Working the Wire: OF's

We are almost two months into the Fantasy Baseball season and things are beginning to take a noticeable shape. The top teams are starting to establish themselves; the contenders are looming; and things are looking bleaker every day for the bottom feeders. Coming into the season, the Outfield position was looking pretty slim and, save for a few surprises, has since held true. As such, I’d like to take a look at a few guys who may be able to be of assistance to you if you are struggling to find production. Without further ado: Luke Scott, OF, Orioles: My good friend Mack is a big Orioles fan. He’s always chirping to me about one player or another with a mediocre name, who usually ends up having a good month and then fading into obscurity like we all wish “Joe the Plumber” would. The same may end up being true for Luke Scott. Then again, it may not. Scott put up a .432 average with 8 jacks and 18 RBI in the month of May. Those are massive digits for a guy who, apart from 21 RBI in September of ’06, has never achieved any of those numbers in a single month before. Nevertheless, those numbers are very impressive and Scott can still be had in 54% of ESPN and 50% of Yahoo leagues. Hideki Matsui, OF, Yankees: I have to admit, I’m not a Matsui fan. What I am a fan of is yelling “GOOOOZZZZZIIIIRRRRRAAA” every time he comes to the plate. And Fantasy owners should be a fan of what he’s done over the past week. In the past seven days, the slugger from Kanazaka is hitting .381 with 3 Homeruns and 8 RBI. With the Yankees hitting their stride in the second half of May, the runs are piling up. Expect Godzilla to be not only driving them in, but scoring them as well. Matsui is still available in 39% of ESPN leagues and 61% of Yahoo leagues. Marlon Byrd, OF, Rangers: With Josh Hamilton headed to the DL, Marlon should be playing every single day in that loaded Texas lineup. Over the past seven days Byrd is hitting .438 with a pair of Homeruns. He is also hitting .302 on the season and has 4 Homeruns to go along with 25 RBI. (Side note: do you think the rapper “Birdman” is mad that so many more people are being referred to as “The Bird Man” all of the sudden? I think yes.) Byrd is a streaky, but solid, player who has been effective when in the lineup. He probably isn’t worth owning in 10-team mixed formats, but in deeper formats is worth a look. He is currently available in 93% of ESPN leagues and 92% of Yahoo leagues. PCB Scout Questions? Comments? Random nonsense? Email me: pcbscout(at)gmail.com