After scoring just three runs against the San Francisco Giants over the weekend, the offense-starved Indians called up top prospect third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall before Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks. Chisenhall responded by going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI single in his major league debut.

Chisenhall never produced big numbers at the minor league level, including a .265 batting average and .779 OPS over 65 games with Triple-A Columbus this season, but his promotion is worth a shot when Indians’ third basemen have combined to bat just .220 this season. Manny Acta may sit Chisenhall against tough left-handed starters, as he had a .200 batting average in 75 at-bats against southpaws at Triple-A this season. Chisenhall does not have a great deal of value in mixed leagues right now, but the third base eligibility certainly helps. He’s at least worth securing in AL-only formats.

In other fantasy news from Monday……

• Carlos Gonzalez homered twice Monday and is batting .344 this month.
• Mat Latos improved to 5-8 in a win over the Royals. He was less than dominating, but he did do a nice job working out of a few jams. He allowed three earned runs in the sixth inning, which turned out to be his last inning of the night. He has a favorable match up in his next start against Seattle.
• Freddie Freeman went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Monday’s win over the Mariners.
• Derek Jeter (calf) jogged Monday for the first time since being placed on the disabled list
• Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena both hit two homers in Monday’s win over the Rockies.
• Marlon Byrd began his rehab assignment on Monday, but the Cubs are not sure when he’ll return.
• Joe Mauer took grounders at first base prior to Monday’s game.

One of my favorite names in baseball returned to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday. The D’Backs recalled Wily Mo Pena after he destroyed minor league pitching this year (.363 average, 21 homers at Triple-A). Pena hit one of the longest home runs of the season (estimated 445 feet) in the fifth inning in his season debut.  The big concern with Pena is there is no guarantees of playing time beyond Arizona’s current AL road trip (which has five games remaining as of Wednesday), but Pena is at the very least worth an immediate look in NL-Only leagues.

In other fantasy news from Tuesday…..

• Paul Konerko homered for the 5th consecutive day and went 2-for-3. He is tied for the Major League lead in homers with 21.
• Jason Bay went 3-for-3 and homered for the first time since May 13th.
• Zack Greinke earned his seventh win with seven innings of one-run ball. He had no walks and struck out 10.
• Jose Tabata went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. Tabata’s value in mixed leagues in low due to the lack of power and low batting average. However, in NL-Only leagues, his value is higher because of his ability to steal bases.
• Hunter Pence will likely be out until Friday.
• J.J. Hardy homered for the seventh time in June and ninth time on the season.
• Madison Bumgarner got knocked around by the Minnesota Twins in the first inning as he allowed eight earned runs on nine hits. It was ugly from the start and Bumgarner just needs to move on to the next start which will come June 26 at home against the Cleveland Indians. Start him with confidence.
• Brian Roberts remains in limbo as he was told by a concussion specialist that he needs more rest and may not return to the lineup until after the All-Star Break.
• David Freese (hand) went 1-for-3 with a double in his first Triple-A rehab game and could be back early next week.
• Placido Polanco is day-to-day after being hit on the left hand by a pitch
• Joe Nathan (elbow) threw a scoreless inning at Triple-A and could be back as soon as Friday.
• Jonathan Broxton began his rehab assignment at Triple-A Albuquerque and pitched one inning and allowed one run.
• Marlon Byrd (facial fractures) reportedly could begin a minor league rehab assignment next week and could be back in a couple weeks to the Cubs lineup.

Hanley Ramirez isn’t off to the best start with Jack McKeon. He was benched Monday against the Angels because McKeon “didn’t like the way he was running” during Sunday’s game. Ramirez struck out in a pinch-hit appearance in the ninth inning and is expected to return to the lineup Tuesday.
Monday’s benching would bother fantasy owners more if Ramirez was actually producing, but he’s batting just .200 for the season and is 2-for-19 (.105) since returning from the disabled list last Tuesday.

All the preseason rankings had Ramirez in the top 10, but should you even own Ramirez? There are a couple different ways to look at this situation. If you have been able to stay in contention despite the lack of production from Ramirez, then stash him on your bench until he heats up. Don’t forget, Ramirez has averaged a .313 BA and 25 home runs the past five seasons. He is a highly talented player with great upside who needs a good kick in the butt to start playing better. McKeon is a great motivator that knows how to push players buttons, which is exactly what Ramirez needs right now. The other possible scenerio is if you can no longer wait for Ramirez to heat up, sell high. That’s right – sell high! Don’t let another GM try to convince you otherwise. Like Dan Uggla, Ramirez has way to much upside to either dump or sell low.

