The Lineup

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BY CHRIS STARBONELL
UPDATE Writer!

Every week, The Lineup will help you figure out who to start, sit and watch. Facts don’t lie and The Lineup is full of ‘em. Here is your weekly digest of everything fantasy baseball. Projections for the week of 7/28/08-8/3/08. All stats up to and including 7/24/08.

Who’s Hot

BATTERS

JEFF BAKER

Colorado Rockies, 2B

Stats: .500 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 8 R, 1 SB

Comment: With multiple-position eligibility, Baker deserves a lot more attention in fantasy circles.

HOWIE KENDRICK

Los Angeles Angels, 2B

Stats: .524 AVG, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 7 R, 2 SB

Comment: Tagged three doubles on Wednesday, tying a franchise record for doubles in a game.

ALEX RODRIGUEZ

New York Yankees, 3B
Stats: .391 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 7 R, 2 SB

Comment: 14 of his 21 bombs this season have come at home, where he also owns a .360 batting average.

PITCHERS

MIKE MUSSINA

New York Yankees, SP
Stats: 2-0, 0.64 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 13 SO

Comment: Improved to 13-6 on the season and lowered his ERA to an impressive 3.26 mark.

FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ

Los Angeles Angels, RP
Stats: 0-0, 4 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 6 SO

Comment: He’s pretty much ensured that he’s going to Mariano Rivera-type money after this season.

CC SABATHIA

Cleveland Indians, SP

Stats: 2-0, 0.50 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 17 SO

Comment: Sabathia took matters into his own hands this week with back-to-back complete games. He now has three straight complete games.

Who’s Not

BATTERS

LANCE BERKMAN

Houston Astros, 1B

Stats: .190 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 3 R, 0 SB

Comment: Welcome back to Earth Mr. Berkman. Come on, you didn’t think he would keep up the pace all

season did you?

JACOBY ELLSBURY

Boston Red Sox, OF
Stats: .143 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 R, 0 SB

Comment: Ellsbury has just one stolen base in July as his production has slipped dramatically.

CHONE FIGGINS

Los Angeles Angels, 3B

Stats: .222 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 R, 1 SB

Comment: Batting average has begun to nose-dive in July.

PITCHERS

ZACK GREINKE

Kansas City Royals, SP
Stats: 0-2, 12.00 ERA, 2.56 WHIP, 10 SO

Comment: Season ERA climbed over 4.00 with a couple of poor outings from Greinke this week.

SHAUN MARCUM

Toronto Blue Jays, SP
Stats: 0-0, 11.57 ERA, 2.36 WHIP, 3 SO

Comment: First start off the disabled list ended up being his worst outing of the season.

JOSE VALVERDE

Houston Astros, RP

Stats: 0-1, 1 SV, 40.50 ERA, 4.50 WHIP, 2 SO
Comment: Gave up 6 earned runs while registering just one out in a horrific blown save against Pittsburgh on

Monday.

Start ‘Em

CHRIS IANNETTA

Colorado Rockies, C

Comment: Strong start this week based on his 2008 numbers versus Pittsburgh and Florida: .318 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 3 R in 22 at-bats.

PAUL LO DUCA

Washington Nationals, C

Comment: With a shortage of first-baseman in the Nats lineup, LoDuca is now getting everyday at-bats at first and has batted .314 with 6 RBI since July 12^th.

JAMES LONEY

Los Angeles Dodgers, 1B

Comment: Has come out of the gate scorching after the All-Star break: .458 AVG, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 7 R in 6 games.

CHAD TRACY

Arizona Diamondbacks, 1B

Comment: After a disappointing 2007, Tracy has quietly emerged as a solid fantasy option in 2008. His production in July has been particularly impressive: .379 AVG, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 8 R in 17 games.

AARON MILES

St. Louis Cardinals, 2B

Comment: Over his past 10 games Miles has been a worthy fantasy asset: .394 AVG, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 7 R.

FREDDY SANCHEZ

Pittsburgh Pirates, 2B
Comment: Numbers since July 19^th warrant mentioning: .500 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 9 R.

