The Scoop

By Dalton Del Don – Senior Writer

Sports Illustrated recently conducted a poll among MLB execs asking them to name the first five players they would draft in starting a new major league baseball team. One of them picked Yadier Molina. Yadier! He of the .638 career OPS. RotoScoop’s prediction for this guy’s No. 6 choice – Sean Casey: “Good ballplayer, even better person.” Brian Sabean, I know that was you.

If you look up “strikeout” on Wikipedia, there’s a picture of Adam Dunn. His response: “That’s cool. I love being on the Internet.”

Not sure what to make of this will Barry Bonds make the All-Star team talk. First of all, unless a rule change occurred that I’m unaware of, every team gets a representative, and it’s not like the Giants have any other viable alternatives. Secondly, the game is being played in San Francisco. And last but certainly not least, the dude has a 1.076 OPS (third best in MLB, first in NL) with a 32:75 K:BB ratio. Maybe they can find some room for him.

Since he’s essentially a two-category fantasy player at this point in his career, I wasn’t willing to pay what it cost to draft Andruw Jones in most fantasy leagues. And so far, the contract year theory certainly hasn’t worked in this case. That said, his BABIP is .229 – the lowest among all MLB outfielders and .57 below his career mark – making him a pretty good buy-low candidate.

For those of you still using a DL spot holding onto John Patterson, feel free to pull the cord. “Yank it like you’re starting a mower.” Bonus points for catching the reference.

Someone I’m not ready to give up on, on the other hand, is Stephen Drew, who has been getting dropped in droves recently. He’s been disappointing, no doubt, but Drew still plays in one of baseball’s best hitter’s parks and frequently bats atop the lineup. It’s a lineup that should only improve throughout the season as it’s filled with developing youngsters. Drew’s .82 contact rate is solid enough, and he possesses 25-homer power. I think he emerges as a decent MI option from here on out.

Corey Hart is owned in 44 percent of Yahoo! Leagues. Here are his numbers during June: .333, 9 HRs, 24 runs, 21 RBI, 9 SBs. I’d say that makes him rosterable.