Ryan Braun (thumb) leaves today's game early

Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun left today's game against the Philadelphia Phillies in the third inning due to right thumb soreness, the team tweeted.

For Braun, it's not a new injury as he sat out Wednesday's game due to thumb soreness as well.

“We’ve got to figure out what to do there,” Roenicke said (before today's game), per beat writer Adam McCalvey. “We’ve got to start going in the right direction with him, and sometimes it’s not. … I’m hoping we don’t have to [place him on the disabled list], but we start making gains and he says, ‘Yeah, I feel really good today,’ and then all of a sudden it’s a bad day and a setback.

“We keep going this back and forth. He’s out there playing, hitting third for us, and I expect the Braun that I’ve seen for the last two years, and he’s not the same. He’s still getting hits, he’s still helping us win games, but he’s not that guy that can carry a team like I know he can.”

Before leaving the game, Braun was 0-for-1 with a strike out.

Through 57 games, Braun is hitting . with nine home runs, 36 runs batted in, 30 runs scored and four stolen bases.

2013 Fantasy Baseball Rankings - Top 50 Outfielders

In the vast majority of fantasy baseball drafts this season, the first player selected is going to be an outfielder.  While that much is certain, the specific outfielder that goes first overall is much less of a lock.

Although Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera could make a strong argument that he should be the first overall pick, the decision for most fantasy owners will come down to Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun or Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout.

That said, it's like choosing between a Rolls Royce or a Bentley.  In other words, there's not really a wrong choice.

As the unanimous choice for American League Rookie of the Year, Trout finished second in the AL MVP voting behind Cabrera, the first triple-crown winner of my lifetime.  Not only did Trout get six of the 28 first-place votes over the triple-crown winner, he began the season in the minor leagues.

Despite playing his first 20 games of 2012 in the minors, the 20-year-old (now 21) made the most of his opportunity once he was called up.  Trout hit .326 with 30 home runs and 49 stolen bases in only 139 games.  In addition, he scored 129 runs and finished with 83 runs battted in.

Imagine what his stat line would have been had he started the year in Anaheim.

Adding in his minor league numbers, his 2012 totals over both levels were 150 runs scored, 31 home runs, 96 runs batted in and 55 stolen bases.

Like Trout, Braun is a player that will help fantasy owners in all five roto categories and both players had 30/30 seasons in 2012.  Trout had a 30/50 season; Braun actually had a 40/30 season.

In fact, Braun has back-to-back 30/30 seasons under his belt.

Since being called up in 2007, Braun has hit above .300 in all but one season (.285 in 2008) and .319 or better in four of those six seasons.  In addition, Braun has scored more than 100 runs in four consecutive seasons and driven in more than 100 runs in each of the past five seasons.

Perhaps he won't steal 30-plus bases for a third consecutive year, but Braun is a lock for a line of .300/100/30/100/20 with upside in all five of those categories.

Can CarGo Go For More than 145 Games?

In addition to Braun and Trout, several outfielders should go in the first round of drafts including Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.

The glass-half-full view with CarGo is that he has three consecutive 20/20 seasons despite playing 145 games or less in each of those seasons.

Of course, the glass-half-empty view is that he has averaged only 135.7 games per year over the past three years.

If healthy (or close to healthy) for a full season, Gonzalez can post a monster stat line.  Back in 2010 with 145 games played, he posted a career-best line of .336/111/34/117/26.

As a career .299 hitter, a lot would have to go right for him to approach the .336 average he had that season, but he certainly has a shot of repeating his production in the counting statistics if he can set a new career high in games played.

Onward and Heyward

After a disappointing and injury-plagued (shoulder) sophomore season in 2011, Atlanta Braves rightfielder Jason Heyward had a breakout season last year.

Not only did he play a career-high 158 games, but the J-Hey Kid set career highs in hits (158), home runs (27), runs scored (93), runs batted in (82) and stolen bases (21).

