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

Shane Victorino has been dropped to the seventh spot in Philadelphia’s lineup on Tuesday. It looks like manager Charlie Manuel wants to take advantage of Pat Burrell’s long tradition of success against the Mets, so he has him batting third and Chase Utley hitting second tonight. Victorino would have less fantasy value as a No. 7 hitter, but this could be temporary. (Rotoworld)

Shane Victorino finished 3-for-3 with two homers and three RBI Saturday but the Phillies couldn’t handle the Diamondbacks. Well, Victorino showed up. The rest of the Phillies’ starters didn’t do much at all. Eric Bruntlett and Jimmy Rollins were the only players who recorded hits, while the Diamondbacks had no problem racking up 10 runs. Victorino is hitting .279 with five homers and 29 RBI in 315 at-bats this season. (Rotoworld)

Shane Victorino delivered a game-winning single off Duaner Sanchez in the bottom of the ninth as the Phillies edged the Mets 3-2 on Friday. The Phillies moved 5 1/2 games ahead of the third-place Mets in the NL East. Victorino’s hit tonight made a winner of Brad Lidge and handed Sanchez his first loss. Victorino hasn’t really been any good over the last month, but with Geoff Jenkins and Jayson Werth also struggling, he hasn’t been in danger of losing any playing time. (Rotoworld)

Shane Victorino went 2-for-5 with a homer and four RBI to lead the Phillies offense in an 8-3 victory over the Braves on Tuesday night. Victorino was one of six Phillies hitters with multiple hits in the game. He ripped a two-run homer early in the game to spark a four-run second-inning rally, and then added a two-run single in the ninth to open Philadelphia’s lead to five runs. Prior to tonight’s game, Victorino hadn’t driven in a run since June 13, and hadn’t homered since May 21. (Rotoworld)

Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino had a solid night in a loss against Oakland Thursday. Victorino singled twice and went 2-for-3 at the plate and also stole his 20th base of the season. Victorino is a solid start in all Rotisserie leagues because of his 40-steal potential and his placement in a great lineup and home hitter’s park. He’s got five hits in his last three games and looks to be a solid candidate to start in deeper mixed Fantasy formats. (CBS Sports)

CF Shane Victorino picked up his 18th stolen base of the season in the eighth inning, but this one carried some extra meaning. Victorino stole the bag off Athletics C Kurt Suzuki, who hails from the same hometown in Hawaii. Victorino is three years older than Suzuki, and they attended rival high schools in Wailuku, a town on Maui. Their parents are friends, but until Tuesday, Victorino and Suzuki had never played against each other in the majors. Entering the game, Suzuki had thrown out the second-most runners in the majors and had the third-highest caught-stealing percentage (37 percent) among catchers. “I heard he’s pretty good,” Victorino said before the game. “He’s known as a very good defensive catcher. I’ve always known that. We’ll see.” Victorino is a solid start in all Rotisserie leagues because of his 40-steal potential and his placement in a great lineup and home hitter’s park. Suzuki has been hot of late and is a nice add in mixed leagues at the thin catcher position. Both are emerging Fantasy options and should continue to improve as they establish themselves as veterans in this game. (CBS Sports)

Phillies OF Shane Victorino went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts Saturday against the Angels, but he did steal his 17th base. He has four stolen bases over his last four games despite batting .143 (2-for-14) over that stretch. A speedster like Victorino can rack up Fantasy points even when not hitting well. He has decent power too, but his ability to steal 40-plus bases makes him worth starting as a No. 3 Fantasy OF. (CBS Sports)

Shane Victorino drove in the game’s go-ahead run with an RBI single in the top of the ninth of a 6-3 win over the Braves on Sunday. The two teams were tied at 3-3 until Victorino’s single to center scored Eric Bruntlett to make it 4-3. Ryan Howard then added two runs of insurance with a double. Victorino also had two other singles, a stolen base, and three runs scored in the contest. Victorino has become an instrumental cog in the Phillies offense out of the No. 2 hole, batting .291. His speed makes him a must-start in Rotisserie leagues, and his extra-base power makes him worth using in most Head-to-Head leagues as well. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

OF Shane Victorino went 2-for-5 with a double, a run scored and a stolen base — his sixth — Tuesday against the Braves, snapping out of a 1-for-13 skid over his last three games. Victorino is still batting only .240, and he might be just now getting back up to speed after missing two weeks with a calf injury. He has 15-homer, 40-steal potential, so he remains a must-start in Rotisserie leagues. (CBS Sports)

Shane Victorino went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the loss Saturday to the Giants. Victorino wasn’t an everyday player immediately after returning from a calf injury, but it looks like he is now, as the Phillies have resumed playing Jayson Werth only against lefties. It’s certainly not a case of Victorino earning the job back. He’s hitting .231/.293/.286 in 91 at-bats. (Rotoworld)

Victorino reached base safely in three of his four plate appearances on Thursday, his first start since returning from the DL on Tuesday. Victorino went 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored to go along with two walks. As long as Philadelphia gets solid production out of Victorino, he should continue to play in the Phillies’ crowded outfield. With the San Francisco lefty Patrick Misch set to start against the Phillies on Friday, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Jayson Werth and Victorino fill in at center and right with Geoff Jenkins starting on the bench for a second-straight day. (Rotowire)

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said he expects to start Victorino on Thursday, the Philadelphia Daily News reports. If so, it would be Victorino’s first start since returning from the DL on Tuesday. With Philadelphia set to face the lefthanded Randy Wolf, it seems most likely that the switch-hitting Victorino would take lefty Geoff Jenkins’ spot in rightfield, with Jayson Werth remaining in center. (Rotowire)

“Tonight, (Werth) is our centerfielder,” manager Charlie Manuel said Tuesday. “Victorino is still going to play centerfield and he’s still kind of our centerfielder. At the same time, Werth’s our centerfielder tonight, if that makes sense. For me to say no, Victorino is not going to play centerfield for us anymore, I’m not going to say that, because that’s not true.” This sounds like a right mess in the Phillies outfield, especially for Fantasy owners. If we can try to decipher what Manuel is on about, it looks like Werth and Victorino will be in some sort of platoon in CF, with both possible occasional replacement for Jenkins in right. Got it? In other words, don’t expect everyday at-bats out of these three guys on a consistent basis for the near future. Victorino is usually a solid start, especially in rotisserie formats, but if he’s not getting at-bats, his value takes a nosedive. Werth and Jenkins remain useful in NL-only formats at this time. (CBS Sports)

Phillies activated outfielder Shane Victorino from the disabled list. Victorino returns after the minimum 15-day stay with a calf injury. Manager Charlie Manuel has indicated that Jayson Werth will continue to see extended action in the Phillies’ outfield, so Victorino may have to hit well to reclaim his everyday job. Victorino did not start Tuesday, but entered as a pinch-hitter for Geoff Jenkins and went 0-for-1, flying out to center. He moved into centerfield after the at-bat. (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.

Shane Victorino (calf) went 2-for-4 in his final rehab appearance with Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday and is expected to be activated from the DL before Philadelphia’s game on Tuesday against San Diego, the Philadelphia Daily News reports. Victorino is expected to start on Tuesday, although nothing is set in stone with the great job Jayson Werth has done subbing for him in center field. Victorino played right field last season, and a scenario where he moves back to right in place of the struggling Geoff Jenkins with Werth remaining in center is not out of the question. Be sure to monitor how manager Charlie Manuel deals with Philadelphia’s outfield situation in Victorino’s first few games back. (Rotowire)