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Baltimore Orioles catcher Matt Wieters celebrated his 27th birthday Tuesday with another hitless performance in four at-bats, dropping his season batting average to .223, but it’s hard to tell if fantasy owners have noticed. Wieters was supposed to be one of the top fantasy catchers this season, and perhaps he will get there, but it’s not going to happen with that batting average.

Wieters seems to have earned plenty of trust, as he remains one of seven catchers owned in 100 percent of ESPN standard mixed leagues, but all the others are hitting considerably better. Wieters was, after all, the fourth catcher chosen in ESPN live drafts and in the same sixth round as Nos. 2 and 3 Yadier Molina and Joe Mauer, but those guys are contending for batting titles, not hitting below their weight. Wieters has more consistent power potential than those fellows, but he also hit .249 two of the past three seasons, so it is reasonable to wonder if this start is the new, real thing.

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The past two seasons, Washington Nationals middle infielder Danny Espinosa had been an attractive fantasy option, totaling 38 home runs and 37 stolen bases. Sure, he never was particularly helpful in the batting average category, but Espinosa played in 158 and 160 games in 2011 and 2012, respectively, and it was more than reasonable to target him in the mid- to later rounds this season. Espinosa finished the 2012 season 21st among middle infielders on the Player Rater and was drafted, on average, in the 14th round of ESPN live drafts.

However, with seven weeks of the season complete, it seems many owners have seen enough. Espinosa is down to 40 percent owned, as his batting average slumps to .163.

It's probably not a coincidence that his batting average is down so much as he attempts to play through a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder. He originally hurt the shoulder in September and struggled the final weeks of 2012. Well, little has changed. While Espinosa sat Monday night in San Francisco for ordinary Stephen Lombardozzi, the Nationals were shut out for the sixth time this season and certainly want their switch-hitting starter and defensive asset to improve.

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Rumors that Los Angeles Dodgers skipper Don Mattingly could be out of work soon make little sense, since he’s not the one who built his flawed yet expensive team, rife with injuries, poor play and a lack of depth. On Monday night in Milwaukee, the Dodgers won 3-1, as ace lefty Clayton Kershaw went the distance to earn his fifth win, but the bigger story was how the team scored its runs, because only the feeble Miami Marlins are doing so at a lesser pace than Mattingly’s last-place bunch.

Outfielders Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier provided the run support Monday, Kemp with a solo home run and Ethier with one of his own, as well as a run-scoring triple to score Kemp, who had walked. Fantasy owners should remain committed to Kemp, the No. 6 overall pick in average live drafts, but even ESPN’s fantasy rankers (myself included) didn’t show quite the faith of the preseason expectations, dropping him to 18th overall. Kemp’s home run was merely his second of the season, and first in 97 plate appearances, a career-long drought. Is it a slump, an injury, his dating life? Who knows, but surely the fantasy world and Dodgers fans expected an MVP candidate, not fewer home runs than teammate Scott Van Slyke.

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While Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips has maintained strong fantasy value this season, he’s done so with some unusual early-season statistics, and according to him, he has manager Dusty Baker to thank and blame for that.

Through seven weeks, Phillips, annually a consistent producer in each of the five standard fantasy hitting categories, has been producing quite a bit more in a few of those stats, and less of another, and apparently it’s by choice. Bumped to the cleanup spot in the batting order shortly after teammate Ryan Ludwick was injured on Opening Day, Phillips is piling on the runs batted in. He loves them, too, and wants to lead the league. I caught up with Phillips at Citizens Bank Park Saturday night after his team waxed the Philadelphia Phillies 10-0, and he discussed how his plate approach is so much different because of the spot where Baker bats him.

“My job now is to get RBI -- it’s my No. 1 thing,” said Phillips, who is getting so many of them that he’s one off the NL lead and remains on pace for 133 of them. “That’s my goal, to get 100. When I hit fourth, that’s my job. I don’t really worry about my batting average or my on-base percentage -- it’s just getting the guy in [to score]. Having that approach has been working so far. I’m a free swinger. I like hitting fourth. It’s fun. Your job is to do one job.”

