Atomic RoadRunners

FAAB Acquisitions:

• RP Joel Hanrahan, Pirates ($0 FAAB) – Add to Actives

Up:

• 3B Chase Headley
• RP Drew Storen
• SP Randy Wells

Down:

• 3B Casey Blake
• RP Sam Demel
• SP Chris Volstad
• SP John Ely

Cut:

• SS Danny Espinosa

Notes:

• No other bidders on Hanrahan, who joins the Roadrunners for the first time in his career, though he was tracked from Los Angeles to Washington and now to Pittsburgh. He’s a hedge for saves, with the expectation that Pirates closer Octavio Dotel will be dealt in the coming weeks.
• Update (7/7): The Marlins demoted Chris Volstad to AAA New Orleans after Tuesday night’s rough start.
• All-Star Teams were announced this weekend, and the Roadrunners have six on the roster.
  • SP Josh Johnson
  • 2B Brandon Phillips
  • SS Troy Tulowitzki (injured, will not participate)
  • UT Omar Infante (really? This selection universally panned)
  • OF Marlon Byrd
  • OF Matt Holliday

FAAB Acquisitions:

• 2B Jonathan Herrera, Rockies ($6 FAAB), Reserve
• SS Danny Espinosa, Nationals ($0 FAAB), Reserve

Up:

• 3B Casey Blake
• SS Omar Infante
• SP Randy Wells

Down:

• 3B Chase Headley
• SS Troy Tulowitzki
• SP Chris Volstad

Cut:

• C Jason Jaramillo
• RP Jose Contreras

Notes:

• On Friday, June 18th, the Rockies placed SS Troy Tulowitzki on the 15-Day Disabled List with a broken hammate bone in his left wrist, courtesy of a plunking by Twins pitcher Alex Burnett.  Surgery won’t be necessary, but Tulo will be out 6-8 weeks, and will likely take another six weeks to regain his power stroke.
• The Roadrunners bid $5 on young Padres OF Aaron Cunningham, but were out-bid by Get Off Kong!, who got him for $7.

According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates will call up prospect right-hander Brad Lincoln and outfielder Jose Tabata before Wednesday’s game against the Nationals. Lincoln was widely expected to make his major league debut on Wednesday, but the promotion of Tabata comes as a minor surprise. The 21-year-old outfielder is batting .308/.373/.424 with three home runs, 19 RBI and 25 stolen bases in 224 at-bats with Triple-A Indianapolis this season. The Pirates will likely give plenty of playing time to Tabata, making the supposed 21 year-old a worthy fantasy pickup right off the bat. We’re still eagerly awaiting Pedro Alvarez’s debut, but the two are a nice infusion of youth for a team that was dominated by Stephen Strasburg on Tuesday night. (Rotoworld)

Casey Blake was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in his return to the starting lineup against the Cardinals on Tuesday night. Blake missed the last five games due to back spasms. (Rotoworld)

Chris Volstad allowed six runs — five earned — over four innings in a loss to the Phillies on Tuesday. The Phillies offense was on and Volstad just wasn’t up to the task, allowing eight hits, including two homers. He didn’t help his own cause by walking three and striking out just two. Volstad does struggle with consistency, but has big upside. There was a chance that the line might have been much uglier for Volstad, as he left three men on base when he exited, and only one of those runners scored. He allowed two home runs in the contest for his first mulit-home run performance since April 25 when he pitched at Coors Field. He has gone more than a month without a win (May 7). In other words, he’s a matchup starter in mixed leagues. Against Tampa Bay this weekend, you’re going to have to have a strong stomach to use him. (Rotoworld)

Omar Infante went 3-for-5 with a steal in the Braves’ win over the Diamondbacks Tuesday. He got to start at second with Martin Prado nursing a finger injury, but the regular is expected to return Wednesday. Infante might be hard-up for playing time now that Chipper Jones has returned to third base. (Rotowire)

