TheBaseballStars

Normally, I wouldn’t post right on top of something another Baseball Star wrote, but what they hell did Newspaperman’s oggling over the Red Sox have to do with anything relevant?

1. Why I love Jack Cust and Milton Bradley. At various times this season, I have convinced myself that JMFC was completely finished, and on the verge of a ridiculous breakout. Turns out, he’s just good, not great, but very worth playing when the matchups are right. He homered again Sunday, against a LOOGY, no less, and suddenly has a very respectable season working. Similar things could be said for my favorite Angry Black Man. Bradley continues to prove that whenever he’s healthy, he’s worth playing. Of course, that will only amount to about 100 games if you’re lucky, but the guy will probably go down as history as the best player to never fulfill his promise simply by constantly getting hurt.

2. The best may be yet to come for Adam Dunn. Perhaps no player is more polarizing than Paul Dunnyan. He’s either a strikeout prone, all-or-nothing freak show or a on-base, home run-hitting machine. I have him in two different leagues, so you know where I stand. But weeks like this are the reason I love him: four homers and a OBP around .600. Throw in eight runs, seven RBI and he’s a fantasy backbone. Over the past month, he’s gone deep 10 times and posted a plus-.400 OBP. Despite a slow start, he’s on pace for what could be a career year. He’s striking out less, walking more and proving that he’s a worthy star.

3. The A’s may have the most-relevant fantasy pitching staff of all time. Keeping in mind that it’s still pretty early, the A’s have a rotation that should be owned five-across in every fantasy league. Sure, there are probably guys in your league available (Dana Eveland? Greg Smith? Justin Duchscherer?), but if they are pick them up now. But there have been five-deep fantasy rotations plenty of times before. What makes the A’s even more relevant is the fact that they have a must-own closer, a very ownable set-up man (Joey Devine is striking out 10 guys per nine innings and has been nearly unhittable), a No. 6 starter (chad Gaudin would be starting for about 20 of the 30 teams) waiting in the wings and another stud reliever (Santiago Casilla was the best middle-reliever in baseball until he got hurt) sitting on the DL. That’s nine pitchers who could all be owned in various leagues and six who should be owned in every one. You could do a lot worse than simply acquiring every A’s pitcher and letting that stand as your fantasy staff.

4. There’s a very good reason Josh Hamilton was once a No. 1 overall pick. Simply put, he’s the best player in baseball right now. The term five-tool player gets thrown around a lot, but there are very few real deals. The Needle (my just-created nickname for the former drug-addicted, heavily tattooed and the answer to all that ails you) doesn’t steal a whole lot, but he’s got speed, is a legit center fielder with a solid arm and hits for power and average. If the season ends today, my MVP vote goes to him. He’s led the Rangers nearly to .500, has a .371 avg and is on pace for more than 40 homers and nearly 200 RBI. He’s not going to do that (or will he?), but just think about this: Two years ago he was a Rule 5 pick that every team in baseball had a chance to pick up for $25,000. He was drafted around the 11th round in most fantasy drafts this year. More than any other guy, he’s the player every fantasy owners is kicking himself over not drafting.

5. Speaking of surprising outfielders, Carlos Quentin looks like he’s for real. Considering he almost literally came out of nowhere (his average draft position is generally listed as “undrafted”), he’s probably polling a close second as the guy everyone is kicking themselves over. He’s not as pretty to watch as The Needle, but his power looks like it’s for real, and like Hamilton he plays in a very hitter-friendly park. I got him down for about 30-35 homers and 110 RBI, plus about 10 steals. He’s not going to keep up his current pace, but if you can find an unconvinced owner, don’t shy away from acquiring him.