The grid below has the players listed based on my 2011 fantasy baseball rankings with the current ADP shown for where a player would fall in either a 12 or 15 team mixed league. The rounds for a 12 team league may vary slightly as second basemen may slide a little bit later with fewer teams in the league, but it will still give you a good ballpark range for what round you should be looking to take that certain player that you have an eye on.

Again, it is interesting to note how much fantasy baseball owners take into account the performance just from the previous season and not a several year approach in determining a player’s fantasy value. For example, Brian Roberts was injured last season and Rickie Weeks was healthy for the first time for a full season and now because of that they have essentially swapped spots with their ADP from a year ago.

I think the people that wait later in the draft for Zobrist, Hill, Roberts, Beckham are going to see some good value as compared to those owners grabbing Weeks, Prado or Kelly Johnson several rounds earlier.

There are a few decent power options toward the end of the list but they all come with low batting average, such as Juan Uribe and Bill Hall.

1. Robinson Cano – increased his home run totals for the second straight year and 2008 now looks like an outlier. Has played in 159+ games for four straight seasons. Hit .341 on the road in 317 at bats and hit .298 at home.

2. Chase Utley – only played in 115 games after undergoing surgery on his thumb in-season. Batting average has now dropped for three straight years. Slugged only .410 in the second half before the season ending injury. I have him real close to Dustin Pedroia so he could easily slide to third.

3. Dustin Pedroia – was on pace for a career high in home runs before suffering an injury to his foot that caused him to miss half the season. Still needs to improve his power against left-handed pitching in order to crack the 20 home run mark, with only two home runs in his last 245 at bats vs. southpaws.

4. Dan Uggla – outside of his batting avergae which moves from year-to-year, his power numbers and runs scored are pretty stable every season. Hit 30+ home runs for the 4th straight season and scored 100 runs for the third time in five years. Has a lifetime average of .354 at Turner Field with 12 home runs and 36 RBI in 181 career at bats.

5. Ian Kinsler – missed all of August and April due to injuries. When he did play, the power was missing from his breakout season of 2009 when he hit 31 long balls. Walk rate took a big step forward which is a good sign for 2011.

6. Brandon Phillips – RBI total dropped because he only managed nine RBI batting second in 180 at bats. Stolen bases dropped under 20 for the first time since he became a full-time player in 2006. Given his lack of success in 2010 (16 of 28), there is no guarantee he returns to that level again.

7. Rickie Weeks – finally a healthy season and Weeks responded with huge numbers. His jump in home runs carried over from his 2009 season that was cut short due to injuries. Looks to have traded some stolen bases for more power. Could move down in the lineup eventually if the Brewers ever find a true leadoff hitter. 184 strikeouts for a guy hitting first is an insanely high amount.

8. Ben Zobrist – had 40 more at bats and hit 17 less home runs. Strikeouts and walks were almost identical. Stole seven more bases but that did little to make up for the drop in power or the 59 point drop in batting average. Was dismal after the All-Star break hitting just .177 in 232 at bats with just five steals.

9. Brian Roberts – knock on wood that he is over his injuries from the beginning of the 2010 season. Should be back close to normal in 2011 so he might go a round or two later than usually which presents a buying opportunity.

10. Aaron Hill – had 154 less at bats than in 2009 which accounted for the drop in runs, home runs and RBI. His batting average which fell 81 points should bounce back in 2011. With a career major league average of .270, no reason for him to not bounce back close to that level.

11. Martin Prado - produced in his first season as a full-time player with similar type ratios to his limited at bat percentages. Loved hitting at Turner Field, batting .353 in 275, but flashed most of his power on the road where he hit 11 of his 15 home runs.

12. Howie Kendrick – still waiting for that breakout season for Kendrick as he tends to be over hyped on a yearly basis. Put up almost the same number on stats as in 2009 despite getting an extra 242 at bats. Batting average has dropped for three straight seasons.  Power numbers looked good the first half of the year and then did little after the All-Star break with just three home runs and 23 RBI in 261 at bats.

13. Kelly Johnson – bounced back in Arizona as he returned to his 2008 level. Enjoyed hitting at home, batting .311 with 16 home runs and 48 RBI in 293 at bats.

14. Eric Young Jr. - I am bullish on Young for now despite the moves that crowded the Colorado Rockies infield. He has nothing left to prove in Triple-A so either he should start or the Rockies should deal him. If he gets 500+ at bats, he will battle Figgins for the stolen base title at second base.

