MLB Off-season: Curtis Granderson To Yankees, John Lackey To Red Sox, Roy Hallday Traded To Phillies, Hideki Matsui, Jason Bay, & More

The MLB off-season has been full of big time moves already and I thought I would do a quick recap of what I think of each move.

Curtis Granderson/Yankees: By now we all should know that Granderson was traded to the Yankees in a three-way deal that sent Austin Jackson and Max Scherzer to the Tigers and Edwin Jackson to the Diamondbacks. I like the move for the Tigers because I think Scherzer will be a solid pitcher for them and they have him cheap for multiple years, which is the same reason I hate the move for the Diamondbacks, although I am probably higher on Edwin Jackson then most other people are. The most interesting part of this trade to me is Granderson going to the Yankees. Granderson has a pretty cheap contract considering his age and skill set, but he also has some major negatives, including the fact that he can't hit lefties (career .210 hitter), strikes out a lot, and he's probably only average at best defensively in center. I don't think he's much of an upgrade over Johnny Damon offensively and I'd much rather have Damon hitting second in the lineup. However, I think we have to wait and see who the Yankees bring in to play LF before we judge the Granderson move. Right now I'm neutral on it.

Roy Halladay/Phillies/Mariners: Rumor has it that Halladay is going to be traded to the Phillies in a 3-way deal that will also send Cliff Lee to the Mariners. Personally, I think the Phillies should just keep Lee and forget about trading for Halladay if they have to give up Lee to get him. It's really a wash in my eyes as they are both top notch pitchers. However, I think the Phillies are making this move because they know they can resign Halladay right now to an extension and Lee has made no such promises once he becomes a free agent next year. That's about the other reason I can think of that the Phillies would have for trading Lee. I personally think they have enough to trade for Halladay without trading Lee, but it appears they don't want to do that. Also, if the Mariners get Lee to go along with King Felix, they could have a nice looking squad next year. Looks like the Blue Jays will get top prospect Phillip Aumont from Seattle and possibly Michael Taylor from the Phillies.

John Lackey/Red Sox: It looks as though Lackey will sign with the Red Sox for 5 years and $85 million. This is a solid move for the Sox, but it could go either way for them. Lackey is coming off an injury prone season, but has been pretty healthy in the past. I would compare Lackey to A.J. Burnett or Josh Beckett. I think he's in that range of pitcher more than a Roy Halladay or C.C. Sabathia. It will be interesting to see how he pitches in Boston, since his numbers there are atrocious. I do think he will be well worth his contract once all is said and done, but I still think the Sox need some more bats in their lineup, and they still haven't addressed their issues in LF. It's rumored they are interested in Mike Cameron to most likely play LF. Cameron is a nice player, but he's 37 years old and strikes out a ton. However, he would be a huge upgrade defensively over Jason Bay. I think he would struggle big time in big market Boston though. The Sox are also interested in Adrian Beltre to help replace Mike Lowell, but that talk has died down lately, because the Lowell trade hasn't gone through yet.

Hideki Matsui/Angels: Sounds like the World Series MVP will not be back in the Bronx next season and will be signing a one-year deal with the Angels for something like $6 million to DH. This is a great move for the Angels, because that is a steal of a price for a hitter like Matsui. I think the Yankees are making a mistake if they don't bring Matsui back at that price on a one-year deal. I'm thinking they must be leaning towards bringing Damon back to split LF/DH with Melky. This also means Vladimir Guerrero's days are probably numbered with the Angels and it will be VERY interesting to see where he lands because he basically is just a DH at this point in his career and there's only so many DH spots available.

Jason Bay: The guy can hit but he's not a good defensive player and I don't think he's a $15 million plus a year player. It looks like he will get that amount though and he could land with either the Mets, Giants, or Mariners. It just so happens that all three of those teams play in parks that are far less offensive friendly than Fenway Park. Should be interesting to see how the Bay singing turns out for whatever team dishes out the cash for him.

Matt Holliday: He's probably the biggest name free agent hitter and there has barely been any talk about where he will end up. There's speculation that he will end up with the Yankees, but I honestly do not see that happening. The Cardinals are still the most likely spot for him to land, but I think they are going to wait out the market, and try not to bid against themselves for Holliday.

Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles added Kevin Millwood in a trade with the Rangers and should be a fun team to watch next season. They have a ton of young talent, including Nick Markakis, Matt Weiters, Adam Jones, Nolan Reimold, Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman, & more and I can see them turning into the next "Tampa Bay Rays" within the next few seasons if everyone pans out. You never know how young talent will develop, but Baltimore certainly seems to be on the right path.

MLB Weekly: Kendry Morales & The Angels Offense, Texas Rangers Pitching, Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Defensive Ratings, & More

Here are the team OPS+ and ERA+ totals so far this season, via Baseball Reference:

AL Team OPS+

1. New York Yankees (118)
2. Los Angeles Angels (107)
3. Minnesota Twins (107)
4. Tampa Bay Rays (105)
5. Boston Red Sox (100)
6. Texas Rangers (100)
7. Toronto Blue Jays (100)
8. Cleveland Indians (99)
9. Baltimore Orioles (93)
11. Chicago White Sox (93)
12. Detroit Tigers (93)
13. Oakland A's (92)
14. Seattle Mariners (90)
15. Kansas City Royals (88)

Comments:

- The Angels offense has been on fire over the past two months. They were at a 94 OPS+ on June 11th and have risen all the way to a 107 OPS+, which is good for second best in the AL. Much of that has to do with Kendry Morales, who has far exceeded expectations this season by mashing to a line of .302 AVG/25 HR/76 RBI/.349 OBP/.576 SLG/.926 OPS/135 OPS+. He always hit for a high average in the minors, but he never showed this type of power. He's been so good that I think if he keeps it up he should get some consideration for AL MVP. The Angels are lucky to have Morales and their offense rolling, because their pitching has been absolutely dreadful lately with the exception of John Lackey.

- The Rangers, Red Sox, and Blue Jays have all seen their offenses drop from an elite to an average level in the past 2 months. Since the Blue Jays have the worst pitching (104 ERA+) of the three, it's no surprise that they have faded in the standings, while the Rangers (109 ERA+) and Red Sox (113 ERA+) have managed to stay in the Wild Card race due to their pitching. However, with the back-end of the Red Sox rotation in shambles, I wouldn't be surprised to see their ERA+ start to decrease as well. Meanwhile, the Rays who are solid in both hitting (105 OPS+) and pitching (105 ERA+), haven't been able to string together enough victories to catch up to either the Red Sox or Rangers, but I still wouldn't count them out.

NL Team OPS+

1. Philadelphia Phillies (102)
2. Milwaukee Brewers (102)
3. Los Angeles Dodgers (101)
4. Colorado Rockies (100)
5. Washington Nationals (99)
6. St. Louis Cardinals (97)
7. Florida Marlins (97)
8. Atlanta Braves (97)
9. San Diego Padres (94)
10. Houston Astros (94)
11. Arizona Diamondbacks (93)
12. New York Mets (92)
13. Chicago Cubs (91)
14. Pittsburgh Pirates (90)
15. San Francisco Giants (81)
16. Cincinnati Reds (79)

Comments:

- The Phillies offense (102 OPS+) has really decreased in the past two months, but I wouldn't look into it too much. They still lead the NL in runs per game by almost a half a run and other than a big hole behind home plate with Carlos Ruiz (82 OPS+) their lineup is still the best in the NL top to bottom. They have five very strong hitters in Chase Utley (145 OPS+), Ryan Howard (124 OPS+), Raul Ibanez (145 OPS+), Jayson Werth (122 OPS+), and Shane Victorino (121 OPS+); while Jimmy Rollins (81 OPS+) has been back to his normal self of late too. Also, while Pedro Feliz (91 OPS+) has been below average with the bat, he is still productive enough to continue playing in an NL lineup.

- As much as I hate to say this because I always seem to write them off every year, the Cardinals are definitely a contender in the NL. Since they traded for Matt Holliday, he has hit .475 with 5 HR's and 22 RBI's with a 1.318 OPS. They still have a ton of holes on offense, but Albert Pujols can make up for a few weak bats in the Cardinals lineup all by himself. Adding a hot hitting Holliday certainly helps the offense as well. Also, the St. Louis pitching (112 ERA+) is really coming on strong and they have gone 25 and 14 since July 1st, including 10 wins in their last 13 games. I could definitely see them knocking off the Dodgers or Phillies in the first round.

AL Team ERA+

1. Chicago White Sox (113)
2. Boston Red Sox (113)
3. Texas Rangers (109)
4. Seattle Mariners (109)
5. Detroit Tigers (107)
6. Tampa Bay Rays (105)
7. Toronto Blue Jays (104)
8. New York Yankees (104)
9. Los Angeles Angels (94)
10. Oakland A's (92)
11. Kansas City Royals (92)
12. Baltimore Orioles (92)
13. Minnesota Twins (89)
14. Cleveland Indians (89)

Comments:

- The Texas Rangers are looking like a legit playoff contender in the AL and to everyone's surprise it's because of their excellent pitching (109 ERA+) instead of their usually strong offense (100 OPS+). Most of their pitching strength is coming from their bullpen and some of their fill-in starters. Guys like Tommy Hunter (5-2/2.26 ERA/55.2 IP/35 K/199 ERA+) and Dustin Nippert (3-1/3.62 ERA/32.1 IP/30 K/124 ERA+). Meanwhile, Kevin Millwood (9-7/3.31 ERA/149.2 IP/93 K/136 ERA+) and Scott Feldman (12-4/3.90 ERA/131.2 IP/71 K/115 ERA+) have been solid all season long. However, the guy to watch in their rotation might be rookie lefty Derek Holland who has been excellent recently going 3-1 with a 1.96 ERA in his last 4 starts with 25 K's in 28 innings pitched. Also, rookie and top prospect Neftali Feliz has been blowing away the competition out of the bullpen so far throwing 8.2 innings out of the pen giving up just 1 earned run, while striking out 16 batters. Pretty damn impressive.

