For a team in the bottom half of the American League in runs scored, the White Sox have some great values on offense. Carlos Quentin leads the American League in home runs, is second in RBI and fifth in runs scored. Orlando Cabrera is in the top 15 in runs scored and stolen bases, and his batting average is due to rise. Jermaine Dye and A.J. Pierzynski are having solid seasons as well, and Alexei Ramirez provides versatility and a great nickname (The Cuban Missile).

Too bad you can't get Fantasy points for nicknames, but Ramirez really could prove to be a secret weapon for both the Sox and your Fantasy squad. Since Juan Uribe went down with a strained left hamstring, Ramirez has started nearly every game as the White Sox second baseman. Over that time, he is 8-for-28 (.286) with a .464 slugging percentage. At the time of Uribe's injury, Ramirez possessed a .143 average in 42 at-bats, which was depressed by a 17 percent H/BIP. His average for the season is still only .200, but with more playing time, he is starting to even out his H/BIP rate, which is now up to 21 percent. Ramirez is showing enough power, contact and speed for us to expect his average to continue its climb. He is worth a flyer in AL-only leagues and deeper mixed leagues, as he should play nearly every day over the next two weeks, if not longer.

Like Ramirez, Jason Giambi is finally moving his H/BIP and average in the right direction. Last Tuesday, he emerged above the Mendoza line for the first time all year, and as of Sunday, his average sat at .230. At this rate, Giambi's H/BIP will soon be at its normal mid-20s level and he will finally exit the "Unlucky Hitters" list, making room for some other unlucky contestant. This also means that Giambi is quickly approaching his usual place among the middle-of-the-pack first basemen. He is still available in roughly one-third of all leagues, so he is a viable option for those looking for an upgrade at 1B or utility.

How does a player make the "Good Stats, Good Skills" list when he is batting .229? In the case of Jarrod Saltalamacchia, it can happen when you trade base hits for a truckload of walks. Salty is currently the proud owner of a 21 percent walk rate and .393 on-base percentage. He isn't putting up monster Fantasy numbers yet, but with if you combine these great on-base skills with a potent power bat and regular playing time, Salty could rack up more homers, RBI and runs than any other AL backstop.

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A month ago, I identified Conor Jackson as a player to sell. Fantasy owners were salivating at his 1.050 OPS, and this 26 year-old had "breakout" written all over him. However, there was little in his track record to suggest this kind of explosive growth. Jackson's OPS has since dropped to .875, and his skills set does support this level of production. His more modest stats still represent a growth year, and Jackson would be an upgrade over many first basemen. There is probably no shortage of owners disappointed with his May performance to date (.209 average, 1 HR, 9 RBI), so now you have a great "buy" opportunity.

All statistics below are for season-to-date performances through Saturday, May 24.

