Like the paper towel maker Brawny, outfielder Ryan Braun is the Brewers quicker picker upper.

I think back to the the month of July of last year, during which he hit 11 homers, scored 18 runs, and drove home 25 while flirting with a .400 average. Braun was in something of a slump to start the season, though still putting up reasonable numbers, but something has seemed to click since he picked up a pink bat for Mothers Day/Breast Cancer Awareness day last Sunday.

“There was something about those bats,” Braun told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “All the guys were saying it, even in the batting cage. They just felt right. They felt harder and the ball sounded louder coming off them.”

He quickly clubbed a homer with one of his other black-finish bats, to dispute his superstition. It wasn’t his impressive bomb off Cardinals’ pitcher Adam Wainwright that impressed his manager Ned Yost though. Yost cited a more modest at-bat in the Brewers’ big third inning that convinced his young slugger was officially out of his funk. After swinging at a first-pitch curveball in the dirt with runners on second and third and one out, Braun adjusted and worked a six-pitch walk.

“That’s a situation where he gets so anxious, trying to drive those runs in, because he’s a run producer,” Yost said. “That opened up a big inning for us, because it allowed the other guys to do what they do. When I saw that at-bat, I knew ‘Braunie’ was back to being the Ryan Braun we know.”

Fantasy owners look like they could be in line for another big month in the mold of last July. Hopefully you didn’t buy into all the analysts claiming he’d be a bust this season, because it’s clear that for the Brewers and fantasy teams alike, he can indeed be a quicker picker upper.

I’m attending the Jays/Twins games tonight and tomorrow so I don’t have time for a length post, but I am eager to direct your attention to the guys at Project Prospect and their latest update to their list of Top 25 players under the age of 25.  On the rise in this update of the long-running column are Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum, Rays pitcher Scott Kazmir, and Orioles outfielder Nick Markakis.

There are very few things more irritating that seeing a major league club sit down an injured star for nearly a week, all the while assuming they’ll return in a matter of days, and then placing them on the disabled list. Such is the case with Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal.

I didn’t head into the season targeting Furcal as the starting shortstop for my fantasy teams this season, but when the dust settled from my drafts, I had done just that in two of my three leagues. I was well aware of the injury risk he presented, but somewhat intrigued by the breakout many fantasy analysts have projected for him for the past three seasons…and after knocking out 49 hits in his first 32 games it certainly seemed as though he was on that path.

Then he hit that road bump on Monday, being placed on the 15-day disabled list with a lower back strain that forced him out of the last five games. Dodgers manager Joe Torre told the Associated Press this weekend that he was hopeful Furcal would return to the lineup Tuesday night, but the 30-year old shortstop admitted Sunday he was worried about his back, saying the pain was the same he felt last September when he had to sit out 12 games.

“This is the type of thing where it feels fine one day and it doesn’t the next,” Furcal said, adding he couldn’t run without pain.

So how Furcal’s fantasy owners react to the news? Well, if you’re lucky you finally gave up waiting on his return and plugged in an alternative this week. The alternative the Dodgers are relying on is promising shortstop prospect Chin-Lung Hu, who enjoyed a breakout season in 2007 at Triple-A and took home Futures Game MVP honors during his most productive professional season to date. He’s only hit .208 this season, but it was in just 48 at bats and he hasn’t gotten regular at bats, which is at least partly to blame for him not being able to find his groove at the plate. He’s enjoyed some success at the upper levels of the minors, so it’s conceivable that he could be an above average major league shortstop.

If Hu doesn’t seem like an adequate answer for your team, and in smaller leagues he probably isn’t, check and see if there is any chance that the Reds’ Jeff Keppinger or Rockies’ Clint Barmes are still available on your league’s waiver wire. They probably aren’t, but who knows…you could get lucky.  If you need to look deeper, consider the Blue Jays’ Marco Scutaro or Nationals’ Cristian Guzman. The former has put together productive streaks while with the Athletics and should get regular at bats for at least a few weeks and the latter hasn’t been productive in many years, but has certainly rediscovered his stroke this season and could be productive at least temporarily until Furcal returns.

We can hope that like the back injury of Tigers second baseman Placido Polanco, a little rest (and in Furcal’s case a cortisone shot) can do the trick and get him healthy again for a productive run through the last four and half months of the regular season.

My peers who have read anything I’ve written are probably ridiculously sick of hearing about it, but the research Baseball Prospectus once did regarding Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick is jaw dropping.