JHONNY PERALTA

Cleveland Indians, SS
Comment: Is batting .364 with 8 runs scored since the All-Star break and with the Indians playing better, expect him to have a strong week against Cleveland’s division rivals (Minnesota and Detroit).

TROY TULOWITZKI

Colorado Rockies, SS
Comment: After a 5-hit performance on Monday, Tulo’ looks ready to really start his season.

CASEY BLAKE

Cleveland Indians, 3B

Comment: Cleveland is heating up and Blake has serviceable numbers this year versus Detroit and Minnesota: .316 AVG, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 9 R in 57 at-bats.

MELVIN MORA

Baltimore Orioles, 3B

Comment: Mora has been a hitting machine of late, posting outstanding numbers in his last since July 17^th: .500 AVG, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 6 R

JAY BRUCE

Cincinnati Reds, OF

Comment: Kid is streaking right now, making the adjustments to major-league pitching after a lengthy slump.

BRAD HAWPE

Colorado Rockies, OF
Comment: Kicking off the second-half in style: .433 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 6 R in 7 games.

WILLIE HARRIS

Washington Nationals, OF
Comment: Harris earned the right to start for fantasy rosters this week based on his stats over his last 62 at-bats: .339 AVG, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 10 R, 1 SB.

ADAM JONES

Baltimore Orioles, OF

Comment: Now entrenched in the no. 2 hole, Jones has hit .297 when batting second and should build on numbers hitting behind Brian Roberts and ahead of Nick Markakis.

ARMANDO GALARRAGA

Detroit Tigers, SP
Comment: Galarraga draws two road games this week, where he is 6-2 this year with a 2.69 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 44 strikeouts in 67 innings.

PAUL MAHOLM

Pittsburgh Pirates, SP
Comment: Over his past 10 starts, Maholm has gone 5-1 with 8 quality starts, a 2.90 ERA and 1.02 WHIP.

JOE SAUNDERS

Los Angeles Angels, SP
Comment: Saunders has been a thorn in the side of the Red Sox in his career, going 3-0 with a 2.87 ERA in 5 starts.

JAMES SHIELDS

Tampa Bay Rays, SP
Comment: Shields has never lost against the Tigers or Blue Jays in 7 career starts, garnering 6 wins, a 2.36 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 38 strikeouts in 49.2 innings.

Sit ‘Em

RUSSELL MARTIN

Los Angeles Dodgers, C
Comment: Hitting at a .204 clip this year against the Diamondbacks and Giants. Also, his road batting average is 54 points lower than his home mark.

JOSE MOLINA

New York Yankees, C

Comment: While the prospect of hitting in the Yankees offense may widen the eyes of fantasy owners, keep in mind that Molina is a below-average hitter, even for a back-stop.

CARLOS PENA

Tampa Bay Rays, 1B

Comment: As his struggles continue this season, we have to wonder if his 2008 campaign is a lost cause for fantasy owners.

KEVIN YOUKILIS

Boston Red Sox, 1B
Comment: Youkilis is batting just .233 this year versus the Angels and Athletics.

JEFF KENT

Los Angeles Dodgers, 2B
Comment: The 40-year old second baseman is batting .226 at home this season in what looks like his farewell campaign.

EUGENIO VELEZ

San Francisco Giants, 2B

Comment: While he is now starting at second for the Giants and has tantalizing base-stealing ability, Velez still needs to develop more as a major-leaguer before being worthy of a fantasy roster spot.

JED LOWRIE

Boston Red Sox, SS
Comment: While fantasy owners may be excited about Lowrie getting a shot to start with that Red Sox lineup, keep in mind that he is batting .250 at home and faces a couple of tough pitching staffs this week when the Athletics and Angels invade Fenway Park.

JACK WILSON

Pittsburgh Pirates, SS
Comment: Numbers have been dreadful since the All Star break: .080 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 3 R, 0 SB in 7 games.

JOE CREDE

Chicago White Sox, 3B

Comment: White Sox are on the road this week and Crede has been very below-average away from US Cellular Field in 2008: .247 AVG, 6 HR, 17 RBI, 12 R in 43 games.

MIKE LOWELL

Boston Red Sox, 3B

Comment: Lowell is batting .229 in July and .185 since the All-Star break.