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The many fantasy owners and Texas Rangers fans who have been waiting all season for the promotion of super-prospect Jurickson Profar finally got their wish Sunday night: He got the call when Ian Kinsler was placed on the DL. But it's premature to assume he'll be up the rest of the season, perhaps even in a month, and that seriously dilutes his 2013 fantasy value. Just because Mike Trout and Bryce Harper made history in 2012 doesn't mean Profar will this season. Hey, I think Profar should be a regular player in the big leagues now, and I'd rank him as a borderline top-10 fantasy second baseman if I thought 400 at-bats were pending, because he has the power and speed to make a difference. It's just unlikely that he'll get that chance, so expectations should be guarded.

After all, Kinsler didn't even get to hit this weekend, yet he remains one of fantasy's top five second basemen, and he just missed an overall top-20 spot in our mid-May ranks. He's likely not moving to first base either, considering that Mitch Moreland has been just about the hottest hitter in all of baseball this month, including seven home runs already.

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The last time Los Angeles Angels right-hander Ryan Madson threw a pitch in a big league regular season game was the last Wednesday of September 2011, in the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves. Madson retired Chipper Jones, Dan Uggla and Freddie Freeman without incident, and on 14 pitches. Since then Madson has been paid by the Cincinnati Reds and Angels, but he hasn’t logged an inning for either squad. It’s going to be a bit longer before he does.

Madson claims he’s ready for action this weekend as he continues to recover from Tommy John surgery performed more than a year ago, but instead he’s been sent to Triple-A Salt Lake City to begin a rehab assignment originally announced as scheduled for several weeks. It’s tough to tell how long Madson will be there, but his fastball velocity is reportedly down around 91-92 mph, and the Angels want to be thorough. Remember, back in February, the Angels were talking about Madson being ready for the start of the season. That did not happen.

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By the second inning of Thursday night’s game between the San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies, the concerned, panicked and, let’s face it, angry tweets about right-hander Matt Cain started flowing in consistently. Cain allowed three home runs early in what ended up as a victory in Coors Field, as Todd Helton, Nolan Arenado and Wilin Rosario each took him deep. But still, I’m neither concerned, panicked nor angry, despite the fact Cain leads the big leagues in home runs permitted with 13.

It’s dangerous to make major decisions from start to start with reliable pitchers who were perhaps originally drafted as a team’s ace. Yes, Cain had some hiccups in April, posting a 6.49 ERA and serving up nine home runs in six winless starts, though his reasonable 1.29 WHIP and strong strikeout rate alleviated worry for me. In two May outings before Thursday, Cain righted the ship, so to speak, winning twice and permitting eight hits and one long ball in 15 1/3 innings. So we weren’t particularly worried entering Thursday, but an outing at Coors Field changes that again? Fantasy can be a roller coaster, but outings in Denver should be considered part of a different ride.

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While it seems as if everyone acknowledges Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout and Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper as the best young players in baseball, it sure looks as though the Baltimore Orioles have themselves a special young talent as well in third baseman Manny Machado. The 20-year-old had four more hits Wednesday, the fourth time in a week he delivered three or more, and raised his season batting average to .343, right up there among the league leaders.

I can’t admit I expected Machado, only a few months older than Harper, to do quite this well, but after six weeks of standout play I’m certainly on the proverbial bandwagon, a fact shown by my generous mid-May ranking. (Click here for the staff rankings!) I admit to being surprised my colleagues aren’t completely on board; after all, in addition to the lofty batting average, Machado is on pace for 20 home runs, 97 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. Orioles manager Buck Showalter, who knows a thing or two, clearly trusted Machado when he exalted him to the No. 2 lineup spot, and fantasy owners should trust him, too. He is now my No. 5 third baseman, and yes, his outstanding play has pushed him into the dynasty league discussion with Trout and Harper. We should stop discussing the fact he’s not playing shortstop and realize he is a clear stud regardless.

