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On a day where a lot of runs are bring scored, the line of the day belongs to Reds’ rookie Joey Votto. Joey neared double his home run total for the entire season on Wednesday when he hit three out of the park against the Cubs. Votto hit one in the second inning, one in the fifth, and one in the sixth to complete the trifecta. He has basically taken over the starting job from Scott Hatteberg, and I said when that happened that you needed to evaluate to see if he is a fit for your team. Well, after tonight if you haven’t done that already, you better get a move on, because when a guy hits three home runs, someone in every league notices.

People have been asking me, “Can Edinson Volquez keep this up?” And my answer is, he can’t keep THIS up, but he will have a great season. Outside of the six walks, Volquez was the shiznizzle again on Wednesday. Edinson threw seven shutout innings and punched out ten, bringing his season total to 52 Ks in just 42 innings pitched. What else can I say, if you don’t have him at this point, he isn’t available in free agency, and I would think his price tag is so high on the trade market, he probably isn’t worth it, he won’t have a 1.06 ERA all year.

If you are expecting a good to great year from Daric Barton, it may be time to let those hopes go. After an 0-5 Wednesday, I am officially endorsing letting the guy go. Many had high hopes after the exciting rookie had a fantastic September, but his numbers in 35 games in 2008 are not as good as his numbers in just 18 games in 2007. A knock on him was he wouldn’t hit for enough power to make it as a corner infielder, and it looks like that might be true, as Barton has just one homer in 35 games. If you have a deep bench, than hold on to him, but if there’s someone good dropped, or a guy in free agency you have had your eye on, it might be time to cut ties with Barton.

Ok, Cliff Lee we get your point, you don’t ever want to go back down to AAA! Lee was amazing again on Wednesday throwing seven shutout innings and striking out seven against the daunting Yankees lineup. Lee is now 6-0 and allowed one run or less in five of his six starts. Lee is the ultimate sell high candidate and you can hope that someone in your league is buying into this incredible start. I’m not saying he is going to finish the season 7-15, but do you really expect him to win 20 games? I don’t. See if you can move Lee for one of the top 10-15 pitchers, his value will never be higher.

Was Placido Polanco dropped in your league? He was in two of mine. After struggling to a .174 average on April 24^th, Polanco has gotten that up to .264 by collecting 19 hits with five doubles and two homers during that time. If you are scuffling at middle infield (like a lot of fantasy teams do), look to Polanco if he was let go, he could bring you another 200 hit season like he had in 2007.

Injury Notes

Chad Gaudin was removed from the A’s rotation to make room for…….wait a minute…….Rich Harden, who is scheduled to start on Sunday. Now I urge all of you, no I plead with all of you Harden owners, if he goes out and throws a gem on Sunday, please promise me you will do what you can to trade him for something useful. I know he is one of the most electric pitchers in the majors, but folks, he just can’t and won’t stay healthy.

Looks like you will be without Alex Rodriguez for just one more week. A-Rod ran in the outfield, played catch, fielded grounders, and took batting practice. Rodriguez is eligible to come off the DL next Wednesday, and by the looks of things, that is exactly what he will do. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist (or a caveman) to know that this is a huge boost to all Rodriguez owners.

Only another day or two until Jimmy Rollins returns to the lineup. Get him off the injured list so you can plug him back into your team, he has been doing great in his rehab assignment.

Twins young starter Kevin Slowey will take the ball on Thursday against the White Sox. Slowey is an interesting case. He doesn’t overpower hitters, but his control is so good, he racked up hundreds of strikeouts in the minors. I can’t recommend picking him up until you see a quality start or two.

Quick Hitters

Attention Barry Zito: I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is, you didn’t embarrass yourself on the mound today. Five innings, just two runs, and five strikeouts is by far your best start of the season. The bad news? You still pitch for the Giants, they can’t score runs, and you are now 0-7.

Kevin Youkilis is a man possessed! The Youk is playing out of his mind in 2008, and padded his statistics with two more homers and three ribs on Wednesday. Youkilis is hitting .317 and has driven in 25 runs. Can you say sell high? I certainly can.

Scott Rolen has only been back for 11 games, but he has been pretty productive over that time. Rolen hit his second home run of the season, and now has eight driven in. If he can stay healthy, Rolen may be able to help those of you with deeper rosters. If you are in a traditional league with the traditional settings, you should be able to find a better option.

Staying in Toronto where the pitching is extra stingy, Shawn Marcum kept that trend going. Marcum took a shutout into the 9^th before he gave up a couple runs. Marcum is now 4-2 and this was the second consecutive game where he struck out nine hitters. All Toronto pitchers are now worth owning. Check your wire to see if any are threr.

Ryan Zimmerman is trying to swing his way out of the funk he has been in. With two homers Wednesday, Zimmerman now has five on the year, but his average is still a disappointing .239. You’ve got to ride out this bad time with Zimmerman, be patient, he will reward you by the season’s end.

Finally, another big sell high candidate has to be Ryan Church. Nothing in his past suggests that he can keep this going. After another three hit game on Wednesday, Church is hitting .328 with six homers and 24 RBI. He cannot continue this pace.

As always, your questions about your team (adds, drops, trades, etc) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee an answer within 18 hours.