MILTON BRADLEY

Texas Rangers, OF

Comment: After a superb first-half, Bradley has stumbled out of the gates after the All-Star festivities: .227 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 R, 0 SB in 6 games.

DAVID MURPHY

Texas Rangers, OF
Comment: Since the second-half of the season kicked off, Murphy has been in a slump, batting .214 AVG with just 1 RBI.

MATT STAIRS

Toronto Blue Jays, OF

Comment: Stairs has been just brutal in July with a .116 in 43 at-bats.

NICK SWISHER

Chicago White Sox, OF
Comment: When the White Sox are on the road, Swisher is the last guy you want in your fantasy outfield: .211 AVG, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 23 R, 1 SB in 47 games.

CHAD BILLINGSLEY

Los Angeles Dodgers, SP

Comment: In 22 career innings pitched (including 4 starts), Billingsley sports a 5.32 ERA and 1.82 WHIP.

DAVE BUSH

Milwaukee Brewers, SP
Comment: Bush’s lifetimes stats against the Cubs warrant a benching: 1-6, 4.88 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 48 SO in 59 IP.

CLIFF LEE

Cleveland Indians, SP
Comment: Lee may hit a road-bump in his career year when he faces Detroit this week: 4-6, 5.13 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 70 SO in 80.2 career innings.

KEVIN SLOWEY

Minnesota Twins, SP
Comment: Since carving up National League teams, Slowey is 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA and 1.67 WHIP following the end of inter-league play this season.

Go Figure

450- Distance, in feet, of a home run hit by St. Louis Cardinals OF Ryan Ludwick on Tuesday. It is the longest recorded home run at the new Busch Stadium.

41- Runs scored by the New York Yankees during Sidney Ponson’s four starts with the team this season. Talk about run support.

9- Days between outings for Milwaukee Brewers RP Eric Gagne who, before throwing on July 21^st, had not pitched in a game since July 12^th.

6- RBI driven in by Detroit Tigers 1B Miguel Cabrera on Monday. A strong sign that his fantasy owners are in store for a big second-half.

Prospect Watch

GIO GONZALEZ, Oakland Athletics, SP
Comment: While Dallas Braden got the first shot at a rotation spot in Oakland with the departure of Joe Blanton, Gio Gonzalez has to be next in line. The 22-year old southpaw has immense strikeout potential as evident by his 701 whiffs in 612 career minor-league innings. His fastball tops out at 95 mph and because he can change speeds, he can use it very effectively. Gonzalez also has an improving change-up, but the top pitch in his repertoire is his devastating curveball that should be able to baffle hitters even at the major-league level. His command can be spotty at times, but he’s got the stuff to get past it and projects to be a very successful major-league pitcher. Gonzalez has been particularly impressive over his past 5 starts (4-0, 1.53 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 34 SO in 29.1 IP). If Braden or Sean Gallagher hit a rough patch, Oakland may not hesitate to call-up their prized prospect, who has the make-up to succeed immediately in the big-leagues. Should he join the A’s roster, he should be snatched up immediately by fantasy owners looking to gain an edge in starting pitching.

Key Match-up

Chicago White Sox @ Minnesota Twins

Before the start of the season, everyone expected a slug-fest for the AL Central division to go down between the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers. But after the All-Star break, it is the White Sox (sitting pretty atop the division) and Twins that are leading the pack. It was just a year ago that Chicago finished 72-90, good for fourth in the AL Central. But after making a couple of free agent signings that have saved their bullpen (Octavio Dotel and Scott Linebrink) and improved pitching from their starting rotation, the White Sox are the ones being chased. Even more impressive, however, is the way the Twins are playing. After losing Torii Hunter and Johan Santana, many figured this team was left for dead. Yet their continued adherence to small-ball and the development of quality starting arms from their minor-league system (Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Nick Blackburn) has kept Minnesota in the thick of the hunt. The White Sox lead the season series 7-4 and this promises to be a great match-up. Kevin Slowey, Glen Perkins, Livan Hernandez and Scott Baker are the scheduled starters for the Twins and they will be opposed by Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras, Gavin Floyd and John Danks.