- The Yankees pitching has gone from below average (93 ERA+) to above average (104 ERA+) over the past two months. It's no surprise that they are 40 and 17 during that span and potentially running away with the AL East. C.C. Sabathia (122 ERA+) and A.J. Burnett (120 ERA+) have really settled in at the top of the Yankees rotation and Andy Petitte (109 ERA+) and Joba Chamberlain (116 ERA+) have picked things up as well. In the bullpen, along with the usual dominance of Mariano Rivera (229 ERA+), Phil Hughes (129 ERA+), Alfredo Aceves (142 ERA+), and David Robertson (149 ERA+) have also been excellent and really solidified the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings for the Yankees. If the pitching keeps up, the Yankees have to be looked at as the favorites to win the World Series.

NL Team ERA+

1. San Francisco Giants (123)
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (116)
3. Atlanta Braves (114)
4. St. Louis Cardinals (112)
5. Chicago Cubs (112)
6. Colorado Rockies (108)
7. Arizona Diamondbacks (107)
8. Philadelphia Phillies (101)
9. Cincinnati Reds (101)
10. New York Mets (99)
11. Florida Marlins (97)
12. Houston Astros (92)
13. Pittsburgh Pirates (89)
14. Milwaukee Brewers (88)
15. Washington Nationals (86)
16. San Diego Padres (80)

- The Giants continue to have the best pitching in baseball with a 123 ERA+. Their strong pitching means even with their deficient offense (81 OPS+) that they are a legitimate threat to pull an upset off if they can make the playoffs this season.

- The Braves have thrusted themselves into the playoff picture due to their red hot pitching. Javier Vazquez (10-7/2.90 ERA/171 K/145 ERA+) continues to have an excellent season that is flying under the radar. Vazquez is joined by Jair Jurrjens (140 ERA+), Derek Lowe (103 ERA+), Tommy Hanson (138 ERA+), and Kenshin Kawakami (102 ERA+) to form what might be the best rotation in the NL 1 through 5. They also have a solid pen led by closer Rafael Soriano (165 ERA+) and setup man Mike Gonzalez (161 ERA+). Unfortunately for the Braves, their offense is lackluster (97 OPS+), but if they could get their bats going they could really make a strong playoff push.

- The Rockies are solid in pitching (108 ERA+) and offense (100 OPS+) and seem to be flying under the radar in NL playoff race. They currently lead the NL Wild Card and should be right there with Braves, Giants, Marlins, and Cubs down the stretch.

Defense

Since the playoff races will probably come right down to the wire, I thought it would be good to look at the defensive rankings of each team to see if defense might actually make a difference in who ends up making the playoffs. These are the UZR (Ultimate Zone Ratings), via FanGraphs , which are the number of runs above or below average a team is defensively based on range, outfield arm, double plays, and error runs.

AL

1. Mariners (52.1)
2. Rays (50.6)
3. Tigers (32.6)
4. Rangers (27.6)
5. Athletics (11)
6. Angels (3.6)
7. Yankees (-11.2)
8. White Sox (-14.1)
9. Blue Jays (-15.4)
10. Red Sox (-20.9)
11. Indians (-23)
12. Orioles (-26.5)
13. Twins (-28.6)
14. Royals (-40.5)

NL

1. Giants (53.2)
2. Pirates (32.8)
3. Reds (23.1)
4. Diamondbacks (22.5)
5. Brewers (19.4)
6. Phillies (11.2)
7. Dodgers (5.6)
8. Cubs (-4.6)
9. Marlins (-12.9)
10. Cardinals (-13.2)
11. Rockies (-16.6)
12. Astros (-18.3)
13. Braves (-19.1)
14. Nationals (-22.2)
15. Padres (-22.8)
16. Mets (-36.4)

- Judging by the UZR numbers, it looks like the Giants have an advantage defensively in their run for the NL Wild Card. However, there are no other major defensive advantages for any other contenders, except for the Phillies in the NL East.

- The Rays have the defensive advantage among AL Wild Card contenders, although the Rangers are solid as well. The Red Sox are by far the worst defensive team of the 3 AL Wild Card contenders. In the AL Central, the Tigers have the defensive advantage over the White Sox.

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MLB Weekly: Comparing A.J. Burnett & Josh Beckett

After last night's incredible pitching duel between A.J. Burnett and Josh Beckett; I thought it would be the perfect time to compare these two pitchers. The majority of people would say without question that Josh Beckett is a much better pitcher than A.J. Burnett and also a healthier pitcher. However, that's not exactly the case and the two are a lot closer than you might think.

Let's take a look at Beckett and Burnett's stats over the last 5 seasons ('05-09'):

Josh Beckett

120 ERA+

908.1 IP

141 GS

76-40 WL

3.80 ERA

829 K's

247 BB

3.35 K/BB

8.21 K/9

1.19 WHIP

A.J. Burnett

114 ERA+

871.1 IP

134 GS

60-43 WL

3.78 ERA

846 K's

341 BB

2.48 K/BB

8.74 K/9

1.29 WHIP

Not as much difference between the two pitchers from 2005 through this season as you would expect. Beckett has a little better control, but other than that these two guys have been mirror images of each other. It's also a myth that Beckett is the healthier of the two pitchers, considering that only 7 starts and 37 innings pitch separate to two pitchers over the past 4 plus seasons.

Many people thought it was outrageous for the Yankees to pay $16.5 million a year to A.J. Burnett, but my guess would be that if Josh Beckett were a free agent he would be looking at a contract over $20 million a year. I still think Beckett is the better pitcher overall, but considering the two pitchers are so close in performance, it seems to me that Burnett making $16.5 million a year is actually a bargain compared to what Josh Beckett would probably command on the open market.

In a way the Yankees added a "Josh Beckett-lite" to their rotation with their signing of Burnett.

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MLB Weekly: Does The Phillies Trade For Cliff Lee Make Them National League Favorites?

Yesterday, the Phillies traded for Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco from the Indians in exchange for minor leaguers Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, and Lou Marson. The Phillies were able to acquire Lee without giving up any of the top prospects; including Kyle Drabek, Michael Taylor, and Dominic Brown. I’m not really sure why the Indians didn’t make the Phillies include one of those three or J.A. Happ in the deal, but if you are a Phillies fan you have got to love this trade.

Basically what this does for the Phillies is it changes them from a World Series contender, who would most likely have to mash the ball the whole playoffs to win, to a World Series contender that can now beat you without scoring a lot of runs because of both Cole Hamels and now Cliff Lee. Joe Blanton has also been excellent over the past few months. In his last 10 starts, he is 4-1 with a 2.55 ERA in 67 innings pitched. That gives the Phillies more than enough starting pitching to win the National League. If J.A. Happ can keep pitching well as the 4th starter than that would just be icing on the cake for the Phillies.

I would have to say that the Phillies are at least as good as the Dodgers now that they have Cliff Lee. I would even go as far to say that the Phillies have better starting pitching than the Dodgers do at this point without question. They also have a better offense although that one is a little closer. I give the Phillies a slight edge because not only do they have a higher OPS+ (106 vs. 102), but they also have a huge advantage in slugging (.450 vs. .412). Although having Manny Ramirez back probably closes some of that slugging gap.

The Phillies also have an edge in the field with an UZR/150 rating of 2.5 versus -1.7 for the Dodgers. However, that is also somewhat inflated for the Dodgers because Manny Ramirez will be in LF for the playoffs instead of Juan Pierre. Of course there is a huge trade off there on the offensive end as well. The Dodgers are really being killed by Andre Ethier in RF, who just happens to be the worst defensive RF in the majors. Sounds like Ethier is a future DH to me. Put him with Manny in the OF and you have to feel pretty bad for Matt Kemp out there in CF having to cover ground for both of them. Orlando Hudson has also been unexpectedly bad at 2B this year as well for the Dodgers.

Where the Dodgers make up ground big time though is in the bullpen. The Phillies bullpen is average at best this season considering that Brad Lidge (60 ERA+) has been awful up to this point. Other than Ryan Madson (126 ERA+), there’s not much else in the Phillies bullpen that’s healthy right now. It will be interesting to see if the Phillies end up using Pedro Martinez in the bullpen and possibly as a closer in the playoffs. Of course I’m sure the Phillies are also looking to trade for relief help as we speak. The Dodgers on the other hand have a very solid bullpen anchored by setup man Ramon Troncoso (206 ERA+) and closer Jonathan Broxton (144 ERA+). Guillermo Mota (199 ERA+) has also been excellent this season. Still today they acquired another reliever, George Sherrill (191 ERA+) of the Orioles. With so many playoff games coming down to the last few innings, it's no surprise the Dodgers wanted to strengthen their already large advantage in the bullpen.

At this point, I would have to give the Phillies a slight edge over the Dodgers in the playoffs if the Dodgers don’t improve their starting pitching. The defense and offense are not going to improve simply because it doesn’t look like LA will replace any of their starters. That leaves the starting rotation as the only place for any real substantial improvement in order for the Dodgers to become NL favorites. If the Phillies are able to improve their bullpen, then they would be the clear cut favorite in the NL in my eyes, unless the Dodgers surprisingly acquire Roy Halladay.

