Today's Fantasy Rx

As in the last two months, I'm going to spend the first four days of this week on players with significant statistical changes this month. To qualify for consideration, a player must have 100 AB in both June and July over the last five years, and show a change, positive or negative, of .050 BA and .100 OPS between the two months.

Almost two dozen players also improved by at least that much this month, while almost thirty declined by similar amounts. Today we'll focus on improving hitters, tomorrow will be declining hitters, and the following two days we'll spend on improving and then declining pitchers.

I'll discuss in detail the current major leaguers with an OPS improvement of .150 or more before I list the remaining qualified players.

Preston Wilson, OF, FLO: +.129 BA; +.320 OPS
97-01	AB	BB:K	BA/OBP/SLG
June	276	16:87	.196/.248/.384
July	166	20:40	.325/.394/.554

02June	79	12:25	.215/.333/.506

Wilson has finally pushed his walk rate over 10% this season, and if his BA picks up as usual over the rest of the season, he could easily post career-best marks in OBP and potentially even SLG. A jump in his G-F ratio lowers his power potential, but he's seeing over .4 #P/PA more this season than last year, and he's almost equaled last year's stolen base total. Especially if his current owner needs BA, Wilson is someone you should acquire if possible.

Todd Greene, C, TEX: +.082 BA; +.223 OPS
97-01	AB	BB:K	BA/OBP/SLG	
June	117	4:19	.222/.260/.350	
July	112	5:27	.304/.333/.500

02June	40	1:12	.125/.163/.275

I don't expect him to receive sufficient playing time to retain much value, although he certainly possesses more upside than many other catchers. Even his normal improvement will leave him fairly useless in sim games, however the lack of quality AL catchers in deep leagues increases the likelihood of someone owning him. If you can afford the BA hit, you can probably wait to see if he'll find more playing time this month, but cut him if you can find a better alternative.

Mike Lamb, UT, TEX: +.095 BA; +.221 OPS
97-01	AB	BB:K	BA/OBP/SLG	
June	127	9:23	.244/.292/.307
July	183	10:18	.339/.383/.437

02June	78	7:13	.308/.360/.416

Both his stats and skills here are closer to his historical July performance, indicating a good possibility that he'll increase his OPS over .800 in this month. He's playing most days but likely isn't a long-term fixture in the Texas lineup, giving more immediate value for 2002 contenders than for rebuilding teams. You should probably wait a couple weeks to see if his production jumps as expected before looking for upgrades or trades.

Scott Spiezio, 1B, ANA: +.064 BA; +.221 OPS
97-01	AB	BB:K	BA/OBP/SLG	
June	220	19:31	.218/.285/.318
July	241	15:41	.2882/.330/.494

02June	75	11:10	.293/.375/.453

After a very poor April when he didn't even break a .670 OPS, Spiezio's hovered around .825 for the last two months, providing his owners with a solid BA, 26 RBI, and 21 Runs despite only three homers. While I don't see any obvious explanation for his continued lack of power development, he remains a productive cornerman in AL-only leagues. I expect he'll maintain or even improve his averages and likely his quantitative numbers, so you should seek to acquire Spiezio.

Trot Nixon, OF, BOS: +.083 BA; +.216 OPS
97-01	AB	BB:K	BA/OBP/SLG
June	224	35:42	.254/.356/.429
July	163	25:36	.337/.421/.589

02June	84	9:18	.274/.358/.452

He finally cracked an .800 OPS for an entire month despite irregular playing time, but unfortunately Nixon's plate discipline has remained similarly erratic, limiting the effectiveness of any prediction regarding his forthcoming performance. As he still possesses relatively solid skills, you should probably either look to acquire him at a discount or wait for improvement; we expected an All-Star caliber season and hope he can use a solid July as a springboard to a very roto-friendly second half.

Tony Graffanino, IF, CHW: +.078 BA; +.207 OPS
97-01	AB	BB:K	BA/OBP/SLG
June	153	17:36	.222/.297/.359
July	110	12:18	.300/.363/.500

02June	75	6:10	.267/.317/.400

Graffanino continues to receive regular playing time at 2B, 3B, and SS, normally batting second in the loaded White Sox lineup. His versatility gave him value even in the draft, and while he's always possessed the skills to earn double-digit value if he started every day, he'll remain quite useful in his current role. The combination of his normal July surge and potential veteran dumping from Comiskey could enable a career-best production level and more playing time, making him someone to acquire if you need MIF help.

