing).  De Aza does have seven homers this season after hitting just 13 dingers in his previous 973 career PA, but this minor power boost doesn't offset that otherwise ugly batting line.  It's not even a question of bad luck for De Aza, as his .302 BABIP indicates.  Five steals and a bit of extra pop don't make up for his shortcomings so if you've held onto De Aza for this long, it's time to give up the ghost.

Cain Is Still Able: Matt Cain has been disappointing a lot of owners who expected him to anchor their starting rotations but aside from a couple of troubling peripherals, he's still throwing the ball pretty well.  Cain's 5.00 ERA is much higher than his 3.94 SIERA or 4.08 xFIP, his K/BB ratio is in line with his career numbers, his fastball velocity is only down a bit (91.1 mph to 90.8 mph) from last season and really, if you just subtract two garish April starts against the Cardinals and Brewers from his record, Cain's real-life ERA would be pretty strong as well.

So what's the issue?  Oh, just the fact that Cain has finally marked by the home run demon.  Cain has allowed a league-leading 13 homers this season, leading to a 1.7 HR/9 rate that is more than twice his career average.  While it could be argued that Cain was due for some regression after years of getting somewhat lucky with his HR/FB totals (pitching at AT&T Park really helped in this regard), I would guess that Cain's gopher-ballitis is just temporary.  As his home runs rates normalize, so will his real-life ERA.  It would be pointless to deal Cain now since you wouldn't get nearly fair value for him, so buck up and keep him on your roster while he sorts himself out.  He hasn't given up any homers in either of his last two starts, for example.  And hey, compared to Ryan Vogelsong or Tim Lincecum, Cain's problems seem pretty minute. 

Gerardon't Get Too Comfortable: There are a lot of moving parts to the Diamondbacks' outfield situation but it's pretty clear that however Kirk Gibson chooses to juggle Jason Kubel, A.J. Pollock, Cody Ross and (when he gets off the DL) Adam Eaton, the one constant in the Arizona outfield will be Gerardo Parra.  Not only is he one of the league's best defensive center fielders, Parra has also broke out at the plate this year, hitting .307/.372/.460 with 32 runs scored.  Most importantly for Gibson, Parra also has a 94.8% Grit Index and a 3.02 Uniform Dirt/Hustle ratio, which are clearly more important than any mainstream sabermetric evaluation.

Anyway, Parra has long been a sneaky decent fantasy play against right-handed pitching, as he has a career .771 OPS against righties as compared to a .647 OPS against southpaws.  Those splits are even more pronounced this season, as Parra is hitting .262/.377/.292 against lefties and .328/.369/.540 against righties.  It's good that he's getting on base against everyone but his lack of power against left-handers, his career splits and his .354 BABIP tell me that Parra is due for a bit of a regression.  This would be a good time to sell high on Parra since while the D'Backs are comfortable playing him every day, he hasn't quite proven himself as a lineup fixture in fantasy leagues.

Roberto Hernandez, Shaun Marcum -- Hey look, more guys who are facing the Marlins! I'm not claiming that it's exactly a stroke of genius on my part to recommend streaming against a team that is hitting .222/.283/.317 as a whole, but it's as good a streaming strategy as there is. Fausto Car Hernandez throws on Wednesday with Marcum getting the nod on Saturday. Remember that Marcum hopped in his Delorean and dominated the Braves like it was 2008 in his previous outing.

Chris Tillman, Julio Teheran -- How the Nationals are the second-worst offensive unit in baseball is beyond me, but they are, and they're looking worse right now with Bryce Harper's immediate future in question. Really, both Tillman and Teheran should be owned in most mixed formats in my opinion, but they're both out there in more than 60 percent of Yahoo formats. The Nats have a .660 team OPS, but it'san even more dreadful .630 over the past week. Harper might be out. Danny Espinosa is playing through a broken wrist. Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos have two good hamstrings between them. Hey, maybe their offensive ineptitude isn't beyond me after all!

Erick Aybar, Alberto Callaspo, Chris Carter, Chris Iannetta -- Really, any respectable hitter from this weekend's Angels/Astros series is a decent play. The Astros' pitching woes are well documented (though at least Bud Norris is throwing this weekend), and the Halos are going to trot out a deteriorating C.J. Wilson as well as Joe Blanton.

