Dear Mr. Fantasy: Unit might be cooked

Our Michael Hurcomb answers some of your best Fantasy Baseball questions in his latest installment of Dear Mr. Fantasy.

By Michael Hurcomb

Jul 26, 2007 at 12:36 pm ET • 5 min read

You can e-mail your Fantasy Baseball questions to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Dear Mr. Fantasy in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. Be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we do not guarantee personal responses or answers to all questions.

Is Ryan Zimmerman still a legitimate keeper? He's holding his own on a bad team, but nothing spectacular. Secondly, what do you make of Billy Butler and his recent hot streak? -- Rob Habbouche, Battle Creek, Mich.

MH: Despite hitting just .259 through Tuesday, Zimmerman is still a legitimate Fantasy option and keeper. He stroked 20 homers as a rookie and is already at 15 this season. He will likely surpass last season's total. He drove in 110 runs, and while he might struggle to make it that high again, he will likely hover around 100 RBI. His numbers at this time still put him in the top 10 at his position in most standard leagues, and he is only expected to get better as his career progresses. So yes, he is a legitimate keeper.

As far as Butler is concerned, it appears as though K.C. might have overlooked their best prospect. I don't wholeheartedly agree with that assessment (Alex Gordon is still a rare talent), you can't argue with Butler's triumphs (.320, three homers, 26 RBI) in a less than intimidating lineup. Butler is as valuable as a Fantasy keeper prospect as Hunter Pence.

What is Jason Bay's problem? He's absolutely killing me. -- Jeffrey Sherman, USA

MH: Pirates manager Jim Tracy has tried everything to snap Bay out of a very long slump that began in early June. He has moved him up and down the lineup, as well as given him a few days off to work out his troubles. No luck up until Tuesday, when he cranked out two homers against the Mets. He then went yard again Wednesday. Let's hope this is the start of something positive. Tracy recently said that Bay wasn't seeing the ball very well. Bay is not injured and there is no physical reason for his struggles. Right now it is all psychological. If you held onto Bay for this long, there is no sense in trading him now. Just be prepared to insert him back into Fantasy lineups at the first sign of a hot streak.

I stashed away Juan Rivera on my bench. I'd been following the news on his broken leg recovery and it seemed he would be back right around the All-Star break. Now I read that he might be part of the September call up. What gives? Right now, I have the capacity to continue carrying him in hopes that he provides some good numbers the last 6-8 weeks of the season, but I don't want to hang on false hopes. What are your thoughts? -- Dan McIntyre, Austin, Texas

MH: The Angels have had success this season without Rivera in the lineup. There hasn't been a need to rush him back. However, barring any setbacks, the Angels would love to get Rivera back on the field before September. They are going to need his bat for the stretch run. Without a true spring training, it wouldn't surprise me if Rivera got off to a slow start once in the lineup. At this stage, I can't see Rivera being of much help to a majority of Fantasy owners. He might provide as a nice reserve bat down the stretch in the Fantasy playoffs, but to believe he can be a Fantasy stud would be overreaching.

What is your take on Nick Swisher? Every time I think he's going to make the turn to stardom, he follows up a big week with two weeks of whiffs and groundouts. Is this dude ever going to show some consistency? Is he ever going to be the .280/40/120 guy that many imagined he could be? -- Brian Staebler, Cleveland, Ohio

MH: Swisher never hit for a good average in the minors and the same has held true for three full seasons in the majors. The 26-year-old stroked 35 homers and drove in 95 RBI last season, but only hit .253. He did his damage with Frank Thomas protecting him in the lineup. He doesn't have Thomas anymore and his numbers have suffered. If the A's can find a slugger to protect Swisher once again, he might be able to reach the 40-homer plateau before his career ends. Until then, keep on dreaming.

Is it time to drop Randy Johnson and find someone more reliable? -- Rob Hudson, South Carolina

MH: After the Big Unit reported his season -- let alone his career -- might be done, I would go ahead and part ways with the towering lefty. The last thing a Fantasy owner can afford in the playoffs is uncertainty and that is exactly what Johnson brings to the table. Someone you can replace him with is Jon Lester, if he isn't already taken. It was very positive to see him win in his first major league outing in nearly a year. He is going to pitch for a contender down the stretch and that should mean plenty of wins. Also, it might be worthwhile to take a flier on Yankees SP Phil Hughes. He was just turning a corner before getting injured (hamstring) and has looked sharp during his rehab starts. I know these guys don't bring the experience that the Big Unit does to the table, but these guys are on the upswing of their careers and Johnson is on the downswing of his.

I have been holding Chad Tracy since the draft and my patience is wearing thin. I have a chance to pick up Lyle Overbay off waivers. Should I pull the trigger or will Tracy make me regret it? -- Daniel Song, New York City

MH: Overbay was hot coming off the DL, but has cooled off in the last week. I still like him more because he has recovered from his injury (hand), whereas Tracy (knee) has not. That is the reason why he has struggled (.262, six homers and 31 RBI) in 2007. Dropping Tracy (who has first base eligibility) is not a big deal in mixed leagues. You have to play the hot hand and he is just not it at this time.