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 Aug. 4-10. All stats up to and including July 31.

 

Who’s Hot

 

BATTERS

TORII HUNTER

Los Angeles Angels, OF
Stats: .393 AVG, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 10 R, 0 SB

Comment: With his play in the field and at the plate, Hunter has been worth every penny since the Angels signed him in the off-season.

 

ALBERT PUJOLS

St. Louis Cardinals, 1B

Stats: .400 AVG, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 10 R, 1 SB

Comment: Torrid week includes a 5-hit game against the Mets on Saturday.

 

SHANE VICTORINO

Philadelphia Phillies, OF
Stats: .440 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 8 R, 4 SB

Comment: The Flying Hawaiian, quietly but effectively, has been putting up numbers that are on pace to best his breakout 2007 season.

 

PITCHERS

CHAD BILLINGSLEY

Los Angeles Dodgers, SP
Stats: 2-0, 1.08 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 12 SO

Comment: Earned his first career complete game with a shutout of the Giants on Wednesday.

 

JOBA CHAMBERLAIN

New York Yankees, SP
Stats: 2-0, 0.69 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, 15 SO

Comment: Somebody tell Goose Gossage to shut up already, Joba clearly belongs in the rotation.

 

GIL MECHE

Kansas City Royals, SP
Stats: 1-0, 2.57 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 8 SO

Comment: Has now won three straight starts, allowing just 2 runs over that stretch.

 

Who’s Not

 

BATTERS

JEFF KENT

Los Angeles Dodgers, 2B

Stats: .261 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 R, 0 SB

Comment: The former doubles-machine is having trouble driving the ball in what could be his last hurrah.

 

PAUL KONERKO

Chicago White Sox, 1B

Stats: .150 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 R, 0 SB

Comment: 32-year old slugger may be seeing more of the bench as the season wears on.

 

MIKE LOWELL

Boston Red Sox, 3B

Stats: .174 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 R, 0 SB

Comment: Has been tanking in the second-half thus far in 2008.

 

PITCHERS

TODD JONES

Detroit Tigers, RP

Stats: 0-1, 11.57 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 1 SO

Comment: Before landing on the DL, Jones decided to reward his fantasy owners by imploding and losing the closer’s gig this week.

 

KYLE LOHSE

St. Louis Cardinals, SP
Stats: 0-1, 12.60 ERA, 2.40 WHIP, 2 SO

Comment: Could his poor start against the Mets (which included three homers allowed) be the beginning of Lohse coming down to Earth in 2008?

 

MICAH OWINGS

Arizona Diamondbacks, SP
Stats: 0-1, 24.00 ERA, 2.67 WHIP, 2 SO

Comment: He should have been demoted a start or two ago, but Monday’s start against the Giants was the final straw for Owings.

 

 

Start ‘Em

 

JESUS FLORES

Washington Nationals, C

Comment: Flores is worth a play this week based on his road numbers in 2008: .295 AVG, 5 HR, 27 RBI, 13 R in 105 at-bats.

 

RAMON HERNANDEZ

Baltimore Orioles, C

Comment: Hernandez has been on a tear since July 19^th: .393 AVG, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 8 R.

 

CHRIS DAVIS

Texas Rangers, 1B

Comment: Davis has collected 4 doubles and 3 homers while batting .425 over his last 9 games.

 

AUBREY HUFF

Baltimore Orioles, 1B

Comment: Over his past 9 games, Huff is hitting .486 with 3 homers, 11 RBI and 8 runs.

 

PLACIDO POLANCO

Detroit Tigers, 2B

Comment: Over his last 10 games, Polanco has picked up his production: .354 AVG, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 14 R, 2 SB.

 

ALEXEI RAMIREZ

Chicago White Sox, 2B

Comment: Since July 12^th, Ramirez is batting .345 with 2 homers, 9 RBI and 10 runs.

 

CRISTIAN GUZMAN

Washington Nationals, SS
Comment: On the road in 2008, Guzman has been worth starting in fantasy leagues: .322 AVG, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 31 R, 2 SB in 50 games.

 

RYAN THERIOT

Chicago Cubs, SS
Comment: Closed out July with strong numbers for the month: .342 AVG, 9 RBI, 13 R, 3 SB in 108 at-bats.

