Matt Joyce, Detroit Tigers OF

Joyce still slugging, unlike rest of Tigers: "Joyce, 23, was not a huge power guy last season at Double-A Erie. He had 17 homers in 130 games, but the capacity for younger players to get steadily stronger can lead to heftier home-run numbers, and often in a hurry. As a Tiger, Joyce is batting .292 with seven RBIs in eight games."

Hitting from the left side should ensure Matt Joyce continues to see regular ABs. Given the lack of hitting depth in AL-Only leagues, he is a good gamble. On a listless Tigers' team that looks close to mailing the season in, Joyce is a breath of fresh air.

At Fake Teams, there is a summary of what Baseball America and John Sickels said about him in their repsective 2008 prospect guides.

New Indians Closer

Rafael Betancourt, the darling of sabremetricians everywhere, has proven the Summer of '06 was not a fluke. He really isn't cut out to close.

Despite what numbers on paper say, there are relievers who cannot pitch effectively without the net of another inning or two for their offense to hit. Arthur Rhodes and LaTroy Hawkins are on the list.

Now add Betancourt.

Who Would You Rather Have - Carlos Gomez or Derek Jeter

If Carlos Gomez, Why Not Derek Jeter. - FakeTeams

The link above is to a post at Fake Teams showing a variety of full-time hitters who have walked as much or less than Carlos Gomez of Minnesota. Included is a poll about who is preferrable to own between Gomez and Derek Jeter, a hitter with the same number of walks (5).

Surprisingly, Carlos Gomez is the current leader amongst the voters. I think there is a case there but was surprised to see Jeter doing so poorly nonetheless.

Do you agree?

AL HR Hitters

Want to know why your AL-Only league isn't going the way you thought it would? Take a look at the HR leaders and ask yourself if this is what you thought would happen almost a quarter of the way through the season.

1. Carlos Quentin 9
2. Kevin Youkilis 8
Mike Napoli 8
Josh Hamilton 8
Manny Ramirez 8
Carlos Pena 8

The last two are not surprising and Josh hamilton could have be predicted to hit 8 HRs by this point, but Quentin, Youkilis and Napoli? No.

What is more telling is the total that leads the AL - 9. In the NL, five players have more than 9 and six players have 9.

Hong-Chih Kuo

Los Angels Dodgers' manager Joe Torre used Hong-Chih Kuo to clean-up the mess back-up close Jonathan Broxton made when he took the mound to open the 8th inning with a 3-1 lead. Kuo earned that trust by compiling very impressive strikeout totals - 33 in 24.1 innings. Last night, he finished the 8th and pitched the 9th. He struck out just one and allowed a run on three hits.

If something were to happen that kept closer Takishi Saito out of the role for an extended period of time, do not be surprised to see Kuo get more of an opportunity than anyone would think. Gaining Joe Torre's trust is more important than pure skill.

Freddy Bynum, Starting Baltimore Orioles' SS

Orioles' manager David Trembley announced speedster Freddy Bynum is now the starting SS for his team. This removes the anemic bat of Luis Hernandez from the everyday line-up. Bynum stole 8 bases for the O;'s last season and regularly stole 30-40 in the minors.

Given Trembley's proclivity to run, I expect Bynum to steal 20+ assuming he can hold a regular place in the line-up. While his minor league power was non-existent (career SLG of .361), he has stepped that up in the majors. A 452 SLG over 239 ABs offers some hope that he will be more than a one-category fantasy player.

Over 239 major league ABs coming into this season, Bynum has 14 doubles, 7 triples and 6 HRs. In 2,650 minor league ABs, he hit 13 HRs.

Bynum Now Starter at Shortstop - washingtonpost.com

Atlanta Braves Closer: Manny Acosta

The day after being pulled against a lefty in the 9th inning, Acosta was back getting the save. The braves bullpen is unsettled, but Acosta has gotten the save opportunities when they have arisen. Unfortunately there haven't been enough over the past two weeks to give Acosta a large grouping of Saves to get him solidly in the role.

The Braves have four saves since Peter Moylan saved a game on Arpil 11 and hit the DL shortly thereafter with a bad elbow. Acosta has three of those four saves.

I expect him to retain the role until either Rafael Soriano or John Smoltz comes off the D.L. and to regain it when those two go back on the D.L.