Watch the Radar

Here are a few guys you need to keep an eye out and make sure they don't leave your radar.

Andruw Jones of the Braves. He is expected to return after the All-Star break if all goes well. Currently, he is in the minors for a rehab stint. Most owners cut him loose and he should be sitting on the FA list. If you have a spot on your bench or a DL spot go out and grab him and stash him away. If he can live up to his old power and the $18million contract, he could be a steal for the second half.

Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals is recovering from right elbow surgery and should have returned by the All-Star break but has recently hit a snag in his recovery. It seem like the Cardinals are going to take things extremely slow and hope he can come back for the stretch run. If the Cardinals are in a play-off race you will Carpenter back but if they are completely out Carpenter will be a sleeper for the 2009 fantasy season.

Fuentes and Street of the Rockies and A's respectively are both rumoured to be on the trading block. This is terrible news for owners because if they are traded they will most likely turn into set-up men and would destroy all fantasy value. If you have either player I would try to and see if anyone wants to take their services off your hands. Try to sell these guys to another team that is on the bottom of the saves category, don't sell to the competition. Make sure to keep an eye out on this situation.

Moises Alou of the Mets is suppose to return to the lineup in the next week or two but the Mets are going to take extreme caution with this player...he is old and brittle. If you have room on your team try and pick him up because when he is not injured he produces for fantasy owners. He is available in almost all leagues. Take a quick peak on the FA list and see if he is there, if so, take a chance on him.

Richie Sexson of the Mariners is not finding it pleasant due to the fact that rumours are swirling that he is going to be out very soon. So far this season he hasn't produced and many owners have cut ties with him a long time ago. If you look at his stats he is a .284 hitter after the All-Star break and .244 before so if you have a spot on your bench maybe this is the time to grab him and stash him there and see if he gets hot. If he can go on one of his tears he can easily hit 15-20HR's in the second half and still give you the decent AVG (.284) as well. If you are in desperate need of power this guy might be your solution.

Kenny Lofton is still sitting on the side and waiting for a contract to be handed to him. This guy, even at the ripe age of 41, still has something in him to help fantasy owners. Last season, at 40 years of age, he produced 23SB's and hit .296 in 490AB's. Looking at those numbers, I am curious on the reason why he hasn't been dealt a contract. As a veteran he can still produce on the field and hopefully could still help the younger guys out. I have that he is demanding too much money and when his price goes down teams will be there with the paper and pen. Owners, make sure to keep an eye out for Lofton because he can easily put up 10-15SB's in the second of the season while hitting .275.

Barry Bonds is sitting, just like Lofton, without a contract this season. After finishing his legal issues for this year (he has court dates set for 2009) Bonds is waiting for a club to offer him a contract. The problem is no one is willing to go out and sign this homerun king (I use the term loosely) because of what their fans might do. Honestly, I think it is a mistake in not signing him. Bonds is still able to produce as a DH (2007: .276, 28HRs, 66RBIs, 132BBs, 5SBs, and only 54Ks in 340AB's) and would bring a team a left handed bat. If he is signed, ALL fantasy owners should pick him up ASAP.

Rocco Baldelli of the Rays is still trying to make his way back to the Majors after being sidelined with a mitocondrial disorder that cause fatigue in his legs. This guy, if healthy, has the potential to produce 20HRs and 20SB's but the problem is inability to stay healthy. Just keep him in the back of your mind just in case he finds a way to get healthy and stay healthy.

Davis & Butler

Chris Davis of the Rangers is up in the big leagues after tearing up AA/AAA this year. He had 23HRs and 73RBIs this year. He will find himself in the lineup on a daily basis except when lefties are on the hill. So far, he is 3/8 with 2HR's and 3RBI's. This kid can hit but the only problem is what is going to happen with him when Blalock returns from the DL. If Davis continues to hit he'll be left on the big league team and most likely lose a few at-bats because of Blalock. If have the first waiver priority this kid is worth the pick-up only if you are in need of power. Since he might not be in the bigs for longer than 2 weeks it might not be worth the pick unless, like I said, you are in desperate need of power.

Billy Butler of the Royals is back with the big club and with his big bat fantasy owners should take notice. After being sent to the minors Butler has taken his frustration and anger and turned it into production, going .337AVG with 5HR's in 101AB's. This can hit and since he should be out there on the FA list, go out and grab him.

Mags

Mr. Ordonez of the Tigers is on the 15Day DL. This is terrible news for owners.

He is hitting .307AVG, 12HR, and 50RBI this year.