Heyward is expected to move to second (from third) in the batting order this year so it's likely that he scores a few more runs but drives in the same or maybe fewer runs.

Only 23 years old and as a former top prospect, Heyward should continue to improve his overall game and fantasy production.

A Teenager No More

At only 19 years old, Washington Nationals phenom Bryce Harper won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 2012.

Like Trout, Harper made his big league debut last season on April 28th and for the (not quite) full season, he hit 22 home runs and stole 18 bases.  In addition, he finished fifth in the league in runs scored (98).

Harper carries positive momentum with him as he enters his second season.

In his final 12 regular-season games last year, he hit .415 with three home runs, eight runs batted, 11 runs scored and five steals.  In 19 games this spring, Harper is hitting .396 with three home runs, eight runs, 12 runs batted in and two steals.

While we may be a season or two away from the day that Harper becomes a perennial MVP candidate, he has all the physical tools and virtually unlimited potential.  With Trout's monster season as a 20-year-old last year, maybe we're not as far away as some would think.

Here are my top 50 fantasy outfielders (based on Yahoo! eligibility):

1. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
2. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
3. Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates
5. Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies
6. Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays
7. Josh Hamilton, Los Angeles Angels
8. Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
9. Justin Upton, Atlanta Braves
10. Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
11. Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves
12. Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles Dodgers
13. Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals
14. Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox
15. Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
16. Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds
17. Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals
18. Allen Craig, St. Louis Cardinals
19. Yoennis Cespedes, Oakland Athletics
20. Shin-Soo Choo, Cincinnati Reds
21. Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay Rays
22. B.J. Upton, Atlanta Braves
23. Alex Rios, Chicago White Sox
24. Michael Bourn, Cleveland Indians
25. Desmond Jennings, Tampa Bay Rays
26. Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees
27. Carlos Beltran, St. Louis Cardinals
28. Melky Cabrera, Toronto Blue Jays
29. Mark Trumbo, Los Angeles Angels
30. Austin Jackson, Detroit Tigers
31. Nick Markakis, Baltimore Orioles
32. Martin Prado, Arizona Diamondbacks
33. Carl Crawford, Los Angeles Dodgers
34. Shane Victorino, Boston Red Sox
35. Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers
36. Hunter Pence, San Francisco Giants
37. Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers
38. Andre Ethier, Los Angeles Dodgers
39. Josh Willingham, Minnesota Twins
40. Ichiro Suzuki, New York Yankees
41. Ben Revere, Philadelphia Phillies
42. Mike Morse, Seattle Mariners
43. Norichika Aoki, Milwaukee Brewers
44. Michael Cuddyer, Colorado Rockies
45. Alejandro De Aza, Chicago White Sox
46. Angel Pagan, San Francisco Giants
47. Adam Dunn, Chicago White Sox
48. Nick Swisher, Cleveland Indians
49. Dexter Fowler, Colorado Rockies
50. Brett Gardner, New York Yankees

For a second opinion, check out Duncan Sanford's outfielder rankings. (Or view our consensus third basemen rankings here.)

Other positions: C - 1B - 2B - 3B - SS - OF - SP - RP

To keep track of our updates, follow us on Twitter @EDSBaseball, LIKE us on Facebook and/or add us to your Google+ circle.

Trifone: N.L. Mid-season Award Winners

With the mid-summer classic tonight, it's a good time to hand out mid-season MVP and Cy Young award winners.  There are usually a handful of great options, leaving room for debate, and this year is no exception.

Mid-season National League Most Valuable Player

For NL MVP, I believe it to be a four-horse race.  Although guys like David Wright and Melky Cabrera are having excellent years, they fall a bit short when comparing them with the top contenders.

Losing Albert Pujols is clearly going to hurt a team, but Carlos Beltran has stepped up in a big way, hitting over .300 and yielding great power numbers, for the Cardinals.  He currently leads the NL in RBI's with 65 and is second in home runs with 20.

