Fantasy Sports

BY ADAM RONIS

Shane Victorino returned from the DL tonight, but didn't start. He was used as a pinch hitter and went 0-for-1.

Cole Hamels pitched real well against the Padres. He went 7 1/3 innings, allowed five hits, two runs, walked two and struck out six. He is 3-3 with a 2.70 ERA.

Garret Olson was called up to start for the Orioles tonight against the Rays and struggled with his control, but got the win. He went 6 2/3 innings, allowed four hits, two runs, five walks and struck out six. He threw 105 pitches, 60 were for strikes.

George Sherrill picked up his 10th save despite a 4.63 ERA. Sell high.

Yunel Escobar returned from a finger injury and went 0-for-4 with a walk.

We know it's a huge "if", but if Chipper Jones stays healthy the entire season, he will be the best value of the draft. He drops because of his penchant for injury. He homered again tonight, his 8th of the season. He is hitting .432 with 21 RBIs. Larry is good.

Tom Glavine returned from the DL tonight and pitched well in a no-decision against the Nationals. He went six innings, allowed six hits, two earned runs, one walk and struck out two. He has a 2.60 ERA.

Chad Cordero started the top of the ninth inning with a 6-2 lead against the Braves and allowed two hits and one run in 1/3 inning before Jon Rauch got the final two outs for his fifth save of the season. Rauch could hold on to the job for awhile because Cordero might go back on the DL with a strained lat muscle below his right shoulder.

Roy Halladay pitched a great game against the Red Sox, but gave up a run in the bottom of the ninth inning in a 1-0 loss. He went 8 2/3 innings and allowed five hits, one run, one walk and struck out six. He is 2-4 with a 3.26 ERA.

Jon Lester went eight innings, allowing one hit, no runs, four walks and struck out six in a no-decision. Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth and allowed one hit and struck out two for the win.

Nate McLouth was one of my preseason sleepers and if you took him, you are reaping the rewards so far. He hit his seventh homer against Johan Santana tonight.

So much for Carlos Delgado breaking out of it with a two-homer game on Sunday. He went 0-for-5 and is hitting .194.

Ian Snell wasn't good against the Mets tonight, but he could have had a better line if his defense didn't let him down. A double-play ball was turned into an error leading to a bigger inning for the Mets. Snell went 4 1/3 innings, allowed five hits, four runs, five walks and struck out two. Don't give up on him.

Billy Wagner was charged with his first blown save, but the run was unearned so he still has a 0.00 ERA. A Jose Reyes error led to the run. Wagner pitched two innings.

Curtis Granderson is off to a fast start since returning from the DL. He went 2-for-3 with three runs, a homer and two walks. He already has three home runs. Placido Polanco showed why he hit so well last season with a 4-for-5 night with two runs and an RBI. His average will continue to go up.

Phil Hughes was terrible again. He went 3 2/3 innings, allowing eight hits, six runs, three walks and struck out two. He is 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA. Could Yankees fans actually be yearning for Kei Igawa?

Jorge Cantu, mentioned as a pickup in Sunday's column, went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. The .309 average won't continue, but his power is legit.

Derek Lowe left his last start, but made the start against the Marlins tonight. He went five innings, allowing eight hits, six runs -- three earned -- walked one and struck out two in a no-decision. He has a 2.88 ERA.

Andrew Miller was horrible again and can't be used in fantasy right now. He allowed nine hits, six runs, walked two and struck out none in three innings. He has a 9.12 ERA.

Fausto Carmona has a 2.60 ERA, but it is very misleading. His control has been awful. He went 6 2/3 innings, allowing eight hits, two runs -- one earned -- walked four and struck out two in a no-decision against the Mariners. His BB/K ratio is an awful 26/13. He can't continue to keep his ERA this low with that ratio. Trade him while the ERA is low.

Rafael Betancourt came into a 2-2 tie in the top of the ninth inning against the Mariners and allowed a three-run homer to Adrian Beltre.

Mike Cameron returned from his 25-game suspension and went 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs with a walk. He should be owned in all leagues.

Ben Sheets wasn't right tonight as evidenced by his seven walks. He went five innings, allowing three hits, four runs -- three earned -- and struck out two to get the win. He is 4-0 with a 1.61 ERA. This has to be a result of his tricep injury because he walked four batters coming into tonight. Sell high while he is still somewhat healthy.

Eric Gagne picked up his 8th save of the season and his job is still safe since no one in the Brewers bullpen has been great.

Joakim Soria, one of my targeted closers, continued his amazing start. He has pitched 11 innings, allowed just four hits, no runs, no walks and struck out 13 with six saves.

I guess the Johnny Cueto for Cy Young talk has cooled down. Rookie pitchers will be consistent, even the ones with great stuff. Cueto had his worst start of the season against the Cardinals. He lasted just 1 2/3 innings, allowing eight hits, seven runs -- six earned -- walked one and struck out two. He is 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA.

Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan has done a great job with the staff. He could make me a viable fantasy pitcher. Joel Pineiro is the latest project. He went seven innings, allowing one hit, no runs, four walks and struck out three to improve to 2-2 with a 3.75 ERA.

Joe Crede hit his seventh homer and has 22 RBIs. Sell high.

Max Scherzer made his major league debut against the Astros tonight and was outstanding in relief of Edgar Gonzalez, who gave up six runs in 2 2/3 innings. Scherzer went 4 1/3 perfect innings and struck out seven. He should be owned in NL-only leagues and deep mix leagues. If he becomes a starter, he should be owned in all leagues.
He threw 47 pitches; 35 for strikes. He could start in place of Gonzalez, but Doug Davis is due back soon.

Greg Smith threw another good game for the A's, but fell to 2-1. He went eight innings, allowing three hits, two runs, three walks and struck out five, but lost 2-0 to the Angels. He is 2-1 with a 2.73 ERA.

Joe Saunders is 5-0 after going eight innings, while allowing four hits, no runs, one walk and struck out five. He has a 2.08 ERA. Francisco Rodriguez pitched the ninth for his 11th save.

Brian Fuentes pitched a scoreless ninth, allowing just a walk and struck out a batter for his second save. He has a 2.08 ERA and is pitching way better than Manny Corpas right now.

Keep an eye on Rockies catcher Chris Ianetta. He played third base tonight after Troy Tulowitzki left with a strained left quad. He is hitting .324 with two homers in just 34 at-bats. He should be owned in NL-only leagues. Garrett Atkins played second base, so in leagues where one game qualifies you for a position, Atkins is a top second baseman.