 

OMAR INFANTE

Atlanta Braves, 3B

Comment: Since Chipper Jones went down with a hamstring injury, Infante has really stepped up his play: .394 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 6 R in 7 games.

 

RAMON VAZQUEZ

Texas Rangers, 3B

Comment: With Blalock going back on the disabled list, Vazquez will return to a being an everyday starter. He’s batting .329 with 6 bombs, 37 RBI and 39 runs in 59 games starting for Texas this season.

 

GARRET ANDERSON

Los Angeles Angels, OF
Comment: Few have been as hot as Anderson since the All-Star break: .429 AVG, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 10 R in 13 games.

 

MATT KEMP

Los Angeles Dodgers, OF
Comment: Kemp should continue to get pretty regular at-bats with LA since he has been their best offensive player this season. He’s been on fire lately and with Manny’s bat now in the lineup, Kemp could see an uptick in his production.

 

HUNTER PENCE

Houston Astros, OF
Comment: Pence is hitting at a sick .458 since July 25^th, homering twice in the process.

 

WILLY TAVERAS

Colorado Rockies, OF
Comment: Streaky Taveras is on a roll, batting .387 and swiping 7 bases in his last 7 games.

 

AARON COOK

Colorado Rockies, SP
Comment: Cook owns outstanding career numbers versus San Diego and Washington: 11-3, 2.44 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 54 SO in 143.2 innings.

 

GAVIN FLOYD

Chicago White Sox, SP
Comment: Floyd’s terrific home numbers this season make him a must-start anytime he plays in US Cellular Field: 7-2, 2.49 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 60 SO in 76 innings.

 

UBALDO JIMENEZ

Colorado Rockies, SP
Comment: Cruising on the mound lately and draws a favorable match-up against Washington, who he held to 3 earned runs across 2 starts last year.

 

MANNY PARRA

Milwaukee Brewers, SP
Comment: Despite going through a bit of a rough patch, Parra’s two contests this week against the Nationals and Reds (two light-hitting teams) make him a strong option to start.

 

 

Sit ‘Em

BRANDON INGE

Detroit Tigers, C

Comment: With the trade of Ivan Rodriguez to New York, Inge takes over as the starting catcher for Detroit. Fantasy owners should not feel the need, however, to add Inge just because he plays for the Tigers as he has been a fairly inadequate fantasy option in his career.

 

DIONER NAVARRO

Tampa Bay Rays, C

Comment: Navarro’s lifetime numbers against the Mariners and Indians do not bode well for this week: .213 AVG, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 5 R, 0 SB in 24 games.

 

DAVID ORTIZ

Boston Red Sox, 1B

Comment: Ortiz’s value could take a hit with Manny out of town as Ramirez’s protection led to better pitches to hit for Big Papi. Couple that with Ortiz’s .221 batting average on the road and you have reason enough to bench the burly-batsman.

 

JOEY VOTTO

Cincinnati Reds, 1B
Comment: Has yet to homer since the All-Star break and is batting .250 over his past 13 games.

 

BRIAN ROBERTS

Baltimore Orioles, 2B

Comment: Since the All-Star break, Roberts has put up bum-like numbers: .208 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 7 R, 0 SB in 13 games.

 

MARK DeROSA

Chicago Cubs, 2B

Comment: DeRosa is hitting at a lame .160 clip over his past 7 games.

 

BRENDAN HARRIS

Minnesota Twins, SS

Comment: Stumbling out of the gate in the second-half, batting at a .229 clip in 10 games.

 

J.J. HARDY

Milwaukee Brewers, SS
Comment: Hardy is stuck in a 2-for-21 slump and it appears his hot streak has come to an unceremonious end.

 

ADRIAN BELTRE

Seattle Mariners, 3B

Comment: Sitting on a .224 batting average at home this season.

 

BILL HALL

Milwaukee Brewers, 3B

Comment: Owns a .148 batting average over his last 7 contests and Hall has registered just 1 double since July 13^th.