There was a lot of talk at the beginning of the year over what type of year Ryan Braun would have after his failed drug test was overturned due to a technicality in the offseason.  Braun has responded with a league-leading 24 home runs.  He also ranks second in RBIs with 61 and is hitting over .300, with 15 stolen bases to boot.

Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez ranks sixth in the league in home runs and RBIs and leads the league in runs.  He is also currently hitting an impressive .330, and with 11 stolen bases.  I believe Cargo is the most likely to finish the year strong, playing in a hitter's ballpark in Colorado.

At this point, I feel any of these three are great candidates.

As good as those three have been, however, Andrew McCutchen has been even better.  McCutchen is leading the majors with a remarkable .362 average at the midway point.  He is hitting for power with 18 home runs and 60 RBIs, but also is a threat to run, with 14 stolen bases.  If he keeps this up for the rest of the year, McCutchen could finish the season hitting .350 with 30 hrs, 100 RBIs, and 30 stolen bases.  Tough to argue with those numbers.  I'm not sure if he can keep it up, but to date he is the NL MVP.

[Matt Kemp was the clear front runner before his injury, and certainly deserves recognition for how he was playing, but because of the number of games he has missed, I chose not to throw him in the mix, even though his early pace had him way ahead of the pack.]

Mid-season National League Cy Young Winner

The mid-season NL Cy Young race was looking interesting for a while.  For a few weeks, I thought for sure it would be Cole Hamels, who had a great ERA and won seven consecutive starts after losing his first to start the year.  Then Gio Gonzalez kept winning, Brian Beachy looked great, and Matt Cain threw a perfect game.  Stephen Strasburg is becoming the phenom we all knew he would be.

And then there's R.A. Dickey.  What Dickey has done this year has been nothing short of incredible.

The guy threw consecutive one-hitters, has an ERA of 2.40, a WHIP of just 0.93, is second in the league in strikeouts with 123, has his opponents hitting .203 for the season, and by the way is 12-1.  Dickey has never been a great pitcher, but at 37, he seems to have found whatever he was lacking earlier in his career.  The knuckleballer is hands down the mid-season NL Cy Young award winner.

I'd say that Strasburg could challenge him for the award by year's end if not for his innings count.  My number two right now would Matt Cain, who at 9-3 with a 2.62 ERA and 118 K's is having a great season in his own right.  I think Cain could make it interesting by the end of the year, but at the break, Dickey is the clear choice for the mid-season Cy Young.

Tomorrow we will post my A.L. (mid-season) award winners.

[Editor's note: This post is by John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), who also contributes at our NFL site: Eat, Drink and Sleep Football (see John's archives).]

(Updated) 2012 Fantasy Baseball Preseason Rankings: Top 50 Outfielders

With his 50-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs overturned, one thing is clear: it's a positive (no pun intended) to his fantasy value.

Milwaukee left fielder Ryan Braun, last year's N.L. MVP, set career highs in batting average (.332) and stolen bases (33) and came close to career highs in runs scored (109), runs batted in (111) and home runs (33) last year.

While Braun had a career-best season, he's been as consistent as any other player over the past five years since being called up late-May 2007.

Despite playing in only 113 games in his rookie season, here are his career lows: 91 runs scored, 25 home runs, 97 runs batted in and 14 stolen bases. As a career .312 hitter, Braun has hit above .300 in four of five seasons and .320 or better three times.

Based on his first five seasons, here are his average stats per 162 games: 112 runs scored, 36 home runs, 118 runs batted in and 21 stolen bases.

Two reasons for a potential drop-off in production are: (1) the free-agent departure of Prince Fielder and (2) the possible constant questioning by reporters and taunting by fans, especially on the road, about the PED issue wearing thin on Braun.

Going into 2012, Braun is my No. 3 ranked outfielder behind L.A.'s Matt Kemp and Toronto's Jose Bautista, who still has third base eligibility. If Bautista was only outfield eligible, I would rank Braun second among outfielders behind Kemp.