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'Lucky' Hitters H/BIP RC/27 'Lucky' Pitchers H/BIP ERC
Matt Kemp, OF, L.A. Dodgers 42% 5.7 Renyel Pinto, RP, Florida 20% 3.00
Ramon Vazquez, 3B, Texas 41% 8.8 Logan Kensing, RP, Florida 22% 4.14
Justin Upton, OF, Arizona 40% 6.5 Daisuke Matsuzaka, SP, Boston 24% 3.13
B.J. Upton, OF, Tampa Bay 39% 6.3 Vinnie Chulk, RP, San Francisco 24% 3.54
Dioner Navarro, C, Tampa Bay 39% 5.7 Chan Ho Park, SP, L.A. Dodgers 24% 3.94
Aaron Rowand, OF, San Francisco 39% 7.4 Juan Cruz, RP, Arizona 26% 3.68
Mark DeRosa, OF, Chicago Cubs 38% 7.4 Justin Speier, RP, L.A. Angels 26% 6.76
Matt Treanor, C, Florida 38% 7.4 Manny Acosta, RP, Atlanta 27% 4.53
Kosuke Fukudome, OF, Chicago Cubs 36% 7.3 Shawn Chacon, SP, Houston 27% 4.45
Lyle Overbay, 1B, Toronto 36% 5.8 Jeremy Bonderman, SP, Detroit 28% 5.35
Unlucky' Hitters H/BIP RC/27 'Unlucky' Pitchers H/BIP ERC
J.R. Towles, C, Houston 16% 2.7 Dallas Braden, SP, Oakland 36% 2.75
Jason Giambi, 1B, N.Y. Yankees 21% 7.1 C.C. Sabathia, SP, Cleveland 36% 4.93
Corey Patterson, OF, Cincinnati 21% 3.2 Jonathan Broxton, RP, L.A. Dodgers 34% 3.19
Alexei Ramirez, 2B, Chicago White Sox 21% 1.6 Derek Lowe, SP, L.A. Dodgers 34% 4.48
Ramon Hernandez, C, Baltimore 22% 2.5 Mark Buehrle, SP, Chicago White Sox 34% 4.68
Kenji Johjima, C, Seattle 22% 2.4 Brett Tomko, SP, Kansas City 33% 4.78
Mike Napoli, C, L.A. Angels 22% 6.4 Brad Penny, SP, L.A. Dodgers 33% 4.58
Eric Byrnes, OF, Arizona 23% 3.1 Javier Vazquez, SP, Chicago White Sox 33% 3.09
Jhonny Peralta, SS, Cleveland 23% 3.6 A.J. Burnett, SP, Toronto 32% 4.11
Orlando Cabrera, SS, Chicago White Sox 24% 2.8 Shawn Hill, SP, Chicago Cubs 32% 4.05
Good stats, good skills - hitters H/BIP RC/27 Good stats, good skills - pitchers H/BIP ERC
Jason Bay, OF, Pittsburgh 30% 9.0 Joey Devine, RP, Oakland 30% 1.64
Carlos Quentin, OF, Chicago White Sox 29% 8.3 Edinson Volquez, SP, Cincinnati 29% 2.67
Conor Jackson, 1B, Arizona 29% 6.7 Tony A. Pena, RP, Arizona 31% 3.13
Stephen Drew, SS, Arizona 30% 6.2 Aaron Harang, SP, Cincinnati 30% 3.53
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C, Texas 29% 6.2 Zack Greinke, SP, Kansas City 29% 3.54
Poor stats, poor skills - hitters H/BIP RC/27 Poor stats, poor skills - pitchers H/BIP ERC
Lastings Milledge, OF, Washington 29% 3.0 Jeff Suppan, SP, Milwaukee 30% 5.41
Franklin Gutierrez, OF, Cleveland 30% 3.1 Jason Hammel, SP, Tampa Bay 30% 5.34
Omar Quintanilla, 2B, Colorado 31% 3.5 Adam Eaton, SP, Philadelphia 31% 5.22
Yuniesky Betancourt, SS, Seattle 29% 3.5 Brandon Backe, SP, Houston 29% 5.12
Felipe Lopez, SS, Washington 31% 3.7 Carlos Silva, SP, Seattle 31% 4.88
Runs Created per 27 Outs (RC/27) -- An estimate of how many runs a lineup would produce per 27 outs if a particular player occupied each spot in the order; ex. the RC/27 for Miguel Cabrera would predict the productivity of a lineup where Cabrera (or his statistical equal) batted in all nine spots; created by Bill James
Component ERA (ERC) -- An estimate of a what a pitcher's ERA would be if it were based solely on actual pitching performance; created by Bill James
Base Hits per Balls in Play (H/BIP) -- The percentage of balls in play (at bats minus strikeouts and home runs) that are base hits; research by Voros McCracken and others has established that this rate is largely random and has a norm of approximately 30%
Isolated Power -- The difference between slugging percentage and batting average; created by Branch Rickey and Allan Roth
Walk Rate -- Walks / (at bats + walks)
Whiff Rate -- Strikeouts / at bats

Al Melchior was recently a Fantasy columnist and data analyst for Baseball HQ and will be providing advice columns for CBSSports.com. Click here to send him a question. Please put "Melchior" in the subject field.