No Hitter! but...

The title says it all. The game between the Angels and the Dodgers was won by the Dodgers even though they didn't register a hit during the game. The final score was 1-0.

Take a quick look. CLICK HERE for the ESPN video.

Coming Home with a Baseball

One of the great things about baseball games is the fact that a fan can leave the game with a souvenir that was actually used during a game. Of course I'm speaking about a game used baseball. Well, some fans are absolutely obsessed with grabbing a ball and some fan has 3,494 and counting.

The following article was written by Pat Graham from the Associated Press.

CLICK HERE.

Streaky Hitters

Just taking a look at the FA list and here are a few players that might help your team out in the foreseeable future.

Casey Blake - Indians
Jose Bautista - Pirates
Maicer Izturis - Angels
Jody Gerut - Padres
Coco Crisp - Red Sox

Mulder

Mark Mulder of the Cardinals is back from the DL and will be used primarily against lefties from the bullpen. This is not big fantasy news and shouldn't affect owners but make sure to keep an eye out for this lefty, he is capable of putting together a string of great performances together. Even though his amazing days from the A's is over, when healthy he is capable of pitching well.

He's not worth the add right now but if he does improve his stamina and shows La Russa he can handle starting duties, pick him up in speculation. If he bombs, drop him.

Matsui

Hideki Matsui of the Yankees is on the DL and may require surgery to repair things in his left knee. During the off-season Matsui had surgery on his right knee and now his left knee is bothering him. According to the team, Masui had his left knee drained and is now going to rest on the DL and see if it gets better but if things don't improve surgery is the last resort.

Owners who have Matsui are disappointed, espeically since he is producing at the plate with a .323AVG, 7HR, and 34RBI. Place him on your DL and see what happens in the next week or so. If things improve be happy it wasn't worse but if things lead to surgery you might lose Godzilla for the rest of the season or at least the majority of it. Time to find a replacement for this player on your roster.

The wire has plenty of players that can hold the fort until Hideki comes back (hopefully).

Look at:
Jim Edmonds
David Dejesus
Russell Branyan
Nick Swisher
Aubrey Huff
Randy Winn

Kershaw and Bruce

Clayton Kershaw and Jay Bruce both were both called up from the minors this season to a red carpet studded event and there was reason for that. Both players have huge upside and bring their respective clubs, the Dodgers and the Reds, a great future but lately both players are struggling to produce.

Kershaw, remember he is only 20 years old, is 0-2 with a 4.36ERA in 7 starts this season. He is giving owners some nice K/9IP (7.9/9IP) but is not giving owners enough innings at this moment (only pitchimg more than 5.1 innings once). The Dodgers organization is going to protect this young pitcher and I see them shutting him down early when he reaches a specified innings limit, most likely around 140-160IP for the season. Joe Torre is not like the stupid Dusty Baker who ruined the careers of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood by making them throw too many innings too early in their careers. Kershaw will be a fantasy stud but his time is not now. Owners who keep him on their teams because the high K/9IP is worth a spot on all rosters.

Jay Bruce jumped on the scene with huge numbers in his 10-15 games but since then has fallen from the heavens. He is currently being dropped in most leagues and I can see why but I personally as a Jay Bruce owner am going to keep him on my roster for now. You should too! Since the word AVERAGE is what it says it is, it's a average. He was never going to hit .457 for the rest of the season. His current struggles is just a little correction and he should land in the .280 area and hover there for the rest of the season. This kid is not going to bring stud fantasy numbers like Matt Holliday immediately. Learning the pitchers and adjusting to them after they adjust to Bruce is a cat and mous game that I know Bruce will succeed in. So, owners...just hang on tight and realize that this kid is not going to give you monster numbers but in the end he will help you as a 5-tool player. For now, bench him until he starts to show signs of breaking out of his slump. If you can, try and grab him from another owner for cheap.

Sheffield

Gary Sheffield of the Tigers has returned from the DL and seems to have found his stroke as well. Since his return he has 6hits, 2HR's, 4RBI's and only 2K's all in 13AB's. We all know that Sheffield has one of the quickest and most violent swings in the majors but with his age and injuries to his shoulders the swing is starting to slow just a little. I don't see Sheffield being a huge fantasy player anymore but if you can grab him and place in your OF or UTIL spot as a 3/4th outfielder you'll do just fine. Don't count on Sheffield to bring in a huge 2nd half, don't get me wrong he has the ability to do so but I just don't see a high probability of this happening.