The Lineup

 Email This Post

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. 11-17. All stats up to and including August 7.

Who’s Hot

BATTERS

MATT HOLLIDAY

Colorado Rockies, OF
Stats: .379 AVG, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 10 R, 2 SB
Comment: Holliday is in the midst of a nine-game hitting streak and his batting average has risen each month since the start of the season.

RYAN LUDWICK

St. Louis Cardinals, OF
Stats: .480 AVG, 6 HR, 8 RBI, 9 R, 0 SB

Comment: Ludwick enjoyed a five-game home run streak that ended on Thursday.

MANNY RAMIREZ

Los Angeles Dodgers, OF
Stats: .565 AVG, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 7 R, 0 SB

Comment: With the way he’s re-energized a sagging Dodgers team, LA would be foolish not to keep him around past ’08.

PITCHERS

JEFF KARSTENS

Pittsburgh Pirates, SP
Stats: 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 6 SO
Comment: While he is not going to keep it up, it’s hard to imagine a better start for a middle-of-the-pack pitcher switching teams and leagues.

TIM LINCECUM

San Francisco Giants, SP
Stats: 1-0, 1.80 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 19 SO

Comment: The fact that he has 12 wins on a pathetic Giants team is enough to warrant CY Young consideration.

BRIAN WILSON

San Francisco Giants, RP
Stats: 0-0, 4 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 3 SO

Comment: Say what you will about Wilson, but the man gets his saves.

Who’s Not

BATTERS

JIMMY ROLLINS

Philadelphia Phillies, SS

Stats: .182 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 R, 1 SB

Comment: J-Roll is destined to finish the season with numbers closer to his 2006 and 2005 seasons instead of his blockbuster ’07 campaign.

BRANDON PHILLIPS

Cincinnati Reds, 2B

Stats: .192 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R, 0 SB

Comment: Streaky Phillips has been rather boring since the All-Star break.

GRADY SIZEMORE

Cleveland Indians, OF
Stats: .118 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 R, 0 SB

Comment: Given a rare night off Wednesday by manager Eric Wedge in an attempt to awaken his bat.

PITCHERS

RAFAEL BETANCOURT

Cleveland Indians, RP
Stats: 0-0, 0 SV, 40.50 ERA, 4.50 WHIP, 1 SO

Comment: Remember early in the season when he seemed like a potential elite closer with the injury of Joe Borowski? Neither does Betancourt.

SCOTT KAZMIR

Tampa Bay Rays, SP

Stats: 0-0, 7.00 ERA, 2.33 WHIP, 9 SO

Comment: Has not pitched 6 full innings in 8 out of his last 10 starts.

DEREK LOWE

Los Angeles Dodgers, SP
Stats: 0-1, 21.60 ERA, 3.90 WHIP, 2 SO

Comment: Gave up 13 hits against St. Louis on Wednesday, including a grand slam by Albert Pujols.

Start ‘Em

A.J. PIERZYNSKI

Chicago White Sox, C
Comment: Pierzynski has been seeing the ball well since the All-Star break: .294 AVG, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 5 R in 68 at-bats.

KURT SUZUKI

Oakland Athletics, C

Comment: Suzuki should swing a sound bat this week based on his home numbers in 2008: .324 AVG, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 26 R, 2 SB in 57 games.

BILLY BUTLER

Kansas City Royals, 1B

Comment: Butler’s .348 batting average since the All-Star break makes him worth starting if your team needs a hitting boost.

DOUG MIENTKIEWICZ

Pittsburgh Pirates, 1B

Comment: Don’t laugh. He’s getting regular playing time filling in for Adam LaRoche and Mientkiewicz has been worth using since July 23^rd: .389 AVG, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 5 R.

AKINORI IWAMURA

Tampa Bay Rays, 2B
Comment: Iwamura has been on a roll lately and he is batting .326 against the Rangers and Athletics this season.

JOSE LOPEZ

Seattle Mariners, 2B

Comment: Has raked the ball this season against the Angels and Twins: .396 AVG, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 10 R in 10 games.

