SP- MICHAEL PINEDA (SEATTLE) Pineda, who was chosen as an America league all-star, has sparkled in his first half of major league action. He currently holds a 8-6 record with a 3.03 ERA. Pineda also averaged a strike out per inning and a 1.04 WHIP. Seattle has limited his innings all season and I expect that trend to continue until the Mariners completely drop from playoff contention, at which point they may shut him down. Keep an eye on the situation in Seattle. GRADE A

RP- JORDAN WALDEN (LOS ANGELES ANGELS) Walden has quietly recorded 20 saves for the Angels. He also owns a 2.84 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. His critics will look at the six blown saves which ties him with several players for the major league lead and his tendency to get wild at times as his major downfalls. Jordan has replaced Mariano Rivera on the American League all-star roster to put a nice finishing touch on the first half of his season. GRADE B

2B- DANNY ESPINOSA (WASHINGTON) Danny leads all rookies in GP, AB, RBI, R, TB, 3B, RBI and SB. He is second in home runs out of the rookie crop and second in the league with 16 round trippers for 2nd basemen.The knocks on the rookie are his low .242 batting average and his 84 strike outs. You love him in 5×5 leagues but he can be a headache in head to head leagues because of his streakiness. You probably drafted him late if even at all so he is my number one value pick here. GRADE B

1B- MARK TRUMBO (LOS ANGELES ANGELS) Very quietly Mark has put together a solid first half leading all rookies with 17 home runs and a .483 slugging percentage. Trumbo currently owns a .260/17/41 line with eight stolen bases thrown in. In a position that is extremely deep Trumbo gets lost in the shuffle as he is only owned in 61% of ESPN leagues. He is on pace for a 30 HR and 80 RBI season. I would take that out of guy I didnt even draft and may still be available in your league. GRADE B

1B- ERIC HOSMER (KANSAS CITY) Eric does not have quite the stat lines that fellow rookie counterparts Mark Trumbo and Freddie Freeman have. One reason may be that his hasn't played in as many games. Hosmer currently owns a .264/8/34 line in 58 games played. Eric has struggled against left hand pitchers with a .179 batting average and no home runs in 67 AB. The learning curve is on and the growing pains will continue. GRADE C

OF- JERRY SANDS (LOS ANGELES DODGERS) Is this another victim of the Albuquerque stat line factor? Sands who has raked like a mad man at the AAA level did pretty much nothing in his brief stint and shot at the major league level. In 41 games Sands had just two home runs and a .200 batting average. He is now back at AAA, but with the Dodgers out of playoff contention we may see Jerry again real soon. Hard to argue with the power numbers in the minors but will it translate to the next level? GRADE D

2011 HARPER WATCH
BRYCE HARPER (HARRISBURG AA) Bryce has played four games for Harrisburg since his call up to AA. He is curently hitting .357 in 14 AB.

Written by John Marino exclusively for www.thefantasyfix.com. 

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(July 6, 2011 – Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images North America)