High Fives: Nab Napoli off the Week 8 wire

Top 5 corner infield pickups among the under 50% owned crowd

1. Mike Napoli -  Finally coming online with 4 HR in past week - when he's rolling, his power upside is up there w/ the best

1. Mike Napoli - Finally waking up, still could be a 25-85 guy

1. Ryan Howard - He's up to 10 homers and 23 RBI. Maybe he's not totally done just yet

2.  Ryan Howard - The HRs are still flowing and, surprise, the batting average isn't even all that distasteful (.268)

2. Wilin Rosario - Defense is messy, but they like the bat and he has catcher eligibility

2. Mike Napoli - Has four homers and eight RBI over the past three games, finally getting his BA above .200

3. David Freese -  He's top 15 in HR and RBI among CI-eligibles and, as a .276 career hitter, I would expect his BA to rebound

3. Ryan Howard - I made an early drop and deeply regret it; forget the contract, enjoy the Cadillac trots (nine over last month)

3. Maikel Franco - A solid prospect now up with Philly and batting in the middle of the lineup

4. Maikel Franco -  PHI top prospect has more than held his own thru 1st 9 games (.889 OPS)

4. Justin Turner - Don Mattingly's tinker toy, carries three positions of eligibility

4. Aramis Ramirez - Maybe he's done, but there's a long track record here, and he homered twice last week

5. Joe Mauer -  He's been cemented on my CI list all year - boring, sure, but a dependable Band-Aid for BA and RBI help

5. Jon Singleton - Tearing up Triple-A, so add him - then peddle him on day of recall

5. Michael Cuddyer - Leaving Coors obviously hurts, but this is batter who hit .331 over the past two seasons

Top 5 middle infield pickups among the under 50% owned crowd

1. Carlos Correa -  After tearing up AA, he's doing the same to AAA  (.914 OPS) -  promotion is likely less than 2 weeks away

1. Yunel Escobar - The spot in front of Bryce Harper, that's the catbird seat 

1. Chase Utley - His luck is bound to around soon enough

2. Jean Segura -  Another grab-n-stash - he's likely a week away from a return from the DL

2. Delino DeShields - Elite wheels, super bloodlines, has the green light  

2. Carlos Correa - Is only a matter of time before he's up in Houston

3. Delino DeShields -  He's basically been Dee Gordon over the past month - a quick fix for your SB needs

3. Jace Peterson - Not a ton of category juice, but he's been lifted in lineup and gets on base

3. Addison Russell - BA could remain a problem, but he's holding his own so far in Chicago

4. Addison Russell -  Very solid since a rough 2-for-18 start to his MLB career - pedigree trumps most of the sub-50% crowd

4. D.J. LeMahieu - Can't call it a fluke now that we're at Memorial Day

4. Jung Ho Kang - Is now getting regular playing time in Pittsburgh

5. Brad Miller - Taking to the utility role - No. 8 ranked fantasy MI over past two weeks

5. Joe Panik - Hang the DJ, hang the DJ, hang the DJ

5. Brad Miller - He has an .889 OPS versus right handers this season

Top 5 outfield pickups among the under 50% owned crowd

1. Josh Hamilton - Obviously no longer a sure thing, but we've seen the upside, and right now the cost of the gamble is dirt cheap

1. Billy Burns - Sunday homer was a fluke, but he's batting leadoff, running like crazy; Crisp won't be back anytime soon

1. Josh Hamilton - A flier definitely worth stashing, especially back in Texas

2. Adam Eaton - He's starting to pile up the hits and runs - I'd expect some SBs to follow suit soon

2. Cameron Maybin - Another regular tease, but still just 28 and doing work as No. 2 man

2. Marlon Byrd - Has really picked it up after a slow start to the year

3. Cameron Maybin - He'd be a short-leash add, but riding 8-game hit streak, has nice pop/speed combo

3. Andre Ethier - Swing looks pretty again and they have to use him against righties

3. Nori Aoki - Has been a top-150 fantasy player so far this season

4. Nori Aoki - Safer BA bet than most available OF speed options

4. Anthony Gose - Stuck in a time share, but on the heavier side of platoon and killing it when he does play

4. Colby Rasmus - Has six homers over 93 ABs against right handers

5. Angel Pagan - Another of my High Five mainstays - a healhy Pagan will run and hit for average

5. Nori Aoki - Puts ball in play, knows how to swipe a bag

5. Carlos Beltran - I'm giving him a couple more weeks before writing him off

Top 5 pitcher pickups among the under 50% owned crowd

1. Carlos Rodon - MLB career not off to flying start, but Ks have been there and Quality Start in 2 of past 3 - I still trust the talent

1. Mike Bolsinger - Three dominant turns, where the heck are you?

1. A.J. Ramos - He looks like the Marlins' new closer. Bizarre he's still so available

2. Clay Buchholz - Stuff is nasty - 9ER allowed in 3.1 IP vs. NYY in early April still masking overall line

2. Rubby De La Rosa - Finally getting a handle on his sweet arsenal; strikeouts tell you to buy

2. Brad Ziegler - Another option for those in need of saves

3. Brad Ziegler - Or A.J. Ramos - both should be good for some saves to go with sweet ratios

3. Brad Ziegler - The ratios will be good either way, and some saves will also follow 

3. Clay Buccholz - Blow up potential but hard to ignore the 58/15 K/BB rate over 53.0 innings

4. Mike Bolsinger - Who knows how long he can keep up this sweet run, but the way he's going, he can't be ignored

4. Shawn Tolleson - Head of committee at minimum right now, and I think he can run with the closer gig

4.Tanner Roark - Worth owning now that he's been moved into the Nats' rotation

5. Hector Santiago - Nearly a K per IP, 2.25 ERA, 1 ER or less in 6 of past 7 outings - time to make the call

5. Tanner Roark - Moves into rotation and makes sense if you're not chasing K/9; best suited for head-to-head formats

5. Shawn Tolleson - Again, if you need saves, here's yet another option seemingly out there in many leagues

Your fantasy Mt. Rushmore (+1) for the past 25 years

1. Ken Griffey Jr. - My Mt. Rushmore has to start with a Mariner ...

1. Barry Bonds - Pretty much demolished the record book, the best hitter we'll ever see

1. Barry Bonds - The best ever

2. Randy Johnson - Ok, it has to have at least 2 M's - although, his giant visage etched in stone could be a little scary for tourists

2. Pedro Martinez - Played Wiffle Ball in the middle of the steroid era

2. Pedro Martinez - Dominated during an era that was putting up crazy offensive numbers

3. Rickey Henderson - A single was basically as good as a triple for Rickey - Trout is the only player I've seen since give opponents fits in a similar pop/speed manner

3. Rickey Henderson - I love everything about this guy, on and off the field

3. Randy Johnson - He AVERAGED 354 strikeouts over a four-year span

4. Jeff Bagwell - Had a 5-season stretch in which he averaged .298, 41 HR, 127 RBI, 130 R and 20 SB

4. Jose Canseco - When I first got into this racket, he still ruled the world

4. Mark McGwire - He had a 130-70-147 line over 509 at bats in 1998

5. Mike Piazza - Career .308 hitter who hit 30+ HRs 9 times - a Catcher that you didn't need to justify taking in the top 5 picks of your fantasy draft

5. Miguel Cabrera - Mashes when he's healthy, mashes when he's not

5. Larry Walker - One of only two players in MLB history to bat .340 with 40 homers and 30 steals in a season