h2h Corner ~ Katy Perry All-Stars XI

I’ve gotten a lot out of this column. I’ve been able to discourage my trigger happy move conscious self from grabbing the latest flavor of the month through astute analysis.

I’ve also been able to advocate holding onto several players that indeed turned it around (Soto, Beckett, Lester, Mike Cameron, you get the point). Thanks to my many readers I’ve also pushed myself to run faster and get in better shape and you’ve given me an outlet to nurture my healthy narcissism.

Thanks, readers for that. Oh, and by the way, the latest four miles: 26:20. I didn’t think I’d beat last week’s time, but I pushed on account of the public record. Another matter for the public record: Christina Aguilera’s Fighter brought me home.

Welcome to the latest installment of the weekly hot and cold fantasy update. You know this column is all about the recent hot/cold trends and how they can engulf owners.

With that said, let’s move on to who’s hot:

Gordon Beckham – Beckham has rewarded the Chicago White Sox’ patience. Last week, he scored five runs, knocked in seven and added one steal and one HR. He also posted a .519 OBP and .480 AVE. After a rough start, Beckham might be settling into his own. He could provide a good middle infield source of power and steals.

Marlon Byrd – It is summer, which means Arlington and Byrd will be heating up. Last week, Byrd muscled three HRs, hit .304 and posted a .385 OBP. He’ll fight for some at bats in a crowded Rangers outfield and DH, but when he is in the line-up he should provide some useful power numbers.

JJ Hardy – Speaking of summer and heating up, Hardy could be on his way. Last week, Hardy hit two HRs, batted .333 and posted a .375 OBP. Hardy mashes in the second half (career numbers: .286 AVE, .330 OBP and .465 OPS), so be sure to gobble him up on the cheap (he is owned in only 66 percent of Yahoo! leagues).

Nolan Reimold – Reimold continues to impress when given at bats. Posting a .400 OBP last week earned Reimold seven runs. He also hit a homer and stole a base. If he continues to get consistent playing time the power numbers should be there.

Martin Prado – Prado, who qualifies at first, second and third base, has been getting consistent playing time of late and batting atop the braves’ lineup. He hasn’t been disappointing, posting a .389 AVE and .476 OBP, while hitting a HR and knocking in six.

Jason Hammel – Recently, a wise man said he had Hammel ranked higher than he would have thought. Well, in two starts last week, Hammel struck out 10 batters while posting a 1.76/0.72 ERA/WHIP. The ratios won’t be this good, but he is pitching himself into a good match-ups option.

Felipe Paulino – Paulino, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2007, stuck out nine batters in seven IPs last week, while posting a 1.29/0.43 ERA/WHIP. He does have 46 Ks in 50.2 IPs this season, so he could be a good source of strikeouts down the stretch, especially if he keeps decent ratios.

Doug Davis – Davis struck out 13 batters in 14 IPs last week, while posting a 0.64/1.36 ERA/WHIP. Still there is a reason Davis is owned in only 13 percent of Yahoo! leagues. According to FanGraphs, Davis’ FIP (Fielder Independent Pitching on an ERA scale) is 4.27, which means his ratios are not likely to continue at this level. Feel free to deal quickly.

THE FLIP SIDE (the supposed good guys who are stinking up the joint)

Time to move on to those cold salamanders that are likely owned in your league, yet have sucked lately.

Cole Hamels – As someone who just traded for Hamels, his last week was less than inspiring: two starts, 8.2 IPs, five Ks and an 11.42/2.42 ERA/WHIP. Yikes. According to Ryan Lawrence of the North Pennsylvania Reporter, Charlie Manager is not too worried: “I went back and watched some of the game today and I couldn’t tell a whole lot of difference with his pitching…he was up, a lot of times when he missed he missed up. I think that was his problem. But his stuff to me looked pretty good.” So hopefully Manual was being truthful and/or is right.

Johan Santana – Speaking of NL East aces, the internet is once again abuzz with Santana scares. His last week didn’t dispel a lot of rumors: six IPs, four Ks, and a 7.50/2.17 ERA/WHIP. While he is the 147th ranked player in the Yahoo! game, he still has 104 Ks in 102.1 IPs and decent ratios: 3.34/1.26 ERA/WHIP. The grand total of Santana’s career outweighs his latest hiccups. He might not end up the #1 pitcher in the game, but I don’t see anything that suggests there is a precipitous downfall coming.

Justin Verlander – Verlander had two starts last week and 11.1 IPs. The good news: 12 Ks, the bad news: 5.56/1.59 ERA/WHIP. The strike-out ratio is nice, but one thing gives pause: his second half ERA/WHIP is 4.96/1.49. There is a good history (247 IPs) to suggest Verlander wears down. If you can get market value for him, it might not hurt to be selling.

Orlando Hudson – I’ve never liked O-dog, seeing him as little more than a Placido Polanco clone. Last week he went 1/21 and posted a 0.48 OBP. He didn’t add any runs or RBIs. For the season, he hasn’t been bad, but I might even prefer Martin Prado at the moment. If you can trade Hudson for decent value and pick up a Prado, Ian Stewart, Casey McGehee, or Jose Lopez, that’d be a good way to maximize your roster.

Adrian Gonzalez – As Adrian Gonzalez’ #1 fantasy fan, his recent history is a bit scary. In addition to a slight knee injury (for which he has missed zero games), he was just 3/21 with one RBI last week. He did post a serviceable .333 OBP, of course that only helps if you’re in an OBP league. It does mean he isn’t seeing pitches badly, just that he isn’t getting much to hit. He won’t be the monster that he was, but he’ll still be a useful first baseman.

Dan Uggla – Mama said they’re be weeks like this with Uggla: zero runs, HRs and RBIs. While he only hit .211, he did post a .348 OBP. As long as his OBP remains decent, the runs and RBIs will come. He’s a streaky player, what can you do?

Jimmy Rollins – The most disappointing fantasy performer this year, Rollins had an unsurprising disappointing week: just 12 ABs, two hits, one SB and a .231 OBP. If his OBP continues to falter he won’t even help with SBs. Rollins is a much better second half player: .287 AVE, .347 OBP and .464 SLG. So it is likely he will have an upswing. If you can buy low, I’d approve that. However, don’t pay more than $0.60 on the dollar.

Magglio Ordonez – Ordonez, the player I’d most want to see a bobble head* of given how they would handle his hair, hasn’t been good lately: just 2/20 with one SB and a .100 OBP last week. Since being benched, Ordonez has gone just 5/30, so another benching could be eminent. You’d think he could bounce back, but he hasn’t been good at all this year.

*Check-out the new banner on custom bobble heads at the top of the post. It’s awesome!

All stats are as of July 3.

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