They have a statistic called Translated Batting Average, which is without question a less flawed statistic than it’s older brother, batting average. It expands all seasons to the usual 162-game schedule and the average number of regular player at bats (650). This research was done in 2006, so it’s possible another player has presented himself since, but the data showed that since 1998, there are 54 players (including major leaguers) who posted a translated BA of .300 or better in a season in which they were age 22 or younger (minimum 300 AB). Only seven of those players made the list twice:

• Sean Burroughs
• Miguel Cabrera
• Howie Kendrick
• Joe Mauer
• Albert Pujols
• Tony Torcato
• David Wright

Obviously that list is quite impressive, well, and then it includes Tony Torcato and Sean Burroughs as well. Nevertheless, it clearly stated at that time, we were justified to salivate over the potential Kendrick had to win batting titles.

Then he was given the chance to play regularly.

Before I had much of a chance to gloat over one of the players I had secured long-term on my most valued keeper league roster, the injuries started piling up. People (including myself) overlooked the fact he was limited to just 75 games in 2004 due to injuries and heading into a 2007 season which many people expected to be his breakout season, a broken finger held him to just 86 games. While he hit .322 over the course of that abbreviated season, the frustration of his missing significant chunks of seasons was mounting.

Enter 2008, where Kendrick hasn’t played since April 13 due to a hamstring injury and was forced to call off a minor league rehab assignment last week when the injury simply wouldn’t respond. He’s now seeing a physical therapist in hopes it will help his hammy loosen up.

“Hopefully we’ll get some good news on him on Monday and see where he is,” manager Mike Scioscia told the Los Angeles Times regarding Kendrick, whom the Angels had hoped to activate on the trip. “But it’s tough to give a time frame with the nature of these things. You don’t want to do anything now that’s going to irritate [what] he’s feeling and push it further back.”

It’s equally as tough for the Angels to set a timeline for Kendrick’s return as it is for his fantasy owners to remain patient and optimistic they’ll get significant production out of him the rest of the season. I’m remaining cautiously optimistic, but teetering towards skeptical and one more setback or new injury and I’m likely to pull the emergency stop cord and jump off this bandwagon.

Photo courtesy of CNN.net

After blowing his league-tying fifth save on Friday, Cardinals closer, err, reliever Jason Isringhausen has been removed from the closer role for the time being.

“I’m just getting sick of embarrassing myself and letting my team down,” Isringhausen told the Associated Press on Friday night. “We should be five more wins in the win column in my mind, so we should be ahead in first place even more. But they can’t keep sending me out there when I’m pitching the way I’m pitching. We’re going to have to figure out some kind of remedy. I’m sure that remedy will give me some time off and get somebody in there that can do a better job right now. I’m just pitching like a second-grader.”

Izzy will get some much needed time to work on his addition and subtraction, spelling words, writing in cursive, taking other kids lunch money, and other activities common to your average second grader. In all seriousness, he chalks it up to a mental break, but his manager Tony LaRussa remains non-committal as to how long of a break Izzy will get and exactly who will replace him as closer in the meantime.

“We’ll mix and match,” La Russa said. “I think all things, everyone rested, [Ryan] Franklin and [Russ] Springer are the guys that match up the best.”

That begs a comparison of Franklin and Springer’s 2008 stats through 37 games.

Ryan Franklin vs. Russ Springer (Inside the Numbers)

It’s blatantly obvious that Franklin has been the better pitcher. While Springer has the edge in strikeouts per nine innings pitched, Franklin has continued to try to build on the improvements he made with his control and command last season, albeit not to the extent he enjoyed in 2007. Considering it’s often not realistic for fantasy owners to tie up two roster spots with both saves candidates, my money is on Franklin being the more valuable of the two. It would behoove you to claim him immediately, realizing that it may only be a half dozen saves you get from him before Izzy is back in the closer role. That said, every cheap save counts.

Photo courtesy of MLB.com

It’s not often that a team is enamored by picking up Brad Wilkerson and Kevin Mench, smiling smugly and uttering something about being all in a days work. The sad reality is that the inconsistent offense was probably reason enough for the moves, but now that star outfielder Vernon Wells is piling up the injuries, the moves were probably a necessity.

Wells injured himself making a great catch on a Franklin Gutierrez fly ball and was forced to leave Friday’s game in the sixth inning with a jammed left wrist and tight right hamstring.

“I knocked the wind out of myself,” Wells told the Globe and Mail after the game in the Jays’ clubhouse. “From top to bottom, I didn’t feel too good.” The 29-year old outfielder will see a doctor today for further tests, but manager John Gibbons knows he’s star center fielder won’t be in the lineup tonight, or for the foreseeable future.

“Sore, really sore,” Wells added, declining to specify whether his wrist or leg was more serious.