Todd Walker, 2B, CIN: +.053 BA; +.194 OPS
97-01	AB	BB:K	BA/OBP/SLG	
June	258	18:47	.279/.323/.411
July	271	27:44	.332/.393/.535

02June	89	5:10	.270/.305/.360

If he can stay in a seemingly ever-changing lineup, Walker appears on target for his normal improvement this month. His G-F is both better than his career mark and similar to his marks of the past few years, so he's due for a power surge. A .900 OPS doesn't seem impossible, and given his unimpressive stats to date, you should be able to acquire Walker rather cheaply.

Aaron Boone, 3B, CIN: +.070 BA; +.193 OPS
97-01	AB	BB:K	BA/OBP/SLG	
June	253	21:46	.285/.350/.427
July	211	15:26	.355/.397/.573

02June	96	2:16	.250/.287/.427

His vanishing plate discipline is troublesome, as is a 2002 OPS of .669 so far, but Boone finally started displaying his normal power in June. I anticipate that his dad will keep playing him nearly every day, especially since he offers a more balanced game than Branyan and Cincinnati seems reluctant to place Brandon Larson back on the 40-man roster. Boone's value won't fall much lower, making now a good time to acquire him.

Juan Pierre, OF, COL: +.078 BA; +.190 OPS
97-01	AB	BB:K	BA/OBP/SLG	
June	111	8:2	.315/.367/.369
July	107	4:5	.393/.421/.505

02June	102	2:9	.235/.250/.265

Pierre's preciptious patience predicament poses problems for his owners. He didn't have a single extra-base hit in April, although he at least kept an 11:11 BB:K in 102 AB. In May, he managed a .362 SLG but lose 60 points of OBP as his BB:K fell to 3:12 in 130 AB, and he combined the worst aspects of both months in June as he posted a .515 OPS. However since I believe he'll overcome his rather disastrous first half, attempt to acquire Pierre before his value begins increasing.

Scott Rolen, 3B, PHI: +.060 BA; +.174 OPS
97-01	AB	BB:K	BA/OBP/SLG
June	447	55:107	.257/.338/.463
July	451	77:103	.317/.418/.557

02June	82	11:15	.256/.347/.463

He's within a total of ten points of all his normal averages, placing him in a great position to return from his first All-Star start and either lead the Phillies back into contention or at least significantly increase his trade value. If his current owner believes Rolen's slump will continue, definitely acquire him at any reasonable cost.

Geoff Blum, UT, HOU: +.057 BA; +.164 OPS
97-01	AB	BB:K	BA/OBP/SLG	
June	121	16:26	.231/.326/.331
July	139	11:24	.288/.353/.468

02June	80	8:14	.313/.371/.525

After a surprisingly impressive June spent mostly starting for the unfairly demoted Morgan Ensberg, Blum's value is higher now than it could be after his traditional July improvement. If you can find a buyer, deal Blum now, since he's unlikely to improve on his current performance and could easily slip back into a part-time role that wouldn't offer much to your team.

Doug Mientkiewicz, 1B, MIN: +.087 BA; +.159 OPS
97-01	AB	BB:K	BA/OBP/SLG	
June	138	16:28	.232/.325/.341
July	141	11:23	.319/.371/.454

02June	81	20:10	.259/.419/.358

BB:K marks of 19:6 and 20:10 over the last two months suggest that Mientkiewicz is due for an immediate jump in BA. He's also seeing more pitches per plate appearance than any other year of his career, and his G-F is down to .69. None of his skills suggest his struggles should continue, so seek to acquire Mientkiewicz now for a probable boost all categories except steals.

Garret Anderson(+.054 BA/+.146 OPS), David Justice(+.075/+.143), J.D. Drew(+.053/+.139), Gabe Kapler(+.066/+.107), and Rey Sanchez(+.052/+.100) qualifed but posted an OPS improvement under .125.

A few players qualified but aren't currently in the majors, including Turner Ward(+.132 BA/+.320 OPS), Bobby Bonilla(+.097/+.222), Dave Magadan,(+.070/+.174), Jeff Frye(+.074/+.157), Jay Buhner(+.051/+.131), and Eric Davis(+.064/+.111).

Today's Fantasy Rx: For All-Star 30th Man Voting, head over to mlb.com. Jess covered this subject in detail for her article today. Please go vote when you have the chance; we recommend Jim Thome in the AL and Brian Giles in the NL.