Hudson has eight RBI's over the last seven days and is living up to his hype

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

NOTES: With the return of Carlos Quentin from the DL, the Diamondbacks find themselves with a dearth of outfielders, and manager Bob Melvin has mentioned going with a four-man rotation to keep Scott Hairston’s hot bat in the lineup.  Arizona will need more than that to bounce back from a 2-5 record over the last week. Brandon Webb’s 13 strikeout performance on Wednesday was definitely comforting to his owners, but the bats are going to have to heat up if he’s going to get wins. Conor Jackson was removed from Sunday’s game with a tight hamstring.  Astute owners will use this news coupled with his slow start as a buying opportunity.  He will hit.

INJURIES: The Diamondbacks lost starter Micah Owings, and relief pitcher Juan Cruz to the 15 Day DL.  Owings was in the running for the 5^th spot in the rotation, but this injury all but seals up the job for Edgar Gonzalez who has been pitching better as of late anyway.  Cruz is a solid middle relief option with good strikeout potential, but he’s had trouble staying healthy.

Randy Johnson will come off the DL  and make his much anticipated debut for the Diamondbacks on Tuesday against the Padres.

Player Watch: Orlando Hudson is currently the best hitter on the Diamondbacks (eight RBI’s in the last seven days) and has been undervalued for years as an NL second baseman.  The way he’s hitting right now, he deserves attention in mixed leagues as well.  He’s always been a consistent player, perhaps this is the year he takes his offensive game to the next level.  Definitely one to watch.

Prospect Watch: Justin Upton showed signs of breaking out of his early season slump last Wednesday with three hits and two stolen bases.  Pitching prospects Dana Eveland and Yusmerio Petit were both called up with the injuries to Owings and Cruz, but neither stand a real chance to stick in the rotation once Johnson returns on Tuesday.  Eveland, however, could potentially claim a role in middle relief.

ATLANTA BRAVES

NOTES: Edgar Renteria has cooled a bit after a hot start, hitting just .241

2B Kelly Johnson arrives with a bang.

with three RBI’s over the last seven days. Jeff Francoeur continues to press, hitting just .170 with ten strikeouts last week.  The seven RBI’s are nice, but they aren’t worth killing your average for.  He should be reserved, not dropped.  Chipper Jones has been mashing lately, hitting three homeruns and getting on base at a .469 clip. Tim Hudson continues to roll, going 2-0 with an absurd .60 ERA in two starts last week.  He’s been very lucky, so expect that ERA to come up, but there’s no reason to expect a collapse.  Barring injury, he’ll be solid all year.

INJURIES: This isn’t really an injury, but infielder Willy Aybar has gone AWOL, and is in Boston with his older brother dealing with drug and alcohol problems.  He’s been suspended indefinitely by the Braves, and no one has been able to reach him since he left Atlanta.

Player Watch: Kelly Johnson is a player to keep an eye on, and makes a very smart buy low play right now. He’s struck out only four times while walking nine in 40 at-bats, so it appears as if that .150 average is more about bad luck than bad hitting.  One area of concern is Johnson’s inability to hit the curve ball at all this season, but regardless, he projects to offer some nice power from the second base position and warrants you attention.

Prospect Watch: Top catching prospect Jarrod Saltalamacchia has been destroying the ball for AA Mississippi, hitting .373 with four homeruns, eight RBI’s and an 1.162 OPS in 14 games this season.  Unfortunately he’s blocked by Brian McCann, the best hitting catcher in the National League, and has no immediate future with the Braves.  That said, great hitters find ways to break into the league.  It wasn’t long ago that Padres 1B Adrian Gonzalez was hopelessly trapped behind Mark Teixeira in Texas.

