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BY CHRIS STARBONELL
UPDATE! Writer

Every week UPDATE! will be putting together a list of note-worthy performances or events that have transpired in baseball. We’ll let you know what to get excited or nervous about while also providing fantasy insight.

 

BULLISH

 

GRANT BALFOUR, Tampa Bay Rays, RP
Comment: With Troy Percival out for an undetermined amount of time, Grant Balfour appears to have emerged as the leading candidate for saves in the Rays bullpen. He’s earned 2 saves since Percival went down including a perfect outing on Saturday against the Royals. Balfour is 2-0 this season with a 1.02 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and 27 strikeouts in 17.2 innings. Anyone closing games for the first-place Rays is going to have value and with the way the Australian right-hander has pitched thus far in 2008, he should be a great option going forward.

 

BRETT GARDNER, New York Yankees, OF
Comment: When Gardner was called up to the major-league club this past week, manager Joe Girardi insisted he was going to see plenty of at-bats. Well with Johnny Damon landing on the disabled list, Gardner is going to have a good amount of leash for at least a couple of weeks to show what he can do in the big leagues. He has great speed on the base-paths as he swiped 34 bags in 80 games at Triple-A this season and already has 3 steals in 6 games with the Yankees. He started off his big-league career slowly, but with a clutch, game-winning RBI single on Sunday, he may start to see major-league success. If he can produce at the top of the order, he could have tremendous value with his speed and the Yankee bats behind him. AL-only leaguers in need of outfield help should add Gardner while mixed-leaguers desperate for speed may even want to take a chance on him as well.

 

J.J. HARDY, Milwaukee Brewers, SS
Comment: Hardy has been devouring opposing pitchers of late and is in the midst of a torrid streak. Since June 30^th, he has batted .600 with 6 homers, 12 RBI, 8 runs scored and 1 stolen base in 7 games. We’ve seen this before. In the first two months of last season, Hardy hit .304, swatted 15 homers and drove in 46 RBI in 52 games. When any player is this hot, fantasy owners should ride the streak and Hardy is no exception. While it is impossible to tell how long he will continue to hit like this, even a short-term burst could help propel a fantasy team up the standings.

 

JOSH JOHNSON, Florida Marlins, SP
Comment: It is official, Josh Johnson is returning to the Marlins rotation after missing virtually all of 2007 and will start on Thursday against San Diego. Johnson, who had Tommy John Surgery in 2007, was spectacular in his rookie campaign in 2006, going 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA and 133 whiffs in 157 innings. Yet despite his success in his first year in the majors, fantasy owners should temper their expectations with Johnson in 2008. He had a couple of inconsistent outings in minor-league ball while rehabbing this season and while his last start went well (8 shutout innings in a Double-A start on Friday) it should be noted that he did not even face Triple-A hitting while building up his arm strength. Expect some rough patches in his return to the Marlins as we have seen many a pitcher begin their return from Tommy John surgery with mixed results.

 

BEARISH

 

KELVIM ESCOBAR, Los Angeles Angels, SP
Comment: Escobar was shut down indefinitely after reporting pain in his right shoulder, where he has a torn labrum. As a result, Escobar is considering having season-ending shoulder surgery that may even end his career. What a shame. Escobar looked on his way to a return after the All-Star break, but now with this latest setback, he may be done for the season even if he opts to not have surgery. The Angels have no reason to rush him back as their starting rotation has performed extremely well, so do not be surprised if news comes out in the next week or so that Escobar will not return in 2008.

 

BOBBY JENKS, Chicago White Sox, RP
Comment: While he is expecting to return to the mound on Tuesday, fantasy owners should have already added Scott Linebrink as insurance. Sure the diagnostic tests came back negative, but back ailments are troublesome injuries (see: Rafael Furcal) and with his size and the sheer power generated by Jenks with each pitch, it seems unlikely that this problem will just go away with a couple of days of rest. The White Sox are not ready to put him on the disabled list, but do not be surprised if he lands on the DL sometime this week if he’s not physically ready to play. As stated before, add Linebrink if you can because if Jenks goes down, he’s next in line for saves.

