This is the week I am going (want?) to start giving more credence to the standings of a player's team when considering the MVP barring just sick efforts by a player on a non-contender.  With the standings too close to call.  To see last week's American league results, visit  Rotojunkie.  The top three was quite a surprise. 

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Rotojunkie has taken over the dynamic feature started by Baseball Happenings that draws on the collective knowledge of the blogging community to provide intelligence on which players are currently considered the leading contenders for the big three baseball awards - MVP, Cy Young and ROY - for the American and National leagues.  This week's NL voting should be available on Friday at lunch time. 

NL Cy Young:
1. Ben Sheets Milwaukee Brewers
2. Tim Lincecum San Francisco Giants
3. Edinson Volquez Cincinnati Reds

NL MVP:
1.  Chase Utley Philadelphia Phillies
2.  Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
3.  Dan Uggla, Florida Marlins

NL ROY:
1.  Geovanny Soto Chicago Cubs
2.  Kosuke Fukudome Chicago Cubs
3.  Jair Jurrjens, Atlanta Braves

These essentially qualify as my mid-season winners.  I don't like giving Top 3 votes to non-play-off teams in CY Young and MVP voting, but Lincecum and Volquez are so much better statistically than Cole Hamels of Philadelphia, Carlos Zambrano of Chicago and Brandon Webb of Arizona that I had to put them in the top 3.  For my own cognitive dissonance, I hope this does not remain so.

MVP also is tough because there are players on sub-.500 teams leading the NL.   Chipper Jones in Atlanta and Lance Berkman in Houston are having better overall seasons than Chase Utley, but I can't look past Chippers' time off or Berkman's less challenging defensive position.

At the last minute, I dropped Reds' 1B Joey Votto and replaced him with Atlanta Braves' SP Jair Jurrjens.  With a top 10 NL ERA and eight wins so far, Jurrjens is more valuable on the open market than a 1B with an .800 OPS would be.

Over the past couple days, there have been a slew of significant injuries to fantasy studs - three 1st or 2nd round hitters and two top closers.  This roster destruction creates opportunity.  Here is a lst of those five along with where I see the fantasy opportunity.

C Victor Martinez Cleveland Indians -  VMart injured his elbow to compound the lingering hamstring injury he suffered on Opening Day.  Kelly Shoppach immediately becomes a John Buck-esque fantasy option - double digit pop with a .250ish AVG.

OF Alfonso Soriano Chicago Cubs - Soriano is back on the D.L. with a broken hand.  2B Mark DeRosa moves to the OF.  His near-.900 OPS means he is likely rostered in most leagues. 2B Mike Fontenot takes over for now.  If the Cubs decide to recall Eric Patterson, and play him, he could be a sleeper for cheap steals.

1B Albert Pujols St. Louis Cardinals - The season opened with fantasy players worrying about Pujols' elbow and now he has hit the D.L. with a strained calf.  Joe Mather and Chris Duncan are the main beneficiaries.  OF Ryan Ludwick is going to hit 3rd so he could see an uptick in RBIs if he continues to hit.

Closer J.J. Putz Seattle Mariners - Putz was pulled mid-inning with right elbow pain.  Brandon Morrow took over and closed out the game.  he is the leader for saves, but be wary.  He had been shut down recently with a sore shoulder.  I can see the M's utilizing a committee to close games if Putz is out for a significant amount of time.

Closer Rafael Soriano Atlanta Braves - Want an idea of what the Mariners' save distribution could look like if Putz returns to the D.L.?  Look at the Braves.  Since Soriano went on the D.L. on April 7th, more than two months ago, Manny Acosta leads the Braves in Saves with three.  Soriano returned from the D.L. two weeks ago, he notched two saves.  Four other players have a save.  Expect Mike Gonzalez to return from the D.L. and Tommy John surgery and immediately become the seventh Braves relieve rto notch a save.

Derek Gould of the St. Louis Dispatch told Charlie Steiner on his XM Radio show, "Baseball Beat", that Cardinals 1B Albert Pujols will go on the D.L. on Thursday when SP Joel Piniero is activated.  1B/OF Chris Duncan will be recalled tonight to take SP Adam Wainwright's roster spot.

