Jose Reyes has finally found his home run stroke with three round trippers this week.

Hit the Switch Igor, the Bats Are Alive

There are several players this week that appear to be getting over the “power slump”. To say that Albert Pujols is slumping in the power department sounds awkward, I know, but prior to this past week, Pujols had 11 home runs, putting him behind players like Chase Utley, Dan Uggla, Carlos Quentin, Ryan Ludwick, and Josh Hamilton. Within a week, Pujols has increased his production by slamming home three, increasing his total to 14 for the season. Pujols did this all while batting .615 for the week to date.

Adding to the list of people with power surges, Mets shortstop Jose Reyes finally got on the board with three dingers in the past week, making his fantasy managers happy and giving the Mets some power with Ryan Church out of the line-up.

There is nothing like getting your chance in the big leagues and capitalizing on it. Ryan Spilborghs has done just that. With 21 at bats this week, Spilborghs has joined Reyes and Pujols in the home run department, smashing in three of his own. Spilborghs production should not be a shock as he has absolutely demolished minor league pitching to this point. Spilborghs also added two doubles, four runs, six runs batted in, and a stolen base, all while only striking out twice in 21 at bats, producing a.428 batting average.

Go, Greased Lightning, Go…

There are four players that have notched four steals this week. None of these players, Jacoby Ellsbury, B.J. Upton, Jason Bartlett, and Shane Victorino, have already demonstrated that they have consistent speed and base path know-how to get the job done on a consistent basis. Bartlett has limited power and a sub-par batting average (.250) and only Victorino can run with those same parallel statistics, hitting upwards of four to five home runs a season, and hitting somewhere in the vicinity of .250 to .265.

As for Upton and Ellsbury, they are definitely five-tool athletes. Ellsbury has continued to progress in the power department, hitting four home runs so far this season, all while splitting time with Coco Crisp. Upton, on the other hand, has actually shown some regression in the power department, hitting only three home runs this season to date. He was projected to easily reach

20 – 25 home runs this year and needs to get a move on, if that is going to come true. Both have the potential for better than .300 batting averages, with Upton all ready there. Ellsbury will reach that plateau once he can win the job full-time.

Armed, Ready, and Waiting

The Tampa Bay Rays keep on keeping on. Matt Garza threw a monster of a game this week, going eight strong innings, striking out 10 batters, issuing two walks, and only allowing four hits against the Texas Rangers.  Another notch on the belt of the Rays is the emergence of Scott Kazmir’s control. He too pitched a solid outing against the Rangers, going seven innings, and striking out ten without issuing a walk.

If there is any doubt why the Cubs have a chance to do great things this season, you simply need to look at their one-two punch at the end of the rotation. With two starters-turned-bullpen specialists, Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol are proving to be extremely difficult to beat. With three saves this week, Wood continues to show that he is over his injury-plagued days and ready to make a long-term impact for the Cubs. He struck out seven in four innings without giving up an earned run. Marmol pitched three innings, striking out six batters, and did not allow an earned run during this past week.

A name that you may not be willing to put on your fantasy roster because of the lack of run support, but who had a great showing this week is the Pirates’ Phil Dumatrait. Dumatrait delivered seven solid innings of work against the Cincinnati Reds, striking out nine batters along the way to a win. Although he is 2-2, he is definitely worth taking a look at in long-term N.L.-Only keeper leagues at a minimum, and could end up being as great a pick-up as Tom Gorzelanny was for fantasy managers last season.

What is With All the Injuries?

There are more players heading to the disabled list this season than there have been for many years. In my opinion, the rise has to do with the Mitchell report, and players who were not regular users, but perhaps used in “spots” to speed their recovery. Without access to HGH or steroids, they are finding that their recovery time is a lot longer than it once was. I am not saying that Boston’s pitcher Diasuke Matsuzaka is among them, but he just happens to correlate to the subject of injuries. Matsuzaka joins Curt Schilling and Clay Buchholz on the disabled list for the defending World Series Champions. With that, will we get to see the likes of Justin Masterson again? Maybe we can also see some other prospects in the organization. I am interested in how Michael Bowden would fair against some of the bottom-tier teams in the American League.