Here are some notes on outfielders:

- Speaking of Kemp, he had a legitimate shot to win the triple crown last year. He finished first in the National League in home runs (39) and runs batted in (126) and third in average (.324). Kemp finished with career highs in home runs, runs batted in, runs scored (115), and stolen bases (40). Only one homer shy of his first 40-40 season, it was the second 30-30 season of Kemp's career.

- Cardinals outfielder Lance Berkman, who had his best season since 2008, finished seventh in N.L. MVP voting last year. In 145 games, Berkman hit .301 with 31 homers and 94 runs batted in. Although he hit for a higher average after the All-Star Break (.315 vs. .290), Berkman hit 24 of his 31 home runs and drove in 63 of his 94 runs before the break.

- Washington's Michael Morse, who has eligibility at first base and outfield, was fantasy bargain in 2011. Not only did he have a great season (.303 with 31 home runs and 95 runs batted in), he was consistent before and after the All-Star game: .306-15-49 (before split) and .299-16-46 (after break). That said, his two worst months were his first (April) and last (September) of the season.

- Last year, Tampa Bay's B.J. Upton was one homer and one RBI shy of the career highs he set in 2007. While Upton had a four-year low in steals (36) to go along with his 23 homers and 81 runs batted in, he has hit .243 or less in each of the past three seasons.

- Cleveland's Shin-Soo Choo, who missed half of last season due to his thumb injury, is healthy heading into 2012 and is looking to bounce back after a down season. Before last year, Choo had back-to-back seasons with .300 average, 20-plus homers and 20-plus steals. Choo provides plenty of upside as a bounce-back candidate.

- Atlanta's Jason Heyward has the potential to deliver a big return for fantasy owners in 2012. Heyward, who turns only 23 in August, had a shoulder injury that slowed him down last year, but he should be healthy to start the season. Heyward saw his average drop from .277 to .227 and his RBIs drop from 72 to 42 last year.

- Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki has seen his batting average decline from .352 in 2009 to .315 in 2010 to a career-low .272 in 2011. In fact, it was the first time in Ichiro's career that he hit below .300. Suzuki has stolen 40-plus bases in back-to-back seasons, but he's now 37 years old (i.e., eventually he will slow down) and he will hit third in the batting order, which will reduce his base-stealing opportunities some.

- As a former second-overall pick, Kansas City's Alex Gordon was a bit of disappointment based on his potential. In his first four seasons, Gordon hit .260 or lower, 16 homers or less and drove in 60 runs or less every season. Last year, Gordon had a breakout season setting career highs across the board: .303 average, 101 runs scored, 23 homers, 87 runs batted in and 17 stolen bases.

Here are our top 50 outfielders for the 2012 season:

1. Matt Kemp, Dodgers
2. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays
3. Ryan Braun, Brewers
4. Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies
5. Justin Upton, Diamondbacks
6. Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox
7. Curtis Granderson, Yankees
8. Andrew McCutchen, Pirates
9. Josh Hamilton, Rangers
10. Nelson Cruz, Rangers
11. Mike Stanton, Marlins
12. Desmond Jennings, Rays
13. Matt Holliday, Cardinals
14. Hunter Pence, Phillies
15. Jay Bruce, Reds
16. Alex Gordon, Royals
17. Michael Morse, Nationals
18. Shin-Soo Choo, Indians
19. Carl Crawford, Red Sox
20. Ben Zobrist, Rays
21. Shane Victorino, Phillies
22. B.J. Upton, Rays
23. Michael Bourn, Braves
24. Drew Stubbs, Reds
25. Jason Heyward, Braves
26. Corey Hart, Brewers
27. Adam Jones, Orioles
28. Lance Berkman, Cardinals
29. Brett Gardner, Yankees
30. Howard Kendrick, Angels
31. Nick Markakis, Orioles
32. Andre Ethier, Dodgers
33. Jayson Werth, Nationals
34. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners
35. Chris Young, Diamondbacks
36. Carlos Beltran, Cardinals
37. Michael Cuddyer, Rockies
38. Logan Morrison, Marlins
39. Melky Cabrera, Giants
40. Delmon Young, Tigers
41. Nick Swisher, Yankees
42. Peter Bourjos, Angels
43. Cameron Maybin, Padres
44. Jeff Franceour, Royals
45. Torii Hunter, Angels
46. Martin Prado, Braves
47. Matt Joyce, Rays
48. Emilio Bonifacio, Marlins
49. Alex Rios, White Sox
50. Jose Tabata, Pirates