Of course there are two teams who could possibly screw up a potential Dodgers/Phillies NLCS: the Giants and the Cubs. The Giants have next to no offense (80 OPS+), but they lead the NL in pitching (122 ERA+) and also fielding (7.3 UZR/150). I’m not sure how much their recent acquisitions of Ryan Garko (111 OPS+) and Freddy Sanchez (109 OPS+) will change their offensive and defensive ratings, but they should add something offensively at least. However, with Tim Lincecum (187 ERA+) as their ace and Matt Cain (202 ERA+) a solid number 2 to go along with what has been an outstanding bullpen; the Giants are certainly capable of pulling off the upset in a short series if they can manufacture some runs.

The Cubs, despite their strong pitching (116 ERA+), have been underperforming most of the season due to their below average offense (90 OPS+). However, the bats have picked it up lately and the Cubs are just a half game behind a revamped Cardinals team. I could possibly see the Cubs getting hot at the right time during the playoffs and pulling off an upset as well. They certainly have the talent, but it won’t be easy.

I’m probably doing a disservice to the Cardinals by not mentioning them as well as a potential spoiler team in the NL. They have a solid pitching staff (111 ERA+) and the additions of Matt Holliday, Mark DeRosa, and Julio Lugo on offense could be enough firepower around Albert Pujols to help the Cardinals maintain an above average offense. They probably have as good if not better chance of knocking off the Phillies or Dodgers as the Cubs do.

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MLB Weekly: Are African-American Players Making A Comeback In Baseball? & Top African-American Minor Leaguers

Last year, I did a nice little post on diversity and why I love baseball and after watching this year's All-Star Game with Prince Fielder winning the Home Run Derby and Carl Crawford winning the MVP it had me wondering if we are going to start seeing more African-American players in the major leagues over the next few years.

Just at this All-Star Game alone, we saw Edwin Jackson, Chone Figgins, Carl Crawford, Curtis Granderson, Adam Jones, Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard, Orlando Hudson, Justin Upton, Torii Hunter, and Derek Jeter on the All-Star team. That's a total of 11 players and last season there were only 4 on the team: Derek Jeter, Milton Bradley, Grady Sizemore, & Russell Martin.

The reason for the jump is the influx of young African-American talent in the game of baseball. Of the 11 All-Stars, 7 were under 30 years old to start the season: Justin Upton (21), Adam Jones (23), Edwin Jackson (25), Prince Fielder (25), Carl Crawford (27), Curtis Granderson (28), & Ryan Howard (29).

Quite an impressive group of talent right there and that doesn't even include these young stars: C.C. Sabathia (28), Matt Kemp (24), B.J. Upton (24), David Price (23), Russell Martin (26), Grady Sizemore (26), Denard Span (25), Rickie Weeks (26), Michael Bourn (26), Brandon Phillips (28), Scott Hairston (29), & James Loney (25).

There's also some younger players who have come up in the last few seasons who the jury is still out on, but they have a ton of talent as well: Delmon Young (23), Howie Kendrick (25), Elijah Dukes (25), Lastings Milledge (24), James McDonald (24), & Chris Young (25)

The 30+ African-American talent pool includes quite a few star or former star players: Derek Jeter (35), Torii Hunter (33), Jimmy Rollins (30), Vernon Wells (30), Jermaine Dye (35), Chone Figgins (31), Marlon Byrd (31), Ken Griffey (39), Garrett Anderson (37), Gary Sheffield (40), Mike Cameron (36), Derrek Lee (33), Milton Bradley (31), Latroy Hawkins (36), Randy Winn (35), Orlando Hudson (31), Juan Pierre (31), & Marcus Thames (32)

Now it's great that there is all this young talent, but it doesn't mean squat if there isn't any more talent to follow it.

Teams like the Tampa Bay Rays are a hotbed for young African-American talent and seem to take pride in drafting and developing African-American players . They have drafted Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton, & David Price over the years from their current team, but they also drafted Delmon Young, traded for Edwin Jackson, and in the past few years have added future stars Desmond Jennings and Tim Beckham through the draft as well. The Rays are definitely at the forefront of the movement.

In fact, if you look in the minor leagues there are a ton of African-American prospects right now, including 7 players who were named to the MLB Futures Game US Team:

Jason Heyward, OF, Atlanta Braves:
.316 AVG/11 HR/41 RBI/4 SB/.942 OPS

Desmond Jennings, OF, Tampa Bay Rays:
.323 AVG/8 HR/44 RBI/33 SB/.901 OPS

Eric Young, 2B, Colorado Rockies:
.294 AVG/5 HR/31 RBI/48 SB/.806 OPS

Chris Carter, 1B, Oakland A's:
.297 AVG/14 HR/63 RBI/9 SB/.901 OPS

Jemile Weeks, 2B, Oakland A's:
.303 AVG/7 HR/27 RBI/2 SB/.901 OPS

Daryl Jones, OF, St. Louis Cardinals:
.283 AVG/2 HR/27 RBI/7 SB/.743 OPS

Trevor Reckling, P, Los Angeles Angels:
6-4/2.25 ERA/100 IP/77 K's

The talent doesn't stop there though, here's some more highly talented African-American Minor Leaguers:

Austin Jackson, OF, New York Yankees:
.324 AVG/4 HR/34 RBI/15 SB/.840 OPS

Michael Taylor, OF, Philadelphia Phillies:
.330 AVG/15 HR/65 RBI/18 SB/.970 OPS

Ben Revere, OF, Minnesota Twins:
.308 AVG/2 HR/36 RBI/33 SB/.750 OPS

Kyle Blanks, 1B, San Diego Padres:
.283 AVG/12 HR/38 RBI/.878 OPS

Cameron Maybin, OF, Florida Marlins:
.332 AVG/3 HR/22 RBI/7 SB/.900 OPS

Dominic Brown, OF, Philadelphia Phillies:
.310 AVG/9 HR/38 RBI/14 SB/.948 OPS

Tim Beckham, SS, Tampa Bay Rays:
.277 AVG/4 HR/48 RBI/7 SB/.738 OPS

Dexter Carter, P, Chicago White Sox:
5-2/3.34 ERA/105 IP/129 K's (leads Minors in K's)

Dee Gordon, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers:
.299 AVG/2 HR/44 RBI/49 SB/.748 OPS (son of pitcher Tom Gordon)

Thomas Neal, OF, San Francisco Giants:
.346 AVG/15 HR/59 RBI/1.043 OPS

Greg Halman, OF, Seattle Mariners:
.212 AVG/20 HR/54 RBI/5 SB/.737 OPS

Jeremy Jeffress P, Milwaukee Brewers:
3-4/4.62 ERA/60.1 IP/70 K's

Andrew McCutchen and Dexter Fowler are two other top prospects, who both have made their MLB debuts this year. McCutchen was seen as one of the Top 10 prospects in baseball coming into this season and Fowler was in the Top 50. Both have seen success so far and should continue to improve.

Overall, you can see that there is a great deal of young, highly talented African-American player and I think the number of African-American players in MLB is going to increase over the next 5 t0 10 years.

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MLB Weekly: Why Ian Kinsler Is Struggling, Pedro Martinez To The Phillies?, Tampa Bay Rays Best Team In AL?, & More

Ian Kinsler

It may seem crazy to say that a guy who has 20 home runs, 53 RBI, and 16 steals is struggling, but Kinsler is hitting a career low .253 on the season. That's definitely a disappointment after Kinsler batted .319 last season in 121 games after batting .286 in 2006 and .263 in 2007. I know many saw last season as a breakout season for Kinsler and expected him to continue to be a .300 hitter throughout the rest of his career.

Kinsler started off the season red hot hitting .322 in April and then getting his average up to .337 on May 3rd. Since that date, he has struggled mightily, with just 51 hits in his last 231 at-bats for a .221 average. That is a huge amount of at-bats to be hitting so poorly and definitely not a good sign. If you dig deeper into those numbers, you can see that Kinsler is just 32 for 165 against right-handed pitching which is an average of .194. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Kinsler can't hit right-handed pitching right now.

In fact, here are Kinsler's average/on-base/slugging numbers against right-handers in each season of his career so far:

2009: .216/.299/.401
2008: .332/.385/.530
2007: .239/333/.399
2006: .292/.359/.449

It's no surprise that in Kinsler's two worst hitting seasons, he also hit poorly against right-handed pitching. Last year he was an absolute beast against righties, which makes this season even more unexpected. I'm not sure if this is just one of those fluky every other season things that players go through, but I do know that Ian Kinsler better figure out how to hit righties sometime soon this season or else his batting average and production is going to continue to suffer. My guess is that Kinsler might go on an unbelievable hot streak sometime soon. Either that or Kinsler might just not be able to hit in odd numbered years.

Other MLB News

- Roy Halladay could be on the move with the Yankees, Phillies, Rangers, Red Sox, Dodgers, Brewers, Cubs, White Sox, Angels, and Mets all interested, as well they should be. Halladay is a bonafied ace and would make any playoff team a tough out. He could definitely tilt the balance of power in the direction of the team that acquires him.

- The Phillies are interested in Pedro Martinez and I would expect that Pedro would be signing with a team soon or else we will not see him pitch this season. I would love to see Pedro pitching for a playoff team like the Phillies once October rolls around and have him pitch one last classic playoff game.

