Atomic RoadRunners | Andrew Flynn’s High-Energy Fantasy Baseball

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 is batting .313 (10-for-32) since the beginning of June. He’s had some success at the minor league level — batting .307 with 22 homers at Double-A Connecticut last year — and is worth keeping an eye on, especially when one considers he plays for a team that offers plenty of opportunity. (Rotowire)

John Bowker hit his first career grand slam Saturday off the Nationals’ Luis Ayala. Bowker hit three homers in his first six major league starts, but he entered tonight’s affair with just one in the last six weeks. Fortunately for him, the Giants haven’t come up with anyone better to replace him. He’s batting .248 in 137 at-bats. Bowker has homered in back-to-back games and is streaking right now. Consider him a solid option in Fantasy Week 11 (June 9-15) in NL-only leagues, especially since the Giants have seven games in the scoring period. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

FAAB Acquisitions:

• SP Jason Bergmann, Nationals [$2 bid, Add to Actives]
• SP Greg Reynolds, Rockies [$0 bid, Add to Actives]
• 2B Aaron Miles, Cardinals [$0 bid]

Up:

• P Carlos Villanueva
• OF Ryan Spilborghs

Down:

• OF John Bowker
• P Brett Myers
• P Reynel Pinto
• P Manny Acosta

Cut:

• P Nelson Figueroa
• P Chuck James
• OF Matt Murton

Note:

New acquisition Jason Bergmann was released by Misogynistic Padres on May 6th. He had originally been selected in the 4th Round of the 2008 WBRL Minor League draft (with $10 assigned salary).

Giants OF John Bowker had a sac fly and two-run double in four at-bats Thursday against the Astros. Bowker is 6-for-17 (.353) with one homer and five RBI in his last five games. Bowker tends to sit against left-handed pitchers, which limits his opportunities to help in Fantasy. His lack of upside makes him more of an NL-only option anyway. (CBS Sports)

John Bowker went 2-for-3 with an RBI in the Giants’ win Sunday. Bowker found himself on the bench for most of the past week, but that was because the Giants faced mostly left-handers. He’s still likely to get the majority of starts versus righties at first base. (Rotowire)

FAAB Acquisition:

• C Chris Coste, Phillies [$0 bid]

Up:

• OF John Bowker
• P Nelson Figueroa

Down:

• OF Andruw Jones
• P Duaner Sanchez

Cut:

• Javier Valentin, C, Cincinnati

Notes:

• Was outbid for re-signing Cubs P Jon Lieber. Cover Zero acquired him for $5 - I had bid $0. Lieber was added to the Cubs’ rotation, and promptly gave up 5 HR in his start. Probably for the best.
• Former Roadrunner Zach Duke was acquired by Misogynistic Padres for $4 FAAB.

Giants 1B John Bowker had one hit in seven games, then arrived in Philadelphia and found his stroke over the weekend. He hit safely in all three games and went 7-for-11, including 4-for-5 in the opener. In the process, Bowker raised his average from .193 to .250. Bowker got off to a smoking-hot start this season but cooled off significantly towards the end of April thanks to a 1-for-26 slump. Bowker has some pop in his bat, but the young 1B/OF will be a streaky option best left for the deepest of NL-only leagues at this point. (CBS Sports)

John Bowker had four singles on Friday to snap a 1-for-26 slump. He’s still without an RBI in 10 games, but that just makes him a typical Giant. Bowker’s average had slipped all the way to .193, so he needed this. Another bad week might have made him a candidate for demotion. (Rotoworld)

John Bowker went hitless on Tuesday and is in a 1-for-22 slump. Well, it wasn’t going to last forever. The Giants still have no reason not to play Bowker, but it his slump lasts a couple of more weeks, they could send him down and give Nate Schierholz a try. (Rotoworld)

FAAB Acquisitions:

• RP, Duaner Sanchez, Mets [$0 bid, active]

Up:

• Shane Victorino
• Andruw Jones

Down:

• Nelson Figueroa
• John Bowker
• Matt Murton

Cut:

• Zach Duke

Notes: I had also bid $0 on the Reds’ Jerry Hairston, Jr., and $0 on Cubs SS Ronny Cedeno.  I was outbid by Tom Ross of Get Off Kong! on both.  He won Hairston with a $4 bid, and Cedeno with a $13 bid.  Yikes.

