Finally... Passing on B.J. Upton for this guy didn't hurt the Pirates at all, did it?

The week began with Chad Tracy being activated from the disabled list. Tracy is returning from microfracture knee surgery, which you might remember as the surgery that sidelined Magglio Ordonez a few years back. With Mark Reynolds bashing one home run for every 16 at-bats, and Conor Jackson batting over .300, there is a question where Tracy will get his at bats. Naturally, Jackson strained his quadriceps, and may be out for a few games, while Tracy hit two home runs in his first week of action. The Diamondbacks will probably rotate Tracy, Jackson, and Reynolds through the lineup, diminishing each of their values a touch, but also making them all worth playing.

In top prospect news, the Cincinnati Reds finally had enough of Corey Patterson and called up Jay Bruce from Triple-A Louisville. Bruce was absolutely dominating the International League, and his first week in the majors was no different. Bruce batted an appalling .591 in his first week of play, with two home runs, two stolen bases, and six runs batted in. Although he will obviously cool down at some point, he appears to be the real deal and can be picked up in all leagues, both mixed an NL-Only. Patterson, meanwhile, was batting only .200 through the first two months of the season, and does not figure to be a factor anywhere else.

Moving on to former top prospect news, the Pittsburgh Pirates called up former #1 draft pick Bryan Bullington from Triple-A. Bullington has battled arm injuries, and has amassed 18 innings in the majors to date (1 inning in 2005, and 17 last season), with awful results. He was not pitching particularly well in Triple-A this season either, and there seems to be little chance of him succeeding with the Pirates. You can safely avoid him.

In probably the most surprising move of the week, the St. Louis Cardinals sent outfielder Chris Duncan to Triple-A. Although Duncan was seemingly struggling, batting .252 with only four home runs this year, that was pretty much in line with his 2006. Plus, he had still put together a .356 on base percentage, and his father as the team's pitching coach, so one would figure that he would be an unlikely candidate for a demotion. However, Ryan Ludwick is raking right now, and Skip Schumaker is making me reconsider my opinion that no grown man should be named "Skip," which led to Duncan's demotion. Still, with top prospect Colby Rasmus struggling at Triple-A, Duncan should be recalled to the majors before too long. If you have a bench, hold onto him temporarily, as I would anticipate his return before the end of June.

Turning to the American League briefly, Daisuke Matsuzaka had his outstanding 2008 campaign briefly derailed as he was placed on the disabled list with a strained rotator cuff. Matsuzaka has taken a big step forward so far this year, most notably in cutting down the home runs. Tests showed no structural damage, so Matsuzaka should not be out for too long. Stash him away for now, and monitor his recovery.

If you happened to read my Sleepers column in pre-season, I extolled the virtues of Josh Anderson, outfielder for the Atlanta Braves. Of course, the Braves went out immediately after publication and acquired Mark Kotsay to hold down the fort in center field. As expected, Kotsay was placed on the disabled list this week, and Anderson was activated from Triple-A. Anderson has only been given three at-bats so far, but he has one hit and one stolen base. With Matt Diaz also on the shelf, Anderson may get the opportunity to play a little bit. He could be a solid source for a speed boost, if you need some stolen bases in a NL-Only League.

The Pittsburgh Pirates activated Jack Wilson from the disabled list, which he had been on since the first week of the season. He promptly missed two straight games this weekend with soreness in the calf. Wilson has some decent pop in his bat for a shortstop and is consistently underrated, so monitor the status of his calf and whether or not he is ready to resume full time duties. In NL-Only leagues, you certainly could do worse.

And finally, although this is for next week, Pedro Martinez will be activated and will be a two-start pitcher this week. Get him into your lineups.

See you next time.