CHICAGO CUBS

NOTES:  Since he got the call on the 17^th to fill in for injured Alfonso Soriano in centerfield, Felix Pie has shown flashes of greatness in the field.  Behind the plate, however, he’s been down right ordinary. Soriano returns to the starting lineup against the Brewers on Monday night, but he will now be starting in leftfield.  It remains to be seen whether or not Lou Pinella will keep Pie in center, or whether he’ll send him back to AAA. Monday night Jacque Jones got the start in center with Cliff Floyd starting in right.  Pinella has stated that he wants to get back to 12 pitchers on the roster, so it’s likely that Pie gets sent down.

Catcher Michael Barrett is on fire, hitting .381 with four homeruns and ten RBI’s in the last seven days.  He’s quickly reclaiming his status among the top five catchers in the league. Ryan Theriot is making it awfully hard for Pinella to justify starting Mark DeRosa over him at second.  He’s hit .321 with two steals over the last week, playing both second base and in the outfield.  If he keeps hitting, and he’s shown nothing to think he won’t, he makes a nice add for NL owners looking for a boost in steals.

Rich Hill leads the major leagues with a 0.41 ERA and Ted Lilly is fourth in the league with 30 strikeouts.  Conversely, staff ace Carlos Zambrano sports a 7.77 ERA with a 16/16 BB/K ratio in a highly publicized contract year. Imagine that.

INJURIES: Mark Prior is having exploratory surgery in the shoulder and is probably toast for the rest of the season. Wade Miller was placed on the 15 Day DL due to back spasms and horrible pitching, creating a roster spot for AAA closer Rocky Cherry, who has been pitching very well lately, and could very well stick as a middle reliever.  Miller will of course need to be replaced in the rotation, which makes it all the more likely that Pie gets sent down to make room on the roster for Angel Guzman.  Guzman is a nice sleeper play in NL leagues as young starter with good upside.

Player Watch: Still Matt Murton. He is still doing all the right things and just needs an opportunity. For the time being he’ll platoon in right with Floyd as Jones moves to center. Murton is a hard worker who can drive the ball.

Prospect Watch: Carlos Marmol is 2-0 with a 1.65 ERA and 24 strikeouts over 16 innings for AAA Iowa.  Guzman is the favorite to replace Miller in the Cubs rotation, but Marmol has done everything to prove he deserves a shot as well. 

CINCINNATI REDS

NOTES: All aboard the Josh Hamilton bandwagon. As a part-time player he led the team last week in homeruns (3), total bases (17), walks (4), on-base percentage (.440) and slugging percentage (.810). Ryan Freel bounced back last week, hitting .345, but he didn’t manage a single stolen base, effectively killing his value for fantasy teams. Brandon Phillips on the other hand, is making a strong case that last season was not a fluke.  He hit three homeruns, drove in seven runs, stole two bases and hit a respectable .287 last week. Adam Dunn was absolutely wretched last week, striking out 15 times while hitting no homeruns and only one RBI.

INJURIES: Ken Griffey Jr. missed a few days due to an illness, but appears to be ready to rejoin the starting lineup.

Player Watch: Kyle Lohse has always had a buzz about him, but he never realized his potential after many frustrating seasons in Minnesota. With the Reds, however, Lohse is a new man. He’s 1-0 with a 1.91 ERA and 23 strikeouts on the season.  Last week he went seven strong innings against the Phillies, surrendering only one unearned run in a no-decision.  The caveat is that he has yet to face a really strong team at full strength and that it’s still April.  But there were plenty that doubted Bronson Arroyo’s rebirth in the National League last season too.  If he’s available, ride him while he’s hot.

Prospect Watch: Top MLB pitching prospect, Homer Bailey, is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA for the AAA Louisville Bats.  His control is still an issue, as evidenced by eight walks in just 15 innings, but he has yet to give up more than a run in three starts. It’s a matter of when, not if, Bailey gets the call this season. 

COLORADO ROCKIES

NOTES: Colorado’s big three, Todd Helton, Matt Holliday and Garret

Fuentes continues to shut down the opposition.

Atkins, continue to hit well and get on base.  Unfortunately they only managed a combined nine RBI’s between them last week.  Willy Taveras is showing signs of turning it around, hitting .333 in his last 15 at bats, but he’s only managed one stolen base over that time span.  Patience is a must with these four.

