Tulo/Barmes

Troy Tulowitzky and Clint Barmes of the Rockies are playing in AAA for conditioning/rehab and will be back with the Rockies within the next week, if all goes well. This is great news for owners who have had to live without the services of Tulo and Barmes, even though Tulo was awful during the start of the season. Owners are hoping Tulo can come back and provide some pop as a middle infielder and go back to his 2007 stats where he hit .291 with 24HR's and 99RBI's. On the other hand, Barmes was tearing things up at the plate just before he went on the DL and owners should put him back into your rosters because he should provide some decent pop as a 2nd baseman.

If you look at the Rockies lineup (Holliday, Atkins, Hawpe, and Helton) you can see that adding Tulo and Barmes should produce some fireworks. This group of 6 can light up opposing pitchers in a hurry.

Take a quick look on the FA list and see if Tulo or Barmes are sitting there. If so, grab them.

Speed Demon

Willy Taveras of the Rockies stole FIVE bases in a 2-0 victory over the White Sox. Willy went 2-4 with a BB. So far this season, Taveras has been a disappointment because of his poor AVG and OBP. His SB's are on track for a career high. His current career high in SB's is 34 and he is already at 29 for the season.

Owners who have Taveras, most have dropped him, should really consider if he should be on your fantasy roster. His inability to get on base and his terrible average is destroying his value. If you can afford a low average and need steals this is the guy you can live with. On the other side, if you need SB's and he's available on the wire go out and grab him to see if you can get some SB's and climb back into competition in that category.

This speedster does have some upside because his numbers in the past few years have been very good. He is a career .287 hitter and has averaged 33SB's every year with a .333OBP. If he can hit .290-.300 the rest of the way, he could easily be a sleep for the second half of the season, if we can even classify him as a sleeper.

After this 5SB outburst, I can almost guarantee owners will be flocking to the wire to pick him up.

Tulo

Troy Tulowitzky of the Rockies who is on the DL with a torn tendon in his quad was scheduled to be back after the all-start break but seems to have healed extremely quickly. He is scheduled to start a minor league rehab stint on Tuesday which should last around 10 games and if finishes the rehab stint with no problems he could be back in the Rockies lineup in 2 weeks.

For owners this is great news but in his return, owners are hoping the 2007 Tulo returns who hit 24HR's, 99RBI's, and batted .291 instead of his current .152AVG, 1HR, and 11RBI season.

If he is on the FA list, go out and grab him NOW!

Posada / Hawpe

Since returning from the DL, Jorge Posada of the Yankess has left off where all owners were expecting from this stud catcher. In 10 AB's he has 3H's, 1HR, 2RBIS's, and 2BB's. To owners who have Posada, like me, enjoy his services. He should be plugged back into your lineup RIGHT NOW.

As of right now, Brad Hawpe of the Rockies has hit HR's in back to back games since returning from the DL. At the moment, the Rockies are in the 3rd inning. Maybe Hawpe will provide some more production for owners. Hopefully, this is a sign of Hawpe going back to his 2007 pace and has left his 2008 struggles behind. For owners in leagues where Hawpe was dropped because of his struggles and his injury, go out and grab him. It might turn out to be a steal.

Seth Smith

Seth Smith of the Rockies is getting regular playing time in the big leagues after injuries have ravaged the Rockies lineup. So far, Smith has hit extremely well down in AAA this season going .321AVG, 6HR's, and 30RBI's all in 45 games.

Owners in NL-only leagues should have him on their rosters right now. Mixed league owners should take a look and if you are in need of hitting, Smith isn't a bad choice.

Holliday

After running out a grounder and injuring his left hamstring, All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday was officially placed on the 15-Day DL yesterday. This is terrible news for owners of Holliday BUT this is a better time for a DL stint than later in the season where production is hard to find. The Rockies will take this DL stint of his very slowly and cautiously so don't expect him to return unless he is 100% healed. With all the other injuries to the Rockies organization this is a huge blow to the team.

Owners, just sit back and try to patch the hole Holliday leaves, even though it is impossible to find a player let alone 2-3 players who can fill his shoes. He will be back so don't worry too much.

2008 Stat line = .321AVG, 8HR, 26RBI, 33R, and 8SB's.

Rockies and their injuries

Clint Barmes, who is replacing Troy Tulowitzky, was placed on the DL with a right knee strain. Just as owners were benefiting from Barmes, he goes down to injury. Expect him back after the DL stint. More news will be reported after an MRI.

