2013 Fantasy Baseball Rankings - Top 20 Shortstops

Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is one of the game's most productive players on a per-game basis.

Based on his career numbers, he averages 103 runs scored, 102 runs batted in, 28 home runs and 13 steals in 162 games.

That said, how close will he come to playing 162 games?

Since he played a career-high 155 games in 2007, Tulowitzki has played at least 125 games in only two of the past five seasons.  Last year, he played his fewest games (47) since his rookie season.

With Tulo, that is the dilemma.

Currently he is the 19th player off the board in fantasy drafts based on average draft position data from Mock Draft Central.  If he plays 150 or so games, he'll be a steal.

If you draft Tulowitzki, make sure you have an adequate back-up plan for if/when he misses time.

The Other Rockies Shortstop (in Fantasy)

When it comes to fantasy sports, eligibility at multiple positions for the players on your roster is never a bad thing.

Provided he can stay healthy for a full season, Tulowitzki is the Rockies' everyday shortstop and Josh Rutledge will be the team's second baseman to open the year.  That said, Rutledge spent more time at shortstop in 2012 than second base, and therefore has eligibility at both relatively thin positions.

In the minors and big leagues combined last year, Rutledge hit 21 home runs and stole 21 bases.

While I don't expect a 20/20 year in his first full big league season, a 15/15 season for Rutledge seems more than likely.  If you use his big-league numbers of eight homers and seven steals in 73 games last year, he was on pace for 18 home runs and 16 stolen bases.

Likely to hit second in the lineup in front of Tulo, Rutledge will have a shot at scoring 90 runs.  Considering he plays half of his games at Coors Field, it's also reasonable to expect him to hit close to .275 like last year.

After the top 12 or so (fantasy) shortstops are off the board, Rutledge is a solid option to target later in your draft.  His ADP is currently 252 overall (via Mock Draft Central).

Another 20/20 season for HanRam

Speaking of eligibility at multiple positions, Hanley Ramirez has position eligibility at third base as well.  While shortstop is a shallower position than third base, the flexibility is an added bonus for owners that draft HanRam.

While Ramirez once stole 51 bases in back-to-back seasons and hit a career-high 33 homers in 2008, he is unlikely to come close to either number.  That said, he should repeat as one of the few shortstop-eligible players to post another 20/20 season.

Ramirez has stolen 20-plus bases every season since 2006.  Meanwhile, he has 20-plus homers in five of the past six seasons.  The only exception was 2011 when he played just 92 games and hit 10 home runs.

In addition to Ramirez, Washington's Ian Desmond and Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins were the only other players eligible at shortstop to have 20/20 seasons last year.

From 2006 to 2010, Ramirez has a BABIP of at least .327 each season and hit .300-plus in four of those five seasons.  In 2011 and 2012 (before the trade to the Dodgers), Ramirez had a BABIP of only .275 and .271, respectively, with the Marlins.

Assuming that his BABIP is closer to his rate with the Dodgers last year (.319), Ramirez should see his average bounce back to the .280 range (or perhaps a bit higher).

Reyes Moves to the AL East

Moving to the American League, Jose Reyes will be playing with his third team in the past three seasons.  For Reyes, that is good news.

With all of their offseason moves, the Toronto Blue Jays have one of the most potent lineups in all of baseball.  As the table-setter for an explosive offense, Reyes will have an opportunity to score a lot of runs provided he stays healthy.

Coming into the 2013 season, Reyes has averaged 110 runs scored over 162 games.  Since 2009, however, Reyes has played close to that number only once (last year).  From 2009 to 2011, Reyes missed at least 29 games per season and a total of 191 games during that span.

Although he is a career .291 hitter, Reyes won the NL batting title (.337) in 2011.  The only other season he hit above .300 was his rookie year (2003).

Provided he stays healthy for 150 games or so, which is no lock considering his injury history, Reyes should hit around .290 with 100 runs scored and 40 steals.