Other Positions: C - 1B - 2B - 3B - SS - OF - SP - RP

To keep track of our updates, follow us on Twitter @EDSBaseball and/or LIKE us on Facebook.

Ryan Braun wins appeal, 50-game suspension overturned

A couple of months ago, it was announced that Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun would be suspended for 50 games for violating the league's policy against performance-enhancing drugs.

Today Braun, the 2011 N.L. MVP, became the first player to win an appeal of a PED suspension, which means he will be able to play Opening Day and the remaining 161 games this season.

According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Braun won the appeal "not so much on contesting the result of the test but the testing process itself."

Per Haudricourt, here's part of the statement from MLB: " ... While we have always respected that process, Major League Baseball vehemently disagrees with the decision rendered today by arbitrator Shyam Das.”

With the ruling, we have moved Braun up to No. 3 in our fantasy outfielder rankings behind only Matt Kemp and Jose Bautista.

Not only did Braun set career highs in batting average (.332) and stolen bases (33) last year, but he was one of only four players to finish with a 30-30 season. Braun is five-category stud as he has driven in 100-plus runs for four straight seasons and scored 100-plus runs for three straight seasons.

Report: Ryan Braun faces 50-game suspension for PEDs

Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun has tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, according to a report by ESPN's Outside the Lines.

Per the report, the failed test has not been announced since Braun is appealing the result through arbitration.

Braun's spokeman released the following statement (via ESPN): "There are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support Ryan's complete innocence and demonstrate there was absolutely no intentional violation of the program. While Ryan has impeccable character and no previous history, unfortunately, because of the process we have to maintain confidentiality and are not able to discuss it any further, but we are confident he will ultimately be exonerated.

Per the report, Braun failed an initial test and MLB had the World Anti-Doping Agency lab in Montreal conduct a second test, which revealed the testosterone was not produced naturally within Braun's body.

In the offseason, Braun signed a five-year extension worth roughly $105 million. Braun, who was named the 2011 N.L. MVP, hit a career-high .332 with 33 home runs, 111 runs batted in and scored 109 runs.

Braun also stole a career-high 33 bases and was one of four players to finish with 30-30 seasons. The other three were Matt Kemp, Ian Kinsler and Jacoby Ellsbury.

Ryan Braun's MRI shows inflammation but no structural damage

Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun missed a fourth consecutive game on Wednesday. And although he won't play in the series opener against the Reds on Thursday, he could return as early as Friday, per MLB.com's Adam McCalvey.

Braun had an MRI today and the results showed inflammation in a tendon behind the knee -- but no structural damage.

"I think it was the best-case result," Braun said, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "They said the only thing that could have been better was if it was more in the muscle. It's kind of more hamstring than calf. It's in a tendon behind my knee that's in between the calf and the hamstring. It doesn't get as much blood flow as a muscle does.

"I'm not in pain or anything like that. It's just that, unfortunately, I'm not able to do baseball activities. The goal is to minimize the time missed. It's more beneficial to miss a little time now than a long time down the road."

If Braun doesn't play this weekend, he said he won't play in the All-Star Game next week.

On the season, Braun is hitting .320 with 16 home runs, 62 runs batted in and 19 stolen bases. Along with Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, Braun is one of two players in baseball that is hitting at least .300 with 15-plus homers and 15-plus steals.