- For my money, Tampa Bay is still the best team in the AL. They are definitely the most balanced with a 109 OPS+ and a 106 ERA+, which ranks them 2nd in hitting and 4th in pitching. The Red Sox would be next in line, with a 101 OPS+ and a 113 ERA+, which ranks them 7th in hitting and 3rd in pitching. Obviously their weakness is at the plate where they are just above average and it's why I give the edge to the Rays. The scary thing about the Rays is that I don't think they've even played their best baseball yet and I expect them to make a strong push at the Red Sox for the AL East lead. The Yankees of course are first in hitting with a 116 OPS+, but on the pitching end of things they are still below average ranking 9th with a 98 ERA+.

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MLB Weekly: National League All-Star Picks

Last week I gave you my choices for the American League All-Star team, now it's time to check out who should be starting for the National League squad.

C: Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves
Stats: .316 AVG/8 HR/31 RBI/.405 OBP/.526 SLG/.931 OPS/146 OPS+

I was kind of surprised when I looked at the NL catchers and saw that McCann was the only one who is really having a productive offensive season. Chris Iannetta, who was my pre-season pick as All-Star catcher in the NL, has the second highest OPS+ among NL catchers, but he’s batting just .226 right now.

Next in line: Yadier Molina (.277 AVG/5 HR/24 RBI/92 OPS+) is a below average catcher offensively, but defensively he might be the best catcher in the game and has thrown out 10 of the possible 22 runners that have attempted to steal on him.

1B: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
Stats: .328 AVG/28 HR/74 RBI/.451 OBP/.722 SLG/1.173 OPS/207 OPS+

Uh…yeah, did you expect to see anyone else named as my starting 1B in the NL? I certainly hope not, because there’s no way you can consider anyone other than Pujols here.

Next in line: Adrian Gonzalez (.271 AVG/24 HR/47 RBI/175 OPS+) and Prince Fielder (.301 AVG/19 HR/73 RBI/167 OPS+) would also be great choices to start at 1B if not for Pujols hitting like his typical beastly self. Todd Helton (.318 AVG/9 HR/53 RBI/134 OPS+) and Ryan Howard (.256 AVG/20 HR/59 RBI/124 OPS+) are also having All-Star worthy seasons. Joey Votto (.351 AVG/9 HR/37 RBI/174 OPS+) is worth some mention as well, because he has been creaming the ball this season, but is probably not going to get selected since he has only 151 AB’s.

2B: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
Stats: .302 AVG/16 HR/51 RBI/7 SB/.433 OBP/.558 SLG/.991 OPS/158 OPS+

Utley is another no-brainer choice to start for the NL, since he is far and away the most productive 2B in the league. He’s also on the positive side defensively, which is a good thing for someone who plays up the middle in the infield.

Next in line: Brandon Phillips (.273 AVG/11 HR/51 RBI/11 SB/112 OPS+) is having a decent season offensively and he’s also a Gold Glove caliber defensive player at 2B. Clint Barmes (.289 AVG/9 HR/38 RBI/6 SB/110 OPS+) and Freddy Sanchez (.313 AVG/6 HR/31 RBI/4 SB/123 OPS+) have also been solid this season, but I feel like Phillips should definitely be the back-up at 2B in the NL.

3B: David Wright, New York Mets
Stats: .342 AVG/4 HR/39 RBI/20 SB/.432 OBP/.484 SLG/.919 OPS/144 OPS+

3B in the NL was a tough one to choose between Wright, Pablo Sandoval, Ryan Zimmerman, and even Mark Reynolds. However, despite a lack of power, Wright is still having a solid season with the bat and he also has 20 SB’s, so I chose him as the starter.

Next in line: I didn’t even realize that Pablo Sandavol (.340 AVG/11 HR/38 RBI/151 OPS+) was having such a good season at the plate and at 22 years old he could be an All-Star for many years to come even if he doesn’t make the team this season. Ryan Zimmeran (.299 AVG/12 HR/43 RBI/126 OPS+) could get some consideration for his fielding alone, which is Gold Glove caliber, but he has been pretty productive at the plate as well. Mark Reynolds (.268 AVG/21 HR/54 RBI/13 SB/132 OPS+) is also worthy of All-Star consideration. Two old-timers, Chipper Jones (.289 AVG/9 HR/33 RBI/135 OPS+) and Casey Blake (.293 AVG/11 HR/48 RBI/128 OPS+) could have a case as well; although Chipper is an atrocious defender at 3B.

SS: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
Stats: .333 AVG/12 HR/51 RBI/11 SB/.400 OBP/.548 SLG/.948 OPS/150 OPS+

Hanley might be the best player in the NL not named Pujols and is a clear cut selection to start in the NL at SS. He’s also on the plus side defensively and leads all NL SS in putouts.

Next in line: A revived Miguel Tejada (.330 AVG/6 HR/41 RBI/121OPS+) and Troy Tulowitzki (.263 AVG/12 HR/31 RBI/11 SB/116 OPS+) are the best choices after Hanley. Tulowitzki is far, far better in the field than Tejada though.

OF: Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia Phillies
Stats: .312 AVG/22 HR/59 RBI/4 SB/.371 OBP/.656 SLG/1.027 OPS/163 OPS+

Ibanez is a no-brainer choice in the NL OF. He was having a career year before he got injured and may not be able to play in the game but he deserves the starting nod regardless. He’s actually been around average defensively in LF for the Phillies as well.

OF: Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks
Stats: .318 AVG/14 HR/45 RBI/10 SB/.399 OBP/.580 SLG/.978 OPS/149 OPS+

I also considered Carlos Beltran (.336 AVG/8 HR/40 RBI/11 SB/151 OPS+) for this spot since it’s most likely going to be the starting CF, but since he’s hurt I decided to go with Upton instead. Upton is having a breakout season and is also one of the premier defensive RF in baseball with an excellent arm.

OF: Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
Stats: .324 AVG/16 HR/53 RBI/6 SB/.415 OBP/.575 SLG/.990 OPS/160 OPS+

Braun is mashing the ball as usual this season and deserves to start in the NL OF because of his offense as much as Ibanez does. He’s still weak defensively, but his bat is strong enough to overlook his defense in this case.

Next in line: I already mentioned Beltran (.336 AVG/8 HR/40 RBI/11 SB/151 OPS+), who has been solid at the plate this season, but surprisingly has been a negative defender, which some people feel is due to the spacious new home field of the Mets. Brad Hawpe (.329 AVG/12 HR/55 RBI/154 OPS+) has been raking the ball for the Rockies this season, but is an extremely poor defender even for a RF. Matt Kemp (.311 AVG/10 HR/41 RBI/18 SB/127 OPS+) is one of the best young all-around players in the game and might be the best defensive CF in baseball. He is definitely worthy of an All-Star selection.

After Beltran, Kemp, and Hawpe; Adam Dunn (.257 AVG/19 HR/53 RBI/140 OPS+) & Hunter Pence (.316 AVG/10 HR/32 RBI/8 SB/139 OPS+) would be the only other NL OF’s I would consider the All-Star team.

SP: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
Stats: 7-2/2.57 ERA/124 K/105 IP/170 ERA+

Lincecum is the league leader in K's and the reigning NL Cy Young, so you can't go wrong with selecting him as the starter for the All-Star Game

Next In Line: Plenty of other pitchers worthy of All-Star consideration, including Dan Haren (6-5/2.25 ERA/104 K/108 IP/203 ERA+), Matt Cain (9-2/2.57 ERA/85 K/101.2 IP/170 ERA+), Johnny Cueto (7-4/2.86 ERA/70 K/97.2 IP/157 ERA+), Josh Johnson (7-1/2.76 ERA/94 K/111 IP/153 ERA+), Yovani Gallardo (8-4/2.86 ERA/102 K/97.2 IP/150 ERA+), Johan Santana (9-5/3.08 ERA/100 K/96.1 IP/139 ERA+), & Chad Billingsley (9-3/3.10 ERA/99 K/104.2 IP/137 ERA+).

More: MLB & MLB Weekly

MLB Weekly: American League All-Star Picks

Since the MLB All-Star Game is just a few weeks away it’s time for me to start naming my All-Star picks. I’m doing the AL this week and next week I’ll name my picks for the NL. Generally, I go with established players over the one-year wonders or breakout players. I think the stars should get the starting spots if they are performing well. I look at all the normal stats like HR, RBI, AVG, SB, OBP, & SLG; but OPS+ is the one statistic I look at most, except in some unique cases.

C: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
Stats: .407 AVG/14 HR/42 RBI/.475 OBP/.727 SLG/1.202 OPS/221 OPS+

Mauer is a no brainer choice for starting catcher in the AL. In fact, he’s probably the MVP in the AL right now. He’s batting over .400 and is actually hitting for power this season as well.

Next in line: Jorge Posada (.280 AVG/9 HR/29 RBI/132 OPS+) and Mike Napoli (.290 AVG/9 HR/27 RBI/125 OPS+) are having solid seasons, but they have no business starting in the All-Star Game over Mauer. Other than these three, there isn’t much worth looking at for catcher in the AL.

1B: Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
Stats: .286 AVG/20 HR/56 RBI/.387 OBP/.599 SLG/.986 OPS/155 OPS+

This was the toughest position for me to pick from between Kevin Youkilis, Justin Morneau, Mark Teixeira, and Miguel Cabrera. I chose Teixeira because he has the most HR, the second most RBI, and is a solid defensive 1B. Also, Youkilis missed a little time with injury.

Next in line: After Youkilis (.316 AVG/12 HR/40 RBI/160 OPS+), Morneau (.320 AVG/16 HR/57 RBI/159 OPS+), and Cabrera (.333 AVG/14 HR/44 RBI/145 OPS+); there’s a pretty deep group of 1B having All-Star caliber seasons.