Here are my shortstop rankings for the 2013 fantasy baseball season (based on Yahoo! eligibility):

1. Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies
2. Hanley Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers
3. Jose Reyes, Toronto Blue Jays
4. Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs
5. Ian Desmond, Washington Nationals
6. Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay Rays
7. Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers
8. Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies
9. Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland Indians
10. Martin Prado, Arizona Diamondbacks
11. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
12. Josh Rutledge, Colorado Rockies
13. Danny Espinosa, Washington Nationals
14. Andrelton Simmons, Atlanta Braves
15. J.J. Hardy, Baltimore Orioles
16. Erick Aybar, Los Angeles Angels
17. Alcides Escobar, Kansas City Royals
18. Marco Scutaro, San Francisco Giants
19. Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Sox
20. Everth Cabrera, San Diego Padres

For a second opinion, check out Duncan Sanford's shortstop rankings. (Or view our consensus shortstop 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.

2013 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 30 First Basemen

Before signing a mega contract with the Angels last offseason, Albert Pujols was "El Hombre" and "machine-like" during his 11 seasons with the Cardinals.

Even though he added some steals to his game more recently, he was a lock for a line of .300/100/30/100.  In fact, he only missed 100 runs once (99 in 2007), 100 runs batted in once (99 in 2011) and a .300 batting average only once (.299 in 2011).

With the switch to the American League in 2012, things did not start nearly as well for Pujols.  In his first 27 games and 114 plate appearances, Pujols was homer-less.  In addition, he had only five runs batted in and nine runs scored during that 27-game span.

Despite his slow start, Pujols ended up with respectable year-end numbers.  He drove in 105 runs, but he set career lows of .285 average, 30 home runs and 85 runs scored.

The biggest concern with Pujols as we head into the 2013 season is his recovery from offseason knee surgery.  He initially suffered the injury in August, but he has told Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times that "if the season started tomorrow, I'd be playing, but there's no reason to push it."

With the team's offseason addition of Josh Hamilton to an already-potent lineup, Pujols will have more opportunities to score runs and drive in runs and I expect a bounce-back season.

More Blues for Gonzalez Owners in 2013?

The 2012 season was one that first baseman Adrian Gonzalez would like to forget.

Traded near the end of the season back to his home-state Dodgers, Gonzalez hit a home run in his first at-bat.  Unfortunately, he hit only two more in his other 144 Dodger at-bats last season.

Gonzalez felt as though his swing never felt right last season and attributed that to "trying too hard."

That said, he closed the season with a 15-game hitting streak, the longest by any Dodger in 2012.  Looking ahead to 2013, will Gonzalez bounce back?

Based on this report from Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, it appears that Gonzalez is in great shape.  Provided he doesn't try to do too much in 2013, Gonzalez has the potential to provide fantasy owners a huge discount in 2013.

Feeling lucky?

Dunn: You Know What to Expect

Chicago White Sox first baseman and designated hitter Adam Dunn had a season to forget after signing a free-agency deal with the club in 2011.

An extremely productive power hitter, Dunn had 38-plus homers each year and drove in 100-plus runs in six of the previous seven seasons.  Not only was he productive, but there was minimal variability in his power production.

After hitting 46 homers in 2004, Dunn hit exactly 40 home runs for four consecutive years and then 38 homers in back-to-back seasons before joining the White Sox.  In addition, he had 100-plus runs batted in six times during that seven-year span.  The lone exception was a 92-RBI season.

While he was never going to win a batting title, Dunn's batting average was not as much of a negative in the recent past before getting to Chicago.  He hit .260-plus in three of the four previous seasons.

Virtually nothing went right in 2011.

Not only did he hit a career-low .159 (.064 vs. LHP) and strike out a career-worst 35.7 percent of the time, his power production evaporated.  For the first time in his career, he had a single-digit HR/FB ratio (9.6 percent).  His previous career low of 17.8 percent was set as a rookie in 2002.  It has been 20-plus percent in every other year of his career.

Last year, Dunn's HR/FB ratio skyrocketed to a career-high 29.3 percent as he hit 41 home runs and drove in 96 runs.  More than 37 percent of his base hits were round-trippers.

While Dunn's power production returned and his batting average jumped 45 points, the bad news is he still hit only .204, the second-lowest of his career.

