MLB Stock Market 6/26/2009

Buy - Scott Rolen (3B) - I said it back in April and I'm saying it now, Scott Rolen is back.  He still has one of the sweetest swings in baseball and looks every bit as good as he was in his prime and is batting .330 on the season (.397 in June).  The only knock against him is that his power numbers are down, but the Jays have been moving him up the order and now sits in the clean up spot and his RBI numbers are slowly rising.  Rolen is playing on one of the best offensive teams in the league and if he stays in the clean up spot, he could be a candidate for second half MVP.

(Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images Sport)

Buy - Michael Bourn (OF) - Earlier this week, I read an article in which Astros manager Cecil Cooper proclaimed that Bourn is the team's MVP so far.  High praise for a guy that's still available in almost 1/3 of leagues across ESPN fantasy baseball.  Bourn's strength is in his base stealing, but he's also a solid hitter and has scored a lot of runs.  Who couldn't use a guy like this in their lineup?  Especially in head to head and roto leagues.

Sell - Daisuke Matsuzaka (SP) - You can put him on your DL if you want, but I don't see his condition improving this year.  For the second time this year, he's on the DL with shoulder tiredness or as they're officially calling it a "mild shoulder strain".  Dead arm pitchers don't suddenly come back and pitch well.  I don't foresee Dice-K returning to form this year and therefore I feel he should be sold.

Buy - Gavin Floyd (SP) - I can't believe I'm going to do this, but here goes... its okay to pickup Gavin Floyd.  Whew!  That wasn't so bad.  Floyd pitched like a homerun derby pitcher in the first two months of the season, but since May 22nd when he shutout the Pirates, he's been phenomenal.  In the month of June, he owns a 1.56 ERA and has struck out 25 batters in 34.2 innings.  I think it may be safe to say that he's back.  If you're desperate for pitching, pick him up and hope that a boost in confidence was all he needed.

Sell - Kelly Johnson (2B) - I used to be pretty high on this guy, but since the McLouth trade he's lost his spot in the lineup and apparently lost his ability to make contact with the baseball.  Johnson is batting .132 this month and while he can be a streaky player, you can do better than him at second.

Sell - Kosuke Fukudome (OF) - Similar to the way he jumped out of the gate early last year, he's slowing down again this year.  Fukudome's numbers have just been dropping and dropping and now he's sitting on a .154 BA with 2 RBI in his last 18 games.  You may have a big game here and there out of him down the line, but I think it may be safe to say at this point that he's not a second half player.

Sell - Chris Davis (1B / 3B / OF) - Well I guess the heavier bats didn't help him either.  After starting off slow, he switched to heavier bats and the ball started flying out of the park.  Unfortunately, that didn't last and now his BA is below the mendoza line.  He has 1 HR in his last 19 games, so I think it may be time to send this Ranger off into the sunset.

Buy - Juan Rivera (OF) - Talk about coming out of nowhere.  Rivera burst onto the scene, is now batting 5th in the Angels lineup and is suddenly the hot pickup around fantasy leagues.  He had a solid May, but is having an even more productive June with 6 HR and 19 RBI in the last 20 games.  With outfielders dropping like flies this year, he's a nice part time pickup.

Buy - Cody Ross (OF) - I wasn't too sure about this one a few weeks back, but I think its about time he's made it to the Buy list.  Ross has looked very good over the past couple months and seems to only be getting better and better.  Reaching the 100 RBI plateau seems likely at this point.

Buy - Scott Richmond (SP) - With the exception of just one bad outing, Richmond has been very good in his last 8 starts including an 11 strikeout gem in Philadelphia on June 17th.  He's looked pretty good as a starter, its when he's come out of the bullpen, that's he's had trouble.

Buy - Tommy Hanson (SP) - After getting lite up for 6 runs in his MLB debut, Hanson has given up just 2 runs in his last 3 games (17 IP).  His strikeout numbers are not exactly dazzling and his control seems a bit spotty, but you can't argue with the results as he's 3-0 this year.