15. Gordon Beckham – he was in a downward spiral the first half of the year, batting just .216 with three home runs in 273 at bats. Was much better after the break hitting .310 with six home runs in 171 at bats. Needs to hit for more power on the road, where he hit just two oh fis nine home runs in 2010.

16. Neil Walker – hit a little over his head from a batting average standpoint after a career minor league average of .273 in 2,601 at bats. Was an RBI machine after the break with 54 RBI in 284 at bats for the Pirates.

17. Chone Figgins – changing positions coupled with changing teams cut his runs scored by 52 from the previous season. Should be moving back to 3B in 2011 so he will again qualify at multiple positions after the second to fourth week of the season. Was only 18-for-29 on stolen base attempts the second half of the season.

18. Asdrubal Cabrera – injuries limited him to just under 100 games so we did not get to see a full season of stats which gives him a little bit of a discount. It is going to be hard for him to steal 20 bases in a season with his stolen base percentage which was 65% in the minor leagues.

19. Mike Aviles - his 2010 season mirrored his 2008 year stats wise. Should see close to 500 at bats since he could see time at 3B, 2B or even SS. Turned it up on the base paths the second part of the year, stealing 12 of his 14 bases in 55 games.

20. Juan Uribe – set a career high in home runs and RBI in 2010 despite hitting .248. Should be good for close to 20 home runs with a batting average close to .250. Offers nice flexibility late in a fantasy baseball draft since he qualifies at three infield positions.

2010 Chicago White Sox  Projected Batting Order:

1.  LF Juan Pierre (ADP 193)
2.  2B Gordon Beckham (ADP 89)
3.  RF Carlos Quentin (ADP 101)
4.  1B Paul Konerko (ADP 195)
5.  C A.J. Pierzynski (ADP 231)
6.  CF Alex Rios (ADP 117)
7.  DH Andruw Jones (ADP 490)
8.  SS Alexei Ramirez (ADP 104)
9.  3B Mark Teahen (ADP 284)

2010 Chicago White Sox Projected Rotation & Bullpen:

1.  Mark Buehrle (ADP 243)
2.  John Danks (ADP 161)
3.  Gavin Floyd (ADP 185)
4.  Jake Peavy (ADP 110)
5.  Freddy Garcia (ADP ND)

Closer – Bobby Jenks (ADP 158)
Handcuff – Matt Thornton / J.J. Putz

2010 Chicago White Sox Prospects with potential impact this year:

1.  Dan Hudson – SP
2.  Jordan Danks – OF
3.  Tyler Flowers – C

This is the fifth report in the series of our 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the position of third base. Third base looks to be the shallowest position this season with a strong top tier of players and not many players with real upside potential later in the draft.

Keep in mind the additional flexibility offered by players like Pablo Sandoval, Jorge Cantu, Mark DeRosa, Chase Headley, Jhonny Peralta, Mark Teahen, Garrett Atkins and Jake Fox as they all qualify at two or more positions. If I have two players that are rated close together, I will usually give the nod to the player that qualifies at two positions to help manage my lineup during the season.

Let’s take a look at the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings to see where the value is.

1) Alex Rodriguez – the number three overall pick and locked in still as the number one third basemen. Did not start running until the second half of the season when he stole 11 of his 14 bases so he should steal closer to 20 bases in 2010.

2) Evan Longoria – reduced his strikeout rate by 3% in 2009. If he can make similar strides this season, the closer he gets to pushing his batting average toward .300. Should post low double digit steal totals this year.

3) David Wright – some people are still drafting him ahead of Longoria in fantasy baseball mock drafts this year which I think is a mistake. No one has been able to produce a solid reason for Wright’s huge drop in power going from 33 home runs to only 10 last season. Was lucky to hit over .300 with a huge 40%  hit rate which was four percentage points higher than his career high. Never seemed to find his swing all season as he had a seven percentage point increase in his strikeout rate. It could have been the result of the New York Mets new ballpark and Wright changed his batting approach to accommodate and / or all of the injury issues the Mets faced and the disappointing season affected him as well. Either way, I think it is prudent not to assume an automatic return to his 2008 stats.

