Five Guys I Think Are For Real

Matt Joyce - OF - Tampa Bay Rays
While Sam Fuld started the season as one of the hottest players in baseball, Matt Joyce is the Rays outfielder you should have been watching. Joyce is getting regular playing time in RF and has been hovering around 1.000 OPS since early May. While his previous years in the majors never gave any indication that he was capable of such numbers, Joyce is currently hitting .340 and the RBIs keep coming at a steady rate. At a little over the 1/3 pole for the season, we can expect his BA to drop and the rest of his numbers to level off, but 25 HR, 90RBI, 10SB, .300BA is a pretty realistic expectation at this point. For a guy who started as waiver fodder for all but the deepest of leagues, that's a heck of a stat line. ESPN Player Rater currently has him as the #9 ranked OF this season.

Mike Morse - OF/1B - Washington Nationals
Forget Jayson Werth, Mike Morse is the best fantasy baseball player on the Washington Nationals this year. Critics point to the fact that he doesn't walk nearly enough, but in most leagues, that won't make a difference. His stock is rising and rising fast. With Adam LaRoche on the DL, the 1B job is his on a daily basis. ESPN currently has him as the #1 Ranked OF and 1B of the last 15 days. He's raised his BA almost 100 points since the start of May. If you think 29 is too old for a breakout season, I don't know what to tell you. Mike Morse won't steal you any bases like Werth would have, but he's carrying the team in most every other fantasy stat. 

Alexi Ogando - SP - Texas Rangers
I read a Yahoo story last week that indicated why it took so long for Ogando to make his way to the majors. Apparently he was an unwilling guilty party in some sort of human trafficking ring in Dominican Republic and Mexico. But that didn't matter to the Rangers who worked with him for years to get into the states and into the majors. After a decent year out of the pen in 2010 and a Spring Training that had him potentially pitching as a closer in 2011, the Rangers haven't had a reason to second guess putting him in the rotation as he's clearly been their best pitcher to date. Not only is he getting the job done in the W column, but he's also leading the league in WHIP! His fastball is one of the hardest in the league and his secondary stuff dances. Player Rater has him as the #7 pitcher for the whole season. Keep an eye on an innings limit toward the end of the season, but otherwise start every week.

Erik Bedard - SP - Seattle Mariners
It's been a few years since Bedard had a season worth noting. And there's really no guarantee that he finishes this season healthy, but ride the streak while you can. His season started rough, which garnered the usual moans and groans from Seatle fans, but since April 27th, he's 3-0 and going 7IP in just about every start. His last 5 games featured 7, 7, 4, 9, & 9 Ks which are a sign of the Bedard of old. If he can stay healthy for the full season, his projections are pretty solid for a #3 starter. ESPN has him as the #24 SP over the last 30 days. Give him a more starts and his numbers may look like some of the top guys in the AL. Take it all with a grain of salt of course, because his offense isn't scoring him any runs.

Fenando Salas - RP - St Louis Cardinals
The closer carousel in St. Louis finally seems to have come to an end. Salas has succeeded where Ryan Frankling, Jason Motte, and a host of others have failed. He ended May with a streak of 6 straight saves and only has one blown save on the season. But more importantly, he's not letting a whole lot of guys get on base and he misses an awful lot of bats. ESPN has him as the #3 ranked RP over the past 30 days. He's likely going to keep the role and with the awakening of Albert Pujols, chance are the Cardinals are going to be in position to win a lot of games. I expect him to be a top 10 closer for the rest of the season.