The Memorial Day BBQs limited my writing on Sunday, so I am back at it today. Hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day holiday. Let's take a look at the top fantasy performers on Monday.
Brian McCann continues to show he is the top fantasy catcher as he went 3-5 and drove in the Braves only two runs on Monday. For the season he is hitting .304-.366-.464 with 6 HRs and 29 RBIs.
The offseason trade for Dan Uggla has not turned out so well for the Braves or for fantasy owners as Uggla is on a two month slump after going 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts on Monday. He is hitting a pathetic .178-.246-.322 with 7 HRs and 16 RBIs. I would not be surprised to see the Braves drop him in their lineup in the coming days.
Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is really answering critics this season. He went 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBIs on Monday and is now hitting .252-.339-.505 with 12 HRs and 42 RBIs thus far this season. His BA and OBP are down, but he is second in the NL in HRs and RBIs.
More Roto Roundup after the jump:
If you are looking for an under the radar base stealer, look no further than Cubs outfielder Tony Campana who stole 4 bases on Monday. He went 1-3 with a walk and stole 4 bases in the Cubs loss to the Astros. Campana stole 48 bases in AA last year and 55 in High A two years ago, so he knows what to do once he gets on base. I am not sure how the Cubs will use him as he has appeared in only 10 games since being called up from AAA, with only 21 plate appearances.
Astros outfielder Hunter Pence with 3-4 with a HR, walk, 4 runs and 2 RBIs on Monday and is now hitting .312-.360-.493 with 7 HRs, 40 RBIs and just 3 SBs. He is on pace top drive in 120 runs this season, but is not running much thus far this season.
Yankees starter Bartolo Colon threw a complete game shutout of the A's on Monday, giving up just 4 hits and striking out 6. Colon has been a tremendous addition to a Yankees rotation that needed a miracle after Andy Pettite retired and Phil Hughes went down with the dead arm. For the season, he is 3-3 with a 3.26 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and a 62-15 K/BB rate. Colon's success is certainly surprising after being out of baseball for almost two years, and not being effective since 2005.
Angels outfielder Torii Hunter went 3-5 with 2 HRs and 4 RBIs on Monday. Hunter has been a bit of a disappointment this year but is now hitting .249-.328-.408 with 8 HRs and 31 RBIs. It appears Hunter is now on the downside of his career.
Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer went 2-5 with a HR and 4 RBIs yesterday and is now hitting .274-.314-.505 with 5 HRs and 15 RBIs in 95 at bats since being called up.
Could this year be the last year we see Mark Reynolds playing everyday? I think so. He is hitting just .198-.310-.384 with 7 HRs, 24 RBIs and a 52-27 K/BB rate in 172 at bats. He is on pace for 162 strikeouts this season.
Cardinals starter Kyle McClellan had his worst outing of the season, giving up 7 runs on 7 hits, 2 walks and 2 strikeouts yesterday. He injured his hip in the first inning but continued to pitch. He is scheduled to have his hip checked out in the next day or two.
Rangers catcher Mike Napoli went 3-6 with 2 HRs and 5 RBIs on Monday and now has 10 HRs and 25 RBIs to go along with a triple slash line of .229-.364-.571. If not for Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton, he would have been in the running for Fantasy Player of the Day.
White Sox starter Jake Peavy held the Red Sox to 3 runs in 7 innings on Monday. Peavy threw 112 pitches, giving up the 3 runs on 6 hits and striking out 2. He is now 2-0 on the season, with a 3.24 ERA and 0.88 WHIP. He can safely be rostered in mixed and AL-only leagues.
Reds outfielder Jay Bruce is scorching hot right now, and is single-handedly carrying the Reds offense right now. Bruce went 3-4 with another HR, 2 runs scored and 3 RBIs on Monday. He is now hitting .294-.358-.578 with 16 HRs and 43 RBIs. He is 18-46 with 6 HRs and 17 RBIs in his last 10 games.
Is Mets second baseman Justin Turner a sell high candidate? I have to think so, but Turner just keeps on hitting for the Mets after going 2-4 with an RBI and 2 runs scored on Monday. For the season, Turner is hitting .337-.384-.467.
Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton went 5-5 with a HR, 3 runs scored and 3 RBIs and is Fake Teams Fantasy Player of the Day for Monday.
Diamondbacks second baseman Kelly Johnson is starting to get hot as he went 4-6 with 2 HRs, 3 runs and 3 RBIs on Monday. He has hits in 9 of his last 10 games, going 16-41 with 5 HRs and 14 RBIs during that stretch.
Hanley Ramirez sat out Monday's game against the Diamondbacks with a back and leg injury. Apparently he has been dealing with these injuries for the past month, and now fantasy owners know why he has underperformed this season.