In other fantasy news from Monday…..

• How are owners of Albert Pujols feeling today? If you own him in an NL-Only league, options are bleak. Ty Wigginton could be available and he is eligible at multiple positions. James Loney could also be an option, but his batting average is a problem.
• Josh Beckett was scratched from Tuesday’s scheduled start against the Padres due to illness.
• Ryan Braun was scratched from Monday’s lineup with an upper respiratory viral infection.
• Adrian Gonzalez drove in three runs and currently leads the majors with 67 RBI through 72 games. Can you say MVP???
• Hunter Pence (elbow) hopes to return to the starting lineup as soon as Tuesday.
• Brian Matusz (hamstring) could be pushed back from Friday’s scheduled start against the Reds.
• Craig Kimbrel has saved back-to-back games and hasn’t allowed a run over his last five appearances.
• David Freese (hand) will begin his minor league rehab assignment Tuesday.
• Evan Longoria homered and tied a season-high with four RBI against the Brewers.
• Rafael Furcal (oblique) could begin a minor league rehab assignment next Monday.
• Jonathan Broxton (elbow) is set to begin a minor league rehab assignment Tuesday with Triple-A Albuquerque .

The worst case scenario that the St. Louis Cardinals and fantasy owners became reality today. Albert Pujols will miss four to six weeks with a small fracture that was found near his left wrist, the team announced Monday. Pujols’ arm will be placed in a splint, and the Cardinals expect him to be out of the lineup for four to six weeks. This will be the longest Pujols has ever been on the disabled list in his career. He had two previous stays on the DL. Obviously, Pujols owners are scrambling to the waiver wires trying to find a replacement for him. In deep mixed leagues, Derek Lee may be avaliable. Lee’s production so far is not impressive, but keep in mind that he has battled injuries and is finally healthy. Lee is in the middle of a solid Orioles lineup and could be OK. Colorado’s Todd Helton and Ty Wigginton should be avaliable. James Loney of the Dodgers and Casey Kotchman of the Rays could provide some short-term relief in deeper formats. For Pujols owners in NL-Only formats, options will be very limited. My best suggestion would be to try and acquire a prospect like Paul Goldschmidt that is on the verge of being recalled by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In other fantasy news from the weekend…..

• Justin Verlander threw his second consecutive complete game in a row.  He threw a one-run complete game gem, allowing just four hits and striking out five en route to his ninth win.
• Hunter Pence owners are breathing a little easier than Pujols owners today. Pence has an elbow strain and it seems that with a little rest, Pence could be back with the Astros later this week.
• James Shields struck out ten Marlins and went the distance and he completed his fifth complete game of the season.
• Mike Stanton is out with an eye infection. He was scheduled to go to an eye doctor today. Stay tuned….
• Casey Blake returned to the Dodgers starting lineup on Saturday after missing a week with a neck injury.
• Nick Swisher had a big night Sunday against the Cubs. Swisher went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer and four RBIs. His homer broke a 4-4 tie.
• Jose Tabata missed Sunday’s game with a sore left thumb, but should be back Monday night.
• Trevor Cahill reminded us that he has the upside to combine strikeouts and groundballs when he held the San Francisco Giants to one run in eight innings with seven strikeouts and one walk.
• Bud Norris should be owned in all formats. He battles control problems, but he ranks sixth in the NL with 95 strikeouts this season. He’s allowed just two earned runs over his last 21 innings, while striking out 16.
• Jemile Weeks had three hits and a stolen base against the Giants Sunday and is making his case to keep the second base job even when Mark Ellis returns to the A’s.
• Wandy Rodriguez pitched six scoreless innings with six strikeouts and one walk Saturday.



This is a big week for owners of Ryan Zimmerman, Pablo Sandoval, Matt Holliday, and Hanley Ramirez as each of them are scheduled to return from the disabled list.