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Tampa Bay Rays left-hander David Price left his Wednesday outing prematurely with a triceps injury. Of course it stinks, and of course we're all concerned about how much time he's going to miss, but then again, now a little adventure can commence, too. It happened with the Philadelphia Phillies a few weeks ago when the Roy Halladay implosions were backed up by obvious injury. Oh, who will replace him? What if it's the next Clayton Kershaw! I'd better sign Adam Morgan now! Fantasy owners just love this stuff. Sure, Price was a top-10 starting pitcher on draft day, the defending AL Cy Young Award winner and we all love him … but step aside because we want to see what Chris Archer or Jake Odorizzi can do!

I'm only being partly facetious, you know. As of Thursday morning, the update on Price, who was pummeled while he was out there against the Boston Red Sox and saw his ERA rise back over 5.00 again, was that he suffered a strained left triceps. The pessimist in all of us immediately thinks Tommy John surgery is pending and we won't see Price again until June 2014, but it really could be just a missed start or two, perhaps a short disabled list stint. It should go without saying, but don't cut Price today in any leagues. If he's visiting Dr. James Andrews tomorrow, however, well, all moves are fair game. Honestly though, I was buying low on Price a week ago, and I'm still doing so. Injury often explains poor performance, so if Price doesn't start again until mid-June, you definitely buy in. And this is not Halladay.

But hey, what about Archer and Odorizzi and the other outstanding young fireballing hurlers on the Triple-A Durham staff? The Phillies promoted right-hander Jonathan Pettibone recently, and he's no star, but he is 3-0 with a 3.41 ERA, and that's better than a lot of No. 6 fantasy starters. What the Durham Bulls are using is better than that: potential aces in Archer, right-hander Alex Colome and lefty Alex Torres, and Odorizzi tossed seven no-hit innings at Pawtucket a few outings ago. The first thing I look for when a pitcher is unlikely to make his next start is who started for the Triple-A club that same night of injury/premature exit. Organizations are all about keeping the pitchers on schedule and want to avoid disrupting routine. Odorizzi twirled in Rochester on Wednesday night, but it went poorly, as he permitted six runs, including three home runs, over 5 1/3 innings.

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What interests me most about the return of New York Yankees outfielder Curtis Granderson to the lineup is not, oddly enough, the two-time 40-home run, 100-RBI player himself. Granderson is going to play regularly. He’s going to hit home runs and strike out an awful lot, none of it surprising eager fantasy owners, and hopefully he’ll steal enough bases to really impact that category, as well. Regardless, I had no qualms about activating him right away for his season debut Tuesday night, even against the great King Felix Hernandez, which resulted in little help for fantasy owners. At least he’s back.

Actually, what I want to see is how Yankees skipper Joe Girardi -- and honestly, looking at that shell of a daily lineup it’s hard to believe this team is in first place, so credit where it’s due -- handles his future lineups now that the Grandy man is back, because that’s going to affect quite a few fantasy owners, as well. The Yankees still have precious little on the left side of their infield until Derek Jeter and Kevin Youkilis return, since their four starting-caliber (on the surface) outfielders can’t play there. Granderson, Vernon Wells, Brett Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki do appear worthy of regular at-bats, and then there’s the lefty-hitting designated hitter, Travis Hafner, with a higher OPS than every Yankee except second baseman Robinson Cano, and he led him entering Tuesday night. What will Girardi do?

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A month ago, the focus on Texas Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland was on how he was the weak link in a strong lineup and should be replaced in the lineup by hotshot prospect Jurickson Profar. Ian Kinsler would slide from second base to first base and all would be right with the offense. Well, all is right with the Texas offense because Moreland was left alone to hit; on Tuesday night in Oakland, he smashed two more home runs, including a 10th-inning blast that ultimately stood for the winning run in an exciting 6-5 victory.