Jeff Baker -- I'm contemplating starting a weekly (possibly daily) game show titled, "Is Jeff Baker Facing a Lefty?" On days when the contestant correctly answers "Yes!" they will be rewarded with boatloads of home runs and the second-highest wOBA in all of baseball against southpaws. Sorry to break it to you Wade Miley, but Baker's going to do his best to wreck your Thursday. If you're looking for a one-day pickup Thursday, Baker is your guy. He's hitting .382/.488/.882 with five homers in 41 plate appearances against lefties.

Tyler Chatwood -- Chatwood's been terrific this season, though only about five percent of fantasy owners seem to care. Granted, it's a small sample, but he's sporting a 1.90 ERA and 2.85 FIP through 23 2/3 innings. He's yet to allow a homer thanks to a 58.3 percent ground-ball rate, and he's facing the Astros on Wednesday. Houston may have ditched Rick Ankiel, but their 62 strikeouts rank eighth in MLB over the past week. Houston can actually mash left-handed pitching, but they rank 27th in OPS vs. righties. Chatwood should be able to muster at least a quality start.

Raul Ibanez, Michael Saunders -- Is there anything more exciting for a pair of lefties than squaring off against a struggling Kevin Correia and a Mike Pelfrey that (spoiler alert!) stunk from day one? Lefties are hitting .343/.385/.578 against Pelfrey. Ibanez is slugging .575 against righties. Plus, Pelf and Correia are only slightly more likely to pick up a strikeout this weekend than Brad Radke.

Michael Kickham -- This one's going out on a limb quite a bit, as a rookie making his MLB debut against the Cardinals is hardly an appealing matchup. But if you're desperate for a stream in a head-to-head league on Sunday or just feel like being reckless for the hell of it, Kickham's not the worst option. He's posted a 4.33 ERA in 54 Triple-A innings, but his FIP in the minors suggests a 3.39 mark would be more accurate. He's also averaged a strikeout per inning for Fresno and is facing a St. Louis lineup that has been quietly terrible against left-handed pitching (.641 OPS).

We're nearly done with the second month of the fantasy baseball season. Let's take a look at the current standings in the RotoAuthority League and see how they compare to the standings at the outset of the month. In this way, we can see which teams have risen or fallen the most in May. Changes in standings over the past month are provided in parentheses.

1. Yu at the Animal Zoo 96 (+9.5)

2. Smell the Glove 89.5 (-11)

3. Gramma Nutt Crushers 79.5 (+3.5)

4. Men With Wood 78.5 (-6)

5. Say It Ain't So Cano 71.5 (+17)

6. Reedy 68 (-2)

7. Brewsterville Bruins 66 (+24)

8. UP 61 (0)

9. E-Z Sliders 46 (-1.5)

10. Forty 2 Twenty 4 44.5 (-8.5)

11. A Century of Misery 40 (-19)

12. Philly Cheez 39.5 (-6)

The Brewsterville Bruins and Say It Ain't So Cano are the greatest climbers over the past month. First of all, the Bruins skyrocketed all the way from dead last in the standings to a current seventh place standing. If we take a look at the ESPN Player Rater over the past 30 days, it's easy to see just how this squad has shot up in the standings. For one,  Everth Cabrera has been nothing short of a fantasy monster this season, especially over the past month. Despite hitting just .258 in May, Cabrera has been a top-10 player this month thanks in large part to 12 stolen bases. The Bruins have also received superstar-level production from Adam Jones and Jose Bautista. Jones has clearly established himself as an elite fantasy outfielder following last season's breakout campaign. Joey Bats, meanwhile, has overcome some BABIP misfortune in April to post a ridiculous line of .383 / .490 / . 593 in May. To the surprise of most fantasy owners, Josh Donaldson has continued to hit in May,batting .341 with 5 HR. Lastly, it never hurts to have a closer who seemingly gets a save everyday without giving up a baserunner. Edward Mujica has been phenomenal since taking over the closer role for the Cardinals, and the rise of his fantasy stock has gone hand-in-hand with Brewsterville's storm up the standings. 

