American League Breakdown

June 30, 2009 2:15pm CDT

Baltimore Orioles: Chris Ray continues to struggle out of Baltimore's bullpen and still has a WHIP well above two (2.21) and an ERA just barely below 10 (9.74). Apparently, his minor league assignment from late-May to mid-June didn't do too much, as he was completely shelled last Thursday to the tune of five runs off seven hits over 1.2 innings, and gave up another run in his next appearance while recording just two outs. Given how effective George Sherrill has been as Baltimore's closer all season long and how dominant Jim Johnson has been as the setup man of late, Ray isn't anywhere close to the ninth-inning duties that he has held in the past and that once seemed likely to come at some point this season... Brian Roberts hasn't logged a hit since last Wednesday and was even benched on Sunday to try and shake things up, though he went 0-for-4 on Monday. Still, don't fret, as he has to proven of a track record to cause doubt and should continue to be one of the best speedsters in the game.

Boston Red Sox: Brad Penny experienced some soreness in his thumb during his outing on Sunday. "It just kind of popped out of the joint for a second," Penny said, attributing it to gripping the ball too tightly. "I just needed a second to let it come back. It's happened before, probably four or five times in my career," (Boston Globe). Still, Penny was able to get through the game fine despite getting tagged with the loss against Atlanta, allowing two runs off six hits in six innings, and has looked great over his past four starts. It looks like Daisuke Matsuzaka (shoulder) could be on the DL for quite some time and Clay Buchholz isn't expected to be called up anytime soon, so Penny should continue to be a fine option in AL-only leagues that can be used as a decent spot starter even in mixed formats... Justin Masterson has given up just two runs over 12.1 innings the past month. The 24-year-old Jamaican-native remains a capable starter, though Boston clearly doesn't have room in the rotation, meaning he'll continue to be utilized as one of the better long relievers in the game.

Chicago White Sox: Carlos Quentin (foot) continues to progress and looked great in both batting practice and agility drills at Cleveland prior to Chicago's game their on Monday. Generally thought of as a relative bust this season even before he get hurt, remember that he still flashed fine power with eight home runs in 131 at-bats and that his ridiculously low BABIP would suggest a major bump in batting average and, in turn, RBI and runs... Jermaine Dye is in the midst of a seven-game hit streak where he's hit three home runs and has had multi-hit performances in six of the seven showings. At 35 years of age, this guy continues to be one of the truly great and consistent four-category performers in the majors.

Cleveland Indians: While Cliff Lee has, rather quietly, replicated his 2008 Cy Young Award-winning effort in 2009, at least since his first two starts of the season, he continues to be the only starter really worthy of a spot in a big-league rotation. Of the four other starters currently in Cleveland's rotation (Carl Pavano, Jeremy Sowers, David Huff and Tomo Ohka), Pavano is the only one with a WHIP below 1.50 (he's at 1.41), while Sowers is the lone man with an ERA on the right side of 5.50 (5.44), and clearly, both of those two are still pretty awful... Part of the reason Cleveland moved Mark DeRosa, aside from the obvious salary shedding given that they are not a contender this season, was due to their belief in Luis Valbuena as an everyday player in their infield. Unfortunately, the belief doesn't look to have much backing behind it given that he's gone 1-for-26 the past week without any RBI, runs or walks.

Detroit Tigers: People keep expecting Brandon Inge to fall off, but he keeps producing for his owners. He's gone without reaching base in back-to-back games just once this season, a three-game stretch from in early-May. He opened the year with homers in three-straight games and really hasn't looked back since, adding another six since June 9 to bump his total up to 18. It's becoming more and more apparent that he'll finish the season as a top-five catcher, although keeper leaguers should note that he's yet to play a single game behind the plate this year, with all 76 of his games coming at the hot corner, and thus is almost sure to lose his catcher eligibility next year... Justin Verlander has received more attention within the fantasy community, and rightfully so given his ridiculous strikeout numbers, but it's been Edwin Jackson who's remained superb and is sporting an ERA nearly a full run under Verlander at 2.49. Jackson is currently joined by only Zack Greinke, Dan Haren and Tim Lincecum on the elite list of qualified starters with ERAs under the 2.50 mark.

Kansas City Royals: Speaking of Greinke, it's pretty shocking that he still boasts the best ERA in the league, and is actually the only qualified starter under 2.25 with his 1.95 mark, given that his ERA has been on the wrong side of four (4.02) over six starts the past month. That gives you an idea of just how good this ace was to start the season in his first 10 turns, and while both he, and nobody on the planet, could have kept up effectiveness at that level, it's not like a 4.02 ERA over a given month screams out panic. He'll remain a great option going forward and still has to be the favorite for the AL Cy Young Award halfway through the season... Before you consider picking up Bruce Chen in your AL-only league following his decent first turn in Kyle Davies' place remember that this man's ERA has been just barely below seven (6.95) while posting an awful WHIP on the wrong side of 1.70 over the past two seasons.

Los Angeles Angels: Matt Palmer's perfect 6-0 record was snapped last week after he gave up six runs to the Rockies and got tagged with his first loss, and he was actually able to improve to 7-1 against the Diamondbacks on Sunday despite logging his second-straight six-run outing. Clearly this guy has luck very much on his side, so don't look at his record and think he's worth owning, as there's no way he continues to receive the same ridiculous run support... I don't care about the man's defensive deficiencies; I don't see how the Angels can continue to utilize a strict platoon with Mike Napoli behind the plate alongside Jeff Mathis. Napoli is 13-of-27 the past half-month and now has 10 home runs in just 179 at-bats, while Mathis is sitting at .207 with just two dingers on the year. There's no way Mathis should be playing more than once or twice a week.