It turns out the wrist was more serious, as he found out he’ll miss 6-to-8 weeks after breaking the wrist on Friday. Alex Rios will move to center field and Wilkerson, Mench, and possibly recent call-up Adam Lind (he is back in the minors now) will split time covering the vacant outfield spot due to the Wells malady.

On one hand this stinks because I (a lifelong devoted Jays fan) will be attending two of the three games this coming week against the Twins and want to see as many of my favorite Jays as possible. On a completely different hand this will severely limit my the outfield depth on a couple of my fantasy baseball squads. And don’t even try to suggest that Wilkerson or Mench will replace his production. They have a combined 14 hits between them at the major league level this season, which is partly because Mench has been playing at Triple-A, where he’s been fairly average.

How do fantasy owners replace Wells’ bat in their lineup? Try to see if guys like Ryan Ludwick, Emil Brown, Mark Kotsay, Wladimir Balentien, Eric Hinske, or Elijah Dukes (who may have been dropped due to him missing a month with an injury). None of them will necessarily replace Wells numbers completely, but they might keep your team afloat.

Photo courtesy of USA TODAY

Heading into this season, Twins set-up man Pat Neshek was a sought after commodity in many of my keeper leagues due to the assumption that veteran Joe Nathan would be allowed to walk into free agency after the 2008 season and Neshek would assume the closing duties. Then Nathan signed a contract extension and that reduced Neshek’s role for the foreseeable future.

Turns out it may be even more reduced than we anticipated.

Neshek felt a pop in his elbow after throwing a slider during Thursday’s game against the White Sox and had to leave immediately. On Friday, he was diagnosed with an acute partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and is now faced with not throwing for at least three months, making a return this season highly unlikely. Given his unconventional whip-like pitching motion, it seemed like only a matter of time until the stress caused his arm to give out.

“We have a lot of confidence in our bullpen,” manager Ron Gardenhire told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “Neshek is pretty good at what he does, but we have other guys who can get people out, too.”

Fantasy owners in keeper leagues should turn their attention to Matt Guerrier, who figures to become the team’s most used middle reliever now that Neshek is out. Unfortunately though, now that the Twins have secured the services of Nathan, all the Twins middle relievers who might have once figured into the closer picture later this season won’t do so much. There is no disputing the advantage the Twins by having a productive bullpen–it clearly helps them stay competitive. It just doesn’t translate quite as well into keeper leagues anymore now that Nathan is inked long-term and Neshek is facing significant time on the shelf.

I think that the performance of Twins outfielder Carlos Gomez on Wednesday should go a long way towards soothing any remaining wounds the Minnesota faithful feel from the offseason trade of superstar pitcher Johan Santana.  Facing the White Sox, Gomez went 4-for-6 with two runs and three RBI, becoming the first Twins hitter in 22 years to hit for the cycle. The late Kirby Puckett was the last Twins batter to accomplish the feat.

“It’s amazing,” Gomez told the Associate Press. “Kirby Puckett, I saw the video of the player. He is an All-Star and I can’t explain it to you. That’s unbelievable.”

What’s unbelievable is that Gomez hit just .232 last year in 125 at bats with the Mets and has over .285 just once in three minor league seasons. At just 22-years of age, he possesses huge potential, but expectations were that he wouldn’t hit as well as he has so far this season. The reasoning isn’t because he strikes out too much, it’s simply that he doesn’t draw enough walks–something very common with younger players.

The fact of the matter is his contact rate ((ab-k)/ab) has been slightly better than the league average, even last season when he hit a paltry .232.  His batting eye (bb/k) is right around the league average over the last couple seasons, proving that while he certainly has room for improvement, he isn’t as bad as the assessment of some scouts above would seem to indicate.

After last night’s performance thrust him onto more of a national stage, it may seem like a no-brainer to say this, but he is not a sell high in my mind. He’s someone who could play a significant role in fantasy outfields all season. My expectations for his projected 2008 numbers are: .270, 105 runs, 6 homers, 54 RBI, 60 stolen bases. Fantasy owners shouldn’t have a problem finding room for that in their lineup.

In the market we scour over the stats and determine which players fantasy owners should consider buying low and selling high along with our favorite free agent those owners should consider adding to their roster. Decisions like these can be the difference in a winning and losing fantasy squad, so without further adieu, here are your candidates for this week’s column.

BUY LOW: OF Elijah Dukes, Nationals
Those who read my columns regularly might remember that I was singing the praises of Dukes in the spring. That hasn’t exactly gone according to plan, but it’s tough to blame the young Nationals outfielder, who accrued just two at bats before being sidelined by a hamstring injury for the last 30-plus games. The only thing that stood between him and a breakout season was behaving like a mature adult, something that has eluded him his entire career. Injuries hadn’t been a significant issue in the past and there is no reason to believe that has changed because of one hamstring injury.