Say It Ain't So Cano has similarly benefited from stellar May performances to move up from eighth place a month ago to fifth place currently. When he's healthy, Carlos Gonzalez may very well be the best player in the National League from a fantasy perspective. Sorry, Ryan Braun fans. CarGo is once again displaying his rare combination of tools in hitter-friendly Colorado this season. Oddly enough, his May statistics are nearly identical to those from April, albeit with some added power. Plain and simple, CarGo is the complete package in this game we play. Next, while he may not get the attention of Robinson Cano, Dustin Pedroia, and Ian Kinsler,  Jason Kipnis has narrowed the gap between that triumvirate and himself. Kipnis did get off to a slow start in April, hitting .200 with a lone home run. In May, however, only superhero Miguel Cabrera has been a better fantasy infielder than Kipnis. The stud second baseman has filled up the box score with 7 HR and 5 SB to go along with superb counting statistics of 19 runs and 21 RBI. Finally, Patrick Corbin continues to be one of the season's top pitching surprises. If it seems like all he does is win, well it's because that's what he's done in every May outing. The remarkable thing about Corbin is that his peripherals in 2013 are quite similar to those in 2012. In fact, his SIERA has actually slightly increased from 3.71 to 3.75. Here we have a player who's witnessed a complete reversal in the batted ball department. It remains to be seen just how much of this is luck or skill.

On the flip side, I'm ashamed to admit that my squad has fallen the most in May. After sitting in the middle of the pack at the beginning of the month, A Century of Misery is now looking above just one team in the standings. There are all sorts of reasons why my team has plummeted down the standings, but it all starts with B.J. Upton. Arguably this season's most disappointing player, Upton has followed up an awful April with a miserable May. I'm usually reluctant to draft hitters with poor contact rates in the first few rounds of straight drafts, but thoughts of a 30-30 season alongside his brother in Atlanta got the best of me. It's no surprise that Upton has been the most negatively impactful hitter in the BA category. I continue to try to be patient, benching Upton and hoping that he'll get going soon. At some point, though, I may be roster-crunched and have to drop a player I took in Round 3. Excuse me while I go vomit.

Now that I've killed all the surprises but the names, enjoy what's left of the article....

Trade For

John Lackey hasn't been good since...well, since the Angels were good and he was one. But he's been flat-out great this year, surprising everyone but his mother. Okay, she's probably surprised too, 'cause he's striking people out like it's 2005. Actually, this year's 9.08 K/9 is the best of his big league career, so no wonder his FIP 2.92 and xFIP 3.03 are palindromes. I mean, no wonder they're so good. If his owner in your league is taking a happily skeptical attitude to the new, old John Lackey, tell him or her you'll be happy to take the risk on Lackey, as the success he's had appears plenty sustainable.

Pedro Alvarez has hit four homers in the last week and is a notoriously streaky hitter. But, man, those hot streaks are good. If he isn't available on your waiver wire, I'll bet his owner would be happy to get any value at all for Alvarez and his .200-ish average, while you can enjoy his periodic power-binges and the slightly less damaging batting averages they'll bring.

Josh Willingham is in a similar situation, having had a decent week of hitting to go with a terrible season average of .215. His BABIP could stand to go up, but that isn't as much to blame as he might like, sitting as it does at .261. Still, he's got a great power history, and is usually dependable for a mediocre average, not a terrible one. Expect some improvement here, as he reverts to his career norms.

Edwin Encarnacion (see, I was going to suggest power hitters) is a bad-BABIP victim, however: his .228 number is keeping him a three-category player. Now, his owner isn't going to be convinced that E5 is having a bad season--not with 13 homers for evidence otherwise--but they sure might feel like they overpaid for his services. If that's the case, you might be able to pay three-category price for a four-category player. Not a bad potential move.

Trade Away

If you're a Carlos Gomez owner you have two options: 1) Admit that Gomez is one of the best players in baseball and accept that someone will draft him in the first round next year. OR 2) Try to trade him, in the belief that he's a very good player having some of the best months of his entire career and at the highest point in his value. If you pick number one, then hang on to him and hope the .403 BABIP holds out. If you're more inclined to choice number two, try to find someone in your league who's thinking is more like number one. If you can get someone to blow you away in a trade, pull that trigger. Even if not, think carefully about any deal that comes close to approximating the value he's been giving.

Lorenzo Cain has been more of a speed and average guy than an MVP candidate, but he too is buoyed by a high BABIP: his .369 mark has translated into a good-but-not ridiculous .303 average. While fast players like Cain routinely put up good BABIP's, it won't take a huge dip in Cain's number to change his BA a lot. Move him to someone in need of steals or average if you have other decent OF options.