This offers an interesting test of the surprising Cardinals' mettle.  With a player of Pujols power and patience, the surrounding hitters will always be the lesser threats.  One wonders how the second-tier of Cardinals hitters will react when they become the opposing teams' top worries.

Does Ryan Ludwick's new-found ability to take walks continue?  (He has walked 23 times in 192 ABS versus 26 in 303 last season.)  Does anyone else (Troy Glaus, Ludwick, Duncan,  Skip Schumaker ) become less selective in their new roles of greater offensive responsibility? 

What is interesting is the Cards rank 3rd in MLB in team OBP with Pujols.  Ex-Pujols, the team OBP drops to .340.  More telling is a team SLG that is 11th in MLB drops to 20th without Pujols.  My calculations are rough (no HBP & SFs included), but I think those will be offset by the assumption that the figures assume static data and not dynamic ones.

Another interesting story to follow is how manager Tony LaRussa fills 1B?  Will he put Chris Duncan there or will he play the hitter who displaced him, Joe Mather?  One would think Mather would get the first shot at full-time ABs given he took Duncan's spot, but one can never discount the "veteran" experience - and the presence of a parent on the coaching staff.

Here is what Baseball America had to say about Joe Mather in its 2008 Prospect Handbook .  He was ranked 13th in the Cards organization.

Mather reached Class A in 2004, and for three seasons and more than 1,000 ABs, he stayed at that level, wondering each spring if he was making progress or about to be released. Cardinals officials recognized the potential in his swing, and in 2007 he blossomed. He hit 31 HRs as he climbed to Double-A and then Triple-A. Mather used to gobble ice cream and other high-calorie delights to pack weight on his lithe frame. By last year, he had filled out by 15 lbs and his game matured. Scouts saw the same raw ability in Mather, but they wondered if he would ever add the necessary polish. He put it together when he settled into a comfortable stance and approach at the plate, which led to better strike-sone awareness and more consistent power to all fields. He now has the best power in the system this side of Colby Rasmus, and he doesn't strike out excessively for a slugger. Mather is no burner but has stolen 23 bases without being caught over the last three seasons. He may be better at first base, but he runs well enough ans has enough athleticism and arm strength to play a corner outfield position. The versatility that once kept him playing while he struggled with the bat now opens an alternative avenue to the majors, and he's now just a phone call away. Added to the 40-man roster in Novemeber, he'll probably open 2008 in Triple-A.

Rotojunkie  has taken over the dynamic feature started by Baseball Happenings that draws on the collective knowledge of the blogging community to provide intelligence on which players are currently considered the leading contenders for the big three baseball awards - MVP, Cy Young and ROY - for the American and National leagues.  This week's NL voting should be available later today/early tomorrow.  Here are the results from last week's AL voting . 

Here is the way I voted.  My biases for voting in the Cy Young and MVP awards lean towards those hitters and pitchers playing on contending teams.  ROY determination is not tied are strongly to his team's record, but good rookies on expected paly-off contenders will get additional consideration.

NL Cy Young:
1. Brandon Webb Arizona Diamondbacks
2. Edinson Volquez Cincinnati Reds
3. Tim Lincecum San Francisco Giants

I sat down ready to switch my 1st place vote from Webb to Volquez.  This meant ignoring Webb's 11 Wins for a 1st place team, but a closer look kept me from doing it.  Webb has pitched 15 more innings and more than half the walks.  Brandon Webb is the better pitcher.

NL MVP:
1.  Chase Utley Philadelphia Phillies
2.  Lance Berkman Houston Astros
3.  Albert Pujols St. Louis Cardinals

This was an easy choice.  Chase Utley plays for a 1st place team and the more challenging defensive position.  I don't think it is even close right now.

NL ROY:
1.  Geovanny Soto Chicago Cubs
2.  Joey Votto Cincinnati Reds
3.  Kosuke Fukudome Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs, like the Tamp Bay Rays last week, get their 1st place in the standings props from the voters in Rookie-OF-The-Year.  Fukudome's OBP contribution keeps in ahead of starting pitchers like Jair Jurrjens of Atlanta, John Lannnan in Washington and Hiroki Kuroda in Los Angeles. 

I wouldn't be surprised to see Reds' 1B Joey Votto out-produce all NL rookies by season's end.  Will it be enough to take the award from Geovanny Soto though?