Russell Branyan (.305 AVG/16 HR/31 RBI/165 OPS+), Lyle Overbay (.282 AVG/9 HR/41 RBI/146 OPS+), and Victor Martinez (.330 AVG/12 HR/53 RBI/143 OPS+) all would deserve consideration as reserves if this position wasn’t already so loaded.

2B: Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers
Stats: .267 AVG/18 HR/48 RBI/14 SB/.347 OBP/.535 SLG/.882 OPS/128 OPS+

Yeah, Kinsler is only hitting .267 this season and has really been slumping lately, but he’s still on pace for about 43 HR and 33 SB. He’s even improved in the field this season and is one of the top 3 defensive 2B in all of baseball after being below average at 2B for the first part of his career.

Next in line: Aaron Hill (.302 AVG/15 HR/48 RBI/113 OPS+) probably has the strongest case after Kinsler and I wouldn’t argue if he was the starter either. After that Robinson Cano (.305 AVG/12 HR/42 RBI/116 OPS+) and Brian Roberts (.291 AVG/7 HR/34 RBI/15 SB/110 OPS+) would both be worthy of consideration.

3B: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
Stats: .309 AVG/16 HR/61 RBI/2 SB/.392 OBP/.594 SLG/.987 OPS/153 OPS+

Another no-brainer at 3B, since Evan Longoria is far and away the best player at this position. He should be locking down this position for years to come, especially if A-Rod starts to decline as he gets older, which may be what is starting to happen this season. It also doesn’t hurt that Longoria is one of the best 5 defensive 3B in baseball.

Next in line: Brandon Inge (.274 AVG/16 HR/47 RBI/130 OPS+) is having a career year up to this point and is the only other player at 3B who is worthy of any strong All-Star consideration. He’s also been well above average at the hot corer in the field.

SS: Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
Stats: .301 AVG/9 HR/30 RBI/14 SB/.371 OBP/.449 SLG/.819 OPS/115 OPS+

Jeter is having a bounce back year at the plate this season after being slowed down by an injured wrist last season. The move to the new Yankee Stadium hasn’t hurt either. In the field, Jeter has actually been a plus defender, although he still is not much more than average.

Next in line: Jason Bartlett (.373 AVG/7 HR/31 RBI/14 SB/158 OPS+) has been tremendous at the plate this season and nobody would have expected that coming into this season. However, since he missed so many games from being injured and Jeter is a veteran who’s played in multiple All-Star games, I couldn’t give Bartlett the starting nod.

OF: Jason Bay, Boston Red Sox
Stats: .276 AVG/18 HR/66 RBI/5 SB/.393 OBP/.577 SLG/.970 OPS/144 OPS+

Bay leads the AL in RBI and has been excellent for the Red Sox since coming over from the Pirates. Boston couldn’t ask for anything more from a player who is replacing Manny Ramirez.

OF: Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels
Stats: .316 AVG/16 HR/52 RBI/12 SB/.397 OBP/.601 SLG/.998 OPS/155 OPS+

Hunter is showing no signs of slowing down even at age 33. He is on pace to have the best offensive season of his career and that’s a good thing considering he is a below average defender in CF this year after so many great defensive seasons. Still, Hunter has to be strongly considered for first-half MVP in the AL.

OF: Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays
Stats: .307 AVG/6 HR/32 RBI/37 SB/.367 OBP/.435 SLG/.801 OPS/108 OPS+

Crawford doesn’t have a stellar OPS+, but he’s on pace for 85 SB and his range in LF is among the best in all of baseball.

Next in line: Johnny Damon (.280 AVG/14 HR/40 RBI/6 SB/127 OPS+) and Adam Jones (.316 AVG/12 HR/43 RBI/5 SB/132 OPS+) would be next in line right behind Carl Crawford for the last spot in the OF. I wouldn’t argue if someone felt like one of them should be starting over Crawford. However, both are surprisingly on the negative side of things defensively, so that’s part of the reason why I went with Crawford to start.

Nobody else really has a strong case to be a starter in the OF, but Ichiro (.358 AVG/5 HR/17 RBI/12 SB/133 OPS+), Nelson Cruz (.268 AVG/18 HR/45 RBI/11 SB/127 OPS+), Shin-Shoo Choo (.295 AVG/9 HR/41 RBI/11 SB/125 OPS+), & Curtis Granderson (.263 AVG/17 HR/41 RBI/12 SB/115 OPS+) are all having solid seasons and deserve strong consideration as reserves.
Of this group, Cruz, Ichiro, & Granderson are Gold Glove caliber defenders, while Choo should probably be a DH. After considering the defense of Cruz, Ichiro, and Granderson; I would probably lump them in with Damon and Adam Jones as potential starters.

SP: Zach Greinke, Kansas City Royals
Stats: 8-3/1.96 ERA/106 K/101 IP/221 ERA+

Greinke has been a beast on the mound this season and deserves to be the starting pitcher for the AL this year. He has a ridiculous sub-2.00 ERA and is second in the AL with 106 K's.

Next in line: The AL is deep with pitching but the best of the rest are Edwin Jackson (6-4/2.39 ERA/72 K/94.1 IP/189 ERA+), Jered Weaver (7-3/2.53 ERA/78 K/96 IP/178 ERA+), Roy Halladay (10-1/2.53 ERA/88 K/103 IP/171 ERA+), Felix Hernandez (7-3/2.74 ERA/98 K/101.2 IP/156 ERA+), Justin Verlander (8-3/3.31 ERA/118 K/98 IP/136 ERA+), & Kevin Milwood (7-5/2.62 ERA/65 K/106.2 IP/170 ERA+).

Other American League Observations

- In the AL, 1B & RF are the deepest positions. AL 1B is especially loaded with 12 of the 14 starters posting an OPS+ over 100.

In fact, 8 of those actually have an OPS+ above 140, which means 8 of the top 17 hitters in the AL play 1B: Russell Branyan, Kevin Youkilis, Justin Morneau, Mark Teixeira, Lyle Overbay, Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, and Carlos Pena.

No AL RF has an OPS+ over 134, but the position is just as deep as 1B with 12 of the 14 starters having an OPS+ over 100: Michael Cuddyer, Ichiro Suzuki, Nick Swisher, Nelson Cruz, Shin-Soo Choo, J.D. Drew, Jermaine Dye, Nick Markakis, Bobby Abreu, Gabe Gross, Jose Guillen, & Alexis Rios.

- The worst position offensively in the AL is actually CF with only 4 CF’s having an OPS+ over 100: Torii Hunter, Adam Jones, Curtis Granderson, & Melky Carbera. Suprisingly that’s even worse than AL Catchers. However, CF like B.J.Upton, Vernon Wells, & Grady Sizemore will most likely be above 100 OPS+ by the end of the season.

- I didn’t mention Ben Zobrist (.293 AVG/15 HR/42 RBI/8 SB/166 OPS+) above, because he really doesn’t have a position, since he’s played about an equal amount of games in RF and at 2B. However, he definitely deserves to be on the All-Star team as a reserve and probably deserves to be a starter if he had played one specific position the whole season.

- The DH position won’t be in this years All-Star Game since it’s in a NL park, but there are some quality DH’s who deserve All-Star consideration. Jason Kubel (.312 AVG/12 HR/39 RBI/147 OPS+), Luke Scott (.298 AVG/14 HR/37 RBI/143 OPS+), & Adam Lind (.303 AVG/14 HR/48 RBI/139 OPS+) are the best DH’s in the AL this season and it’s possible they could make the All-Star team in the OF, so they are worth mentioning.

More: MLB & MLB Weekly

MLB Weekly: Miguel Tejada To The Cardinals?, Ben Zobrist, David Wright, Brad Hawpe, Mariners Should Trade Erik Bedard, & More

Here are the team OPS+ and ERA+ totals so far this season, via Baseball Reference:

AL Team OPS+

1. New York Yankees (118)
2. Minnesota Twins (110)
3. Toronto Blue Jays (109)
4. Texas Rangers (108)
5. Tampa Bay Rays (108)
6. Boston Red Sox (106)
7. Cleveland Indians (102)
8. Los Angeles Angels (94)
9. Detroit Tigers (94)
10. Baltimore Orioles (94)
11. Kansas City Royals (89)
12. Seattle Mariners (88)
13. Oakland A's (84)
14. Chicago White Sox (84)

Comments:

- The Rays offense continues to do well even with the injuries to Jason Bartlett, Akinori Iwamura, and Pat Burrell. One reason for that is the emergence of Ben Zobrist, who actually leads the AL with a 182 OPS+(Joe Mauer doesn't have enough at-bats yet.) I knew he was playing well, but didn't realize it was THAT well. On the season he is hitting .311 AVG/12 HR/35 RBI/7 SB/.425 OBP/.675 SLG/1.101 OPS/182 OPS+. He's already reached career highs in RBI, SB, BB, and 2B; and he has tied career highs for hits and home runs. Joe Maddon was right on when he said he was impressed with Zobrist since the end of last season and thought he would contribute a lot to the Rays this year, but I think even he wasn't expecting Zobrist to be THIS good.

- Aaron Hill (.308 AVG/14 HR/43 RBI/.344 OBP/.496 SLG/.840 OPS/120 OPS+) and Adam Lind (.315 AVG/12 HR/45 RBI/.379 OBP/.560 SLG/.939 OPS/146 OPS+) continue to bolster the Blue Jays offense this season with their improved hitting. Both have really broken out this season and have helped improve a usually tame Toronto offense. I was high on both of these guys coming into the season, but even I didn't think they would be hitting this good. We'll have to see if either of them cools off in the second half of the season.

