BRIAN MCCANN
Atlanta Braves, C
Stats: .500 AVG, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 3 R
Comment: With a 4-RBI night against Padres right before the Break, fantasy owners can only hope he keeps it up in second-half.
GARY SHEFFIELD
Detroit Tigers, OF
Stats: .412 AVG, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 R, 3 SB
Comment: Sheff is on pace to steal 20 bases for the first time since 1998, when he had 22 swiped bags with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
JIM THOME
Chicago White Sox, UTIL
Stats: .385 AVG, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 R
Comment: Passed Frank Robinson on Friday to move to 21st place on the all-time walks list.
ERIK BEDARD
Baltimore Orioles, SP
Stats: 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.438 WHIP, 22 SO
Comment: Bedard is 4-0 in his last five starts and is leading the AL in strikeouts with 156.
TIM HUDSON
Atlanta Braves, SP
Stats: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.857 WHIP, 4 SO
Comment: Opened up second-half with a 7-inning, shutout performance against Pirates to inch closer to first place in NL East.
CARLOS ZAMBRANO
Chicago Cubs, SP
Stats: 1-0, 1.98 ERA, 0.951 WHIP, 12 SO
Comment: He's dialed in and should be one of the elite starters for the second-half of the season.
CARL CRAWFORD
Tampa Bay Devil Rays, OF
Stats: .091 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3 R, 2 SB
Comment: Fantasy owners are enjoying the steals, but they are still expecting more from a guy who was likely taken in the first round of most drafts.
MATT HOLLIDAY
Colorado Rockies, OF
Stats: .077 AVG, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R
Comment: Solo homer in Friday's game against Brewers is the only hit he has garnered in his past 13 at-bats.
ICHIRO SUZUKI
Seattle Mariners, OF
Stats: .222 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 R
Comment: Now that he's got his contact, are the stats going to take a hit? Probably not. But when Ichiro isn't hitting, he's very damaging to fantasy squads.
CHRIS CAPUANO
Milwaukee Brewers, SP
Stats: 0-0, 12.96 ERA, 2.400 WHIP, 7 SO
Comment: Some can chalk this up to rust (still fresh off DL), but he has a 7.74 ERA in his last nine starts.
SHAUN MARCUM
Toronto Blue Jays, SP
Stats: 1-0, 10.61 ERA, 1.93 WHIP, 8 SO
Comment: With 11 ER in his last two starts — and while he did get the win on Friday against Boston — Marcum is starting to reveal himself as an inconsistent fantasy option.
DONTRELLE WILLIS
Florida Marlins, SP
Stats: 0-1, 7.36 ERA, 3.00 WHIP, 0 SO
Comment: His stock continues to plummet as he suffers a brutal loss to the Washington Nationals. He is not too far away from being a drop candidate.
JOHN BUCK
Kansas City Royals, C
Comment: Faces tough opponents in Red Sox and Tigers pitching, but his road batting average is almost 100 points higher than his home average this season.
RONNY PAULINO
Pittsburgh Pirates, C
Comment: We all know he is struggling this season, but his lifetime averages against Colorado (.444 in 6 games) and Houston (.319 in 18 games) are impressive.
NOMAR GARCIAPARRA
Los Angeles Dodgers, 1B
Comment: Mr. Mia Hamm has had a tough time at the plate this season, but his career averages against the Mets (.302) and Phillies (.333) indicate a possible breakout.
TODD HELTON
Colorado Rockies, 1B
Comment: On the road this week, but has owned the Pirates (.367) and Nationals (.400) in his career.
ROBINSON CANO
New York Yankees, 2B
Comment: Although he has struggled some this season, Cano has at least enjoyed seeing the Devil Rays (.375) and Blue Jays (.333) in 2007.
PLACIDO POLANCO
Detroit Tigers, 2B
Comment: Polanco's back seems fine and has hit at a superb career-clip against both the Twins (.366) and Royals (.332) while scoring 72 runs in 85 games against both clubs.
RAFAEL FURCAL
Los Angeles Dodgers, SS
Comment: Is hitting .311 at home, where he has 8 stolen bases this season.
J.J. HARDY
Milwaukee Brewers, SS
Comment: He may have slowed down from his torrid start, but Hardy is still batting over .320 at home this season, where he'll face the Diamondbacks and Giants.
RYAN BRAUN
Milwaukee Brewers, 3B
Comment: Owns .400 average against Giants this season. And although he has yet to see the Diamondbacks, Braun has been a strong player for fantasy owners.
MIKE LOWELL
Boston Red Sox, 3B
Comment: Plays all his games at home this week, which is fine with Lowell. He is hitting over .370 at Fenway Park this season.
