Player Notes

Martin Prado is batting .275 in May.
Advice: Slowly but surely, Prado is digging himself out of an awful early-season slump. In his first month with the Snakes, Prado slashed an anemic .217/.266/.348. Over 15 games this month, he's batting a reasonable .275/.339/.333. It's certainly not the start Arizona expected after acquiring Prado in the Justin Upton trade and subsequently signed him to a four-year, $40 million contract extension. Sporting his trademark multi-position eligibility and playing in cozy Chase Field, now might be the time to buy low. Prado entered the year a .319/.370/.447 career hitter in Arizona.

Everth Cabrera went 0-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and an RBI in Thursday's defeat at the hands of Washington.
Advice: Cabrera's 13 steals rank second in the National League. A better real-life than fantasy player, Cabrera's value comes in the form of his legs (steals and runs) and eyes (walks). He looks poised to have a career year.

Brandon Crawford went 2-for-4 with a three-run double in the Giants' 8-6 victory over the Rockies on Thursday.
Advice: Crawford has made a career out of hitting against the Rockies; he's at .348 with three homers and 17 RBI in 92 at-bats against Colorado, compared to .228 with nine homers and 69 RBI in 680 at-bats against everyone else. Fortunately, he has three more games at Coors Field coming up this weekend.

Brendan Ryan turned in his first multihit game since April 5 on Thursday, going 2-for-4 with an RBI against the Yankees.
Advice: Ryan went 4-for-12 in the series against the Yankees, which is like an average hitter going 14-for-12. His average jumped all of the way from .122 to .149.

Derek Jeter (ankle) is close to getting the walking boot on his left foot removed again.
Advice: Jeter had a routine checkup recently and was told his left ankle is healing. Once the boot is removed, he'll be eased into baseball activities again. The future Hall of Famer won't be an option at shortstop for the Yankees until after the All-Star break.
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Josh Rutledge went 3-for-4 with two RBI in the Rockies' loss to the Cubs on Wednesday.
Advice: The second baseman has struggled to find consistency in his first full year, but he's never gotten too low as to play himself out of a job. Rutledge has hit five homers and stolen five bases on the year, and he's actually getting on base at a decent clip given his mediocre batting average. His two RBI Wednesday gives him 13 on the year.

Elvis Andrus has hit safely in 12 of 15 games this month.
Advice: After scuffling out of the gate (.250/.291/.317 in April), Andrus has shown signs of adapting his timing. His OBP in May is over .350. After posting a career high .378 slugging percentage in 2012, Andrus has seen that number tumble to .321 entering play on Thursday. Of course, nobody drafted him as a slugger. The two-time All-Star already has almost half as many steals this year (10) as he did last (21), and he's only been picked off once. We're not concerned with him.

Orioles prospect infielder Jonathan Schoop has been placed on the 7-day disabled list with Triple-A Norfolk due to a lower back strain.
Advice: Coming off a breakthrough performance during the World Baseball Classic, the 21-year-old Schoop is batting .268/.331/.386 with three home runs, 18 RBI and a .717 OPS through 34 games at Triple-A this year. He has played 17 games at shortstop and 17 at second base.
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Troy Tulowitzki went 3-for-5 with two doubles as the Rockies defeated the Cubs on Tuesday.
Advice: Tulo doubled twice and scored two runs on the night. The shortstop is now hitting .324 with 32 RBI, and he's unquestionably the best fantasy shortstop going these days. At this point, health will be the only thing that keeps him from finishing the season that way as well.

Alexi Amarista homered, doubled twice and scored three times Wednesday in the Padres' 8-4 win over the Orioles.
Advice: Amarista has homered in back-to-back starts. He has surprising pop for a little guy, with eight homers, six triples and 25 doubles in 404 major league at-bats. Unfortunately, he still hasn't managed to reach base consistently. The Padres will keep using him as a backup at second base and in center field, leaving him little fantasy value.

Batting leadoff with Denard Span sitting, Danny Espinosa went 0-for-4 on Tuesday, dropping his average to .175.
Advice: Espinosa was the choice to lead off against Clayton Kershaw even though he entered the game with a disgusting .213 OBP. The Nationals are going to have to seriously consider giving Steve Lombardozzi a crack at the second base job.

Jamey Carroll went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored Wednesday against the White Sox.
Advice: Carroll also knocked in his fourth run of the season. The veteran was starting just his 11th game, though he has played a bit more of late. As rarely as homers and steals come for him, he needs to be an everyday guy to be useful in AL-only leagues.

Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos said it "would not surprise me" if Jose Reyes returned in late June.
Advice: Reyes had the walking boot on his left foot removed Tuesday and is evidently recovering a bit ahead of schedule, as he had been expected to sit out until around the All-Star break. The shortstop is still in the early stages of his recovery, though. A lot can happen over the next six weeks.
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Alcides Escobar went 3-for-5 with a double, stolen base, two runs scored and an RBI in the Royals' 11-4 win over the Angels on Monday.
Advice: Entering the contest, the 26-year-old had seen his average fall 40 points since May 5, a stretch where he managed just three singles and no walks. While Escobar is a better real-life player than fantasy commodity, he'll provide enough runs and steals to be of use in mixed formats.

Willie Bloomquist (oblique) will play in an extended spring training on Thursday.
Advice: He'll play in 1-2 extended spring games before beginning a rehab assignment if all goes well. Barring another setback, Bloomquist should be ready for activation before the end of the month.
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