 

CLAYTON KERSHAW, Los Angeles Dodgers, SP
Comment: Phenom lefty Clayton Kershaw was sent down to the minors on Wednesday and you can not really blame the Dodgers for this move. Kershaw was 0-2 in 8 starts this year with a 4.42 ERA and 1.63 WHIP in 38.2 innings. Control was clearly an issue for Kershaw in the majors as he walked 24 batters and Los Angeles could not afford to keep him around as they compete for the National League West division. The Dodgers want him to work on his off-speed pitches in the minors and he may be back sooner than later. Their starting rotation has been ravaged by injuries and unless Chan Ho Park has some tricks up his sleeve or a trade happens, LA is going to have to make a roster move with a pitcher in the minors. If you can afford to hold onto Kershaw in deeper leagues, do so. However, those of you in shallow mixed leagues can certainly afford to drop him as his value has taken a hit with his first stint in the big leagues.

 

TROY TULOWITZKI, Colorado Rockies, SS

Comment: This has to be a tough season if you are a Troy Tulowitzki owner. First he starts the season off dreadfully, and then lands on the disabled list with a quadriceps injury that knocks him out for just less than two months. Then when he finally does return, he stinks and just when it looks like he is starting to break out, he lands on the DL again, this time with a fluky cut on his right hand. The good news is that this injury should not keep him out for an extended period of time, so fantasy owners should not abandon ship on Tulowitzki just because he’s hurt again. Stash him on your DL and hope that he comes back strong.

 

BUST

 

JEFF FRANCOEUR, Atlanta Braves, OF
Comment: The Braves sent Francoeur all the way down to Double-A last week and who can blame them? Besides the lack of power (8 homers), he was batting .234 through 85 games as one of the biggest busts of 2008. So much for Francoeur bulking up during the off-season and looking like a lock for 30 bombs. He’s been an absolute disappointment for fantasy owners and Braves fans alike. While Atlanta plans to bring him back up after the All-Star break, fantasy owners should avoid him until he proves he’s worth a roster spot on your squad.

 

RAFAEL FURCAL, Los Angeles Dodgers, SS
Comment: Go ahead, drop Rafael Furcal. On Tuesday, Furcal felt discomfort in his injured back and by Thursday, he was going under the knife. He will now be out at least eight weeks, putting him on pace to possibly return in early September. But do yourself a favor, release the injury-plagued Furcal now and cut your losses. If you traded for him while he was batting .381 through his first 27 games and looking like a potential MVP candidate, I know it may be hard to let go and admit defeat. But let’s face it, the odds of him coming back and picking up on his torrid pace from April are slim and you are just wasting roster space holding onto him.

 

TOM GORZELANNY, Pittsburgh Pirates, SP
Comment: Pittsburgh sent Gorzelanny back to the minors over the weekend, following a disastrous 4.2 inning, 7 earned run performance on Friday. In 2007, Gorzelanny broke out with a bad Pirates team, going 14-10 with a 3.88 ERA. However, this season has been a different story. He’s gone 6-7 in 2008 with a 6.57 ERA and a staggering 1.83 WHIP in 17 starts. While I doubt that he still had many believers this year before his demotion, those of you who still have him on your roster should toss him on the waiver wire heap.

 

TODD HELTON, Colorado Rockies, 1B
Comment: The Rockies placed Helton on the disabled list with a sore back on Friday. The 34-year old was struggling in 2008, batting .266 with 7 homers, 29 RBI and 39 runs scored. In the past couple of years, even when his power was fading fast you could at least count on him batting over .300. But if Helton cannot provide fantasy owners with at least a high batting average, then he is really only worth using in deep NL-only leagues. For right now, all fantasy owners should cut ties with the left-handed first baseman as he is of no use to anybody at the moment.