JASON BAY
Pittsburgh Pirates, OF
Comment: Was a bust in the First Half, but should have a huge week against the Rockies (.391 career) and Astros (.309 career).
NICK MARKAKIS
Baltimore Orioles, OF
Comment: Had a strong Second Half last season and is batting .306 on the road this season with 27 RBI and 6 SBs.
JUAN PIERRE
Los Angeles Dodgers, OF
Comment: Has excelled in his career against the Mets (.312, 35 SB in 81 games) and Phillies (.310, 34 SB in 79 games).
REGGIE WILLITS
Los Angeles Angels, OF
Comment: This road warrior owns .319 AVG, 8 SB, 20 R away from Anaheim. Pleasant surprise this season.
MATT CAIN
San Francisco Giants, SP
Comment: Has been terrific on the road this season with a 2.83 ERA away from AT&T Park.
TIM LINCECUM
San Francisco Giants, SP
Comment: Although he is going against two pretty good NL offenses in the Brewers and Cubs, Lincecum has been filthy in his last three starts (2 W, 1.35 ERA, 25 K).
IAN SNELL
Pittsburgh Pirates, SP
Comment: Not only does he have a 2.45 ERA against the Rockies, he is 6-2 at home this season with a 2.40 ERA.
CHIEN-MING WANG
New York Yankees, SP
Comment: Has never lost to the Blue Jays and has looked like a Cy Young candidate at times this season.
JASON KENDALL
Oakland Athletics, C
Comment: Piazza is ready to steal at-bats upon his return from the DL. This home-stand won't help with Kendall hitting a measly .196 in Oakland home games in 2007.
GERALD LAIRD
Texas Rangers, C
Comment: Has the misfortune of facing aces Dan Haren and C.C. Sabathia back-to-back.
JUSTIN MORNEAU
Minnesota Twins, 1B
Comment: Reigning AL MVP has a terrible track record against Detroit hurlers Nate Robertson and Jeremy Bonderman. His career average against the Angels (.213) is poor as well.
KEVIN YOUKILIS
Boston Red Sox, 1B
Comment: Ailing hamstring isn't going to help his career average against the White Sox (.152) and Royals (.217).
KELLY JOHNSON
Atlanta Braves, 2B
Comment: Week-long home-stand against lowly Cardinals and Reds should be a welcome sight, except Johnson's home average hovers just above Mendoza line at Turner.
RICKIE WEEKS
Milwaukee Brewers, 2B
Comment: Weeks' season has been a mess so far, so don't expect anything from him this week either. He has just one homer at home this season.
JASON BARTLETT
Minnesota Twins, SS
Comment: Popular speed source is atrocious for his career against the Tigers (.221) and Angels (.105).
STEPHEN DREW
Arizona Diamondbacks, SS
Comment: Once a fantasy sleeper; now a fantasy bum. Just one homer with 38 strikeouts and a .236 average on the road this year.
TROY GLAUS
Toronto Blue Jays, 3B
Comment: That foot is really bothering him and he has career averages under .250 against both the Yankees and Mariners.
ALEX GORDON
Kansas City Royals, 3B
Comment: Would be wise to bench the rookie during a road trip against the pitching-deep Red Sox and Tigers.
BARRY BONDS
San Francisco Giants, OF
Comment: Has only one career hit against scheduled Cubs hurlers Rich Hill, Carlos Zambrano and Sean Marshall. Went just 1-for-6 in series against Brewers earlier in 2007.
J.D. DREW
Boston Red Sox, OF
Comment: In a nutshell, the guy has been a let-down for Boston this year and June was his only productive month.
ADAM DUNN
Cincinnati Reds, OF
Comment: Is actually hitting .294 at home this year. Too bad he's on the road this week, where he's been flirting with Senor Mendoza all season.
SHAWN GREEN
New York Mets, OF
Comment: Just 2 homers on the road this season. He'll see some good pitching from the Padres and Dodgers.
JEREMY BONDERMAN
Detroit Tigers, SP
Comment: Historically inept against the Tigers for his career (2-5, 5.75 ERA), especially at the Metrodome, where he sports a 6.86 ERA.
KELVIM ESCOBAR
Los Angeles Angels, SP
Comment: Devil Rays tend to hit him around a lot, especially at Tropicana Field, where Escobar is 2-5 with an 8.60 ERA.
JEFF FRANCIS
Colorado Rockies, SP
Comment: Runs into the Pirates this week whom he has fared poorly against in the past (8.02 ERA).
BRAD PENNY
Los Angeles Dodgers, SP
Comment: The poster-boy for Second-Half slumps faces the Mets, whom he is 4-10 against with a 5.82 ERA.
Starbonell is UPDATE! Major League Baseball Editor.
