The Scoop

By Dalton Del Don

Shane Victorino has eight steals over the past eight games and a vastly improving approach at the plate this year (27:27 K:BB ratio). Despite a stint on the disabled list, he’s still on pace to surpass 100 runs scored. And although Victorino has increased both his line-drive and flyball percentages from last year, his slugging has dropped sharply, so look for more extra base hits from here on out.

Despite the lowest K rate and highest walk rate of his career, Francisco Rodriguez has already racked up 31 saves this season, putting him on pace to shatter the major league record. A .233 BABIP and .825 strand rate are big reasons why, as are the copious amount of opportunities. Unless he starts pitching better, Rodriguez’s ratios will rise, but that doesn’t mean he still won’t be elite. It looks like his early season injury worries can be put to bed.

I’m beginning to think this Evan Longoria kid can play some ball. Sure, he strikes out far too often, but with 14 homers in just 245 at-bats, he possesses legit power. And this is all with a .169/.282/.373 line against left-handers.

Kevin Kouzmanoff has been hit by a pitch (10) almost as many times as he’s walked (11) this season.

With an eight-inning, three baserunner, 11 K masterpiece Thursday, Rich Harden continues to tantalize. Even at just 95 pitches, the A’s smartly pulled him, since this is the first time in three years he’s been able to make nine consecutive starts. His 11.2 K 9/IP mark is eye-popping. With Justin Duchscherer also leading the AL in ERA, the A’s have two talented yet extremely injury-prone starters at the front of their rotation. The team ranks second in defensive efficiency, which certainly doesn’t hurt.

With the trade of T.J. Ford, how high do you take Jose Calderon in fantasy drafts next season? He doesn’t score a ton, but few, if any, point guards shoot with such proficiency. Also, no one will turn the ball over less while racking up so many assists. Early third round doesn’t seem too high to me.

Christian Guzman currently leads major league baseball in hits for the 2008 season. I didn’t see that one coming.

I’ve got to give a shout out to the Fresno St. Bulldogs, winners of the college baseball world series. The Cinderella run was the equivalent of a 13-seed winning March Madness. In fact, they were the lowest seeded team ever to win an NCAA title. I don’t call it Fresno, I call it Fresyes.

I’m positively dumbfounded by Willie Parker’s current ADP of 30. Even while leading the league in rushing, he wasn’t all that valuable as a fantasy back last year and now has to deal with a more complete runner in Rashard Mendenhall. Since Parker doesn’t catch the ball or get short yardage work, I see no upside, even if Pittsburgh is a good team that is run-heavy. Parker’s 4.1 YPC last season was a problem, and that was before he shattered his fibula. I’d take Darren McFadden (ADP: 47) ahead of him eight days a week.

Brandon Marshall and Ahmad Bradshaw are two of my favorites targets this season. Unfortunately, it’s tough to rack up fantasy points while incarcerated. Get your acts together, fellas!

I’m avoiding Marvin Harrison like the plague this year. The Colts remain a fantastic situation to be in, but this is someone still not practicing after coming off two very serious knee injuries, including the worst “bruise” in the history of bruises. But most concerning of all is that Harrison will enter the season as a 36-year-old. I’d prefer Anthony Gonzalez to him.