Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Mark Reynolds is back to being his red-hot self, hitting his seventh homer in 15 games as part of a 3-for-4 day in Arizona’s 5-3 loss to the Pirates on Monday. Reynolds, who also homered twice on Sunday, began the season on a tear (.302, 5 HRs, 15 RBIs in his first 11 games), then fell into an extended slump before waking up with a hot streak that began in late May.

Like the rest of his young teammates, Reynolds has had a hard time maintaining his high level of play as the season grinds toward the halfway point. Only the Nationals have scored fewer runs than the Diamondbacks so far in June, and Arizona has won just one of its last six series. Despite Reynolds’ homer on Monday, the Pirates roughed up Diamondbacks starter Randy Johnson and salvaged a split in their four-game series at PNC Park. Read more »

Now is a time when season averages generally reflect what a player is capable of doing over the long haul. Of course, there are exceptions and plenty of players have entered the final two-thirds of the season with production that is impossible to maintain. We’ll take a look at who is picking up the pace as we head towards the summer and what their prospects are for continuing their hot streaks.

Different players - young and old, proven and unproven - are on our list of 10 of the game’s hottest hitters and pitchers. Boston’s Manny Ramirez has plenty of incentive - dollars and his team’s need for production in the absence of David Ortiz - to maintain his torrid start to June, while Milton Bradley and Jose Contreras have seemingly come out of nowhere to rank among fantasy’s top players early in the season. Read more »