Brewers, Gallardo agree to extension

The Milwaukee Brewers have signed Yovani Gallardo, who turned 24 years old in February, to a five-year contract extension, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.

This deal, which guarantees Gallardo $30.1 million, will keep their young ace in town through the 2014 season. There is a club option for a sixth year (2015).

Gallardo would have been eligible for arbitration after this season and eligible for free agency after the 2013 season.

"We are thrilled to sign one of our top young players to a long-term deal," said Melvin in a news release. "We view Yovani as a top of the rotation performer who has a chance to become one of the elite pitchers in the game. He is the cornerstone of our starting rotation and the ideal pitcher to build our staff around for future seasons."

Last year, Gallardo became the fourth Brewer pitcher to have struck out 200 batters in one season. He finished the year with a record of 13-12, 3.73 ERA and 204 strike outs in 185 2/3 innings.

After signing Gallardo and outfielder Ryan Braun to long-term extensions, the Brewers will continue to work on signing first baseman Prince Fielder to a long-term deal next, despite placing blame on a team like the Yankees for the economic imbalance in baseball.

Ryan Braun "ticked off" GM Melvin

Milwaukee Brewers All-Star Ryan Braun was/is frustrated by his team's pitching. In turn, he has frustrated general manager Doug Melvin.

Speaking after the conclusion of the Brewers-Cubs series on Sunday, Braun said that the Cubs pitchers "threw the ball a lot better than our starters did."

Braun also said, "We're at the point right now where it would be important for us to go out there and acquire somebody."

Melvin didn't take too kindly to Braun's comments regardless of whether he's right or wrong.

"It was inappropriate for him to say what he said, and I'm not happy about it," Melvin told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Monday.

"To make the statements he made and also get on his teammates like that, it was irresponsible on his part. It just ticked me off."

I couldn't agree with Melvin more. If you have a problem with someone, anyone, everyone on your team, tell them - not the media.

The Brewers are currently one game behind division-leading St. Louis and one game ahead of the Cubs.

Currently, the Brewers are ranked 24th on majors in team ERA (4.47).

Not quite mid-season awards: N.L. MVP

Over the weekend, I began the process of selecting my Cy Youngs and MVPs in both leagues by making my N.L. Cy Young pick based on production thus far.

Obviously, a lot can change between now and October, but today I will pick my National League MVP through June 22nd.

After his 6-for-12 performance this weekend with three home runs and ten RBI, the NL MVP race is the most clear-cut of the four award races.

The award goes to Albert Pujols, who becomes only the third player to begin a career with nine consecutive 25-home run seasons. Despite my personal bias (Pujols is my favorite player), it's hard to argue with this pick.





Pujols leads the N.L. in runs scored (56), home runs (26), runs batted in (68), OBP (.448) and OPS (1.169). He is also hitting .329 on the season. He nearly has as many home runs (26) as he has strikeouts (27).

As an added bonus, he's on pace to steal 21 bases. In fact, his nine steals lead the majors for first baseman. And the Cardinals currently lead the N.L. Central.

So, the real battle is for runner-up.

Runner-up: Raul Ibanez, Phillies - For me, it came down to Prince Fielder and Ibanez, who is on the 15-day DL. Ibanez, who is off to a torrid start excluding being placed on the DL, is in the top three in the N.L. in runs (51), home runs (22), runs batted in (59) and OPS (1.027).

In addition, Ibanez is hitting .312 for the Phillies, who currently lead the N.L. East.

Honorable Mention (not necessarily in order): Prince Fielder (Brewers), Matt Kemp (Dodgers), David Wright (Mets), Adrian Gonzalez (Padres) and Ryan Braun (Brewers).

Ryan Braun sits with tight back

Milwaukee Brewers leftfielder Ryan Braun did not play in Saturday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Braun's back tightened in Friday night's game and he was a game-time decision for Saturday's game.

He is hitting .314 with five homeruns and 16 runs batted in this season.