Giants OF John Bowker played first base for the ninth time Sunday against the Reds. He went 0-for-4 at the plate, though, and has gone 1-for-18 over his last five games. Bowker got off to a hot start, hitting home runs in each of his first two games, but he’s batting only .224 now. Reserve him in all but deeper NL-only leagues. (CBS Sports)

John Bowker went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run during the Giants’ win over the Cardinals on Sunday. Bowker’s third career home run was off Cardinals SP Braden Looper Sunday to cap a six-run third inning. Bowker is 5-for-15 (.333) with three homers and nine RBI against St. Louis.Bowker was playing right field Sunday, but the Giants plan on giving him plenty of time at first base as well. He won’t keep hitting like this, but that he already has three homers during his first 22 major league at-bats should ensure he receives plenty of playing time. He’s a sleeper in deep fantasy leagues. Bowker probably wishes he could play the Cardinals every day since all three of his career homers have come against St. Louis. Sadly for Fantasy owners, that is not the case. Bowker has been a real pleasant surprise since his recall, but until he starts and produces on a consistent basis, he is nothing more than a low-end Fantasy OF. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)

Giants rookie John Bowker continued his torrid start since being called up Saturday. After becoming the first player in franchise history to homer in his first two major league games, he tripled Tuesday in his third game and singled Wednesday against Arizona for his first hit off SP Brandon Webb. More importantly, he was bumped up to the No. 5 spot in the order behind Bengie Molina, while the Giants shifted him over to first base as part of a double switch in the top of the ninth inning. If Bowker can pick up the new position quickly, the Giants will be able to deploy him in the middle third of the lineup without sacrificing a place for Fred Lewis, Aaron Rowand or Randy Winn in the outfield. Bowker remains an intriguing player to watch — or even pick up — depending on the size of your league. (Rotowire)

OF John Bowker, who became the first Giants player to homer in his first two games last weekend, hit his first career triple leading off the seventh inning Tuesday against the Diamondbacks and singled in the ninth. Bowker finished 2-for-4 with a run scored and is 6-for-10 with seven RBI in his first three major-league games. At least for now, Bowker seems to be playing every day against right-handers, which means he’s probably worth an add in NL-only leagues. The Giants have to displace one of Randy Winn and Fred Lewis to get him in the lineup, though, so he probably has a short leash. (CBS Sports)

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Randy Winn “might find himself on the bench more than expected” because of the emergence of John Bowker. Winn, who played 155 games last season, was out of the lineup Tuesday. “We’ll see what happens,” Winn said. “This year they said they were going to go with younger players, and they’re doing it. I think it’s not a big surprise. If they come to me, I’ll have a better answer for you. Right now, I’m just going with the flow.” (Rotoworld)

Also, RotoWorld.com’s Nate Stephens details the Week 2 Callups:

No big names were called up in the NL this week, but Bowker is one player I’ve been intrigued with for awhile and I think is well worth watching. A third-rounder out of Long Beach State University in 2004, Bowker was considered to have a good but inconsistent swing that lead to very mediocre results in college. He went on to have a nice debut in the low minors after signing, but two seasons at High-A San Jose in 2005 and 2006 were big disappointments with little improvement.

The Giants moved Bowker up to Double-A in 2007 anyway, and the 6′2″ left-hander responded with an incredible .307/.363/.523 line that included 35 doubles, six triples, and 22 homers. Perhaps that line doesn’t look “incredible”, but once you adjust for the fact that he was playing at one of the worst parks for power hitters in the minors (Dodd Stadium) it does look quite nice. His line away from Dodd Stadium was .345/.397/.629, further cementing his season as an outstanding one.

I wrote about Bowker after attending last year’s Eastern League All-Star Game, highlighting how the now 24 year-old had a quick swing that generated plenty of power. That power has been evident so far with the Giants, as Bowker has smacked a homer in each of his first two games. Since Bowker also has solid plate discipline and is adept at handling left-handed pitchers, he could prove to be a real sleeper for those in NL-only leagues. That the Giants are again working him out at first base after doing so this spring is encouraging, as first is a big position of need for the Giants both now and in the future (until Angel Villalona is ready). If Bowker can keep hitting, and I like his chances, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him claim the first base job and perform admirably while doing so. A .270-15-60 season with 450+ at-bats isn’t out of the question.

Recommendation: Go the extra dollar for him in NL-only one-year and keeper leagues; only those in very deep mixed leagues should monitor.