Add (The Obvious)

If you're in a daily league, Kevin Gausman and Jake Odorizzi have already been picked up. If you're a weekly player, maybe you've still got a chance. Get these guys onto your roster. Gausman has a ton of potential and struck out five batters in as many innings in his debut. The Orioles can hit the ball and they seem to intend to stick with him, so he's in a good situation. Odorizzi is also a highly talented prospect, though the Rays have a lot more options than the O's, so his leash won't be as long. Still, if he pitches well enough to stick on your fantasy team, the Rays might have no choice but to keep him in their real rotation. Bonus: he's in line for two starts next week.

Add (The Returning-from-Injury-or-Whatever)

John Danks made his first start back from injury and should be a mainstay in the Chicago rotation if he health holds up. After having previously being a pitcher of some use in fantasy, he could very well be again. He's not an ace, but he's got more potential to be useful than your usual "safe" good-but-not-awesome pitchers.

With Jim Henderson hitting the DL, Francisco Rodriguez is back just in time to save games for the Brew Crew. With John Axford remaining afflicted with terribleness, K-Rod is back to the ninth inning. It should only be temporary, but the saves he earns will be permanent in your stat sheet. (Unless you play head-to-head, I guess.) Considering how well Henderson was pitching before he got hurt, I wouldn't get excited about Rodriguez stealing the job for the long run.

The Long Shots

Remember Miguel Tejada? The Kansas City Royals do. No, he hasn't taken Mike Moustakas's job yet, but he just might, as Moose Tacos has been one of baseball's worst hitters this year. Tejada has already shown a little power, and if Moustakas gets sent down to the minors, he could be a source of cheap power, at a position that rarely has usable players on the waiver wire.

Sure Kelly Shoppach is starting for now, but Mike Zunino is the real beneficiary of the end of the Jesus Montero catching experience in Seattle. Yeah, Zunino is still down in the minors, but his status just got cemented as catcher of the future, and he's likely to come up to the bigs some time soon after the M's don't have to worry about him getting Super Two status. Keep a close eye on him, because he's got the talent to make an impact at the plate.

And Also Luke Scott

Poor Luke Scott isn't eligible for a position yet, other than DH/Util, which makes him a hard guy to roster. It's one thing to budget a spot like that for David Ortiz during your draft, but we didn't make room for Scott there. Well, if you did make room, pick Scotty up, as he continues to rake. Also, if you play in a Yahoo public league, what do you think those Util slots are for? Grab him.

Orioles

Jim Johnson didn't have his best week ever. Three consecutive blown saves are enough to cost many closers their job, but Johnson earned his leash last year and manager Buck Showalter trusted him enough to hand him the ball in extra innings. Johnson earned the win, and there seems to be good reason to think this rough patch was just that and not a sign of impending doom.

For one thing, while his HR/9 rate and his HR/FB rate are much higher now than last year, a reliever's sample size is so small that that includes a whopping three homers allowed, two of which came during his three blown saves in a row. Moreover, while his BB/9 rate has also increased, it was already so low that it had wiggle room. Since his K/9 has increased since last year as well, he still maintains a 3.00 K/BB and is adding value with nearly two extra strikeouts per nine. All in all, he doesn't look like someone about to go Axford on us.

Rays

Speaking of impending doom and John Axford, Fernando Rodney appears to be turning into the proverbial pumpkin. His magical season last year has rightly earned him a lot of room for error, but at some point even that will have to be considered used up. Rodney has had bad results recently: he's blown three of his last four saves and looked bad doing it. Rodney has a bad process: his 8.35 BB/9 is rough to look at, let alone experience in the ninth inning. Not only is it worse than the sparkly but unbelievable 1.81 mark he put up last year, it's worse than any of the once-and-again wildman's previous ML rates, including the one that got him demoted by the Angels in 2011. Unless he gets his control under control, Rodney is probably on the way out of the ninth inning, at least temporarily.

Setup man Joel Peralta has gotten the most mention as a possible replacement, while neither Jake McGee nor Kyle Farnsworth have been obviously better than Rodney. Don't expect the Rays to go out of the organization, but don't be shocked if they do opt for a committee.