Drafting Dunn will give you an affordable source of power production, but draft accordingly to compensate for the damage he will do your team's batting average.  With an average draft position of 162 (19th among first basemen) from Mock Draft Central, Dunn won't be your starting first basemen unless you're in a deep league or sustain injuries.

But let's say you have someone else like Philadelphia's Ben Revere (ADP: 189) on your bench.  Like virtually all base-stealers, Revere stole a large majority of his bases (31 of 40) last year when facing righties.  If I owned both Dunn and Revere as possible utility options, I would alternate them based on which player was facing a right-handed starter that night.  If they both were, then I'd go with whichever stat I needed more (steals or homers).

The Real Deal or a Fluke Season for Encarnacion?

Toronto's Edwin Encarnacion broke out in a big way in 2012 shattering his previous career highs with 42 home runs and 110 runs batted in over a career-high 151 games.  In addition, he scored 93 runs and stole 13 bases, both of which are career bests.

In his previous two seasons combined, Encarnacion hit a total of 38 home runs and drove in 106 runs over 230 games and 813 at-bats.  Previous single-season career highs for Encarnacion were 26 home runs (2008), 76 runs batted in (2007) and 75 runs scored (2007).

With all of the team's offseason moves, the Blue Jays will continue to score runs and Encarnacion will have plenty of opportunities to drive in runs.

From my perspective, however, I will always be skeptical about a breakout season that occurs in a player's eighth season in the big leagues.  Not that I expect him to revert to pre-2012 production, the chance that he duplicates his 2012 numbers is extremely low.

For 2013, I see a season of 30 home runs, 80 runs batted in and a .270 average for Encarnacion.  Based on his average draft position of 21 (via Mock Draft Central), I'll pass and let someone else in my leagues take the chance that Encarnacion comes closer to his 2012 numbers than I expect.

Here are my 2013 fantasy first basemen rankings:

1. Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels
2. Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
3. Prince Fielder, Detroit Tigers
4. Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles Dodgers
5. Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
6. Edwin Encarnacion, Toronto Blue Jays
7. Billy Butler, Kansas City Royals
8. Allen Craig, St. Louis Cardinals
9. Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
10. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
11. Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks
12. Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
13. Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians
14. Eric Hosmer, Kansas City Royals
15. Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs
16. Mark Trumbo, Los Angeles Angels
17. Ike Davis, New York Mets
18. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies
19. Mike Napoli, Boston Red Sox
20. David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox
21. Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox
22. Kendrys Morales, Seattle Mariners
23. Michael Cuddyer, Colorado Rockies
24. Adam LaRoche, Washington Nationals
25. Dustin Ackley, Seattle Mariners
26. Adam Dunn, Chicago White Sox
27. Nick Swisher, Cleveland Indians
28. Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins
29. Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles
30. Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds

For a second opinion, check out Duncan Sanford's first basemen rankings. (Or view our consensus catcher 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.

Curtis Granderson (forearm) out for 10 weeks

If you have had any fantasy baseball drafts before Sunday, hopefully you did not use an early-round pick on Yankees outfielder Curtis Granderson.

To alter a phrase from John Sterling, "the Grandy Man can't" (at least, for the month of April).

In his first at-bat of spring training, Granderson was hit by a fastball from J.A. Happ in the right forearm, which was fractured.  Unfortunately for the Yankees and his fantasy owners, the injury will keep Granderson out for the next 10 weeks.

“Well, it’s not what you want,” Manager Joe Girardi said. “We have plenty of time to figure out what we’re going to do. I mean, Grandy’s not a bat that you’d say is easy to replace, but we’re going to find a way.”

The only good thing is we are more than a month away from the start of the regular season.  As Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said, “If Curtis is going to miss two months, you’d rather have one of the two not count.”

Granderson finished tied for second in baseball with 43 home runs and 11th in runs batted in (106) last year.

In my updated fantasy baseball outfielder rankings, I've dropped Granderson from No. 13 to No. 24.

VIDEO: J.P. Arencibia impersonating Tim Kurkjian

ESPN's Tim Kurkjian has a distinctive voice and Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia does a great job of impersonating it.

In this video, Terry Francona is interviewing Arencibia, who is impersonating Kurkjian analyzing Jose Bautista:



Hilarious.