Brad Hawpe was also placed on the DL with Barmes with a right hamstring sprain. This isn't huge news for most unless you are in a NL-only league.

But the big news from the Rockies is the injury to Matt Holliday. He suffered a slight strain to his left hamstring while running out a ground ball during the 9th inning. Currently, he is day-to-day but will be re-evaluated on Sunday. This is HUGE news for owners who own Holliday and for others who don't. For owners, just hope he is day-to-day and comes back without having to go on the DL.

Francis

Finally, Canadian Jeff Francis of the Rockies has earned his first win of the season. Pitching 6.1 innings and allowing 2ER's, Francis finally finds himself on the winning side and for owners it isn't soon enough. Owners should continue holding onto Francis for the next few starts just to see if he has turned the corner. He is worth of a roster spot right now in all formats.

Barmes

Clint Barmes of the Rockies is filling in well for Tulowitzky. He has 12 hits in his past 10 games and increased his batting average from .280 to .337. If you are in need of some help in the middle infield Barmes is a great option for you. With Tulo being absent for a while, Barmes will have plenty of time to play SS.

Iannetta

For readers who are familiar with my writing, you all know the need for catchers and how difficult it is to find a catcher that will add value to your team outside the top five catchers in baseball. So I tend to focus on hot catchers and who to watch out for if you were unable to grab a top five catcher in the draft.

Chris Iannetta of the Rockies is swinging the hot bat of late. This highly touted prospect of a few years ago is making me write a post about him. In his past 10 games he's had 11 hits, 3HR's, and 10RBI's. Even though he's not the full time catcher right now, with his hot bat he's been placed in front of Yorvit Torrealba (who is the usual starting catcher) for the majority of games in the past week or so.

For you folks out there, go out and grab Iannetta and put him as your catcher. If he continues this hot hitting he'll be the starting catcher.

DL Update

It seems like the DL is swallowing plenty of players on a daily basis.

Troy Tulowitzki SS Rockies hasn't been officially been placed on the DL just yet but it seems highly because of his quadricep or hip flexor. You might be wondering why an injury hasn't been officially been diagnosed. Well, according to Tulo he doesn't even know what the problem might be. Owners should stash him on the DL or if you are in a tight roster position try to add him into a trade to someone who has an available DL spot. His sophomore season just isn't working out.

Phil Hughes SP Yankees was placed on the 15Day-DL with a strained right oblique. Hughes was a highly touted pitcher coming into the season but has pitched more like a glorified minor leaguer in 2008. With an ERA of 9.00 in 22 innings, this is a great chance for him to rest and see if he can solve something that isn't working. You should only keep this pitcher on your roster if you are in a dynasty league or if you have a huge bench. In most leagues, he's cut ASAP.

John Smoltz SP Braves, as you know, is already on the DL. The bigs news is he might return as a closer. Yes, you read that right. There is talk about him coming back as a closer to reduce the amount of stress on the old body. During his stint as a closer he had 154 saves in 4 seasons...impressive! So, for you owners who are in search of a closer, try and trade for Smoltz now when his value might be a little lower than what it should be. Even if he comes back as a starter he's still a dominant pitcher in all leagues/formats.

Fuentes

Brian Fuentes recorded his second save of the season against the San Francisco Giants last night. Corpas owners who didn't grab Fuentes should be kicking themselves. Saves in any fantasy league is absolutely cutthroat. Expect Fuentes to continue as the closer unless he has problems, like his 2 week stretch in 2007 which cost him his closer role.

Fantasy Advice...saves and SB's are always the hardest to find in all fantasy leagues so make sure to draft SB's and saves plus watch the wire for injuries and the performance of current closers. Adding someone like Fuentes to your team from the waiver wire can make or break a fantasy championship.

Fuentes/Corpas

Another closer is in hot waters and in this case might even be moved out of the closer position altogether. Manny Corpas of the Rockies is throwing some batting practice during games and isn't closing out games with saves but rather giving their opponents one last chance for victory. In his last 4 save opportunities, he's blown 3 of them.

This is where former Rockies closer Brian Fuentes comes in. He is the closer in waiting and the waiting is over. After losing his closer job last year, Fuentes has come out strong this year posting a stat line of 0-1, 1SV, 12IP, 8H, 3ER, 10K's, with a 2.25ERA.

Owners, go out and grab Fuentes in your league ASAP. He will not be available for long.