Dodgers

 The great and tragic drama of Brandon League and Kenley Jansen continues to play itself out, as manager Don Mattingly won't commit to "annointing" a closer. I guess that's technically a demotion for League, as he had already been annointed as closer (which apparently makes you some type of king by fiat). It's mitigated good news for Jansen owners and plenty of reason to pick him up if he's still unowned. Perhaps more reason to grab Jansen is that Mattingly may well play things as close to "the book" as he can while he flails around trying to keep his job. If he is fired, expect the new manager to make the obvious choice and officially install Jansen in the ninth, if only to earn some cheap points with the masses. As this situation begins to resolve itself, you're probably safe to drop League in most (a-hem) leagues. 

Nationals

Rafael Soriano came into the year as a top closer, and his 2.14 ERA suggests he still is. Though he blew two saves in a row this week (and tossed teammate Bryce Harper under the bus after one of them), he's firmly entrenched as the Nats' closer. There's trouble under the hood, however, as Soriano's FIP is 3.41 and his xFIP an even worse 4.23--Soriano isn't really pitching all that well. Perhaps more pointedly, his K/9 is sitting at just 6.43--the worst since his rookie season in 2002. As a starter. Now, he's got plenty of time to ratchet up the K's, but it might be a good idea to sell him while his ERA still shines as well as it does. Though he's not in imminent danger of losing his job, these things can shift quickly and the Nationals have other quality options in their bullpen.

Rockies

First, the rumor was that Rafael Betancourt was going on the DL, now it's that he won't. The facts are that Betancourt is having a very nice season (albeit with too many walks) and won't be supplanted by a quick injury, DL trip or no. The other facts are that Rex Brothers is having an even better season (also with more walks than are preferable) and saved the game for Betancourt on Wednesday. While the 38-year-old Betancourt will probably be just fine, this isn't a bad time to add Brothers, just in case. It isn't every team that can replace their closer with someone pitching at least as well, but the Rockies are one of them. In the event something bad happens, Brothers would be a quality setup man. If all stays well, he's still a usable non-closer in many leagues.

Red Sox

Andrew Bailey is back from the DL and back into the closer's role. Sort of. The Red Sox won't use him on back-to-back nights for an while as they let their fragile pitcher reacclimate. That means that Junichi Tazawa (who wasn't exactly a useful pickup during Bailey's absence) may still have the chance to grab some saves--more, certainly, than most setup guys. Keep him rostered until the Sox show us that Bailey is ready for a full workload. Considering his 25:3 K:BB ratio and Bailey's tendency to get hurt, Tazawa remains one of the better setup men to keep on your team.

Angels

Bad news for Ryan Madson is good news for Ernesto Frieri. Frieri will need it, as he's issued a ton of walks (6.75 BB/9) in April and May. He strikes a lot of people out too, which is good, but his ERA (2.25) doesn't match his FIP (4.58) or his xFIP (4.71). As long as Madson keeps having setbacks, however, expect Frieri to keep getting the call in the ninth inning. At least until those walks start costing him saves....

Add-Vice

Obviously, Kenley Jansen should be owned in all leagues at this point. If you own Fernando Rodney, I'd strongly suggest picking Joel Peralta up as backup (though the Rays do unconventional things whenever given an excuse). In fact, he's the top guy out there as far as speculative closers. If Junichi Tazawa's owner dropped him when Andrew Bailey came back from the DL, pick Tazawa up as he's in a great save-vulturing position. The same is true for Rex Brothers, but less so. Everyone else seems to be staying the course for now, so there isn't any real need to gobble up Orioles, Nationals, or Angels setup guys.

Jurickson Profar

The jury’s still out on Jurickson. Ron Washington told Buster Olney that Profar would be a good hitter “eventually,” and after all, the kid is only 20 years old. Baseball’s #1 prospect is currently splitting time at second base with Leury Garcia, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be scooped up everywhere. He’s the top prospect for a reason, and has a good a chance as anyone to "pull a Trout” this year. There’s also a good chance he gets sent back down in a week once Kinsler comes back. Kinsler has been playing like an all-star, Andrus just signed a whopper of a contract, Moreland is hitting the cover off the ball, and obviously Beltre isn’t going anywhere. There’s simply no place for Profar right now, but I still think you should scoop him up just in case he goes bonkers and Washington simply can’t bench him. It’s possible, right?