Minnesota Twins: Think what you'd like about Jason Kubel, and just for the record, I'd like to state that there's no way he's 6-feet and below the 220 pounds he's listed at. That irrelevant statement aside, Kubel continues to get little respect from fantasy owners despite batting .313 with legit power and following two of the game's best in Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau in Minnesota's lineup. There's no questioning this guy's ability to hit, and he's one of the best mashers against right-handed pitching in the game; thus, he has added value when you can bench him against lefties, where he's batting nearly half that of what he's batting against righties (.185 compared to .360), not to mention the fact that all 13 of his home runs have come against righties... Joe Crede was scratched from Monday's lineup with a sore back. While he does have nice power, his batting average is too mediocre, when combined with the risk to miss games with injury that he always provides, to merit ownership in typical mixed leagues.

New York Yankees: Derek Jeter has a five-game hit streak that he continued on Sunday after missing the previous two games with the flu, and he had swiped a base in four consecutive games prior to catching the illness. It's pretty crazy how quick Jeter still is at 35 years of age, while part of his success on the base paths has to also be attributed to his superior feel for the game. He's already stolen 17 bases this year, exactly half that of his career-high 34 that he notched in 2006 and already more than he had finished with the previous two seasons... Johnny Damon too missed a game over the weekend with the flu, and he had logged a steal in consecutive games before sitting. With 14 home runs on the season, you have to believe his power pace will slow down, though his recent activity on the bases would suggest that his mere eight stolen bases are also a bit of an anomaly on the other end of the spectrum, so you can expect more steals going forward.

Oakland Athletics: After a phenomenal start to the season, Kurt Suzuki cooled off from the start of May through mid-June without a single home run over the span along with a batting average that dipped from .329 down to .275. Fortunately, he's picked things back of late with a five-game hit streak that has included three multi-hit performances, two home runs, a stolen base, six RBI and four runs. He'll continue to play every day in Oakland's lineup and should be a fine five-tool offensive catcher going forward that should be owned in nearly all leagues... Ryan Sweeney has been even hotter over the A's recent stretch of games. He's gone 13-of-28 since June 20 and has been 3-of-4 at the plate each of the past two days while hitting his third home run of the season yesterday. He's a guy to keep a close eye on in AL-only leagues.

Seattle Mariners: Adrian Beltre is scheduled to undergo shoulder surgery today to remove bone spurs that have proved too painful to ignore any longer. He'll be out six-to-eight weeks and will probably be dropped in the vast majority of leagues, but don't forget his name completely. He still could have a good month-plus of action before the end of the season, and keep in mind that his relatively weak numbers thus far have been a factor of his playing through pain. He could be a lot better once he's back healthy, complete with fine power and above-average speed for a third baseman, not to mention the fact that he'll be playing for a new contract next season. If he was dropped and you have an open DL spot on your roster, it can't hurt to pick him up and place him there until he returns... In Beltre's absence, Jose Lopez will move to third base, leaving Chris Woodward and Ronny Cedeno to fight for time at third. Each has decent speed and thus could become useful if one happens to win the job outright, so AL-only leaguers should stay tuned, but for now neither is worth owning.

Tampa Bay Rays: J.P. Howell has picked up three wins and three saves alike the past three weeks and has gone since May 23 without giving up a single run, a span of 17 appearances. Don't pay any attention to the save Randy Choate picked up yesterday, as the opportunity was a mere result of Howell having pitched each of the previous three days. Make no mistake about it; Howell is the new closer in Tampa Bay. Given his superb effectiveness since the start of 2008, expect him to hold onto the gig all year long, and with the Rays' superior offensive support and a pitching staff coming into its own with the return of Scott Kazmir, Howell really could be one of the better closers from here on out... Kazmir's return sent Andy Sonnanstine packing for minor league stint. Unless Jeff Niemann really struggles or one of Tampa Bay's other four get hurt, the move looks like it could be a permanent one for the rest of the year, so feel free to let Sonnanstine go in even the deepest of AL-only leagues.

Texas Rangers: David Murphy has gone a mediocre 6-of-25 the past week, although half of those six hits have left the yard. He's been alright since an awful start to the season; he went just 3-for-31 (.097) in April, but has hit slightly above .290 in the two months since. He may never again approach the numbers he put up when healthy last season as a rookie, but there's still value here in AL-only leagues, especially those where you can sit him against lefties, whom he's batting just .156 against... Word out of Texas is the Frank Francisco (shoulder) will be given one more non-save opportunity before resuming his closing role, so he should be good to go sometime soon, certainly for those making their lineups next week. Still, keep in mind that the Rangers aren't winning games like they were at the beginning of the season.

Toronto Blue Jays: I talked about Ricky Romero last week, and all he did since then was pitch the best start of his career, keeping the Phillies off the scoreboard while allowing just three baserunners and fanning seven in seven innings to improve to 5-3. He was excellent before straining his oblique and landing on the DL and has been just of good of late and really should be owned in nearly every format at this point given his nice strikeout potential... Lyle Overbay has been cold of late and really has done nothing besides kill batting averages the past two weeks, outside of a 3-for-5, five-RBI performance with a home run against Washington on June 21. It's tough to merit owning him in any format at this time, especially given that he's replaced by Kevin Millar against lefties.