Brandon Phillips went 3-for-4 with a double in the Reds’ loss to the Giants Tuesday. He picked up three hits against a gem-ing Matt Cain, but he was caught stealing for the sixth time this year. (Rotowire)

The Padres moved Chase Headley to the No. 2 spot in the lineup Tuesday, the team’s official site reports. Manager Bud Black wanted to move David Eckstein into the leadoff spot, which prompted him to move Headley into the now-vacant two-hole. Headley will now bat ahead of Adrian Gonzalez instead of behind him. (Rotowire)

Aroldis Chapman had his worst outing as a pro on Monday, giving up seven runs on six hits and six walks with one strikeout in just two-plus innings, the Reds’ official site reports. Chapman’s walk-rate was already a concern before this outing, and it should help slow down the cries to call him up. He’s got a 61:34 K:BB in 54.2 innings. (Rotowire)

FAAB Acquisitions:

• RP Jose Contreras, Phillies ($42 bid), Add to Actives
• SP John Ely, Dodgers ($5 bid), Add to Actives
• OF Roger Bernadina ($2 bid), Add to Actives

Up:

• UT Cristian Guzman

Move:

• 3B Chase Headley

Down:

• 3B Casey Blake
• RP Tyler Clippard
• OF Jody Gerut

Cut:

• OF Matt Diaz
• RP Juan Gutierrez
• RP LaTroy Hawkins

Notes:

• Contreras was a possible draft-day target, but slipped of f the charts with Ryan Madson (protected) and Brad Lidge (drafted). Now with both on the DL (Madson until July, Lidge uncertain), Contreras is the man, and I need saves.  Only other bids: Shoeless Jews ($13)
• Both X-Men and Misogynistic Padres put in $0 bids on Ely
• Goodfellas bid $0 on Bernadina
• My contingency bid for Bernadina was for Mets OF Chris Carter.  Since I got Bernadina, he went to X-Men for a $0 bid.
• Shoeless Jews picked up former Roadrunner Takashi Saito for a $0 bid, whom I released last week
• OF Matt Diaz was placed on the 15-Day DL on Saturday (May 15th) with an injured and infected thumb.
• RP LaTroy Hawkins has been on the 15-Day DL for over a week, with no update on his status.
• The Washington Nationals promoted RP Drew Storen from AAA to the major-league squad.
• In the process of calling up Storen, former Roadrunner Brian Bruney was designated for assignment Sunday (May 16th)
• Former Roadrunner Willy Taveras was designated for assignment on Monday (May 17th).

Padres 3B/LF Chase Headley went 1 for 3 on Sunday with an RBI and a walk in the 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks. In the seventh inning Headley doubled into the left-center gap to bring in Jerry Hairston Jr. and Adrian Gonzalez for a 4-2 lead. Headley took third when shortstop Tony Abreu went to throw home and ended up spiking the ball into the dirt, with it dribbling away for an error. With no one covering home, Headley scored. “Coming around second I thought there might be a play at the plate so I’m going to keep going, and if they cut it and try get me out, at least the run scores,” said Headley, who’s hit safely in 11 of 12 games. “I don’t know if he saw me and kind of didn’t know what to do or if the runner was going to score and he wanted to hold onto it and he just spiked it. Fortunately there was no one there so I kept going.” Headley has been on fire to start the 2010 campaign. He is now batting .375 with seven RBI so far. He looks to be a lot lore comfortable playing his natural position of third base this year. Fantasy owners in NL-only leagues should keep an eye on him if he continues to hit well. (CBS Sports)

Batting cleanup, Chase Headley hit a walkoff three-run homer following an intentional walk to Adrian Gonzalez in Friday’s game against the Diamondbacks. Walking Gonzalez was a no-brainer with two outs and the winning run on second in the bottom of the ninth, but Headley made Arizona pay with his first homer of the season. He’s hitting .381 to begin the season, but he had just two RBI in 41 at-bats before going deep tonight. (Rotoworld)