Jose Bautista hits two more homers, ahead of last year's pace

Not many, if any, expected Toronto outfielder Jose Bautista to repeat his baseball-leading and breakout performance of 54 home runs in 2010.

In fact, here's what I wrote about Bautista in March in fantasy baseball outfielder rankings: "Although there's virtually no chance that he duplicates his 54-homer performance from 2010, Bautista could hit 35 or so homers with 100 runs batted in. Even better, he also has position eligibility at third base."

Although we are only 45 games into the season, it appears that I could be (very) wrong.

Despite missing eight games this season, Bautista belted his 17th and 18th home runs through 37 games played.

That means, Bautista is on pace for 64.8 home runs if he continues to hit 18 per every 45 games. Of course, it seems highly improbable that he'll maintain anything close to that pace.

But, then again, Bautista has hit 82 home runs since September 2009.

With 18 home runs in 132 at-bats, he's hitting a home run per 7.33 at-bats. Last year, he hit one in every 10.54 at-bats, on average.

James Shields hurls four-hit shutout, second straight complete game

Facing the Toronto Blue Jays today, Tampa Bay starter James Shields hurled a four-hit shutout while striking out seven batters.

Shields has now thrown back-to-back complete games after allowing only one run and four hits versus the White Sox on April 19th.

With the exception of his second start of the season, Shields has pitched seven-plus innings and allowed two or fewer runs in his other four starts.

On the season, Shields has improved his record to 2-1 and has lowered his ERA and WHIP to 2.35 and 0.97, respectively.

Jered Weaver strikes out 15, now 3-0 on season

Last year, Angels ace Jered Weaver finished with an ERA of 3.01 and led the American League in strikeouts (233) while making his first-ever All-Star appearance.

Through three starts in the young season, however, Weaver has been even more dominant than he was last year.

In today's win over the Blue Jays, Weaver allowed just one run while striking out 15 batters in 7 2/3 innings.

Over his three starts, Weaver has three wins, lowered his ERA to 0.87 and has struck out 27 batters in 20 2/3 innings pitched (11.76 K/9).

Jose Bautista out until Friday due to family matter

Tonight the Toronto Blue Jays were without right fielder Jose Bautista, who was excused due to a family matter.

"He has been excused from the club to attend to a family matter," [manager John] Farrell said, per Gregor Chisolm of MLB.com. "We do expect him back to rejoin the club when we open up in L.A. If for some unforeseen reason that were to change, hopefully he gets back to us sooner, but he is dealing with a family matter at this point."

With Bautista out tonight, Jayson Nix started at third base with Edwin Encarnacion moving to designated hitter. Juan Rivera was in right field.

Encarnacion, who has already made three errors this season, is expected to be "back at third base," according to Farrell.

Fantasy Baseball: 2011 Third Basemen Rankings

Third base isn't exceptionally deep, but a couple of solid options (Boston's Kevin Youkilis and Seattle's Chone Figgins) will earn eligibility at the position in April.

Here are our top 15 fantasy third basemen for 2011:

1. Evan Longoria, Rays: Everywhere you look, Longoria will likely be the top-ranked fantasy third baseman and you'll likely need a top-five to have the chance to draft him. As the third-overall pick in the 2006 draft, Longoria is still only 25 years old with plenty of upside. In other words, a season of .294-100-33-113-15, which are his career highs, (or better) is certainly possible in 2011. (And hopefully there won't be any more stolen AK-47 stories this year.)

2. David Wright, Mets: After a disappointing 2009 season, Wright was shy of a 30-20 season by exactly one home run and one stolen base. By hitting a career-low .283 last year, Wright ended a streak of five consecutive seasons of hitting .300-plus. In other words, if things fall into place, Wright has as good of a chance as any third basemen to finish with a line of .300-100-30-100-20.

3. Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals: Zimmerman missed 20 games last season, but he set career highs in home runs (33), runs scored (110) and runs batted in (106) while playing 157 games in 2009. Although he won't steal many bases, he will provide a boost in all of the other four categories.

4. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees: A year older? Who isn't, right? Granted, A-Rod is nowhere near the all-around fantasy stud he once was and he hasn't played more than 138 games in any of the past three seasons. That said, Rodriguez has posted 30-plus homers and 100-plus runs batted in every season since 1998 including in the past three seasons. In my opinion, he's sliding to a point where he could out to be a bargain in most drafts.

5. Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox: Although he's not yet eligible at third base, he will be at some point in April depending on your league's eligibility requirements. Here's what I wrote about Youkilis in our first base rankings, where he's No. 7: "Over the past five seasons, Youkilis has not played more than 147 games in any year. Provided he stays healthy for a full season, Youkilis could/should put up around or more than 100 runs, 100 runs batted in, 30 homers while hitting .300."

6. Adrian Beltre, Rangers: Beltre, who turns 32 years old in April, is now entering his 14th season in the big leagues. Only twice in his 13 years has he hit over .300 with 28-plus home runs and 100-plus runs batted in. Coincidentally, both of those seasons happened before getting a big contract. While he has the skills to do it a third time in his career in 2011, I'd like to see back-to-back strong seasons from Beltre before I'm a buyer at these prices.

7. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays: Bautista led all of baseball in home runs last year with 54, which is nearly equal to his home run output from 2004 to 2009 (59 home runs total). While a repeat performance is highly unlikely, there's a good chance that he can follow up last year's league-leading performance with 35-40 homers in 2011.

8. Casey McGehee, Brewers: Only two other third basemen -- Longoria and A-Rod -- have more runs batted in than McGehee (149) since July 1, 2010. While he won't steal bases, like most third basemen won't, McGehee will help in the other four statistical categories in standard 5x5 categories at a very reasonable cost.

9. Aramis Ramirez, Cubs: Last year, Ramirez hit only .241, which was lowest batting average since 2002. From 2004 to 2009, Ramirez hit .289 or higher every season including .300-plus in four out of six seasons. Although Ramirez only played 124 games last year, he drove in 100-plus runs in all five seasons in which he has played 125-plus games since 2003. Provided he can stay healthy, a bounce-back season seems reasonable.

10. Pablo Sandoval, Giants: Sandoval broke out in 2009 -- hitting .330 with 25 home runs and 90 runs batted in. Although he had a disappointing season in 2010, Sandoval is only 24 years old, lost a substantial amount of weight in the off-season and shortened his swing. Based on his average draft position of 127 from Mock Draft Central, Sandoval seems to offer more reward than risk this season.

11. Pedro Alvarez, Pirates: There's no doubt that Alvarez has tremendous upside and potential. Although Alvarez struck out in 34.3 percent of his major league at bats last year, he combined for 29 home runs and 117 runs batted in between Triple-A and the big leagues.

12. Martin Prado, Braves: Prado, who played mostly second base and some third base last year, is moving to left field for the Braves and soon will be eligible at three fantasy positions. In a career-high 140 games last season, Prado hit .307 and 15 home runs with 100 runs scored.

13. Michael Young, Rangers: Young, who is a career .300 hitter, hit 20 home runs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2004 and 2005 seasons. While he may or may not hit 20-plus homers in three straight seasons for the first time in his career, Young is one of the more consistent hitters in the game.

14. Mark Reynolds, Orioles: The good news? Reynolds is the only player in baseball to hit 100-plus home runs and steal 40-plus bases during the past three seasons. The bad news? He's hit .234 during that span while striking out an average of 213 times per season.

15. Ian Stewart, Rockies: Stewart isn't going to win a batting title any time soon and missed about a quarter of the 2010 season. But with good health, Stewart has the power to hit 25-30 home runs in an offense that features two of baseball's elite hitters: Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki.

Feel free to send fantasy baseball questions to me via Twitter at @EDSBaseball or post them in our fantasy baseball forum.

See our other fantasy rankings for infielders: C - 1B - 2B - SS

Blue Jays, Bautista agree to five-year extension

The Toronto Blue Jays and outfielder Jose Bautista have agreed to a five-year contract extension worth $64 million.

Bautista, who would have become a free agent after the 2011 season, is signed through 2015, but the Jays have a club option at $14 million for 2016.