Here are my votes in Baseball Happenings'  Rotojunkie  in-season NL voting for the Big Three Awards.  The total votes should be available later this week.

NL CY Young:
1. Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks
2. Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati Reds
3. Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs

The third place vote was the hardest.  It came down to Zambrano or Tim Lincecum.  Lincecum has more strikeouts and a better ERA, but I went with Zambrano for three reasons. 1.) He has allowed just one more run in 10.2 more innings 2.) he has pitched more innings and 3.) The Cubs are in 1st place

NL MVP:
1. Lance Berkman, Houston Astros
2. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
3. Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves

This strays from my general rule of selecting MVPs from play-off teams, but the leading hitters from the 1st place clubs pale in comparison to these top three.  Chase Utley, Hanley Ramirez and Derreck Lee just don't compare to the overall production of Berkman, Pujols and Jones.

NL ROY:
1. Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs
2. Jair Jurrjens, Atlanta Braves
3. Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

The first two choices were easy.  Soto has an OPS of .970 at a demanding defensive position, and Jurrjens is 6th in ERA as a rookie.  The final spot came down to Joey Votto and Kosuke Fukudome.  I went with Votto because his OPS is 46 points higher than Fukudome's OPS.  While the .407 OBP that Kosuke has given the Cubs is exactly what the team needed, I couldn't look past the middle-infielder-esque .420 OPS from the right fielder.

There has certainly been an outage of offense in the American League this season. The questions of why and for how long remain unanswered. Here is a list of the Top 3 players by position using Baseball Prospectus' VORP statistic. Note how much difference there is just between the top player and the third-best one. This would lead me to believe a Stars & Scrubs versus a balance approach may be the best fantasy strategy. Agree?

Also, note how poorly the OF VORP leaders due relative to the other position players. The top VORP is lower. This supports the contention that the OF is "shallow" relative to the other positions. However, the drop-off is not as dramatic. There could be more depth in the OF relative to other positions. This supports a strategy that focuses on acquiring the top positions player at the expense of OFs. Agree?

Finally, look at the top three DHs. This helps epxlain the drop in AL production this season. That extra hitter has struggled mightily. I bet the answer to this question goes a ways to explaining the production outage in the AL.

Baseball Happenings dynamic feature that draws on the collective knowledge of the blogging community to provide intelligence on which players are currently considered the leading contenders for the big three baseball awards - MVP, Cy Young and ROY - for the American and National leagues enters its 4th week.  The NL voting will be available here  . 

Here is the way I voted.  My biases for voting in the Cy Young and MVP awards lean towards those hitters and pitchers playing on contending teams.  ROY determination is not tied are strongly to his team's record, but good rookies on expected play-off contenders will get additional consideration.

NL Cy Young:

1.  Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks
2.  Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati Reds
3.  Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs

8-0 on a 1st place team is a lock.  Coming in second is the ERA and Strikeout leader, Edinson Volquez, and closing fast is Chicago Cubs' ace Carlos Zambrano.  I'd expect Zambrano to surpass Volquez shortly, but, until then, I'll just marvel at what Volquez has accomplished.

NL MVP:
1.  Lance Berkman, Houston Astros
2.  Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
3.  Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins

Lance Berkman leads the NL with a 1.235 OPS.  Add sixe stolen bases and you get the best hitter in the NL.  Chase Utley offers a 1.089 OPS and an NL-leading 13 HRs.  He just noses out Florida Marlins SS Hanley Ramirez as a result of those HRs.  Albert Pujols just missed with his .500 OBP, bhut I can't get too excited because of the mere 7 HRs.

NL ROY:
1.  Geovanny Soto, Chicago Cubs
2.  Kosuke Fukudome, Chicago Cubs
3.  Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

Chicago Cubs' catcher Geovanny Soto takes over the top spot with a 1.003 OPS.  Teammate Kosuke Fukudome falls to second because Soto's postion and SLG outpace Kosuke's excellent .481 OBP.  Reds' 1B joey Votto noses out Braves' SP Jair Jurrjens thanks to history-making 3HR/1Sb day.  He is also drawing some walks which should serve to keep his OBP respectable.  In a weaker field, Dodgers' 3B Blake DeWitt would get more props with a slash stat line of 323/398/479 - after doing worse between Hi A & AA last season!