3B Chase Headley is batting .448 after going 2-for-4 Monday. He has hit safely in all seven games this season, and he has five multi-hit games. Headley is well-positioned for a career year and the hot start makes him a candidate to use in deeper mixed leagues at this point. He might even be a candidate to go .280-20-90-75 this season, with outfield and third base eligibility to boot. (CBS Sports)

Padres 3B Chase Headley went 2 for 4 including a double in Sunday’s loss to the Rockies. He now has 11 hits in six games played. Headley scored one of the Padres two runs in the sixth on an RBI single by Will Venable. His other hit came in the second when he led off the inning with a single. Headley is now batting .440 on the season. Looks like the Padres knew what they were doing when they traded Kevin Kouzmanoff this offseason so Headley could play at third base everyday. He still has a lot of work to do though, and remains just an option in deeper mixed leagues for the time being. (CBS Sports)

Padres 3B Chase Headley went 3 for 5 with two walks and a run scored in Saturday’s win over the Rockies. Headley is hitting a monster .429 so far this season and maybe he’s finally ready to live up to his lofty potential in his second full MLB campaign. He still has a lot of work to do though, and remains just an option in deeper mixed leagues for the time being. (CBS Sports)

Chase Headley went 1-for-3 on Friday against Colorado and is hitting .375 to begin the season. He’s added three runs, an RBI, a stolen base and has a hit in all four Padres’ games. In addition, he’s been stellar in the field thus far and, at 25, could be entering his prime. (Rotoworld)

3B Chase Headley had his second straight two-hit game in a 6-3 San Diego win over Arizona on Tuesday night. The former outfielder stole his first base of the season, but he also committed his second error in two games. Headley hit a career-high 12 homers last year, but he hasn’t come close to meeting his potential, especially in the power department. Despite his current defensive headaches, the move back to his natural position could relax him at the plate. Playing in PETCO Park doesn’t help his chances, but he’s worth drafting in NL-only leagues for when he plays on the road, if nothing else. (CBS Sports)

Padres OF Chase Headley’s two-out RBI single in the seventh inning of Monday’s opener against the Diamondbacks ended Dan Haren’s shutout bid. Headley, who also doubled, finished 2 for 4. Headley was a RBI machine for San Diego during the spring, as he rolled up 23 RBI in 21 games. It looks as though he doesn’t want to slow down now that the season has begun. That is great news for Fantasy owners. Headley hasn’t quite lived up to his billing as a potential Fantasy stud since making his debut in 2007. But he is making progress and 2010 could be his breakout campaign. Headley is more of a NL-only Fantasy option to begin the season, but owners in mixed leagues definitely should keep tabs on this burgeoning talent. (CBS Sports)

Chase Headley homered and doubled Wednesday as the Padres and Royals played to an 8-8 tie. Headley is up to .323/.397/.554 and he’s driven in a whopping 23 RBI in 65 at-bats. Of course, Petco Park will really cut into his RBI chances, but he will be hitting Adrian Gonzalez. Since Gonzalez will be pitched around so often, he might just lead the Padres in RBI.

Chase Headley feels the trade of Kevin Kouzmanoff will help his progress this season, the Padres official site reports. Headley feels the move back to the infield, his natural position, will ease his mind and allow him to focus on what he knows best. “I think it’s gone well. From the first day of spring, he’s worked hard at it. In the games he hasn’t had many chances early,” Third base coach Glenn Hoffman said. “I’ve been pleased with his footwork. He’s been working on it a lot. The throwing mechanics will follow.” We like Headley’s prospects for this season and should be widely considered in most deeper formats. (Rotowire)

Chase Headley went 1-for-4 with two RBIs on Monday against Arizona. Just an FYI. Headley hit fourth in the Padres order, behind Kyle Blanks and knocked in half of San Diego’s output for the day. It’s interesting to note that Headley is projected to hit fifth, while Blanks is due to hit in front of him; giving Adrian Gonzalez some level of protection. (Rotowire)