4) Mark Reynolds – his 2010 fantasy baseball ADP has varied, from the beginning to the end of the second round in mixed league drafts. No chance for upside in batting average when he strikes out in 39% of his at bats. His strikeout rate has slightly increased the last two seasons so there is downside to his numbers. If hits .239 again as he did in 2008, that costs you approximately two to three points off your team’s batting average which means you need to offset him with high average hitters at other positions if you want to finish in the top three in the batting average category.

5) Ryan Zimmerman – rebounded from his torn labrum in 2008 and put up numbers similar to his 2007 season. Would be nice if he returned to his stolen bases total from 2006 but that is quibbling. For now, enjoy the four category performance that he provides.

6) Pablo Sandoval – qualifies at first base or third base. Should be a .300 hitter for the next 10 years or so. Power came quicker than expected as he blasted 25 home runs and 44 doubles at age 23. Hit over .300 every month last season except for July when he hit .298.

7) Aramis Ramirez – I have him ranked very close to Sandoval, but you know that Ramirez will some time during the season. Since 2002, he has had over 550 at bats in only 3 of 7 years. Missed time with a dislocated shoulder last season but should be fine to start 2010.

8.) Chone Figgins – has steadily raised his walk rate the past few seasons, giving him more times on base and opportunity for stolen bases. One negative though is his stolen base success rate has been slowly dropping the last five years, from 79%, 77%, 77%, 72% to 71% last season.

9) Michael Young – power spike at age 32 brought him back to 2005 levels, so expect some regression in 2010. Puts up nice stats because he consistently gets 630+ at bats ever year except last season. As a career .302 hitter, he is a good asset for team batting average.

10) Gordon Beckham – will provide extra flexibility the second or fourth week in the season with his move to second base this year, depending on you fantasy baseball league rules. Spent a total of 233 at bats in the minor leagues before coming up to the Show. Average should trend up as he adjusts to major league pitching.

11) Ian Stewart – legit power but still struggles to make contact. Career minor league batting average of .293 but has come no where close to that in the majors. Upped his strikeout rate to a Mark Reynolds-esque 40% after the All-Star break. Still struggles to hit left-handed pitching, batting a meager .178 last season. Recent addition of Melvin More means there could be a platoon in the works.

12) Adrian Beltre – multiple injuries ruined his 2009 season and sapped him of his power. I would use his 2005 numbers as the baseline with a few more steals sprinkled in.

13) Alex Gordon – still waiting for him to live up to the expectations based on his minor league performance but so far it has not happened. Even though he was limited by injuries last season, it was nice to see that he kept his 2008 gains in his walk rate. With hype now suppressed, he is finally being drafted where he should have been in years past.

14) Jorge Cantu – even though power has fluctuated, RBI total has remained consistent and should continue to do so in 2010. Improved performance against left-handed pitching has helped to boost his batting average.

15) Chipper Jones – age is finally catching him up with. Project him for 425 at bats and consider anything more as gravy.

16) Kevin Kouzmanoff – should enjoy being away from Petco Park where he hit under .230 each of the last two seasons. Will be interesting to see if he is able to adjust to the Oakland A’s patient approach at the plate after never walking more than 32 times in a season in the major leagues.

17) Casey McGehee – moved into the starting lineup in June and never looked back. Not the greatest player defensively, but neither is top prospect Mat Gamel so McGehee should be good for 500+ at bats this season. Offers the added flexibility of also qualifying at second base.

18) Casey Blake – not a sexy pick and he is old, but still gets the job done every year. Should be solid once again in 2010 for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

19) Jhonny Peralta -what happened to the power? Turned into a ground ball machine last year and the home runs disappeared. Should bounce back a little bit but probably not all the way to 20 home runs again.

20) Chase Headley – hit more home runs at home, but batted almost 100 points less. Should be able to add a few more home runs as he continues to develop.

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Next up in the series for the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings will be the top 20 outfielders.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals made an interesting trade, swapping outfielders Nyjer Morgan for Lastings Milledge with Joel Hanrahan also going to the Pirates and Sean Burnett going to the Nationals. The trade does nothing to alleviate the crowding in the Nationals outfield since Milledge was in Triple-A. Milledge is hitting .253 in the minor leagues with one home run, seven RBI and seven steals in 25 games. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Tuesday…

Hitters:

Albert Pujols blasted two more home runs bringing his season total up to 30. Pujols currently leads the National League every key offensive category (discounting stolen bases), except for placing sixth in batting average with a .332 mark.

