Don't Believe The Hype: Gordon Beckham, Again Edition

Andy Dirks is on the 15-day DL, but he's not on his death bed, so you might want to hold off on straight-up cutting a dude who has been mashing. Dale Thayer lost his job as closer in San Diego, though, so have at dropping him. Jake Westbrook isn't exactly someone I suggest you own in standard mixed leagues, so if he's not pitching well lately, feel free to send him packing.

As for the adds, it seems fantasy owners are willing to give second chances this last week. Or, in some cases, the third or fourth chance.

Gordon Beckham, 2B (73 percent owned, +29 percent): Beckham started to hit in the middle of May, and in his last 88 plate appearances, has a line of .274/.287/.512. That's... well, it's something. The power is nice, especially for a second baseman, but if you think Beckham is going to hit six homers every three-plus weeks, I'm not sure you get the whole baseball thing. He has eight homers on the season, which is nice, but he averaged just 14 per 162 games in the three seasons prior, so don't expect this to keep up as it has.

There's also the whole matter of Beckham hitting just .228/.280/.391 on the season despite his recent success, and his .239/.302/.362 line from 2010 through the present. He's young, but not that young, and a month isn't about to change my mind on what you can expect from him. Beckham runs hot and cold pretty often, and he gives you more than a splash of the latter right about the time you get excited. If you're desperate and he's available, he's worth a shot, I guess, but you'll likely be looking for another keystoner in a few weeks.

Wilin Rosario, C (48 percent owned, +20 percent): Let's keep this brief, as Rosario got some love last week. He's still starting while Colorado's regular catcher is on the disabled list, and that means he's playing in Coors, and hitting for power. That's about all you need from a backstop, even if he won't start forever.

Francisco Liriano, SP (54 percent owned, +18 percent): You are braver than I if you've dipped your toes back into this particular pool. Exiled to the bullpen after an atrocious run of starts, Liriano has strung together an impressive 12 innings in his two starts since his return to the rotation, striking out 17, walking just three, and allowing all of one run. He faced the A's and the Royals, though, so it wasn't exactly the top offenses to test his stuff against, but you have to be impressed regardless.

That being said, Liriano was absolutely brutal before, and a lot of it had to do with his pitches losing velocity and the movement they needed to succeed. If you're in need of another starter, the helpful version of Liriano is a good thing to have as insurance. But given his 5.44 ERA over his last 180-1/3 innings, dating back to the start of 2011, you can't exactly guarantee that's just what you have. Even if he just dominated two opponents in a row. Positive thinking might not be enough here, but I can't fault you for snagging him while he's on the waiver wire.

Justin Smoak, 1B (66 percent owned, +17 percent): Smoak was covered in this space on Wednesday, and, like Liriano, he's burned us all before, so sometimes it's tough to be excited about his successes. That being said, there's a lot of talent here, and people might not fight you for him in FAAB because of his past problems. He's been real good the last month, and since he hasn't toyed with me in the same way Beckham has, I'm still dense enough to give him a shot.

Quintin Berry, CF (24 percent owned, +17 percent): It was mentioned last week that Berry, while up for Austin Jackson, would likely see more playing time should Andy Dirks continue to miss time. Both of these things have come to pass, so now Berry is picking up in popularity. He's probably not going to help you much offensively in the long run, but he will steal bases when he does get on, and that could mean something to an outfield beset by injuries.

AL-only

Vladimir Guerrero, DH (6 percent owned, +2 percent): Vlad might not have much left in the tank, but in a park that likes its hitters, in AL-only leagues, it's worth the shot to see what he can do.

NL-only

Everth Cabrera, SS (9 percent owned, +3 percent): Afraid you'll miss out on Andrelton Simmons, whose call to the bigs made much more noise? Cabrera isn't about to set your numbers on fire as a shortstop playing home games at Petco, but he should be able to steal you some bases. If you're desperate for middle infield help, sometimes, that's enough.