Ryan Zimmerman returns to the Nationals lineup tonight after missing two months with a torn abdominal muscle. Zimmerman has had a strong rehab and appears to be fully healthy and ready to go, but keep any eye on him. You may want to stash Zimmerman’s replacement on your bench for awhile until you know he is 100% healthy. Pablo Sandoval is also scheduled to return tonight, but his wrist injury concerns me. He has needed time off since beginning his rehab assignment and I’m not sure that he is 100% healthy. It appears that Sandoval will primarily be at third base, but he will play a couple games a week at first base and there has even been discussion of Sandoval playing catcher. Hanley Ramirez feels good and will be back on Tuesday. He is going to hit leadoff as the Marlins are searching for some consistency at the top of the lineup. Matt Holliday went through a strenuous work out over the weekend and appears ready to return to the Cardinals lineup on Thursday. He has been sidelined with a quad injury.

In other fantasy news from Monday…..

• Vernon Wells hit a solo homer and a two-run shot against the Mariners. Wells has struggled all season so lets hope this is the start of something.
• Miguel Montero had a huge night in South Florida. Montero went 3-for-5 with four RBI and continues to put together a solid season.
• Ricky Nolasco was rocked by the for mentioned Montero and the D’Backs.  He lasted just three innings and allowed five earned runs. It could have been worse for Nolasco, who actually allowed nine runs total, though four were unearned.
• Derek Jeter got his 2,994th hit in his career and then left the game with sore right calf after running to first base. We’ll have to wait and see later today what the extent of the injury is for Jeter.
• Hunter Pence went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and four RBI.
• Brandon Lyon got knocked around again on Monday. He gave up three earned runs on two hits and he also gave up a walk through an inning of work. Despite manager Brad Mills plan to put Lyon back into the closers role, there is no way he can do that now. Mark Melancon is the closer.
• Chris Perez earned his 16th save with a perfect ninth inning for the Indians. He struck out the side and looked really good.

If the NL MVP award had to be given out today, who is your NL MVP - Prince Fielder or Matt Kemp? Nobody could argue against either player winning the award and I feel somewhat obligated to say Fielder since I have him on all three of my fantasy teams. However, by the smallest margin, Kemp gets my vote as the lead candidate for the award through the first two and a half months. In his last 10 games, Kemp is batting .472 (17-for-36) with seven home runs and 16 RBIs. He leads the National League in home runs (20), is second in RBIs (56) and ranks third in average (.331). Fielder has hit 19 homers– one less than Kemp. He is playing on another planet right now, batting .411 (14-for-34) with eight homers and 15 RBIs in just 11 games in June. Six of those eight home runs in the Brewers’ last 10 games have given the Brewers the lead and two tied the score.

The difference between Fielder and Kemp for the MVP are stolen bases. Kemp leads the Dodgers with 14 and Fielder has none. Kemp could easily steal 30-35 bags this year and if everything else remains the same for these two fantasy giants, Kemp wins NL MVP. Having said that, I think Fielder and the Brewers will make the playoffs. Fielder would take that over the NL MVP any day of the week.

In other fantasy news from the weekend…..

• Dan Uggla took Brett Myers deep and he got on base eight times over the weekend. Uggla went 2-for-3 on Sunday and may be finally emerging from his epic slump.
• Adam Dunn is also showing signs of breaking out of his slump with two home runs.
• Francisco Liriano earned his fourth victory after taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Rangers on Sunday. He gave up just a run on two hits with nine strike outs.
• Jose Batista hit his 21st home run and is now ahead of last year’s home run pace.
• It appears the Atlanta Braves now have co-closers. Jonny Venters claimed his second save on Sunday and in my opinion, should be the Braves closer. Manager Fredi Gonzalez said that he rested Craig Kimbrel, but Venters has been the most consistent reliever and should get the job.
• Keeping the closer theme rolling…I wonder if Astros manager Brad Mills still wants to put Brandon Lyon back in to the closers role after Lyon got rocked on Saturday in the tenth inning and blew the game for the Astros. Really, Mark Melancon should keep the closer gig all year, but who knows with the Astros.
• Hanley Ramirez expects to be in the Marlins lineup on Tuesday as the leadoff hitter against the Phillies.
• Mike Moustakas and Anthony Rizzo each hit their first major league home runs.
• Aaron Harang (foot injury) was placed on DL by the Padres and nobody is sure what the timetable will be for him to return.
• Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reported over the weekend that the D’Backs GM, Kevin Towers traveled to Birmingham, Ala and likes what he sees from Paul Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt is tearing up Double-A pitching and could be recalled by the All-Star Break. Towers said Goldschmidt will play for the D’Backs if he is recalled. The issue here is the D’Backs seem reluctant to commit to Juan Miranda who is clearly superior offensively to Xavier Nady.

