Batting Cleanup

Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson is currently penciled into the number four spot on a nightly basis, and he is probably flying a little under the radar in a bunch of leagues at this moment.

His 29/23 BB/K ratio led me to believe that his .216 batting average was somewhat of a fluke. Researching Nick Johnson a little more, I found that he is having a some early season troubles getting into the rhythm against southpaws right now. But as you can tell from looking at his career splits, this will hopefully correct itself in the near future. Its a good time to buy low on Nick Johnson.

White Sox slugger, Jim Thome finds himself in San Fransisco next weekend as interleague play gets underway. Don't be fooled by the stories of Thome taking ground balls at first and start thinking it could happen. Heck even if Jim Thome did find a way to make it onto web gems, he is facing off against a string of three lefties and then Matt Cain, so you would be safe in sitting Thome down this week I would think. Also if were looking to trade for Jim Thome's services, right after that San Fransisco road trip would probably be your best time to buy low, and you can reach me at wrveres@yahoo.com. :)

Thome vs. Adenhart (R) - Weaver (R) - Garland (R) - Saunders (L) - Sanchez (L) - Zito (L) - Cain (R)

padres manager Bud Black has been penciling Kevin Kouzmanoffs name into number four spot fairly regularly this season. Some would argue thats why the padres have struggled, but not me. Kouzmanoff's bat is starting to heat up again over the last few weeks. Don't forget, after his horrible April in 2007, the thridbaseman hit over .300 in the final five months.

It is quite possible that Kouzmanoff just ends up being one of those kids that sucks in April. Ya never know.

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit has found himself a home hitting cleanup.over the last couple weeks, and while Doumit is currently smacking the ball around to the tune of .340, and is on pace for 24 HR's, I would expect his numbers to fall back in line with his career norms. Dare I say sell high? He still makes for great value at catcher though, so make sure you get great value back.