Atomic RoadRunners

Marlins SP Josh Johnson, who had Tommy John surgery last August, made his first rehab start Saturday, allowing two runs on eight hits and striking out seven in five innings for Class A Greensboro. He’s expected to make his next rehab start for Class A Jupiter. Johnson wasn’t expected back until September or so, but if he can get through a month of rehab without any trouble, he could be back in Florida next month. He is a top prospect and a DL stashee for all leagues where you can afford to wait until his return. There will be plenty reports on his progress in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. (CBS Sports)

Brewers SP Seth McClung continued his resurgence as a starter, lifting the Brewers to a 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday. McClung (4-3) continued his superb turnaround since leaving the long relief role in the bullpen, scattering two runs and four hits, including a solo home run by Jason Kubel. He didn’t issue a walk and struck out four. The righty nicknamed “Chucky” after the horror movie character has pitched six innings in each of his last three starts, giving up a total of five earned runs with 13 strikeouts against just one walk. “My mechanics have always been fine, it’s just mentally, a mindset of just really not trying to overthrow that’s gotten me where I am right now,” said McClung, who was once a top-rated prospect in the Tampa Bay system before injuries and inconsistency eventually led the organization to trade him last season. McClung has done well with the Brewers, but we still like him more just as a NL-only Fantasy option. His next scheduled start is for Saturday against the Orioles. (CBS Sports)

Charlie Morton won in his major league debut, leading the Atlanta Braves to a 9-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night. Morton, whose contract was purchased from the Braves’ Triple-A Richmond club earlier in the day, allowed three runs and five hits in six innings with four strikeouts and a walk. The 24-year-old right-hander is the ninth pitcher to start a game for the Braves, who have John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Mike Hampton on the disabled list. A third-round pick in the 2002 draft, Morton threw 64 of his 104 pitches for strikes. He was 5-2 with a 2.05 ERA in his first season at Triple-A and didn’t allow a home run in his 79 innings. He now finds himself in a contender’s rotation and is a must-add in all NL-only leagues and long-term keeper leagues at this point. His numbers suggest he can help in mixed leagues as well. His next start is slated for Thursday afternoon at Texas. (CBS Sports)

Manny Acosta was torched in multiple recent outings, and tied with the upcoming return of Mike Gonzalez, makes Acosta a candidate to be cut from the Roadrunners. Acosta pitched in Wednesday’s loss to the Florida Marlins and gave up four hits and four runs on two homers in 1/3 of an inning picking up a blown save and a loss. Acosta’s inexperience makes him less likely to remain a closer over the long haul, so he might need an injury to Soriano and a failure to return by Gonzalez for him to be a full-time closer. As a reliever, Acosta has enough potential to be useful in any league that uses true middle men, though. (CBS Sports)

Doug Brocail never pitched for the Roadrunners, having been picked up just last week. While hardly a fair shake, he became a victim of a roster crunch with new acquisitions. Brocail looks like the fallback option for Jose Valverde, but Houston won’t use him to close games very often. Leave him for deeper NL-only leagues that require the use of true middle men. (CBS Sports)

Greg Reynolds began to show his inexperience by getting shelled in recent outings. If Reynolds couldn’t bring his A-game for his start against the Giants with personal ties, he probably won’t be able to on a regular night. The former No. 2 pick in the first-year player draft has just been too inconsistent in 2008. Colorado will probably look for starts elsewhere in the coming weeks making Reynolds only a viable option in keeper leagues and NL-only Fantasy formats. (CBS sports)

FAAB Acquisitions:

• P Charlie Morton, Braves [$9 bid, add to actives]
• P Seth McClung, Brewers [$6 bid, add to actives]
• P Josh Johnson, Marlins [$0 bid]

Up:

• 3B/OF Chase Headley (to Utility)
• OF John Bowker
• P Jorge Campillo
• P Mike Gonzalez

Down:

• P Jason Marquis
• P Carlos Villanueva
• P Todd Wellemeyer
• P Jason Bergmann
• OF Ryan Spilborghs
• 3B Blake DeWitt

Cut:

• P Manny Acosta
• P Greg Reynolds
• P Doug Brocail

Tigers DH Marcus Thames haunted Giants SP Tim Lincecum on Monday, but the right-hander managed to escape taking a 4-3 loss as San Francisco rallied for a 8-6 win. Lincecum allowed four runs and five hits in seven innings. Two of those hits were homers by Thames, who made it a career-best four straight games with a homer when he connected for a two-out solo shot in the second that was the first hit of the night off Lincecum. Thames then hit a two-run homer in the fourth off Lincecum, who hadn’t allowed a home run in six starts and 42 2/3 innings since the Phillies hit two off him on May 10. The righty walked three and struck out three. Lincecum, who has won four straight decisions, escaped his first loss since April 29 against Colorado. He allowed more than three earned runs for the first time in 20 starts since Aug. 11 last year against Pittsburgh. Now that’s impressive. Lincecum has managed to win eight games even for the lowly Giants, making him look like nothing less than a Fantasy ace in his first full big-league season. Continue to start him in all leagues. His next start is scheduled for Sunday against the Royals. (CBS Sports)

John Bowker went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer as the Giants defeated the Tigers on Monday night. The homer put the Giants ahead late in the game, and Bowker finished with two runs scored. Bowker had a brutal April, picked things up a bit in May, and is now batting .350 with three homers in June, raising his average to .273 on the season. He has 7 homers and 28 RBI in just 161 at-bats so far this year. Bowker has proven to be a streaky performer in his young career and he is clearly ready to pop off right now. Consider him a sleeper in deeper leagues, especially NL-only formats. He has pop in his bat and some versatility with first base and outfield eligibility. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

John Bowker went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer as the Giants defeated the Tigers on Monday night. The homer put the Giants ahead late in the game, and Bowker finished with two runs scored. Bowker had a brutal April, picked things up a bit in May, and is now batting .350 with three homers in June, raising his average to .273 on the season. He has 7 homers and 28 RBI in just 161 at-bats so far this year. Bowker has proven to be a streaky performer in his young career and he is clearly ready to pop off right now. Consider him a sleeper in deeper leagues, especially NL-only formats. He has pop in his bat and some versatility with first base and outfield eligibility. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Giants RP Brian Wilson entered Monday’s game against the Tigers in a non-save situation in the ninth inning, but almost turned it into a save situation for another pitcher. Wilson was pitching with a 8-4 lead and loaded the bases with one out. He struck out Edgar Renteria before Curtis Granderson slapped a two-run single into left. Wilson worked out of trouble by getting Placido Polanco to ground out to end the game. Wilson allowed three hits, two runs and one walk while striking out two. Wilson had managed nine straight scoreless appearances before Monday’s outing. He has a 4.40 ERA, but still leads the NL with 19 saves. Even with the Giants’ suspect offense, Wilson might have a chance for a good number of saves the rest of the way. Use him as a No. 2 Fantasy RP. (CBS Sports)

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
 1   Atomic Roadrunners  39.0    39.0     78.0  -3.5 0.0
 2   Shoeless Jews       31.0    33.0     64.0  0.5  14.0
 3   X-Men               18.5    39.0     57.5  0.5  20.5
 4   The Pi Train        28.5    28.5     57.0  -4.0 21.0
 5   Goodfellas          33.0    23.5     56.5  4.0  21.5
 6   Stanimals           38.0    17.5     55.5  2.5  22.5
 7   Misogynistic Padres 28.0    26.0     54.0  -1.5 24.0
 8   Uncle Lester        10.0    37.0     47.0  1.0  31.0
 9   Get Off Kong!       26.0    20.5     46.5  0.5  31.5
 10  Cover Zero          23.0    11.0     34.0  0.0  44.0

Yesterday's Stats

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (6/16/08)
Player                        BA HR R RBI   SB
------------------------- ------ -- - --- ----
Blanco, Gregor M. OF ATL  0.5000  0 0   0    0
Coste, Chris C PHI        0.0000  0 0   0    0
DeWitt, Blake 3B LA       0.0000  0 0   0    0
Fielder, Prince 1B MIL    0.0000  0 0   0    0
Gerut, Jody RF SD         0.0000  0 0   0    0
Hart, Corey C. RF MIL     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Iannetta, Chris C COL     0.0000  0 1   0    0
Jones, Chipper 3B ATL     0.5000  0 1   2    0
Phillips, Brandon 2B CIN  0.0000  0 0   0    0
Reyes, Jose B. SS NYM     0.5000  0 3   0    1
Spilborghs, Ryan CF COL   0.0000  0 0   0    0
Teixeira, Mark 1B ATL     0.0000  0 0   1    0
Theriot, Ryan SS CHC      0.0000  0 0   0    0
Victorino, Shane CF PHI   0.5000  0 1   0    0

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (6/16/08)
Player                       ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------- ------ -- - --- ----
Lincecum, Tim SP SF         5.14  3 0   0 1.29
Wilson, Brian RP SF        18.00  2 0   0 4.00