Odorizzi Does It

Jake Odorizzi

Odorizzi took a couple innings to get into a groove against the Blue Jays during his first start of 2013. But eventually he settled down and sat down 9 out of the last 10 batters he faced in a scoreless 3rd through 5th. But the bottom line is this: no one handles their young pitchers like the Rays. Last year they led the majors with a 3.19 team ERA, and set a record for starting 764 consecutive starters under 30 over the last 5 seasons. Yes, Faustberto Carmondez has looked pretty good this year, but it’s only a matter of time before Odorizzi or Chris Archer replace him. I’d grab both of these guys in as many leagues as you can, because down the line whoever gets the job will be startable almost every time out. Odorizzi has two starts next week, and the first one is against the Marlins. Even I could pitch against the Marlins and last a few innings, so you should start Odorizzi with confidence.

Ying-Yang Twins

Samuel Deduno

Okay, so he’s not technically a prospect, but he hasn’t seen much major league action. Even though we were all hoping to get a peek at Kyle Gibson, Deduno was the one who got the call to start Friday against the Tigers. He’s never really dominated at any level, but the Twins are hoping that his performance at the World Baseball Classic this year -- 17:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 13 IP, and a great performance in the Dominican victory over Puerto Rico in the championship game -- is an indication that maybe he’s turned a corner.

Kyle Gibson

No, Gibson didn’t get the call. But the top-50 prospect will be up eventually and could be a real asset to your squad. At 6'6", Gibson is an intimidating presence on the mound, and has been extremely effective pounding the bottom of the zone and inducing a ton of ground balls, and has even developed a plus changeup. Gibson will probably never be an ace, but at 24 doesn’t have a ton left to prove in the minors, and playing in that ballpark in that division, could definitely be used as a spot starter later this season.

Duck, Duck, Gose

Anthony Gose

The good news? You can probably spend negative $5 of your FAAB to acquire Gose. The bad news? He could be a cheap source of steals, and that’s about it.

Special NL-Only Bonus

Anthony Rendon

The Nats have Rendon playing 2nd base in the minors as of yesterday. This means bad things for Danny Espinosa, who has likely been battling through injury  all season and is struggling to the tune of .159/.188/.290. But Rendon has continued raking in the minors after being sent down, and this move to second base could mean an imminent promotion. In the immortal words of Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber, "Pick 'em up!"

Send Him To The Island  Despite the fact that there's a somewhat more important figure in world history that shares the name, I can't hear the name "Locke" without thinking of the iconic Lost character played by Terry O'Quinn.  Without spoiling any plot details (though the show ended three years ago people, get watching!), I'll just say that Lost's Locke appears to be a strong character on the exterior but he's hiding some serious demons within, and his facade slips more and more as the series progresses.  It might not be a bad metaphor for the season of Pirates southpaw Jeff Locke, who has put NL hitters on lockdown (puns!) over nine starts this season.  Lost's Locke, being a man of faith, would probably put no stock in these advanced statistics, but if you're a Jack Shepherd-esque man of science, the advanced metrics might make you think twice about adding the Bucs lefty to your fantasy roster.

Locke has a 2.73 ERA and is only allowing 6.7 H/9, but that's about where the good-looking stats end.  Locke's strikeout and walk rates are nothing special (5.47 K/9 and 3.76 BB/9) and his peripheral metrics indicate that his ERA should be much higher; his FIP/xFIP/SIERA slash line is an across-the-board mediocre 4.48/4.45/4.75.  The left-hander has an 82.5% strand rate and a .224 BABIP, so it's just a matter of time before his Loc...uh, his luck runs out.  I myself streamed Locke for two starts last week and got good results, but I quit while I was ahead and dropped him as soon as that second outing was in the books.  If you still have Locke, see if you can sell high while he's still seen as a wise boar-hunter rather than a button-pushing nut in an underground chamber.

Better In The Next Life, Brotha?  I swear, I didn't intend to go with a Lost theme for this week's column but after noting a guy named Locke, I'm now going to focus on a guy named Desmond.  Pretty freaky, brotha.  Anyway, for a team as stat-savvy as the Rays, you wonder how long they're going to keep putting up with Desmond Jennings in the leadoff spot.  Jennings profiles as your ideal leadoff man --- his minor league numbers promised a player who could get on base, steal bases and even provide double-digit homer power.  While Jennings has delivered with his limited pop and stole 31 bases in 2012, he still hasn't shown much overall progress as a hitter.  After batting just .246/.314/.388 in his first full season, Jennings has actually taken a slight step back this year, with just a .241/.301/.392 line going into Tuesday's action.  Also troubling is the fact that Jennings has only six steals in nine attempts, so the "well, he'll still give me help in the stolen base category" argument doesn't carry much weight.