It's merely the ides of May and no slugger has managed to reach the bleachers more this month than the oft-overlooked Moreland. He has smacked six home runs in 49 at-bats in May, hitting .347 with a .796 slugging percentage, and his next home run will give him double digits on the season. In 2011-12, Moreland averaged 15.5 home runs and 50.5 RBIs with 791 total at-bats. While few would have projected him to emerge for a 30-homer campaign and contribute mightily in batting average (he's a career .268 hitter), he's certainly on that track.

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Detroit Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson had been struggling at the plate for a few weeks, probably because of the sore left hamstring that eventually landed him on the 15-day disabled list Monday afternoon. Of course, that was a few hours too late for most weekly league owners to make a move by the time their rosters locked, but we’re all at the mercy of the teams making decisions. Jackson scored a few runs Friday night, played the entire game Saturday, sat Sunday and figured to remain active because manager Jim Leyland called his day off precautionary, but now he’ll miss a few more Mondays getting healthy.

Jackson got off to a fine start to the season but had regressed to his occasional old ways of late, striking out at a high rate, eschewing the plate discipline that had helped him hit .300 last season, and he has not stolen a base since April 21. His normally elevated BABIP was a more normal .336, far below his career mark of .367. The Tigers deserve credit for making the safe choice to sit him down, which good teams can afford to do in mid-May. Fantasy owners should be embracing this if it helps Jackson play better the final four months, because he hadn’t been contributing much the past couple weeks anyway.

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While rehabbing Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke gets the headlines for the possibility he will come off the disabled list and pitch Wednesday, the relatively unknown shortstop prospect acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers from the Los Angeles Angels for Greinke’s rights last summer had another big night Monday, and now boasts the honor of being fantasy’s top player. That’s right, Brewers speedster Jean Segura entered Monday as fantasy’s No. 3 overall option on the Player Rater, then secured the top spot after producing three more hits, an RBI and three stolen bases Monday against the overwhelmed Pittsburgh Pirates.

Segura certainly doesn’t have the name value Greinke does, but considering all the terrific performances in fantasy this season, the fact he’s ahead of Miguel Cabrera, Justin Upton and Matt Harvey on the Rater is pretty impressive. This is a shortstop hitting .368 and on pace for 27 home runs, 72 RBIs, 59 stolen bases and 90 runs scored. Segura was never expected to be the next Alex Rodriguez (circa 1998), but those who took the chance to add him as a free agent a week or two into April love the results. Segura, 23, went undrafted in most leagues, despite being a middle infielder with the potential for major stolen base totals. He’s being viewed as an obvious sell-high choice and yes, by definition he is, because it’s awfully unlikely he remains ahead of the likes of Cabrera and the top pitchers, but he’s not going to be Brendan Ryan the rest of the way, either.

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Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Dee Gordon got the call to replace injured Hanley Ramirez in the big leagues barely a week ago, and while it’s a bit premature to call the lanky speedster a finished product or safe to keep his starting role the rest of the season, the early returns are promising. Gordon singled and stole his fourth base in eight games Sunday afternoon in a win over the Miami Marlins. He enters Monday hitting .269, which isn’t particularly noteworthy or telling (it’s only 30 at-bats), but the best sign of all are the walks, because for him it’s a potential game-changer.

Gordon has drawn five walks already, which continues a theme he featured at Triple-A Albuquerque, where he drew 14 walks in 25 games while striking out only 17 times. It’s often tough to judge Pacific Coast League statistics, since most of the ballparks are somewhat equivalent to your neighborhood little league parks, but plate discipline doesn’t depend on stadium. A season ago, Gordon wasn’t taking free passes with the Dodgers, and it showed in his paltry .280 on-base percentage. Gordon doesn’t project as a .300 hitter, and strength to drive the ball might always be an issue, but he should at least be getting on base. Fantasy owners want the stolen bases, but it’s quite impossible to steal them when you’re not on base.

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