NL Team OPS+

1. Philadelphia Phillies (109)
2. New York Mets (103)
3. Los Angeles Dodgers (103)
4. Washington Nationals (101)
5. Houston Astros (99)
6. Milwaukee Brewers (96)
7. Pittsburgh Pirates (95)
8. Colorado Rockies (94)
9. St. Louis Cardinals (93)
10. San Diego Padres (93)
11. Atlanta Braves (91)
12. Chicago Cubs (90)
13. Florida Marlins (87)
14. Cincinnati Reds (87)
15. Arizona Diamondbacks (82)
16. San Francisco Giants (80)

Comments:

- Brad Hawpe (.339 AVG/9 HR/45 RBI/.411 OBP/.611 SLG/1.023 OPS/159 OPS+) is having a terrific season at the plate and has not been getting much notice for it. Hawpe has always been a solid hitter, but has been improved so far this year because of his decreased strikeout-rate. He is striking out just 16.8% of the time now compared to his career average of 22.0% of the time. It's possible he may have worked on shortening his swing during the offseason.

- David Wright might only have 4 HRs this season, but he's still hitting a red hot .354 on the season, which is second in the NL only to Miguel Tejada's .355 average. The new ballpark seems to be hurting Wright's power, but he's still finding ways to contribute and his current .975 OPS would be a career high if the season ended today. His slugging really hasn't taken much of a hit because he's hitting more doubles and his OBP is up because of the high batting average and the fact that he's walking more. His walk rate has increased to 15.3% of his plate appearances, up from 12.8% last season. He also has 16 SB already on the season, which puts him on pace for a career high 46 steals.

- After a slow start, D'Back's OF Justin Upton (.312 AVG/11 HR/35 RBI/8 SB/.389 OBP/.579 SLG/.968 OPS/145 OPS+) has really come on strong. Upton could be one of the best players in the game pretty soon and he is still just 21 years old.

AL Team ERA+

1. Seattle Mariners (117)
2. Boston Red Sox (114)
3. Chicago White Sox (110)
4. Detroit Tigers (109)
5. Toronto Blue Jays (106)
6. Tampa Bay Rays (103)
7. Kansas City Royals (102)
8. Los Angeles Angels (99)
9. Texas Rangers (98)
10. Oakland A's (97)
11. New York Yankees (93)
12. Minnesota Twins (90)
13. Baltimore Orioles (89)
14. Cleveland Indians (88)

Comments:

- Erik Bedard has been pitching excellent this season for the Mariners going 5-2 with a 2.47 ERA and 65 K's in 65.2 innings of work, while posting a 176 ERA+. If I were the Mariners, I would unload him now in a trade before he gets hurt again. His value right now is probably higher than it will be at any point the rest of the season. The Phillies seem like the most likely landing spot for Bedard and I think that would be a solid move for them.

NL Team ERA+

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (116)
2. San Francisco Giants (115)
3. Cincinnati Reds (115)
4. Chicago Cubs (113)
5. St. Louis Cardinals (108)
6. New York Mets (108)
7. Atlanta Braves (105)
8. Milwaukee Brewers (103)
9. Arizona Diamondbacks (101)
10. Colorado Rockies (100)
11. Florida Marlins (97)
12. Pittsburgh Pirates (94)
13. Philadelphia Phillies (93)
14. Houston Astros (93)
15. San Diego Padres (85)
16. Washington Nationals (80)

Comments:

- Dan Haren is in the midst of a filthy season for Arizona despite having just a 4-4 record. He leads the NL in ERA+ at 195. He also has a league leading 2.33 ERA and 7.55 K to BB ratio. Unfortunately for him, he pitches for the D'Backs who have given him poor run support and make the rest of the poor hitting NL look like the Yankees on offense. They are currently the 29th worst team in baseball in hitting.

More MLB News:

- Not only is Miguel Tejada leading the NL with a .355 batting average, but he could possibly be traded to the Cardinals, who are looking for another bat in their lineup. The Cardinals offense is struggling with a 93 OPS+, despite Albert Pujols having another monster season. St. Louis is also interested in picking up the recently released Tom Glavine.

- The Rockies are reportedly willing to trade almost anyone on their roster, since they have gotten off to a poor 27-32 start despite scoring 11 more runs than they have given up. It might be a little too soon for the Rockies to start giving up on the season, since their expected record right now is 31-28, which would actually only put them 1 game out of the NL Wild Card.

- It's been about a week now but the Braves acquired OF Nate McLouth from the Pirates. McLouth is currently hitting .259 with 10 HR, 36 RBI, and 9 SB and should give the struggling Braves offense a little more life.

More: MLB & MLB Weekly

MLB Weekly: Mark Teixeira, Luke Scott, White Sox Bullpen, Cubs Offense, Matt Cain, & More

Here are the team OPS+ and ERA+ totals so far this season, via Baseball Reference:

AL Team OPS+

1. New York Yankees (118)
2. Texas Rangers (111)
3. Minnesota Twins (108)
4. Toronto Blue Jays (107)
5. Tampa Bay Rays (107)
6. Boston Red Sox (105)
7. Cleveland Indians (102)
8. Baltimore Orioles (98)
9. Detroit Tigers (96)
10. Kansas City Royals (93)
11. Los Angeles Angels (92)
12. Seattle Mariners (85)
13. Chicago White Sox (85)
14. Oakland A's (81)

Comments:

- The Yankees offense is far and away the best in the AL right now. Mark Teixiera has really been on fire lately and he is now batting .281 AVG/16 HR/44 RBI/.381 OBP/.605 SLG/.986 OPS/153 OPS+ on the season. Definitely the kind of production the Yankees were hoping for when they signed him. However, he's not the only Yankee swinging the bat well. All the Yankees regular starters have an OPS+ higher than 116, which means they are all better than average. That's definitely one high-powered offense.

- I talked about Baltimore's offense last week and then Luke Scott went out and crushed the ball hitting 6 home runs after coming off the DL. Scott is now batting .325 AVG/11 HR/29 RBI/.406 OBP/.658 SLG/1.064 OPS/169 OPS+ and if he keeps swinging a hot bat could be headed for a career year. Surprisingly though Baltimore's offense is still below average with a 98 OPS+. I think they will be above average offense soon enough though with the return of Scott from the DL, the call up of catcher Matt Wieters, and Nolan Reimold getting more at-bats in place of Felix Pie. One thing to keep an eye on with Baltimore is that I think they could be a tough team to play in the second half of the season because they have some solid young pitchers in the minors. They just called up David Hernandez, who exceptional K-Rates in the minors, and they have Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta, and Brian Mautsz as possible call ups later on in the season.

- The White Sox were denied in their efforts to trade for Jake Peavy and now the word is that Roy Oswalt would deny any trade to the White Sox as well. After looking at the struggling White Sox staff, I can see why they are trying so hard to acquire another pitcher. However, SS, 2B, 3B, and CF have been absolutely black holes for the White Sox on offense, which is why they rank next to last in offense in the AL. Things have gotten so bad that they are using top prospect Gordan Beckham at 3B and 2B with the hopes of actually bringing him up soon. He was recently promoted to Triple-A and is hitting .315 with 4 HR and 23 RBI on the season. Shouldn't be too long before he comes up, but I think the White Sox should be looking to acquire a CF as well.

NL Team OPS+

1. Philadelphia Phillies (108)
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (106)
3. New York Mets (103)
4. Washington Nationals (102)
5. Milwaukee Brewers (97)
6. St. Louis Cardinals (96)
7. San Diego Padres (96)
8. Houston Astros (95)
9. Pittsburgh Pirates (93)
10. Atlanta Braves (92)
11. Colorado Rockies (91)
12. Cincinnati Reds (91)
13. Chicago Cubs (88)
14. Florida Marlins (84)
15. Arizona Diamondbacks (82)
16. San Francisco Giants (78)

Comments:

- NL offenses still stink. Only 4 teams with an offense above league average.

- The Cubs offense is really disappointing with just an 88 OPS+. Last season they posted 103 OPS+, which is nothing special, but certainly far better than what they are doing right now. Their pitching has been solid for the most part, but until their offense takes off they will continue to have a disappointing season.

AL Team ERA+

1. Detroit Tigers (116)
2. Seattle Mariners (111)
3. Chicago White Sox (111)
4. Boston Red Sox (109)
5. Kansas City Royals (108)
6. Toronto Blue Jays (105)
7. Texas Rangers (104)
8. Tampa Bay Rays (100)
9. Los Angeles Angels (99)
10. Oakland A's (94)
11. New York Yankees (93)
12. Baltimore Orioles (90)
13. Minnesota Twins (89)
14. Cleveland Indians (87)

Comments:

- The White Sox starting pitching has been a little shaky this season, but they still have a 111 ERA+ because of their lights out bullpen. They have 5 pitchers in their bullpen with an ERA+ above 160 and they all have ERA's of 3.00 or less as well: Bobby Jenks(160 ERA+, 3.00 ERA), Matt Thornton(267 ERA+, 1.80 ERA), Scott Linebrink(236 ERA+, 2.04 ERA), Octavio Dotel(463 ERA+, 1.04 ERA), & D.J. Carrasco(188 ERA+, 2.56 ERA).