Martin Prado went 4-for-5 with his fourth home run of the year and four RBI. Prado is hitting .299 on the season and is getting more at bats with Kelly Johnson struggling this year.

B.J. Upton homered for the second time in three games and drove in a run for the fifth straight contest. Upton has seven RBI in his last five games and has raised his batting average to .247 on the season. Upton is hitting .327 in June with four home runs and 21 RBI.

Kevin Youkilis went 3-for-5 with three RBI including his 13th home run of the season. Hopefully this will jump start Youkilis at the plate as he is hitting .224 in the month of June.

Marlon Byrd went deep twice and drove in five runs, giving him three home runs in his last two games. Byrd is now hitting .286 on the season with seven home runs and 39 RBI.

It took him a little time, but Gordon Beckham is starting to come around at the plate. Beckham went 3-for4 with his second home run of the season and is now hitting .267 on the year. Beckham has a five game hitting streak with five RBI during that stretch.

Ryan Braun went 3-for-4 with four RBI, raising his batting average to .327 in the process. Braun has two home runs runs and nine RBI in his last 10 games.

Lance Berkman went 2-for-3 and hit his 17th home run of the season. Berkman has homered four times in his last 10 games with 10 RBI and has raised his batting average 20 points during that period.

Pitchers:

As much as Johan Santana wanted to dispel rumors awhile ago that he was not injured, the stats seem to point to the contrary. Santana allowed five runs in six innings on Tuesday, dropping his record to 9-6 on the season. In his last five starts, has has allowed five runs twice and nine runs in another outing. In his last six outings he has struck out a combine 18 hitters. Compare to that to his two starts back on May 22 and May 27 when he combined for 19 punch-outs in those two starts.

Dan Haren allowed one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts to notch his seventh win of the season. Haren has allowed two runs or less in seven consecutive starts dating back to May 28th.

Ross Ohlendorf tossed seven shutout innings and struck out eight to pick up his seventh win of the season. If you subtract his rough start at Coors Field on 6/19, Ohlendorf has allowed three runs or less in his last four starts.

Matt Garza allowed one run in seven innings with three strikeouts to up his mark to 6-5 on the season. It is impressive that his whip ratio is only at 1.18 despite being third in the American League in walks allowed.

Jason Marquis pitched a complete game shutout, limiting the Los Angeles Dodgers to two hits while striking out three. Marquis improved to 10-5 on the season and lowered his ERA to 3.87.

Closers:

J.P. Howell continues to roll as closer for the Tampa Bay Rays, picking up his sixth save of the season. Howell has collected two wins and two saves in his last four appearances. He has been unscored upon in June through 12 innings.

In fantasy baseball leagues, the later into the season it goes, the harder it becomes to make up ground in one offensive category. Runs, home runs, RBI and stolen bases aren’t as hard to make up ground in, because as the season goes on, other owners lose interest, focus on other leagues, leave injured players in their lineup, etc., so even if your players don’t improve over the course of the season if they are struggling, there are still several points you will be able to make up in each category.

Batting average becomes a little bit trickier as you get further along into the season. If you have a team of .260 hitters that are playing every day and accumulating a large number of at bats, it becomes harder to make up ground in that category unless you are able to pull off several trades or you have multiple players that turn in monster second halves of the fantasy baseball season.

Discount BABIP (batting average on balls in play) for a moment, a higher strikeout rate for a hitter means the hitter has a reduced chance of ever having a batting average above .280 because of the fewer number of balls in play.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the some of the league leaders in strikeouts per plate appearances. If you own any of these hitters, now is the time to start looking to get them off your roster if you are looking to gain points in batting average.

1) Chris Davis - batting average .210 – his strikeout rate was high last year at 28% in a half season of at bats, but in 2009 it has soared ridiculously high to 42%.

2) Jarrod Saltalamacchia – .258 – his current strike out rate of 34% is in line with his 32% in 2008 which ranked him fifth in baseball

3) Miguel Olivo – .257 – he has been on a tear lately in the power department, but the hacking is not good for the average. His 33% is 7 percentage points higher than last season.

4) Mark Reynolds – .266 – 33% last year, 33% this year, when he does make contact, he hits it a long way, much like Jim Thome, Ryan Howard, etc.

5) Bill Hall - .197 – Why was he ever platooning with Mat Gamel? Luckily the Milwaukee Brewers have wised up, giving Hall only one start in the last week. His current strikeout ratio per plate appearance of 30% is close to his 28% mark of last season.