STEPHEN DREW

Arizona Diamondbacks, SS
Comment: Drew, the forgotten sleeper of ’07, has quietly put together a nice season and is in the middle of a 10 game hit streak.

DEREK JETER

New York Yankees, SS
Comment: Over the past week, Jeter has picked up his offensive output: .370 AVG, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3 R, 1 SB.

EVAN LONGORIA

Tampa Bay Rays, 3B

Comment: Though he was hit by a pitch on the right wrist on Thursday night, X-rays are negative and the All-Star rookie third baseman feels fine. Do not have any qualms about starting Longoria this week as he continues to carry the Rays.

TY WIGGINTON

Houston Astros, 3B
Comment: Has been on fire over his past 5 games: .471 AVG, 2 HR, 3 doubles, 4 RBI, 3 R.

MIKE CAMERON

Milwaukee Brewers, OF
Comment: Streaky Cameron is on the cusp of a breakout this week and with the Brewers playing with some fire, he could be a great addition to fantasy rosters.

BRANDON MOSS

Pittsburgh Pirates, OF
Comment: Moss has hit the ground running in Pittsburgh and fantasy owners should take advantage while he’s feeling it.

SKIP SCHUMAKER

St. Louis Cardinals, OF

Comment: Over his past 11 games, Schumaker is batting at a terrific .405 clip

FERNANDO TATIS

New York Mets, OF
Comment: Is in the middle of an 11 game hit streak right now and has been a key player for the Mets lately. Keep him active until he slows down.

RANDY JOHNSON

Arizona Diamondbacks, SP
Comment: Over his past 6 starts, he’s been vintage Johnson: 5-1, 1.59 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 32 SO in 39.2 innings.

GIL MECHE

Kansas City Royals, SP
Comment: Since the All-Star break, it’s been a different Meche on the mound: 4-0, 1.71 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 27 SO in 26.1 innings.

MIKE MUSSINA

New York Yankees, SP
Comment: Moose gets a rather mediocre Minnesota offense this week, which he is 22-6 against lifetime.

JAVIER VAZQUEZ

Chicago White Sox, SP
Comment: He’s struggled plenty in 2008, but Vazquez two starts versus the light-hitting Royals and Athletics this week.

Sit ‘Em

GERALD LAIRD

Texas Rangers, C

Comment: While Laird has been cruising at the plate of late, expect his offensive production to screech to a halt this week based on his career stats versus Boston and Tampa Bay: .208 AVG, 0 HR, 13 RBI, 16 R, 2 SB in 39 games.

BRIAN McCANN

Atlanta Braves, C
Comment: Struggling since returning to action after his mild concussion. As a precaution, fantasy owners should bench the All-Star catcher until he looks right.

CASEY KOTCHMAN

Atlanta Braves, 1B

Comment: Kotchman has been a bust since arriving in Atlanta: .152 AVG, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R in 9 games.

DERREK LEE

Chicago Cubs, 1B

Comment: Lee’s second-half, where he has batted .225, has been bad enough to warrant a benching this week.

JEFF BAKER

Colorado Rockies, 2B

Comment: Bat has gone cold recently and with so many infield options in Colorado, Baker’s playing time could be in jeopardy the rest of the season unless he heats back up in a hurry.

IAN KINSLER

Texas Rangers, 2B
Comment: Kinsler has fallen into a slump in the second-half and fantasy owners would be wise to wait it out before installing him back into their lineup.

EDGAR RENTERIA

Detroit Tigers, SS

Comment: Is actually losing at-bats to Ramon Santiago now and if manager Jim Leyland is losing faith in Renteria, fantasy owners should abandon ship.

MIGUEL TEJADA

Houston Astros, SS

Comment: Continues to frustrate fantasy owners with his inconsistent play and it looks like he will fail to top 20 homers for the second year in a row.

CHIPPER JONES

Atlanta Braves, 3B

Comment: Chipper is due to come back this weekend, but manager Bobby Cox had indicated that Jones could pinch-hit for a few games and with that tender hamstring, who knows how effective he will be this week?

