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Rajai Davis

A quick look at Week 8's top performing and least owned players. Max Scherzer's 14Ks, Brett Cecil on a roll and more. Who will continue the hot streak in week 9?

BATTERS
Drew Stubbs20% of Y! Leagues
6 R /  2 HRS / 6 RBI / .435 BA
So when is a .235 season average a good thing? Its good when you’ve raised your average 32 points in the past week. Stubby move from leadoff to the bottom of the lineup has taken the pressure off and we are slowly seeing why he is one of the better 2nd year players out there. With his speed and power we should see some continued success.

Angel Pagan – 20% of Y! Leagues
5 R /  1 HR / 2 RBI / 4 SB / 360 BA
In 343 AB last season Angel stole 14 bases and already has 9 (4 coming this week) in only 176 AB. He can maintain close to a .300 average so as long as he can find the ABs over the course of the season, he should be able to put up decent numbers. Omar Minaya said Beltran is still 4-6 weeks away from returning giving Pagan decent fantasy value for another month or longer.

Seth Smith – 5% of Y! Leagues
5 R /  3 HRS / 6 RBI / .353 BA
In slightly over 300 AB last season Smith put up awesome numbers and everyone is excited to see what he can do with 500+ AB. If Smith actually gets that many at bats, he’d be on pace to hit around 30 homers and 90 runs/rbis. Like all Rockies, playing in Colorado vs Away has been night day (7 hrs .333 avg vs 1 hr .200 avg)

Rajai Davis – 50% of Y! Leagues
5 R /  5SB .381 BA
In less than 400 AB last year Davis swiped 41SB. In only 167 AB this year he already has 20 and is leading the league. Rajai's average dipped to a low .212 towards the end of April but he's raised it 50 points. It's beyond me why he would only be owned in half of leagues. Just having him for the 1 category should be enough. 

Jason Kubel – 50% of Y! Leagues
4 R /  2 HRS / 7 RBI / .375 BA
Again another player only owned in 50% of leagues. A slow start had a lot of owners drop him early on but for a guy who hit 28 hrs / 103 rbis / .300 avg in ’09, there isn’t a reason in the world why he won’t pick it up from here on out.

Juan Uribe – 54% of Y! Leagues
5 R /  2 HRS / 4 RBI / .429 BA
There aren’t that many 3 position players to begin with and Juan is one of the deserving ones on your roster. Uribe slowed down in early may but has picked it up this past week raising his average back up to .288.

Corey Hart – 50% of Y! Leagues
3 R /  3 HRS / 8 RBI / .240 BA
5 bingers in the past 8 games has gotten Hart back on the radar. His low average is a bummer and has been for the past two years but he has already matched his 12 homers of 2009 in 369 at bats less.

PITCHERS
Brett Cecil – 16% of Y! Leagues
15.1 IP / 2 W / 10 K / 1.17 ERA / 0.52 WHIP
Brett's last two starts have been…DOMINANT. His past three starts have all been wins and only gave up 4 runs in 21 2/3 innings. Owners were starting to catch on until his blow up game against the Rangers for 8 runs in 2 innings but Brett seems to have gotten past that and is on his way to a superb season. You have to keep a radar on any guy who can strike out 10. 16% owned, come on!

Carlos Silva – 44% of Y! Leagues
7 IP / 1 W / 11 K / 0.00 ERA / 0.20 WHIP
Silva is 7-0 and had his strongest outing of the year against the Cardinals giving up zero runs and whiffing 11. What more does a guy gotta do to get on your team?

Max Scherzer – 30% of Y! Leagues
5.2 IP / 1 W / 14 K / 0.00 ERA / 1.06 WHIP
Dontrelle Willis down, Max Scherzer up. When Max got the demotion two weeks ago he had a 7.29 ERA and had only struck out 26 in 42 innings. He clearly needed to go back to basics. It was no fluke Scherzer had 174 Ks last year. 14 Ks in only 5.2 innings against the A’s on Sunday! If you wait to see what he does in his next game, he might not be there. Add him now and take the risk, hopefully Max is Back!

Anibal Sanchez – 21% of Y! Leagues
13 IP / 2 W / 13 K / 1.38 ERA / 1.15 WHIP
Anibal is now 5-2 for the year with a sub 3.00 era. He has won 4 straight giving up 4 runs in 26.3 innings and 28K. Anibal is about as hot as any pitcher out there right now.

Luke Gregerson – 15% of Y! Leagues
4 IP / 1 W / 6 K / 0.00 ERA / 0.00 WHIP
If you’re looking for a middle reliever to even out your numbers Gregerson may be your guy. He only has 1 win for the season but in 27 innings he’s struck out 32. His WHIP is only .43 and batters are hitting a measly .109.

Hisanori Takahashi – 23% of Y! Leagues
6 IP / 1 W / 6 K / 0.00 ERA / 0.83 WHIP
After being promoted from the bullpen, Hisanori has pitched 12 scoreless innings, stuck out 11 and walked 1. With injuries to Niese, Maine and Perez – Takahashi has the opportunity to prove he belongs in the rotation.

STILL ROLLING AND STILL AVAILABLE? SAY WHAATTT? 
Johnny Cueto – 69% of Y! Leagues
6 IP / 1 W / 9 K / 0.00 ERA / 0.83 WHIP
I usually try to keep this under 50% or so owned but Cueto at this point should be owned in all leagues. 4 straight wins (one of them being a CG 1 hitter) has shot Cueto back to the top. The only thing we have to watch for is his performance in the 2nd half after his poor 2nd half in 2009.

Mat Latos – 62% of Y! Leagues
6 IP / 1 W / 8 K / 3.00 ERA / 1.17 WHIP
Another guy who just has to be owned in every league. His 1 hitter was just the beginning of good things. I expect Latos to dominate the remainder of the season.

Do you think Scherzer is back for good? Will Davis lead the league in swipes?
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Tags: Fantasy Baseball Advice, Fantasy Baseball Blog, The Fantasy Fix, Must or Bust Fantasy Marx, MLB, NL, AL, Drew Stubbs, Angel Pagan, Seth Smith, Rajai Davis, Jason Kubel, Juan Uribe, Corey Hart, Brett Cecil, Carlos Silva, Max Scherzer, Anibal Sanchez, Luke Gregerson, Hisanori Takahashi, Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins

   


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