 

ANDRE ETHIER

Los Angeles Dodgers, OF

Comment: With the arrival of Manny Ramirez, there is only so much playing time to go around and Ethier is at risk to lose a lot of at-bats.

 

COREY HART

Milwaukee Brewers, OF
Comment: If you have options in your outfield, bench Hart who has struggled big-time since the All-Star break: .240 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 6 R in 12 games.

 

LASTINGS MILLEDGE

Washington Nationals, OF
Comment: Since coming off the DL, Milledge has done nothing worthy of making him an advisable start: .087 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 R, 0 SB in 6 games.

MARCUS THAMES

Detroit Tigers, OF
Comment: Thames has cooled off lately and fantasy owners can feel free to relegate him to the waiver wire.

JOHN DANKS

Chicago White Sox, SP
Comment: Has given up 4 homers in 23.1 career innings against the Tigers, whom he owns a 5.79 ERA against.

 

MATT GARZA

Tampa Bay Rays, SP
Comment: Career stats versus Cleveland and Seattle make for a unfavorable forecast for Garza this week: 1-3, 7.31 ERA, 2.03 WHIP, 33 SO in 32 innings.

 

DEREK LOWE

Los Angeles Dodgers, SP
Comment: Lowe has little career success against the St. Louis Cardinals: 1-5, 5.24 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 26 SO in 34.1 innings.

VICENTE PADILLA

Texas Rangers, SP

Comment: Padilla’s lifetime stats versus the Yankees and Orioles indicate a tough week for him ahead: 3-5, 7.12 ERA, 1.91 WHIP, 22 SO in 36.2 innings.

 

Go Figure

848- Career walks by Houston Astros 1B Lance Berkman following Monday’s win against Cincinnati. With the free pass, Berkman is now ranked third all-time in franchise history.

9- Consecutive games played by Texas Rangers 3B Hank Blalock upon returning from the disabled list on July 18^th. Before he was put on the DL again on Tuesday with a bum shoulder, Blalock was scratched from Monday’s lineup with an upset stomach, something his fantasy owners are all too familiar with.

8.54- ERA of Los Angeles Dodgers SP Hiroki Kuroda versus NL West teams. Not the type of stat you want to see as the Dodgers prepare for the stretch run.

8- Cleveland Indians C Kelly Shoppach became the eighth player in major-league history to record five extra-base hits in a game with his 2-home run, three double performance on Wednesday.

Prospect Watch

TREVOR CAHILL

Oakland Athletics, SP
Comment: The 20-year old Cahill was chosen as a member of the United States’ Olympic baseball team for good reason. Since being promoted to Double-A, Cahill has gone 6-1 with a 2.19 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 33 strikeouts in 37 innings pitched. He’s struck out 136 batters in 124.1 minor-league innings this year. Cahill gets some knocks on his game due to a fastball that tops out at 93 mph (but is mostly in the high-80s low-90s range) and a good, but not highlight-worthy, curveball and change-up that he can throw. Yet despite not featuring a big-time pitch, Cahill has great sinking action on his fastball and can generate a ton of grounders. He’s also heralded for his smarts and pitch selection on the mound, squeezing everything he can out of his stuff. The Cahill bash-wagon lost steam in 2008 thanks to his high strikeout totals and his smooth transition to Double-A and at his tender age, the crafty right-hander can only get better. Though his bags are packed for a trip to Beijing for August, Cahill could return home afterwards as a potential call-up for Oakland’s thin starting rotation.

 

Key Match-up

Detroit Tigers @ Chicago White Sox

The White Sox had all season to bury the Tigers and Detroit has put themselves in a position to make this a crucial three-game series at US Cellular Field. Chicago comes into this series licking their wounds a bit as their starting rotation is starting to get hammered by opposing lineups, though they were able to take two-out-of-three against Detroit in a three-game series at Comerica Park last weekend. Detroit’s offense has been picking up steam, particularly with the hot play of Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera. This series is very important as a sweep by Detroit would open up the race for the AL Central while a sweep by Chicago could be the difference between the Tigers making the playoffs or spending the post-season on the golf course. Gavin Floyd, John Danks and Javier Vazquez are the scheduled starters for Chicago and they will square off against Nate Robertson, Justin Verlander and Zach Miner.