Just because a guy is on fire doesn’t mean he should be on your roster. Case in point this week is Seattle’s Raul Ibanez. Over his last six games he has posted a .308-5-5-11 line over 26 at-bats. To put that into perspective those five homers are more than guys like Adrian Gonzalez, Jay Bruce, B.J. Upton and Matt Kemp have hit for the entire season.

That production is something most would jump to grab, but you need to take some things into consideration before doing so. For starters Ibanez is 40. At his age we aren’t talking a career renaissance, we are talking reliving some old glory. The only thing his recent hot streak has afforded him is some additional playing time.

Seattle has a glut of outfield/first base/designated hitter types on their roster with guys like Jesus Montero, Justin Smoak, Michael Morse, Kendrys Morales, Michael Saunders, Jason Bay all battling with Ibanez to fill four slots a night. If you aren’t playing well, you aren’t going to see the lineup.

Ibanez only appeared in 21 of the teams first 38 games prior to his outbreak. That should be more than enough indication on what kind of usage he should expect once he falls back down to earth. All of you mixed leaguers out that don’t fall into this trap. Grab a guy off waivers that has the potential to help you for the rest of the season, not for another week or two.

** Percentage available taken from ESPN on Sunday May 19th 

  • Yasmani Grandal, C, SD (99.8%)

    His suspension for PED usage expires on May 28th, and he should resume his duties as the teams starting catcher immediately. Nick Hundley has faded after a strong start to the season leaving little doubt here as to the top man on the totem pole for the Padres. Many owners will shy away from a guy that took performance enhancers but just marinate on this. This kid walked in 31 of his 226 plate appearances last year and has always had an incredible eye at the plate. That will make him a strong player, not the extra few bombs the steroids would provide. This kid can play, pick him up.

  • Brandon Belt, 1B, SF (81.8%)

    If you were to ask me to list the five hottest players coming out of Spring Training this year, there is no doubt in my mind Belt would have made that list. Unfortunately for him it didn’t translate over into the regular season, as it took him until April 23rd to get his batting average above the Mendoza line. Since that time though he has shown some signs of life, hitting five homers and 15 RBIs while raising his average up to .241. What I like though is his strikeouts have dropped and walks have increased. He is settling in nicely with regular playing time and should continue to improve as the season progresses.

  • Neil Walker, 2B, PIT (42.6%)

    Walker has had a slow start since returning from the DL after suffering a deep cut that required stitches to his right index finger. Over his first 24 at-bats he has hit just .208 with three RBIs. When talking about guys who are solid hitters in the middle infield this guy always gets overlooked. We are talking about a guy who is a career .277 hitter over 1,820 plate appearances. He has spent a majority of his season hitting out of the five hole, so he stands a very legitimate at setting a career high in RBIs.

  • Eric Chavez, 3B, ARI (82.5%)

    Aaron Hill’s trip to the DL opened up regular playing time for the 35 year old Chavez and he has done nothing but hit since. Over his first 94 at-bats he has hit .330 with five homers and 18 RBIs. The fact that Hill will be returning in two or three weeks and Adam Eaton is just about ready as well means that this ride will come to an end. It won’t be a full stop though. Chavez has absolutely crushed righties, and should continue to see plenty of at-bats against them. Because of this he likely continues playing four games a week. That means he can provide value for any mixed league roster that doesn’t have solid corner infield options.

  • Stephen Drew, SS, BOS (86.8%)

    Drew hit .154 with 17 strikeouts in April, making him quickly become an afterthought in the world of fantasy. The turn of the calendar to May though seems to have reversed his fortunes as he has hit .321 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 15 games. The Red Sox took a chance on Drew after he battled two consecutive injury riddle seasons. He looks poised to prove it was a wise decision. While he isn’t going to erupt for 25-plus homers and a .300 average he is fully capable of hitting .275 and flirting with 20. That makes him worthy of ownership in mixed leagues.

  • Dayan Viciedo, OF, CHW (58.9%)

    Viciedo is another guy who has been white hot since his return from the DL, hitting .375 with two homers and seven RBIs over 32 at-bats. As a 23 year old last season he hit .255 with 25 homers and 78 RBIs. Heading into drafts this year I loved this kid for his ability to at the very least improve on those power totals. Missing 16 games put a damper on those expectations. I do however think he is fully capable of hitting 20 homers from here on out. That makes him a fourth outfielder on just about any fantasy squad.

  • Jon Jay, OF, STL (45.7%)

    Those of you out there in need of a guy who can hit for average, feel free to look no further. Jay is a career .297 hitter over 1,328 at-bats. If you are looking for an added bonus, there are signs pointing to him also developing his power stroke. No this guy isn’t going to break out and hit 30, but he can definitely hit 15 while also racking up runs and RBIs for what I believe is the leagues best offense.

  • Matt Garza, SP, CHC (64.9%)

    Garza strained his lat back in February and is set to come of the DL on Tuesday and low and behold will get two starts in his first week back. Prior to a stress reaction that ended his season last year he was really starting to emerge as a dependable fantasy option. Getting your hands on a pitcher with the ability to post a K/9 ratio close to 9.0 while keeping his ERA under 4.00 you need to do so. Garza may be a little on the risky side because he has had trouble staying healthy over the last year, but the reward outweighs the risk here folks.

  • Ubaldo Jimenez, SP, CLE (68.2%)

    Yes I am recommending the same guy that posted a career worst 5.40 ERA and 1.61 WHIP last season and followed it up this season by giving up 19 earned runs over his first four starts. Since that point he looks to have righted the ship though, compiling a 1.90 ERA and striking out 29 over his last four starts, a span of 23.2 innings. His overall 5.31 ERA isn’t a number that is going to win fantasy owners over, but isn’t indicative of just how well he has being throwing the ball lately. His up and down nature over the last couple of seasons makes me want to see a bit more from him before considering him a regular in my rotation, but his four game start hot stretch definitely makes him a guy with picking up and holding onto if his is available in your league.

  • Andrew Bailey, RP, BOS (18.6%)

    Bailey is all healed up and will be rejoining the Red Sox bullpen on Monday. He will immediately be re-inserted into the role of closer, relegating Junichi Tazawa back to a set-up role. Prior to his injury Bailey was off to a fine start, racking up four holds prior to taking over the closer role and following that up with five saves. Barring another injury Bailey looks primed for a career season. Opponents are hitting a paltry .140 against him and he is striking out 42.6 percent of the batters he has faced.  Boston should be in the thick of plenty of games this season so I wouldn’t rule Bailey closing out 25 more games before the season comes to an end.

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