If you think Dukes will be hard pressed to crack the lineup when he returns to the lineup, consider the numbers of the current healthy Nationals outfielders…

Lastings Milledge: 118 ABs, 15 runs, one homers, 11 RBI, three SB, .263 BA
Wily Mo Pena: 61 ABs, four runs, zero homers, four RBI, zero SB, .230 BA
Austin Kearns: 113 ABs, 12 runs, two homers, 13 RBI, one SB, .212 BA
Willie Harris: 39 ABs, 10 runs, zero homers, three RBI, zero SB, .205 BA
Rob Mackowiak: 24 ABs, two runs, zero homers, zero RBI, zero SB, .167 BA

Are you going to argue that there is something in that group above that suggests to you that Nationals management will be unable to find at bats for a promising bat such as Dukes? Heading into the season, Dukes’ status as a sleeper went from intriguing to over hyped and it’s remarkable just how far he’s fallen back in the eyes of some fantasy owners given his injury. If you can convince one of those owners to give you Dukes for 60 cents on the dollar, it’s time to buy, buy, buy.

SELL HIGH: 3B Joe Crede, White Sox
Everyone—including the White Sox—wrote off Crede to a certain extent this past offseason. It wasn’t hard to find a reason to join them, considering he had opted for rest over surgery for multiple back injuries and the nagging injury sapped his numbers, limiting him to 167 at bats and just four homers in 2007—nearly half of his current 2008 total. A major reason why he’s enjoyed resurgence this season is that he finally underwent surgery this past offseason, which was a more complete solution for a back injury that never seemed to be addressed, and subsequently took such a big bite out of his production.

So why would you want to want to sell a healthy proven power source? First, you have to get past the fact that he has hit just .260 over the last three seasons, including .216 in 2007 and .248 so far this season. If you figure you can combat his mediocre batting average, consider the fact he’s hit more than 25 homers in a season just once in seven professional seasons. Suddenly you have to consider if he’s truly the power source you thought he was through the first month of the season. He’s certainly as healthy as he’s ever been during his professional career and that may mean he equals his career high of 30 homers set back in 2006, but at this point it seems highly likely that you can get more value out of trading him than you can keeping him on your roster.

CLAIM: SP Greg Smith, Athletics
The Athletics have so many talented young pitching prospects throughout their system that it was no surprise that very few analysts (including myself) had a wealth of knowledge about Smith when he was traded from the Diamondbacks this offseason in the Dan Haren trade. His stock has risen significantly since he made his debut against the Blue Jays back on April 9th and fantasy owners are starting to take notice.

After walking five in his aforementioned debut, he’s walked just eight over five starts (33 combined innings) since. His strikeouts have also spiked, highlighted by his 10 whiffs against the Rangers in a dominant performance last Sunday. “I don’t know; I was locating the ball well and not trying to do too much—maybe that’s why I got a bunch of strikeouts,” Smith told the Associated Press. “Looking back, I wish it were less strikeouts so I could have pitched deeper in the game. To come back and get the win is good enough for me.”

It’s important to have realistic expectations when it comes to young pitching—just look to Max Scherzer’s starting debut for evidence of why it pays to stay guarded before you label the next young arm with just a nibble of major league success (albeit jaw dropping in Scherzer’s major league debut case) a stud for the next five months of the season. Smith has made more starts than Max and while it’s unreasonable to expect him to keep his ERA under 3.00 and his WHIP flirting close to the 1.00 mark all season, he’s shown enough poise and skill that he should be owned in all league formats now and be reduced to no less than a spot starter until he shows he’s not worthy of such a significant role.

Despite positive results from X-rays taken on Saturday, third baseman Aramis Ramirez is one Cub with a flawed paw. Ramirez didn’t play in Saturday or Sunday’s games against the Cardinals after taking a pitch off his wrist on Friday night.

”It’s a little better, but I can’t play,” Ramirez told the Chicago Sun-Times. The initial fear was that the wrist might be broken, but while aforementioned X-rays showed it was not, he struggled with his grip Saturday.

He’s being considered day-to-day, but should fantasy owners assume he’ll make a quick return to the lineup? Even if he does, will lingering effects from the injury have a significant impact on his numbers. I believe he could return this week, but from experience of dealing with wrist injuries to past players on my fantasy teams, they are a shell of their typical self until that injury completely subsides. While some fantasy owners won’t have a plethora of options to consider before setting their lineup on Monday, I would find a different option for the coming week if I were an A-Ram owner.

Photo courtesy of Boston.com