Fantasy Week In Review, June 14 – 20

Here are the fantasy studs, the players who have me concerned, and the potential pickups for the fantasy week of June 14-20.

Fantasy Studs

Corey Hart – .357/1/11. Guess who leads the NL in home runs? That’s right, it’s Hart. What were the odds of that at the beginning of the season, 100,000-to-1?

Matt Holliday – .435/4/8. I watched Holliday a lot over the weekend and the guy is locked in. Those four home runs came in a three game stretch against the Oakland A’s.

Ryan Howard – .333/4/8. Howard has a lot of critics out there, but all this guy does is produce. Once again, he will be a top-five fantasy first baseman in 2010.

Justin Smoak – .320/2/8. After a really slow start, Smoak is starting to get the hang of things. He is a must-have in a Keeper League.

David Ortiz – .353/3/7/.538. Ortiz is once again a force not only for the Boston Red Sox, but for fantasy teams as well. Ortiz’s 15 HRs is currently good for sixth in the AL.

Carl Pavano – 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA and seven Ks in 16 IP. Pavano and his mustache pitched a complete game on Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies and out-dueled Roy Halladay. Pavano is giving the Minnesota Twins what he was supposed to give the New York Yankees four years ago.

CC Sabathia – 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA and 13 Ks in 15 IP. When the weather heats up, so does Sabathia. Big CC is 25-11 with a 3.71 ERA lifetime in the month of June.

Adam Wainwright – 2-0 with 1.80 ERA and 10 Ks in 15 IP. Wainwright is gearing up for another run at the NL Cy Young award. The one thing you will always get with Wainwright is a quality start. Wainwright is second in all of baseball with 13 QS.

Neftali Feliz – Four saves with a 0.00 ERA and seven Ks in four IP. Feliz was a monster last week against the Florida Marlins and Houston Astros. The 22-year-old is now second in baseball with 19 saves.

Billy Wagner – Three saves with a 0.00 ERA and five Ks in four IP. Even at the age of 100, Wagner is still getting the job done. He really has been a nice signing by the Braves and is a solid No. 1 fantasy closer right now.

Reasons for Concern

Pedro Alvarez – It was a rough week for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ rookie—to say the least. Alvarez went 1-for-16 with seven whiffs in his first five major league games. The one concern about Alvarez was his propensity to strike out.

Alvarez has value in a Keeper League, but in any league, keep him on the bench until he proves he can figure things out.

Brian Fuentes – Fuentes sports a 6.23 ERA and has blown three saves this season. I would say it’s only a matter of time before Fuentes loses his closer job to Fernando Rodney.

Fuentes is no better than a low-level No. 2 fantasy closer at this point.

Potential Pickups

Chris Nelson, SS. Nelson could be Troy Tulowitzki’s replacement in Colorado.

Jason Castro, C. Castro will be given every opportunity to prove himself at the major league level in Houston. He has the potential to be a top-15 fantasy catcher down the road.

Fernando Rodney, P. With Fuentes really struggling, might as well pick up Rodney now.

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