“It came down to how far above [Braves second baseman Dan] Uggla we’d be,” [Blue Jays general manager Alex] Anthopoulos said, per The Toronto Star. “We felt Dan Uggla was a focal point, but it took time to work things out. The consistency of Uggla speaks for itself. The upside of Jose’s season is that Uggla never had a season like that.”

Last year, Bautista led the majors with 54 home runs and finished third in the American League in runs batted in with 124. Before 2010, Bautista never hit more than 16 home runs in a season (2006).

Aaron Hill put on the DL

The Toronto Blue Jays have placed second baseman Aaron Hill on the 15-day disabled list (DL), per Rosie DiManno of the Toronto Star.

The move is retroactive to April 8th, which means Hill will be eligible to return on April 23rd.

“It’s not the way I wanted to start off,’’ Hill said. “Like I told them, ‘I know in the back of my mind you guys are making the right decision’ – even though I fought ’em on it. Obviously, I want to be out there.’’

While Hill is out, John McDonald and Mike McCoy are splitting the second baseman duties.

In eight at bats this season, Hill has only one hit.

Should the Yankees pursue Halladay?

Blue Jays (until traded) ace Roy Halladay has stated that he would waive his no-trade clause for the Yankees.

In addition to the Yankees, Halladay's preferred destinations include Boston, Los Angeles (Angels) and Philadelphia, per ESPN's Buster Olney (via MLB Trade Rumors).

As Anthony McCarron and Bill Madden of the NY Daily News point out, the Jays would likely want catching prospect Jesus Montero, either Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain and another prospect such as centerfielder Austin Jackson in exchange for Halladay.

Halladay, who will be 33 years old in May, has one year remaining on his contract and would want and get a high-priced extension with whatever team acquires him in a trade.

In the past two seasons combined, Halladay has a combined 37-21 record, 18 complete games and an ERA of 2.79.

As dominant of a 1-2 punch as the Yankees would have at the top of their rotation, should the Yankees give up top prospects for Halladay?

Mid-season Awards: A.L. Cy Young

There is a lot of baseball left to be played this year - roughly, half the season.

That being said, I made my pick a couple of weeks ago for N.L. Cy Young based on all the games played (pitched) up to that point. While I may or may not change my choice (see who here), I'm back at it to pick his A.L. counterpart.

Later this weekend, I will pick my Mid-Season A.L. MVP as well. (Click here to see my N.L. MVP.)

Drum roll please ...

A.L. Cy Young: Zack Grienke, Royals - Grienke got the season off to a perfect start with 38 scoreless innings to begin the season. Although Grienke has hit a bit of a rough patch (losing three of last five decisions), he still leads the majors in ERA (2.00) and is one of only five 10-game winners in baseball.

He has five complete games, which also leads the majors. He is second in the American League in strikeouts (120).

The Royals recent slide has knocked them 11 games out of first in the A.L. Central and has put them 13 games under .500. In the games Grienke (10-4) doesn't get the decision, the Royals are 23-42.

Runner-up: Roy Halladay, Blue Jays - It doesn't get much better than Halladay. He began the season with 13 straight starts of 7 innings or more. In addition, Halladay has thrown three complete games trailing only Grienke.

He's one of only five pitchers to win 10 games on the season. He's third in the A.L. in ERA (2.56) and has given up the fewest walks (14) of pitchers who have thrown 100+ innings. Grienke is the only other player with fewer than 20 walks (19)and 100 innings pitched.

Honorable Mention: Edwin Jackson, Felix Hernandez, Mark Buehrle, Justin Verlander, Matt Garza, Nick Blackburn (MIN), Jered Weaver, Kevin Millwood, Josh Beckett

Check back later this weekend for my A.L. Mid-Season MVP

Halladay's next start pushed back

Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay left last night's game in the fourth inning with a strained groin.

Now, the Blue Jays will push back his next start from Thursday to (at least) Saturday, per the Associated Press.

"He wants to pitch but he's also smart, too," [Jays manager Cito] Gaston said. "Some guys might have tried to stay out there, but he didn't. He knew there was something going on. It's better that you're that way than trying to play through it sometimes."

Halladay is 10-1 with a 2.53 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 103 innings pitched this season.