Power makes a fantasy offense tick, so when a team doesn’t have it, competing for a league championship becomes doubly hard. Beyond the traditional big bats in fantasy - Pujols, A-Rod, Holliday, etc. - power can be scarce along the way. The Dirty Half Dozen is here to help, with six power hitting prospects available in at least 90 percent of ESPN.com leagues.

The centerpieces of this list all have a common tale to tell, having bounced back and forth between the majors and minors. But, none of those three players - Colorado’s Ian Stewart, Kansas City’s Billy Butler and Toronto’s Adam Lind - have lost their top prospect status. And each of them will be better for their experiences in the minors. Read more »

As recent as last season, the terms maligned and oft-injured were the most common to describe Boston Red Sox outfielder J.D. Drew. He was a nexus for underachievement, a classic “What if?” story of wasted potential. But, this season, Drew has found better health and fortunes, and they have culminated in a white hot June where he won’t stop hitting and driving in runs.

It will take much longer than one special month for us to look past Drew’s checkered past. Fantasy owners everywhere are gladly accepting his .435 average, 9 home runs and 21 RBIs thus far in June, but are holding their breath and quietly lining up an insurance plan. Read more »

As recent as last season, the terms maligned and oft-injured were the most common to describe Boston Red Sox outfielder J.D. Drew. He was a nexus for underachievement, a classic “What if?” story of wasted potential. But, this season, Drew has found better health and fortunes, and they have culminated in a white hot June where he won’t stop hitting and driving in runs.

It will take much longer than one special month for us to look past Drew’s checkered past. Fantasy owners everywhere are gladly accepting his .435 average, 9 home runs and 21 RBIs thus far in June, but are holding their breath and quietly lining up an insurance plan. Read more »

Left-handers are a theme for this week’s free agent profiles, with veterans Wandy Rodriguez and Randy Wolf topping the list. There’s a good mix of young and old, risky and conservative available for either permanent roster spots or spot-starting duties. Splits, especially the home/road variety, are a good jumping point for determining how each pitcher can help in your pursuit of a championship.

Rodriguez epitomizes the home/road split, pitching so dominantly at Minute Maid Park (0.98 ERA) that he warrants a long-term roster spot just for the right to start him at home. Meanwhile, a couple of rookies and reclamation projects make for intriguing options in deeper leagues. Read more »

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 »

Mark Ellis has not been much of a fantasy weapon this year, but he has been a clutch performer for the streaking Oakland Athletics. Ellis’ grand slam in the 12th inning of Sunday’s game, his second game-ending home run of the year and third-career grand slam, helped his team avoid a sweep at the hands of the division rival Los Angeles Angels. Ellis finished the game 2-for-6 with 4 RBIs.

The win also halted a 7-game win streak for the Halos and held their lead in the division to 4 1/2 games. Although Ellis is the first Athletic to hit a game-ending grand slam since Mark McGwire, no one is comparing him to the much-maligned slugger yet. Ellis is hitting just .167 in his last 7 games and .231 on the season. He is batting .330 on the road this year, but until a little consistency is shown, he remains unworthy of a pick-up or start.

Mark Ellis has not been much of a fantasy weapon this year, but he has been a clutch performer for the streaking Oakland Athletics. Ellis’ grand slam in the 12th inning of Sunday’s game, his second game-ending home run of the year and third-career grand slam, helped his team avoid a sweep at the hands of the division rival Los Angeles Angels. Ellis finished the game 2-for-6 with 4 RBIs.

The win also halted a 7-game win streak for the Halos and held their lead in the division to 4 1/2 games. Although Ellis is the first Athletic to hit a game-ending grand slam since Mark McGwire, no one is comparing him to the much-maligned slugger yet. Ellis is hitting just .167 in his last 7 games and .231 on the season. He is batting .330 on the road this year, but until a little consistency is shown, he remains unworthy of a pick-up or start.

The First-Year Player Draft is not always an exact science. In fact, it’s never an exact science. Top draft choices are not slam dunks to have long, illustrious major league careers, just as late draft choices aren’t necessarily destined to be journeymen with little chance of reaching the majors.

While the same amount of uncertainty exists in the NBA and NFL drafts, for example, baseball is a more extreme case. For starters, just the sheer number of players that go off the board dwarfs all of its professional sport counterparts. Baseball players are also generally less prepared for professional careers than other athletes, often requiring several years of development before warranting a callup. Read more »

New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain’s highly anticipated debut as a starter lasted just 2.1 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night, leaving after having walked four and thrown 32 of his 62 pitches for strikes.

Bronx Liaison breaks down the stuff Chamberlain had and sees light at the end of the tunnel. Here’s one snippet on Chamberlain’s fastball:

Throughout his mediocre outing, Chamberlain often hit the high 90’s with his fastball and touched triple digits on the stadium gun a handful of times as well. According to MLB Gameday, 22 of Chamberlain’s 45 fastballs were between 96-99 mph. Read more »

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