NL Team ERA+

1. St. Louis Cardinals (119)
2. San Francisco Giants (116)
3. Los Angeles Dodgers (115)
4. New York Mets (114)
5. Cincinnati Reds (111)
6. Milwaukee Brewers (108)
7. Chicago Cubs (105)
8. Atlanta Braves (105)
9. Arizona Diamondbacks (100)
10. Pittsburgh Pirates (98)
11. Colorado Rockies (95)
12. Houston Astros (94)
13. Florida Marlins (92)
14. San Diego Padres (89)
15. Philadelphia Phillies (88)
16. Washington Nationals (78)

Comments:

- It's a shame the Giants have no offense, because they certainly have the pitching to compete as a playoff team this season. It's not just Tim Lincecum either. Matt Cain has been excellent this season going 6-1 with a 2.31 ERA and 192 ERA+ with 46 K's in 66.1 innings pitched. However, with K per 9 inning ratio of just 6.2 and a K to BB ratio of just 1.70, I would expect that his ERA might go up about another run at some point.

More MLB News:

- Grady Sizemore might need elbow surgery and might be out until late-July, which would be a huge blow to the Indians chances. We might start to see them try and trade some of their veteran players if Sizemore is going to be out for a while.

- Josh Hamilton has a recurring groin problem and could be headed for another trip to the DL. Luckily for the Rangers, they have the second best hitting team in the AL despite the fact that Hamilton has not really played all that well this season. Marlon Byrd and Nelson Cruz have held down the OF with solid offense so far and Andruw Jones and David Murphy would benefit from more playing time if Hamilton does go back on the DL.

- A's pitching prospect Vin Mazzaro will make his major league debut Tuesday night. Mazzaro is one of the A's better prospects, so you might want to keep an eye on him and see how he pitches.

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MLB Weekly: Minnesota Twins, Adam Jones, Raul Ibanez, San Diego Padres, NL Pitching, & More

Here are the team OPS+ and ERA+ totals so far this season, via Baseball Reference:

AL Team OPS+

1. New York Yankees (114)
2. Minnesota Twins (113)
3. Texas Rangers (112)
4. Toronto Blue Jays (109)
5. Tampa Bay Rays (108)
6. Boston Red Sox (106)
7. Cleveland Indians (101)
8. Detroit Tigers (98)
9. Los Angeles Angels (96)
10. Kansas City Royals (96)
11. Baltimore Orioles (94)
12. Oakland A's (82)
13. Seattle Mariners (81)
14. Chicago White Sox (78)

Comments:

- The Twins offense has really taken off since the return of Joe Mauer, who is absolutely crushing the ball right now. Mauer is hitting .438 AVG/10 HR/29 RBI/.525 OBP/.875 SLG/1.400 OPS/271 OPS+. Joining Mauer on the plus side offensively in OPS+ are Justin Morneau(188 OPS+), Michael Cuddyer(136 OPS+), Jason Kubel(143 OPS+), Denard Span(117 OPS+), and Joe Crede(110 OPS+). Unfortunately for the Twins, their pitching has been very much subpar posting just an 86 ERA+, which is the third worst in the AL and it could be a season long problem for the Twins.

- Baltimore is surprisingly struggling with the bats posting an OPS+ of just 94 right now. However, it's been no fault of Adam Jones, who is in the middle of a breakout season. Right now he is batting .359 AVG/10 HR/32 RBI/4 SB/.414 OBP/.654 SLG/1.068 OPS/171 OPS+. It looks like Jones might be headed for the first of what could be many All-Star appearances. Between Jones and Markakis in the Orioles OF, they should be set out there for years to come and even more so if rookie Nolan Reimold lives up to his potential.

- Somewhat surprising to see the White Sox as the worst offensive team in the AL. I didn't expect them to have a great offense this season, but certainly they should be around league average at the very least. The only three players pulling their weight on offense right now are Jermaine Dye(113 OPS+), Jim Thome(118 OPS+), and Paul Konerko(121 OPS+), although I would expect Carlos Quentin(95 OPS+) will get things going if he can stay healthy. White Sox GM Kenny Williams might want to look into trading for a bat instead of going after more pitching.

NL Team OPS+

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (108)
2. Washington Nationals (107)
3. Philadelphia Phillies (106)
4. New York Mets (104)
5. Milwaukee Brewers (101)
6. St. Louis Cardinals (97)
7. Atlanta Braves (96)
8. Pittsburgh Pirates (93)
9. Houston Astros (93)
10. San Diego Padres (92)
11. Colorado Rockies (92)
12. Cincinnati Reds (90)
13. Florida Marlins (86)
14. Chicago Cubs (84)
15. Arizona Diamondbacks (81)
16. San Francisco Giants (74)

Comments:

- The Phillies offense has been heating up and they should lead the NL in OPS+ by the end of the next week or two. Jimmy Rollins is finally starting to hit after an awful start, but his still hitting just .233 this season. Raul Ibanez has really been leading the Phillies offense and is hitting .352 AVG/17 HR/43 RBI/4 SB/.412 OBP/.739 SLG/1.151 OPS/191 OPS+. A lot of people felt that Ibanez was a bad signing by the Phillies because of his age and lack or range in the outfield, but he has more than made up for that with his bat this season. His 17 HR are tops in the majors right now. If the Phillies could get their starting pitching and Brad Lidge straightened out then they could be the favorites in the NL once again. However, I think they may need to make a trade to solidify their rotation.

- The Padres are having a poor season with the bats, which is no surprise, but 1B Adrian Gonzalez has gotten off to a hot start. Gonzalez is hitting .282 AVG/16 HR/30 RBI/.381 OBP/.601 SLG/.982 OPS/166 OPS+. Unfortunately for the Padres, the rest of their offense pretty much stinks. Somehow they've still managed to win 9 straight games and climb to .500 and second place in the NL West. I don't expect their winning ways to continue though considering they are below average in both offense(92 OPS+) and pitching(91 ERA+).

AL Team ERA+

1. Kansas City Royals (117)
2. Detroit Tigers (113)
3. Toronto Blue Jays (111)
4. Seattle Mariners (110)
5. Boston Red Sox (108)
6. Chicago White Sox (106)
7. Texas Rangers (105)
8. Los Angeles Angels (104)
9. Tampa Bay Rays (102)
10. Oakland A's (98)
11. New York Yankees (90)
12. Minnesota Twins (86)
13. Cleveland Indians (85)
14. Baltimore Orioles (84)

Comments:

- The Angels should plenty worried about the Rangers if they can keep their ERA+ at their current amount of 105. You know the Rangers offense is going to be well above average all season, so if that pitching keeps things up then this Rangers team will be a legit threat to make the postseason.

- Justin Verlander(117 ERA+), Edwin Jackson(183 ERA+), & Rick Porcello(132 ERA+) continue to be a solid 1-2-3 top of the rotation for the Tigers. The pitching of these three starters is the main reason why the Tigers lead the AL Central right now despite the fact that their once powerful offense has posted just a 98 OPS+ this season.

NL Team ERA+

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (116)
2. St. Louis Cardinals (115)
3. Cincinnati Reds (115)
4. San Francisco Giants (110)
5. New York Mets (110)
6. Atlanta Braves (108)
7. Milwaukee Brewers (106)
8. Arizona Diamondbacks (105)
9. Pittsburgh Pirates (103)
10. Chicago Cubs (103)
11. Colorado Rockies (101)
12. Houston Astros (92)
13. San Diego Padres (91)
14. Florida Marlins (87)
15. Philadelphia Phillies (86)
16. Washington Nationals (80)

Comments:

- The Dodgers lead the NL in hitting and pitching. Best team in the NL? Certainly looks that way even without Manny. They are one of only three teams who are above league average in both hitting and pitching, along with the Mets & Brewers. I expect some of the NL teams bats to heat up soon, which should balance out the 11 teams in the NL who have above average pitching right now.

- The Cardinals pitching surged all the way up to second in the NL over the past few weeks thanks to the strong pitching performance of Adam Wainwright(127 ERA+), Joel Pineiro(123 ERA+), and Kyle Lohse(109 ERA+). However, the biggest addition might have been the return of Chris Carpenter, who in 4 starts has yet to give up a run in 23 innings of work.

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- The Giants are looking to trade for a bat and have some interest in Marlins 2B Dan Uggla. Uggla is currently hitting just .205, but he does have 8 HR and 30 RBI. The Giants are also looking at oft-injured 1B Nick Johnson and also Mark DeRosa. My guess is that they would get the most bang for their buck from DeRosa, because I don't think they'd have to give up as much to get him as they would for Uggla amd Johnson is too much of an injury risk to count on. Along with Johnson, Uggla, & DeRosa; Adrian Beltre, Matt Holliday, Todd Helton, and Aubrey Huff have been some of the other bigger names that could possibly be involved in a trade this season.

- The Milwaukee Brewers look like they are going to enter the Jake Peavy sweepstakes and they could be the best potential fit for the Padres to trade with. I am not a big fan of trading for Peavy because I think his numbers are somewhat inflated from pitching in the NL in a park that is very much pitcher friendly. If he goes to Milwaukee I would expect him to struggle a little more than usual.

- Rays 2B Akinori Iwamura is out for the season with a torn ligament in his left knee. The Rays will probably use Ben Zobrist, Willy Aybar, and possibly Reid Brignac to fill in for Iwamura at 2B. They probably will be able to make up for his offensive output and may even exceed it, but they might miss his solid defensive play at 2B.

- In other news for the Rays, lefty pitching phenom David Price will be making his 2009 debut today with a start against the Indians. Hopefully Price will be up for the rest of the season now.