Check out this week’s RHL Report.

Freddie Freeman drove in two runs with a two-out homer that landed halfway up the second seating deck in right in the third inning. Freeman went 3-for-5 including that  two-run blast, three RBIs and two runs scored on Friday against the Astros. The knock on Freeman has been the lack of consistent power, however Freeman is beginning to show why the Braves handed him the position. The batting average has risen to .279 and the power is coming. He’s batting .400 (20-for-50) with two homers and 11 RBIs in his last 12 games. Freeman has become a hot pickup in deep formats. Despite the fact that I find myself somewhat in the race in a highly competitive eight team NL-Only Keeper League, I chose to remain patient with the young first baseman instead of adding a more established hitter. That was a good decision.

In other fantasy news from Friday…..

• Hanley Ramirez has began his rehab assignment at Single-A Jupiter. He finished 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored in his first rehab game.
• Clay Buchholz logged his sixth quality start of the season. He went seven innings and gave up just one earned run with six strikeouts in the Red Sox win over Toronto.
• Freddie Sanchez (dislocated shoulder) left Friday’s game and a DL-stint is almost certain. This is a tough lose for the Giants and it may force them to pick up the phone and see what the asking price is for Jose Reyes.
• Paul Konerko went 2-for-4 with a homer against the A’s. He ranks second in homers (16) and RBI (51) in the American League.
• Jeremy Hellickson allowed five runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. In his previous eight starts, Hellickson had not allowed more than three runs in any of those starts. Toss it up to a bad night. He’ll face the Red Sox in his next start.
• Domonic Brown hit a two-run homer. It was his third career home run

The Royals promoted Mike Moustakas on Thursday, one of the game’s top prospects, from Class AAA Omaha. Moustakas will start at third base on Friday night in Kansas City’s series-opener out in Anaheim.  In 118 games between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha last season, Moustakas hit 36 home runs and drove in 134 RBI. This year, he was batting .287 in 55 games at Triple-A with 10 home runs and 44 RBIs.

Moustakas has fantasy star potential and is a must-add in all eligible formats. He may struggle out of the gate, but double-digit homers and a respectable batting average are realistic expectations. If he can repeat what Eric Hosmer has contributed to the Royals since being recalled in May, the Royals are going to be pleased and so will fantasy owners.

In other fantasy news from Thursday…..

• Staying with the theme of rookie call-ups, Anthony Rizzo’s debut with the Padres was a success. He tripled in his first at-bat and he walked twice in four trips to the plate. Rizzo put up huge power numbers (16 homers and 63 RBIs in 232 Triple-A at-bats) in the Pacific Coast League. He will find it difficult to duplicate those same power  numbers at Petco Park, but Rizzo was brought to the Majors to energize the dormant Padres offense and he did just that in his debut. He is a must add in all eligible formats.
• Trevor Cahill’s struggles continued in Chicago as he got rocked for 6 runs in 2 2/3 innings. In his last four starts, Cahill is 0-3 with a 5.71 ERA.
• Madison Bumgarner threw his eighth quality start with nothing to show for it due to a lack of Giants offense. Bumgarner is 2-4 in those outings.
• Matt Kemp hit his fifth homer in his last six games.
• Prince Fielder is just as hot as Kemp. Fielder did not homer last night, but did add a pair of doubles with an RBI. Fielder leads the Major Leagues with 55 RBI.
• Jair Jurrjens improved to 8-2 as he held the Marlins to two earned runs in eight innings. Every one of his starts has been a quality start this season and he has a 1.82 ERA.
• Johnny Venters earned his second save of the season and could very well be the Braves closer moving forward. Craig Kimbrel blew his fifth save on Wednesday and even though manager Fredi Gonzalez said it was just a night off for Kimbrel, Venters has been unhittable so far and may be the better option as the Braves closer.
• Dustin Pedroia just has a bruised knee and could rejoin the Red Sox soon.