6) Carlos Pena – .238 – 30% this year vs. 28% last year. Good for power but a real drag to the bating average.

7) Delmon Young – .251 – Wow! What happened to him? Has never lived up to the hype since coming to the major leagues and seems to have gotten worse this year. His 30% strikeout ratio is way above last years mark of 18%. It might be okay if the transition to more strikeouts meant more power but that has not been the case with only two home runs in 171 at bats.

8.) Josh Fields – .233 – 29% this season vs. 31% in 2007 since he did not have many at bats in 2008. His inability to make contact is part of the reason the Chicago White Sox turned to Gordon Beckham earlier than expected.

9) Ryan Howard – .250 – 29% this year and last year. He will always been in the top 10, it is a matter of whether his home runs and RBI make him worth carrying on your fantasy baseball team.

10) Mike Jacobs – .226 – 28% in 2009 vs. 23% in 2008. He is hitting only .172 in June with one home run and one RBI in 64 at bats.

Andre Ethier hit two solo home runs, including a walk-off home run in the 12th inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Ethier has seen his average drop 54 points coming into Saturday’s game since Manny Ramirez was suspended. Rafael Furcal sent the game into extra innings with his second home run of the year in the ninth inning off Brad Lidge, who blew his sixth save of the season. In his second start back from the disabled list, Hiroki Kuroda tossed six shutout innings with five strikeouts. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Saturday night…

Hitters:

Ben Zorbist went 2 for 3 with two runs scored and connected on his 11th home run of the season. Zorbist has homered three times in his last four games.

Mark Teixeira went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI and smacked his 17th home run of the season. I think with Alex Rodriguez protecting him in the line up and the way the New York Yankees new stadium is playing, Teixeira could easily be the second best first basemen in fantasy baseball behind Albert Pujols the remainder of the season.

Teammate Alex Rodriguez hit his 8th home run of the season and also stole his first base of the year. The home run was A-Rod’s first in his last 12 games.

Prince Fielder hit two solo home runs giving him 15 total on the season to go with 54 RBI. Fielder has heated up in his last 10 games, boosting his batting average 34 points and hitting five home runs with 11 RBI.

Nick Johnson went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI and stroked his fifth home run of the season. Johnson is now batting .332 on the year with 30 RBI.

Ian Stewart banged out two home runs and drove in five while going 3 for 4 at the plate. Stewart has homered four times in his last four games with 12 RBI.

Josh Fields got the start over recent call up Gordon Beckham and went 2 for 4 with his third home run of the year. It was weird time to start Fields given that Beckham had only six at bats so far before sitting and Fields was hitting under .200 against left-handed pitching.

Pitchers:

Edwin Jackson picked up a complete game victory, allowing one run with five strikeouts. Jackson improved to 6-3 on the season and now ranks second in the American League in both ERA (2.16) and whip ratio (0.98).

Gavin Floyd allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts to up his mark to 4-5 on the year. Floyd has turned it around in his last four starts with six runs allowed in 29 2/3 innings and 31 strikeouts.

Jarrod Washburn allowed one run in six innings with six strikeouts in a no decision. Washburn has allowed two runs in his last 19 innings even though he does not have any wins to show for it. He is currently on pace to set a career high in strikeouts with 145 which would be his highest total since 2002.

Jon Lester pitched a complete game two-hitter to even his record at 5-5. Lester allowed one run and struck out 11 to give him double digit strikeouts in his second straight start.

Ryan Dempster threw six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision. He could be finally past his blister problems, as he has not allowed a run in two straight contests.

Rookie Trevor Cahill allowed two runs in six innings with five strikeouts to notch his third win of the season. Cahill has allowed two runs in each of his last four starts.

Cincinnati Reds rookie Matt Maloney in his first major league start allowed two runs in six innings with four strikeouts in a no decision. He will face the Kansas City Royals in his next start.

John Lannan hurled a complete game shutout with two strikeouts to earn his third win of the season.

Making his first start since 2007, Kelvim Escobar allowed two runs in five innings with five strikeouts.

John Smoltz allowed one hit and one run in six innings in his rehab start in Triple-A on Saturday, while throwing 74 pitches. His next start in Triple-A will come on Thursday.

