High Fives: Rookies rule Week 11 wire

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

1. Maikel Franco -  Currently riding 11-game hitting streak, and now sitting at sweet .883 OPS mark thru 27 games

1. Maikel Franco - Multi-hit machine lately, he's the No. 20 overall fantasy asset over the past two weeks.

1. Mike Napoli - He has a 10:0 K:BB ratio over the past five games but I still believe his power will come

2.  Chris Colabello -  Has hit in 29 of 35 games since his May 5 arrival - ranks as top 25 fantasy bat in that span

2. Mitch Moreland - Five multi-hit games and three homers over his last seven. Now batting .310 for the season.

2. Maikel Franco - Has a 16-6-16 line over the first 106 at bats of his career

3. Mitch Moreland -  Hitting the holy crud out of the ball in June (OPS over 1.000)

3. Chris Colabello - Hitting streak recently concluded, but he looks like he's beginning another. Power is well established.

3. Alex Guerrero - I still say he's worth stashing in the event he eventually finds an everyday job

4. Logan Morrison -  Rockin' steady with an OPS above .850 since May 1 - has hit in 18 of past 19 games

4. Joe Mauer - Rough ride so far, but he still hits in a prime lineup position. Wouldn't surprise if he hits .330 in second half.

4. Joe Mauer - He continues to disappoint but is on pace to finish with 93 RBI

5. Joe Mauer -  Batting average more likely to finish north of .280 than current .260 range, and the RBIs are healthy (35)

5. Francisco Cervelli - A catcher who's an asset in AVG? I'll take it. And I just really didn't want to blurb Ryan Howard.

5. Ryan Howard - Remains a big BA drain but he does have 11 home runs 

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

1. Addison Russell - Have been a steadfast believer in his talent  -  I'll keep on betting that it will ultimately take hold

1. Wilmer Flores - He's up to 10 HR on the season, and the power is clearly legit. Curiously low ownership at this point.

1. Addison Russell - BA will be a problem but he's more than held his own since getting called up

2. Brett Lawrie -  He can be a rollercoaster ride (streaks, slumps, health), but has unique pop/speed skills for a MI-eligible

2. Brett Lawrie - Pop, speed and multi-position eligibility. Health is the only ongoing worry.

2. Andrelton Simmons - He's quietly on pace to finish with 102 runs scored

3. Andrelton Simmons -  He's been a run-scoring machine, and he's 9-for-20 in past 5 games

3. Andrelton Simmons - Not a huge power/speed contributor, but he's scoring runs. AVG has been surprisingly not-terrible

3. Chase Utley - I'm going to keep going back to this well

4. Francisco Lindor -  Tribe just promoted its top prospect, one who should be a plus in the SB dept. and offers a bit of pop

4. Francisco Lindor - Probably a better real-life player than fantasy asset, but should still be relevant in our game

4. Jung Ho Kang - Not sure why he's not owned in more leagues at this point

5. Matt Duffy - A top 15 roto MI since the beginning of May and offers 2B/3B/SS eligibility

5. Eugenio Suarez - Should benefit from Cozart's brutal injury situation. Not the worst deep league placeholder

5. Francisco Lindor - Was promoted to majors Saturday, so the prospect is going to be a popular pickup

Top 5 outfield pickups among the under 50% owned crowd

1. Billy Burns - Has been an impact speed play (BA, SB, R) since his OAK arrival

1. Billy Burns - Crazy speed, prime lineup spot, and he's hitting. And still, you guys aren't adding. Bah.

1. Billy Burns - He's batting .312 with 21 runs scored, two HRs and 11 steals over 154 at bats

2. Adam Eaton - That awful April is water under the bridge - has been piling up Runs since then and his BA and SBs should be decent going forward

2. Byron Buxton - Ownership percentage is taking off, but we can't fail to mention him. Here's some video hype.

2. Melky Cabrera - He's slugging .269, so there's no questioning how bad he's been but was a top-60 player last year in fewer than 140 games

3. Rusney Castillo - His MLB career has been slow to gain speed, but June has shown some flashes of his high upside

3. Joey Butler - Silly production to this point (.345 AVG), piling up hits. Hard to leave numbers like his on the wire

3. Byron Buxton - His ownership will obviously sky rocket now that he's been called up

4. Byron Buxton - Huge talent, but not sure bat will impact right away - his speed, however, is a different story (20 SB in AA)

4. Leonys Martin - Offers speed and a friendly park; batting .325 over past two weeks

4. Rusney Castillo - I still believe in him

5. Joey Butler - Who am I to turn my nose up at a .902 OPS thru 35 games

5. Kyle Schwarber - The next upper-tier power bat arriving from the Cubs' farm system, he's eligible at C and OF

5. Rajai Davis - He's on pace to swipe 37 bags

Top 5 pitcher pickups among the under 50% owned crowd

1. Carlos Rodon - Chart-topping talent has allowed 1 ER or less in each of last 4 outings

1. Brad Ziegler - He's closing games, with glittering ratios. Obvious add in all leagues

1. Taijuan Walker - The hype is gone but he's posted a 1.64 ERA with a 21:3 K:BB ratio over his last three starts

2. Closers - Cecil, Ziegler, C. Smith - man, I wish those guys were available in my leagues

2. Carson Smith - See blurb on Ziegler above

2. Brad Ziegler - He's closing for Arizona

3. Roenis Elias - Going back to last season, has posted an ERA of 3.18 or less in five straight months

3. Brett Cecil - Yet another widely available closer. Must be nice to play in these leagues with free saves

3. Carson Smith - Yet another closer apparently readily available

4. Erasmo Ramirez - Very quietly, has been a top 20 SP since Mid-April

4. Clay Buchholz - I'm not really  much of a Buchholzist, but he's been very good over the past month, plus Atlanta up next

4.Vincent Velasquez - Nice prospect worth grabbing to see how it goes 

5. Taijuan Walker - Great expectations for '15 were dashed early by rocky start, but he's been nasty in past 3 starts

5. Carter Capps - 25 Ks in 14.0 innings, with brilliant ratios? Yeah, OK, I'll take it.

5. Brett Cecil - The lack of saves for Toronto has been a fluke

Your five least favorite MLB ballparks of your lifetime

1. Ashtray stadiums - Good riddance to all those multi-purpose stadiums of my youth (Veterans, Three Rivers, old Busch, Riverfront, et al)

1. Tropicana Field - Possibly the least inviting sports arena you'll ever see

1. Dodger Stadium - Never been there but I heard it's a dump

2. O.co Coliseum - Apparently OAK didn't get the memo about the eradication plan for all multi-purpose non-descript MLB facilities

2. O.co Coliseum - Ridiculous name, and, well ... just read Dalton's blurb -->

2. O.co Coliseum - There are frequent sewage problems leaking into the dugouts

3. The Astrodome - Ok, basically same as the Kingdome, but I have too many good memories to list Seattle's former home - can we agree no baseball in a dome-only stadium?

3. Busch Memorial Stadium - I'm talking about the Busch before the current Busch (which is lovely). It felt like you were being microwaved for nine innings.

3. Marlins Park - I mean, come on 

4. Tropicana Field - I said, can we agree, Tampa?

4. Candlestick Park - Good riddance. Miserable conditions way too often

4. Tropicana Field - It's a disaster to get to

5. Olympic/Exhibition Stadium - Canada has been a bit ballpark-challenged when it comes to its MLB history

5. Shea Stadium - I'm sure Salfino might have something nice to say about it, but I did not enjoy it

5. The Astrodome - Wasn't ideal for those who were fans of offense