Jennings is still among the league leaders in runs, as even a .300 OBP player will score pretty often if he's atop the Rays' suddenly-potent lineup.  That on-base percentage and a 22.8% strikeout rate, however, doth not a leadoff hitter make, and Joe Maddon is the kind of manager who won't hesitate to juggle his lineup if he isn't getting results from a player.  Jennings might yet become that kind of well-rounded average/power/run-scoring/speed threat that fantasy owners covet, but I don't think the breakout will happen in 2013.

Don't Mess With DeJesus  David DeJesus took five homers, 24 runs and a .294/.364/.507 line into Tuesday's action and the 33-year-old is on pace for what would easily be his best Major League season.  While I don't think DeJesus will keep up his .872 OPS, I do think he'll continue to be a productive fantasy option, though this is old news to owners in daily-lineup leagues.  DeJesus has always hit well against right-handed pitching (.821 career OPS against righties) and is a great guy to have on your fantasy roster if you're in a league that allows you to sit him whenever he's against a southpaw (career .667 OPS against left-handers).  

Since the Cubs are sticking to a strict platoon with DeJesus, he'll be put in every opportunity to succeed and not have to worry about those confidence-sapping at-bats against lefties.  If you rode DeJesus' hot streak and are now looking to sell, what's the hurry?  One caveat against DeJesus is that he's pretty likely to be traded this summer since the Cubs are going nowhere and are apt to move veterans as part of their rebuilding process.  His production could see a dip in a less hitter-friendly park than Wrigley Field or if he needed time to adjust to his new surroundings, but unless you yourself start playing DeJesus every day, I don't expect a trade would greatly diminish his fantasy value.

Don't Toss The Hos  As a rule, I generally avoid picking up top prospects unless they're just truly special (i.e. Mike Trout) or if one of my starters goes on the DL the same day that a touted youngster happens to get called up to the bigs.  It was for this reason that I stayed away from Eric Hosmer in every single one of my fantasy leagues, and watched bemusedly as the Royals first baseman was taken ahead of several more proven first sackers.  Other managers saw a heralded prospect; I just saw a 23-year-old who had a .663 OPS and didn't give any indication that he was ready for a breakout.  My concerns have thus far been well-founded --- Hosmer is hitting .271/.342/.347 with one measly homer in 161 PA. 

So with this all being said, I'm now about to recommend that you keep Hosmer.  Whaaa?  I wouldn't start him at 1B by any means, but he's worth keeping on the bench in case he starts putting things together.  Hosmer's main issue is that lack of power, as he's hitting nearly three times as many grounders as fly balls and his 19.5% flyball rate is well below his 28.6% career average.  Granted, the "career average" is only from two prior seasons of information but still, you'd think Hosmer will eventually start getting the ball in the air.  His line drive rate is actually up (23%) from his first two seasons and his contact rates are only a couple of percentage points below his career averages, so there is evidence that Hosmer can get going as long as he cuts out the worm-burners.

Hector Santiago, Dylan Axelrod -- Your two widely available starters that have the good fortune to square off against the Marlins this coming weekend. The Marlins are still hitting just .220/.282/.317 as a team, and while that's an unfortunate reality for Miami fans, it's something to exploit in fantasy. I wouldn't fret much over my pitcher facing Dustin Ackley, and the Marlins basically equal out to a lineup full of nine Ackley clones. Sounds good to me.

Jonathan Pettibone -- At some point, the Nationals are going to start hitting. There's too much firepower in that lineup to be this offensively deficient. But for now, they're hitting .214/.281/.333 over the past week. Pettibone has been solid enough thus far that he can be trusted against a struggling lineup, even if his success has been partly smoke and mirrors. Plus, he's facing Dan Haren on Saturday, whose persistent struggles should mean Pettibone will get plenty of run support.

Wily Peralta, John Gast -- Both will face off against the Dodgers in the next four days. As a collective unit, the Dodgers are hitting .222/.274/.306 in the past week. They erupted for a whopping three runs last night -- a feat they've managed to top just four times this month. Hanley Ramirez is on the shelf, and they're going to trot out some combination of Juan Uribe, Dee Gordon and Justin Sellers as the left side of their infield, in all likelihood. Sign me up.