RYAN ZIMMERMAN

Washington Nationals, 3B

Comment: Despite returning to the starting lineup, a poor offense, recovering shoulder and sore wrist all point to a troubling week for Zimmerman.

DAVID DeJESUS

Kansas City Royals, OF
Comment: If you own DeJesus, it may be time to drop the fragile outfielder whose ankle injury may keep him out this week. Even if he does play, the ailment could derail his production.

JUAN RIVERA

Los Angeles Angels, OF
Comment: Just when it looked like he was set to get regular at-bats with Gary Matthews in the dog-house, Rivera’s struggles have sent him back to more of a reserve role.

CODY ROSS

Florida Marlins, OF
Comment: Has come back to Earth and is a candidate to lose at-bats, cut ties with him now.

DELMON YOUNG

Minnesota Twins, OF
Comment: Batting at a mere .214 over the past week and has just 1 homer run since July 4^th.

JOSH BECKETT

Boston Red Sox, SP
Comment: Bench Beckett? When you consider his recent struggles and his life-time ERA marks versus the White Sox (4.64) and Blue Jays (4.92), how could you not?

FELIX HERNANDEZ

Seattle Mariners, SP

Comment: His 4.79 career ERA against the white-hot Angels is more than enough reason to sit the Mariners ace.

DAISUKE MATSUZAKA

Boston Red Sox, SP

Comment: While he is 2-0 since last year versus Texas, Dice-K’s 6.97 ERA against the Rangers should give his fantasy owners cause for concern this week.

OLIVER PEREZ

New York Mets, SP
Comment: In 6 career starts against Washington, Perez has not fared well: 2-3, 5.74 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 26 SO in 31.1 IP.

Go Figure

130- Pitches thrown by Detroit Tigers SP Justin Verlander on Wednesday night in an effort to preserve the bullpen, which was exhausted after a 14 inning game on Tuesday.

17- Wins totaled by the Texas Rangers this season when SP Vicente Padilla is on the hill. They have lost just 5 games in 2008 when Padilla starts.

1- Monday’s game against Seattle marked the first time in Minnesota Twins C Joe Mauer’s career that the All-Star catcher allowed two passed balls in a contest.

.612- OPS of Seattle Mariners DH Jose Vidro, good for fifth-lowest in baseball. Vidro was designated for assignment Tuesday.

Prospect Watch

CHRIS TILLMAN, Baltimore Orioles, SP
Comment: Part of the haul in the Erik Bedard trade, Tillman gives the Orioles fan base reason for hope. Tillman features a biting, hard fastball and a nasty knee-buckling power curve. Like most young pitching prospects, he has to work on developing a major-league worthy change-up. The 20-year old right-hander has gone 7-3 for Double-A Bowie this year with a 3.63 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. His control is clearly an issue as he’s issued 55 walks in 106.2 minor-league innings in 2008, but his strikeout potential is evident as he’s whiffed 114 already this year. Problems with his command stem from his lack of a third pitch as even the filthiest of pitchers cannot survive on a healthy diet of strictly fastballs and curveballs. This one caveat appears to be the only thing standing in his way of being a top-of-the-rotation starter in the majors. He’s not likely to get a call in 2008, though entering Spring Training; Tillman will be one prospect that should have the attention of fantasy owners everywhere.

Key Match-up

Arizona Diamondbacks @ Colorado Rockies

To the naked eye observing today’s standings, the Colorado Rockies appear to be a team just playing out the end of the season. But considering the lack of quality teams in their division and the comeback they staged late last season, this week presents a tremendous opportunity for them to get right back into this thing. The D-backs, who currently still hold first in the NL West, were toppled by Colorado last year in the playoffs and the Rockies have the chance to turn the tide with a big series in Coors Field. Arizona is dominating the season series so far, however, leading 8-1. The scheduled starters for Colorado are Jeff Francis, Ubaldo Jimenez and Glendon Rusch and they will be opposed by Randy Johnson, Yusmeiro Petit and Doug Davis.