These guys are off to hot starts; some are for real, while others are not. The key is to decipher the ones that are here to stay from the ones bound to fade.
Chris Shelton: He just hit his seventh bomb and is batting over .500. Shelton, who almost began the year hitting eighth, is the hottest hitter in baseball. It’s entirely possible that he is already the best hitter on the Tigers. Still, the best bet would be to sell him while he’s white-hot. Obviously, no one could keep up his pace, but his fade may be more pronounced than others will anticipate. 25-30 homers sounds about right. See how much you can get for him; he might bring in quite a return. (SELL)
Jim Thome: Maybe the second hottest hitter in baseball, Thome just hit his sixth jack of the year and is racking up runs and RBI. Looking slimmer and healthier now than the past couple years, he could be in store for a monster campaign. Before last year, he had hit at least 40 homers in four straight years and at least 30 in nine straight years. Now playing in the best homerun park in the league, expect at least 40. (DON’T SELL)
Hanley Ramirez: Ramirez is currently hitting .424 with a couple of steals and hitting atop the lineup. Use all of the hype generated by him being a big-time prospect and see if there are any takers. Ramirez is not ready to succeed against big league pitching, especially at anything close to this rate. If you’re in a non-keeper league at least, move him as soon as you can. (SELL)
Travis Hafner: Maybe this year he won’t be passed over by Shea Hillenbrand for the All-Star team. Hafner is legit and the early power he is exhibiting is no fluke. Expect him to post another OPS over 1000 for the second year in a row. MVP consideration cannot be ruled out. (DON’T SELL)
Khalil Greene: Everyone’s been patiently awaiting his big breakout year and finally there are some signs of it happening. The four homers and 10 RBI are great, but the OBP is too hard to ignore. Last year Greene finished with a pathetic .296 OBP. This year, even with the powerful start, his OBP is even lower at .241. Maybe this will truly be his year, but the astute owners will concentrate more on the putrid OBP than the pop he’s shown thus far. See what you can get for him. (SELL)
Brad Hawpe: Hawpe is a better hitter than Holliday, and maybe the Rockies organization will eventually realize that. The hot start is no fluke; what was a fluke, however, was that Hawpe barely hit better in Coors than on the road last year. Look for much better Coors-aided numbers with continued road production from him this time around. See if others don’t realize just how valuable Hawpe has the potential to be this year and try to go after him. (DON’T SELL)
Jose Vidro & Nick Johnson: Both of these Nationals were somewhat afterthoughts in many fantasy drafts this spring, but could provide solid value in return. Yes, RFK limits their upside, but still, both are very good hitters. Injuries will always be a concern, but hitting over .300 won’t be a problem when they are in the lineup. (DON’T SELL)
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