Chris Young -- Young's game has been just a hair of above Buterian (which Webster defines as "having qualities similar to that of Drew Butera") this year, but CBY still sports a healthy .267/.369/.483 triple slash line against left-handed pitching, and he'll face a pair of southpaws in his weekend series with the Astros. No one knows how to give up runs in bunches like the Astros. Erik Bedard and Dallas Keuchel beware.

Julio Teheran -- I assume Teheran's recent play has his ownership soaring through the roof (as it should), but he's still out there in 70 percent of Yahoo Leagues and 80 percent of ESPN Leagues. If his one-run, 8 1/3 inning performance wasn't impressive enough for you Monday, consider that he's facing the Mets and Shaun Marcum next Sunday. The Mets are batting .217/.274/.350 over the past week and .223/.281/.350 over the past two weeks. Teheran, meanwhile, has a 2.41 ERA with two walks in 33 2/3 innings over his past five starts, and the Braves should be good to put up somewhere between four and 38 runs against Marcum.

Andy Dirks -- The Twins have dropped six straight games largely due to their starting pitching, and Dirks will be seeing plenty of it with a four-game series coming up. He'll face a lefty in Scott Diamond one day, so bench him for that. The other three games, however, will be started by Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey and one of Samuel Deduno, P.J. Walters or Kyle Gibson. Fantasy owners should root for Walters or Deduno if they enlist Dirks for a weekend of service. He's hitting .293/.339/.517 since May 3 and is notably better against righties than lefties.

Bonus recommendation: If you play on Yahoo where Jhonny Peralta is inexplicably available in 40 percent of leagues, it'd be wise to grab him for the series as well. He's owned in 97 percent of ESPN Leagues, which makes boatloads more sense than Yahoo's 59.1.

David DeJesus -- DeJesus keeps on raking, and he's facing a nice run of right-handed pitching as the weekend draws close, starting with the very hittable Jeanmar Gomez. DeJesus will also get Bronson Arroyo, Homer Bailey and Johnny Cueto in the hitter-friendly Cincinnati. Whils Bailey's been terrific, Arroyo is always inches from a meltdown, and Cueto certainly didn't look like himself in his return from the DL last night.

We've now reached a point in the season at which many statistics have begun to stabilize. At the individual player level, we'll still witness wide fluctuations in statistical performances. Leaguewide data, however, is now a good indicator of what you can expect going forward.

With that in mind, I wanted to take a look at the current standings in the RotoAuthority League and see how they compare to past standings in the league. In this way, we might be able to see which statistics have begun more scarce and thus more valuable. With the season 26% complete through Saturday's games, all counting stats were extrapolated to end-of-season totals. Meanwhile, ratio statistics were kept the same. I used median finishes in each category, because mean values tended to be slighltly skewed, as some owners have punted categories in the past.

Accordingly, the file at the bottom links to the median totals in each category across the league for each of the past five years and then for this season's projected statistics.

So what are some interesting trends?

• There has already been plenty of discussion on this topic, but for whatever reason stolen bases are way down this season. How does this affect the game we play? Well, one-trick ponies like Juan Pierre become more valuable. The fact that Everth Cabrera ranks third among shortstops on the ESPN Player Rater makes a tad more sense now. In short, buy your speed now before others in your league fully appreciate those speedsters.
• Batting average continues to decline. Five years ago a .260 AVG provided negative value in the category. We've now reached a point that a .260 AVG actually helps a fantasy owner. There are a few ramifications of this new reality. For one, fantasy owners who took chances on perennially AVG killers J.P. Arencibia and Mark Reynolds are reaping the rewards. With this new baseline AVG around .255, players like this duo may still hurt you in the category but not nearly as much. On the flip side, this also pushes elite AVG performers like Joey Votto even higher up in the first round.  
• Pitching is still dominant across the league. I've always been one to wait on pitching, but that philosophy seems to be for dinosaurs at this point. In ERA and WHIP the categorical targets continue to decline on an annual basis. There's a strong argument to be made for taking Clayton Kershaw at least in the top ten, if not in the top five. If you have to put up an ERA near 3.00 to finish near the top of the category, 230 innings of an ERA around 2.50 puts you a step ahead the rest of the league. Disaster outings by starting pitchers have become even more of a killer in today's Roto game.  

Download Past RotoAuthority League Standings