Ageless Moyer

Jamie Moyer of the Phillies just recorded his 6th win of the season by beating the Florida Marlins. In my eyes, this pitcher should be throwing out batting practice with his low 80's/high 70's fastball. I haver been a fan of pitchers like Maddux and Moyer but they seem to know what it takes to be winners. At this point in the fantasy season, Moyer has proven himself a reliable 3/4th starter in all fantasy formats. He should be owned.

Ellsbury

Jacob Ellsbury of the Red Sox is tearing up the base paths right now. Over his past 5 games he has recorded 9 SB's!!!! During this stretch he had back to back nights of 3SB's, wow, can you say winning the SB by himself?!?

Enjoy his services but since you have a speed demon on your team in Ellsbury, you can use another player who steals to sweeten deals to acquire help in some areas. Remember, this is fantasy baseball and you can only win if you put up the stats. Deal players when you have a strong hold on a category to help in categories where you are weak in.

Jay Bruce

For those individuals who were able to find and place Jay Bruce of the Reds on their rosters, it seems to have paid immediate dividends. Everyone knew by his minor league stats that he could hit but after 6 games in the big leagues, Bruce has shown his ability to change and adapt to a whole new game.

After 6 games Bruce is hitting .591 (13-22), 2HR, 6RBI, 6BB, and 2SB. Obviously these numbers are not going to continue throughout the season but you might be wondering what kind of realistic numbers can he actually put up by the end of September. Well, after looking through his minor league numbers I believe a stat line of .315-.325AVG, 15-20HR, 70-80RBI's, and 15-25SB's. These are absolutely amazing numbers especially for a rookie at the tender age of 21.

Remember, pitchers throughout the majors will adapt to his hitting and with all those video cameras everywhere, coaches will have the chance to dissect every pitch and and every swing to see where his weaknesses are. But as I mentioned before, Bruce has the ability to adapt to pitchers so let the cat and mouse games begin.

Brrruuuuuuuuuuuuccceeeeeee!

Saves in Review for June 1

The Usual Suspects
Lidge (13), Franklin (6), and Wood (14).

Stupid BS
Hoffman (3) with 3ER and a loss.
Ryan (1) with 2ER and a loss.

Technically not a loss, Putz with 4ER's and the loss.

Manny = 500HR Club

Manny Ramirez of the Red Sox has hit his 500th career home run.

Manny is hitting .286 with 10HR's/35RBI's/33R's.

Congratulations Manny!

Carlos Gonzalez

After the arrivals of Jay Bruce and Clayton Kershaw on red carpets Carlos Gonzalez of the Athletics arrived through the back door and made his major league debut on May 31 hitting 2 doubles and adding a RBI. This LF'er has the potential to give owners a .290AVG, 10-15HR's, 75-80RBI's, and adding in 10SB's. This player will give you what you need, stats. If you are in need of some help grab this guy off the FA list. For some leagues, he is still considered as a waiver pick but I don't believe you should waste a first overall pick on this guy. He will most likely fall into the FA pool and you can grab him with just a drop/pick.

Al-only owners should pick him up ASAP. Mixed owners should wait and see if he can find a spot in the lineup as a full-time player.

Griffey

Ken Griffey Jr. of the Reds has hit his 599 career home run and hopeful to reach 600 soon. After only hitting 1HR in May, Griffey and owners are hoping he will start to heat up as the weather starts to warm up.

Shawn Estes

Shawn Estes of the Padres was placed on the 15-Day DL after falling in the dugout and breaking his left thumb. These injuries always make me laugh because of how much these players make and they end up injuring themselves off the field. Yes, they are freak accidents but they are amusing.

Estes isn't a fantasy game changer but he does have some value in NL-only leagues. DL him or just drop him.

Kershaw

Kershaw of the Dodgers threw a very unimpressive game by going 3.2IP, 4ER's, 2K's, and 4BB's. At times expect Kershaw to throw games like this because of his movement on his fastball and also his age. He is still very young and owners shouldn't expect him to come out and throw 7 scoreless innings while striking out 8-10 batters. In time it should happen but take your time with this pitcher. Owners don't drop him or trade him unless you get fair value in the trade.

Most people used a first waiver wire pick on him and with this you should relax and go through the growing pains of a young pitcher. His tremendous upside is something no one can overlook.

Josh Banks

Josh Banks of the Padres just pitched a complete game 6-hitter against the lowly Giants in just his 3rd appearance of the year. This young pitcher who was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 2nd round during the 2003 amateur draft is a promising pitcher but don't expect his 0.00ERA to continue through the year. His minor league career ERA of 4.33 is something closer to expect from this pitcher. His ability to strike batters out, 3-5K's/9IP, is a decent number but nothing special.

Owners, don't fall for this quick start just yet. His first two starts have been against two terrible hitting teams, the Reds BEFORE Jay Bruce and the Giants. Wait until he starts against a stronger hitting team to see how he might fit in the majors.

As always with rookies and pitching, keep him on your radar.