Closers:

Marian Rivera took a loss, allowing three runs in 2/3 of an inning against the Tampa Bay Rays. Rivera has suffered both of his losses against the Rays this season.

Randy Choate picked up his third save of the season for the Rays when Dan Wheeler was unable to close out the game in the ninth inning.

Leo Nunez picked up his second save of the year in relief of Matt Lindstrom. Lindstrom was charged with two runs in the ninth inning before being removed.

With Brett Myers of the Philadelphia Phillies scheduled to have surgery on his right hip that will likely end his season, let’s take a look at some the internal options the Phillies have to fill that void either by call up or via trade.

Carlos Carrasco was the minor league pitcher closest to the majors when the season started, beginning the year in Triple-A. He has been off to a disappointing start so far this season at 0-6 with a 5.40 ERA. In 55 innings, he has allowed 63 hits with 58 strikeouts and opposing batters are hitting .281 against him. He has been better in his last three starts with 7 runs allowed in 19 2/3 innings with 21 strikeouts that the Phillies might be willing to give him a shot while he has momentum.

Antonio Bastardo was recently promoted to Triple-A where he has made two starts, allowing three runs in 13 innings with 12 strikeouts. In 34 2/3 innings at AA, he had a 1.82 with 39 strikeouts while holding batters to a .178 average.

Kyle Kendrick has done nothing to distinguish himself in Triple-A, with a 4.25 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 53 innings, but he could be an option because of his past big league experience.

The longest of long shots is Kyle Drabek in Advanced A ball. Drabek currently holds a 2.48 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings. If nothing else, the injury to Myers should have him bumped up to AA very shortly.

If the Phillies look to trade for a starter, they might move shortstop Jason Donald who is currently in AAA blocked by Jimmy Rollins. Donald has been off to a slow start with a .234 average with one home run and four steals. In AA in 2008, Donald hit .307 with 14 home runs and 11 stolen bases.

Outfielder Michael Taylor in AA could also be a trade target of other teams. Taylor is hitting .342 with 9 home runs, 37 RBI and 8 stolen bases with a low 19 strikeouts in 152 at bats.

In other minor league news from week 8…

Tommy Hanson continues to dominate in Triple-A, allowing one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts. Opposing hitters are batting a paltry .164 on the season against him.

Gordon Beckham was promoted to Triple-A and is seeing time at third base. It looks like the White Sox are intent to get his bat into the line up at any position they can. Beckham hit .299 with 4 home runs and 22 RBI in 38 games in AA before the promotion. He has gone 3 for 7 in two games with the Charlotte Knights.

Wade Davis should be next in line the next time the Tampa Bay Rays need a starting pitcher from the minors. Davis in Triple-A currently has a 3.40 ERA in 53 innings with 32 strikeouts. His AAA numbers were actually better in 2008 following his promotion from AA.

2008 ERA – 2.72 Innings – 53 Hits – 39 Strikeouts – 55
2009 ERA – 3.40 Innings – 53 Hits – 44 Strikeouts – 32

The Cleveland Indians have several promising arms they could turn to in AA in the second half of the season. Jeanmar Gomez has a 1.29 ERA in five starts with 0.57 whip ratio and 3o strikeouts in 35 innings.
Teammate Chuck Lofgren was just promoted to Triple-A after posting a 1.42 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings.

Mat Latos (Padres) tossed seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts and could see a promotion to Triple-A in another month or two. Latos has a 0.50 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings on the season.

Madison Bumgarner (Giants) is heating up in AA, running off four straight wins since his promotion. Between his two minor league stops, Bumgarner is 7-1 with a 1.14 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings with zero home runs allowed.

Brad Lincoln (Pirates) should be ready for a move up to Triple-A in the near future. Lincoln has a 2.05 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings of work. He has allowed only two home runs and 12 walks on the season.

Alcides Escobar (Brewers) has been working at second base since the injury to Rickie Weeks and his hitting has taken off. He has boosted his average to .290 with two home runs and 21 steals. It remains to be seen whether the Milwaukee Brewers promote him the second half of the season or use him as the main trade bait to try to get Jake Peavy from the San Diego Padres.

Catcher Carlos Santana is hitting .292 with 7 home runs and 29 RBI in AA. He also has a 31 to 22 walk to strikeout ratio. If the Cleveland Indians go into fire sale mode and trade Victor Martinez or Kelly Shoppach, Santana could see time in the second half of the season.