The Rockies look to have taken Houston to the cleaners in the Jason Jennings for Jason Hirsh deal.  Hirsh, who is without a doubt the Rockies best pitcher right now, went 1-0 with a 3.21 ERA over 14 innings last week. Closer Brian Fuentes converted two of two save opportunities last week, and continues to be one of the most consistent, yet undervalued closers out there.

INJURIES: Rodrigo Lopez (elbow inflammation) and Ramon Ramirez (sprained elbow) were both put on the 15 Day DL. Ryan Speier and Randy Keppel were brought up from AAA to take their roster spots. Kaz Matsui is still at least a week away from returning to active duty.

Player Watch: Last week's player to watch, OF Jeff Baker, has completely disappeared, with his at bats seemingly going to veteran Steve Finley. Finley is no longer a legitimate option for fantasy owners in any capacity whatsoever.

Prospect Watch: Rookie SS Troy Tulowitzki showed signs of coming to life this week, when a two game hitting streak just managed to push him up over the Mendoza line.  The streak was snapped, however, the following day against the Padres, when Tulowitzki went hitless in three at bats.  Last years starting SS, Clint Barmes, has replaced him in the starting lineup for the past two games.

FLORIDA MARLINS

NOTES: Dontrelle Willis followed up his brilliant 3-0 start with a couple of ugly starts last week, though he did manage to get the win Monday night, despite giving up five runs over six innings.  His ERA last week was a painful 9.26.  It might be wise to sit him for a game or two.  Hanley Ramirez continued to rake, hitting .370 with two homers, four RBI’s and two steals last weak.  Aaron Boone is proving to be a decent stopgap option at the corner spots due to the struggles of Mike Jacobs and Miguel Cabrera who were both suffering from minor injuries last week.  Dan Uggla’s bat looks to be waking up.  If you were a believer that last season wasn’t fluke and drafted him, now is the time to get him back into your lineup.

INJURIES: Sergio Mitre and Alajandro De Aza were both added to the 15 Day DL. Ricky Nolasco will start his rehab in Single A Jupiter this week. Anibal Sanchez, who was pulled from his start on Saturday due to cramping looks to be fine and ready to make his next scheduled start on Friday.

Player Watch: Josh Willingham is starting to get his bat going with six hits, a homerun, three RBI’s and a stolen base over his last four games.  He isn’t as valuable as he was last season with catcher eligibility, but he can, and will, definitely hit. 

Prospect Watch: 24 year old Daniel Barone has a 3.68 ERA with a 23/4 K/BB ratio over 22 innings in four starts for the AA Carolina Mudcats. 

HOUSTON ASTROS

NOTES: Statistically, last week for the Astros was marginal at best. Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee each hit a mere .222, though they did manage to drive in 12 runs between the two of them.  With four hits in 22 at bats, it will be mid-July before Craig Biggio gets his 3,000^th hit.  Right fielder, Luke Scott, has got to do better than the .190 AVG he put up last week if he hopes to keep Jason Lane and Hunter Pence from taking his job.

When it’s bad it’s bad, and even the formidable Roy Oswalt found himself on losing end Sunday when he was tagged for four runs in seven innings in Milwaukee. The Astros desperately need Jason Jennings to come back strong if they hope to get any consistency out of their rotation.

INJURIES: Jennings is now playing long toss, but he’s still a couple weeks away from returning to the Astros rotation.

Player Watch: Buried in that .222 average was the fact that Lance Berkman got a hit and an RBI in five of his last six games.  Berkman is one of the most patient, disciplined hitters in the league (four walks in the last six games as well) and will heat up soon enough. If you’ve had him reserved, get him active before he really takes off.

Prospect Watch: OF prospect Hunter Pence is in the middle of a six game hitting streak, during which he’s driven in eight runs. Luke Scott and Jason Lane aren’t getting it done.  If they continue to struggle, expect Pence in Houston before the end of June.