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MLB Weekly: Edwin Jackson, Red Sox Home/Road Batting Splits, Ryan Zimmerman, Johnny Cueto, & More

Here are the team OPS+ and ERA+ totals so far this season, via Baseball Reference:

AL Team OPS+

1. Toronto Blue Jays (117)
2. Texas Rangers (115)
3. New York Yankees (111)
4. Boston Red Sox (110)
5. Tampa Bay Rays (104)
6. Minnesota Twins (102)
7. Kansas City Royals (101)
8. Cleveland Indians (99)
9. Baltimore Orioles (99)
10. Detroit Tigers (93)
11. Los Angeles Angels (92)
12. Chicago White Sox (85)
13. Seattle Mariners (82)
14. Oakland A's (79)

Comments:

- The Yankees offense has looked good so far even without Mark Teixeira doing much of anything right now and A-Rod just returning. It's still their pitching that is keeping them as an average team instead of a great one. However, with Jorge Posada hurt and now Hideki Matsui and Derek Jeter missing time with injuries, you have to wonder how many hits they can take to their lineup before their hitting starts to suffer as well.

- The Red Sox have a strong offense for sure, but check out their home/road splits:

Home: .308 AVG/.391 OBP/.527 SLG/.918 OPS

Road: .253 AVG/.347 OBP/.391 SLG/.739 OPS

That's a huge difference, especially in the slugging which is 136 points worse on the road. Makes you wonder how many of those doubles they hit off the Green Monster and home runs that go over the Green Monster are really just your average fly ball outs in other parks. Sure looks that way.

- Tampa Bay, Minnesota, and Kansas City are all starting to hit better after slow starts this season with the bats.

NL Team OPS+

1. Washington Nationals (108)
2. New York Mets (107)
3. Los Angeles Dodgers (106)
4. Milwaukee Brewers (105)
5. St. Louis Cardinals (104)
6. Philadelphia Phillies (101)
7. Colorado Rockies (97)
8. Atlanta Braves (95)
9. San Diego Padres (91)
10. Pittsburgh Pirates (90)
11. Cincinnati Reds (89)
12. Chicago Cubs (89)
13. Houston Astros (88)
14. Florida Marlins (81)
15. Arizona Diamondbacks (76)
16. San Francisco Giants (75)

Comments:

- Still 10 teams in the NL that are below average offensively.

- This is what I said a few weeks ago about the Cardinals when they had an NL leading 124 OPS+:

The Cardinals have far and away the best offense in the NL right now, but I don't expect them to sustain their current level. They have a couple players, like Yadier Molina & Joe Thurston, who are off to hot starts and will probably cool off at some point.

Since then they have dropped 20 points in OPS+ and now have just the 5th best offense in the NL. See I know what I'm talking about people.

Other teams that took a dive in OPS+ in the NL are the Padres, Pirates, and Marlins.

- A few weeks back the Phillies, Mets, and Cubs were underperforming with the bats:

It's surprising to see teams like the Phillies(100), Mets(99), and Cubs(90) struggling with average to below average offenses when they were expected to be elite offenses this season. It's still early, so I expect all 3 to pick things up offensively, but out of these three teams the Cubs have the best pitching, so they could sustain a drop an offense and compete better than the other two teams.

Well, the Mets have improved with the bats, which is why they lead the NL East right now. The Cubs are still struggling, but their pitching is keeping them afloat in the NL Central. Meanwhile, the Phillies continue to just be average with the bats and since they have no pitching I have a hard time believing they can hang around with the Mets if their offense doesn't starting hitting the ball some more. The worse offender in their lineup has been Jimmy Rollins, who has really struggled for the Phillies hitting just .198 with 1 HR and 10 RBI. That's good for a 30 OPS+, which means he's been 70% worse than average. Ouch.

- Nope, your eyes are not deceiving you, the Washington Nationals lead the NL in hitting with a 108 OPS+. Most of that is due to Ryan Zimmeran and Adam Dunn, who are both off to tremendous starts. Zimmerman currently has 29-game hit streak and is batting .364 AVG/.408 OBP/.621 SLG/ 1.029 OPS on the year with 8 HR and 26 RBI. Meanwhile, Dunn could be on the way to having his best season ever as he is currently hitting .313 AVG/.448 OBP/.643 SLG/1.091 OPS with 11 HR and 28 RBI. However, Zimmerman and Dunn aren't the only players doing well at the plate for the Nationals as everyone of their regulars has an OPS+ over 100 on the season except for 2B Anderson Hernandez. All of their regulars do have OBP over .351 though, which shows that this is a patient team, which you would expect with Adam Dunn and Nick Johnson in their lineup.

AL Team ERA+

1. Kansas City Royals (125)
2. Toronto Blue Jays (114)
3. Detroit Tigers (114)
4. Oakland A's (113)
5. Seattle Mariners (107)
6. Chicago White Sox (106)
7. Los Angeles Angels (104)
8. Boston Red Sox (104)
9. Tampa Bay Rays (102)
10. Texas Rangers (99)
11. Baltimore Orioles (89)
12. Minnesota Twins (85)
13. Cleveland Indians (83)
14. New York Yankees (81)

Comments:

- The Rangers pitching has improved to just below average and I think with the combination of their offense and being in a weak hitting AL West that if they can keep their pitching around league average then they can compete in that division and possible win it. One pitcher to keep an eye on for them is rookie lefty Derek Holland, who is in their bullpen right now, but could be starting for them as early as June.

- The Royals pitching continues to do well and now that their offense is above average they have climbed to second place in the AL Central with an 18-15 record. I'm not sure their pitching will continue to be so good though, because most of their league leading ERA+ number is due to Zach Grienke's outrageous start with an ERA+ of 903, which means he's been 9 times better than an average starter. Joakim Soria's shoulder injury is definitely a concern as well.

- The Tigers pitching has been somewhat surprising to start the season, mostly due to the emergence of Edwin Jackson. Jackson had a solid season for the Rays last year, but this year he is showing the stuff of a possible ace. Jackson has increased his strikeouts and decreased his walks per 9 innings this season. In fact, since he's been a starter, he has decreased his hits and walks per 9 innings every season. He's currently 2-2 with a 2.60 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with 35 K's in 45 innings. If this trend continues throughout the season then Jackson, who is still just 25 years old, might be on his way to becoming one of the top pitchers in the game.

NL Team ERA+

1. Cincinnati Reds (115)
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (114)
3. New York Mets (112)
4. San Francisco Giants (110)
5. Atlanta Braves (109)
6. Milwaukee Brewers (106)
7. Arizona Diamondbacks (106)
8. Colorado Rockies (105)
9. St. Louis Cardinals (104)
10. Chicago Cubs (101)
11. Pittsburgh Pirates (100)
12. Florida Marlins (100)
13. Houston Astros (95)
14. Philadelphia Phillies (84)
15. San Diego Padres (82)
16. Washington Nationals (81)

Comments:

- Remember when I said this about the Pirates pitching:

The Pirates pitching has been surprisingly good so far this season posting a NL high 146 ERA+. They also lead the NL in ERA at 3.29 and are second in WHIP at 1.27. However, they are dead last in the NL in strikeouts with just 69 K's in 123 innings pitched. The low amount of strikeouts suggests to me that their pitchers do not have the best stuff and have been getting somewhat lucky to start to season, unless of course they have a bunch of Greg Maddux types out there on the mound, which I highly doubt.

Well just a few weeks later than are down to an ERA+ of 100, an ERA almost a full run higher at 4.20, and a WHIP of 1.40. Told you it wouldn't last and it didn't take long to prove it.

- If the Reds could make some improvements on offense then they would have a chance to be this year's Rays because their top 3 pitchers are pretty solid in Aaron Harang, Edinson Volquez, and Johnny Cueto, which is the main reason they lead the NL in pitching right now. Cueto has been especially strong this season going 3-1 with a 1.59 ERA and 286 ERA+, while striking out 32 in 39 innings of work. I don't think their offense is good enough to compare to last season's Rays though, which means they can probably contend for a playoff spot this season, but I don't see them making it to the World Series if they do manage to get into the playoffs.

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- For my money, the Dodgers and Mets are the two best teams in the NL right now. The Dodgers will certainly miss Manny, but their pitching is strong enough in a weak hitting division for them to manage without him. I would actually favor the Dodgers as the best team in the NL once Manny comes back, because the Mets starting pitching other than Santana has ranged from awful to average. The bullpen is strong with K-Rod, Putz, and some other arms throwing well right now, but I don't think they have enough pitching to get it done right now. The Cubs certainly are right in the mix and could be the best team in the NL by the end of the regular season. I also see the Phillies being there in the end and the Brewers, Braves, Marlins, Reds, and Giants lurking in the wings as well. I think one of those teams will emerge to have a surprisingly strong season.

- Kevin Youkilis was placed on the 15-day DL after missing 7 games with a strained oblique muscle. He should be back within the next week though. Youk was off to a hot start hitting .393 with 6 HR and 20 RBI before the injury.

- Rangers closer Frank Francisco has biceps tendinitis and will miss a few games. Look for C.J. Wilson to fill-in for Francisco in save opportunities. Francisco has been excellent so far this season in 14.2 inning of work he has yet to give up a run and has 9 saves.

- Dontrelle Willis has been activated from the DL and will make his first start of the season today against the Twins. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on the performance of Dontrelle.

- The Cardinals placed Ryan Ludwick on the 15-day DL with a strained hamstring. Ludwick is hitting .274 with 8 HR and 26 RBI this season and the Cardinals will definitely miss his bat.

- LA Angels ace pitcher John Lackey will return from the DL and start Saturday against the Rangers.

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