Week 8 Hitting Planner

The Fantasy Baseball Hitting Planner is the essential guide to setting your lineup for the upcoming week. Every Saturday, we provide you with favorable and unfavorable matchups, along with news and notes on lineups. The Pitching Planner, complete with upcoming two-start pitchers, will be posted on Sunday.

Don't forget to check out our Weekly Planner page, under the stats tab on your league pages. It has the weekly matchups for each team broken down by day, the number of games ahead for each team and finally, the hitting and pitching stats for each team (broken down by home and away).

Weather planner: Taking into account all games with at least a 50 percent chance of precipitation according to Weather.com, there are no games in danger of being rained out this week.

This week's news and notes for each team:

Arizona Diamondbacks: Eric Byrnes, who has been struggling for much of this season so far, went 2-for-3 with a homer (and a hard hit line out) Friday against Detroit. He was battling through a 6-for-62 slump before the game, and was even benched earlier in the week. The Diamondbacks have been winning in spite of his lack of production, and he remains a crowd favorite in left at Chase Field. A repeat of '07 isn't going to happen, but putting up 20 homers and 20 steals from here on out is still a distinct possibility.

Atlanta Braves: Over the past few weeks, Gregor Blanco and Matt Diaz had been splitting starts in left field for the Braves, but Blanco has now done enough to earn starts in center field as well. He doesn't have Diaz's power potential (he has just three homers since 2005), but the 24-year-old left-hander can steal 20-plus bases with regular at-bats in this lineup.

Baltimore Orioles: Freddie Bynum has officially replaced Luis Hernandez at shortstop for the Orioles. He has hit safely in five of his first seven games so far, and he can certainly help Rotisserie teams with his speed. But he's not going to do much more than that ... Brian Roberts, the team's best hitter, has just one steal and two RBI in 13 May games so far. He's batting just .250 in the month, which is weird considering that through his career, May has been his best month at the plate (.309 BA).

Boston Red Sox: Julio Lugo had been sidelined this past week with a concussion that occurred last Friday in a collision at second base. However, he was back in the linup Saturday after Friday night's rainout. Lugo hasn't done much at the plate this season and this won't help any. His ownership has dropped from 68 percent to 43 percent since the start of the season ... The Red Sox have seven games this week, with four coming at Fenway Park against the Royals. Traveling to Oakland for three games keeps them out of my top-five hitting matchups for the week.

Chicago Cubs: Alfonso Soriano has three leadoff homers in his past four games for the Cubs and he's putting his sorry start to the season behind him. He is batting .350 for the month of May, he's healthy and he's getting multiple hits (seven times in the past 10 games) ... Jim Edmonds celebrated playing his first game with the Cubs by hitting a single to right Thursday against San Diego, the team that cut him last week. Then the Padres celebrated when he later grounded into a double-play, flied out to center and then struck out with the bases loaded. Reed Johnson went back to starting on Friday -- I expect they'll platoon this season.

Chicago White Sox: Alexei Ramirez, a player nicknamed the Cuban Missile, is starting to get more comfortable at the plate with the White Sox. He started in place of Juan Uribe (hamstring) Friday at San Francisco and homered in the seventh to put Chicago ahead for good. He's an inconsistent hitter right now, but consider the defector a player to watch for later this season. He's owned in just four percent of CBSSports.com leagues.

Cincinnati Reds: Has there ever been a more perfect trade for both sides than the Josh Hamilton-for-Edinson Volquez deal between the Reds and Rangers? The Reds outfield is still a solid one, with Ryan Freel and Corey Patterson splitting time in center, Adam Dunn (4 HR, 11 RBI in past 10 games) flexing muscle in left and Ken Griffey Jr. chasing 600 homers. But the fact that Jay Bruce is waiting in the wings makes the move make even more sense. Bruce has nine homers, 35 RBI, 29 runs scored and eight stolen bases at Triple-A Louisville. Expect the Reds to trade Griffey once he reaches his milestone, opening up a spot for Bruce.

Cleveland Indians: The Tribe called up Michael Aubrey Saturday, but it appears he'll just be offering part-time help as a pinch-hitter. He was their first-round pick in 2003, and he hit .350 in his last 10 games at Triple-A Buffalo. With Ryan Garko playing a bit better recently (two homers in his past four games), and Travis Hafner being a pinch-hitter in NL parks this weekend, the 26-year-old Aubrey is only worth picking up in larger leagues for now. He has just two homers so far in the minors this season.

Colorado Rockies: Matt Holliday missed Friday's game against Minnesota because of tightness in his back. Check his status over the weekend. He led the NL in hitting and RBI last season, and while this season has been a mild disappointment, he had hit safely in 10 of his past 11 games. Ryan Spilborghs replaced him in left field ... Chris Iannetta is still getting the lion's share of starts behind the plate, but Yorvit Torrealba isn't completely forgotten. Iannetta is batting .285 with one homer and nine RBI in May so far, which makes him a decent No. 2 catcher in mixed league play.

Detroit Tigers: Curtis Granderson hit five home runs in his first 11 games back from the DL, but he is struggling lately with just five base hits (no homers) in his past 10 games (39 at-bats, .128 BA). Teams have begun to throw him mostly junk recently, and his production is suffering ... Gary Sheffield has now played six games in the outfield, which should make him eligible in most Fantasy leagues at the position. His average remains below .200 on the season ... Matt Joyce is seeing starts in left and at DH recently, but he's hitting above his head (three homers and four RBI in his past five games).

Florida Marlins: Dan Uggla has tied the Marlins' team record for home runs in May with nine -- and there are still 13 games left in the month. He's second only to Lance Berkman with 28 extra-base hits ... Mike Jacobs still has tightness in his right thigh, but he's limited to pinch-hit duty for now and Wes Helms is seeing more time in his place.

Houston Astros: Lance Berkman continues to be the best Fantasy hitter in the majors through seven weeks. And remembering back to Alex Rodriguez's meteoric start a year ago, I thought it would be interesting to see their stats side-by-side through the first 42 games of last year and this year. The stats speak for themselves. Berkman is piecing together one of the greatest offensive starts in baseball history ... With seven home games at Minute Maid Park, the Astros have a favorable hitting schedule this week. The Cubs have a tough pitching staff, and the Phillies have been average this month. But no team has scored more runs per game than the Astros in May (6.07) ... Hunter Pence moved up to hit leadoff at the Rangers Friday, and manager Cecil Cooper chose to move Michael Bourn all the way down to the eighth spot, just ahead of fellow struggling youngster J.R. Towles. This setup is expected to continue through the interleague weekend in an AL park because of the DH spot. Pence stayed hot (14-game hitting streak) and Bourn snapped an 0-for-20 slump with a single.

Kansas City Royals: The Royals are the lowest scoring team in the AL so far (28th in the majors ahead of the Giants and Padres). But the entire lineup isn't devoid of Fantasy production:

1. David DeJesus, CF -- Joey Gathright has also been stealing starts in center hitting leadoff. After batting .341 in April, DeJesus has tailed off considerably.
2. Mark Grudzielanek, 2B -- Getting multi-hit games a lot lately, but he still can't be trusted outside of AL-only leagues.
3. Alex Gordon, 3B -- Brought his average down 20 points from the end of April, but he has still hit safely in eight of his past nine games.
4. Jose Guillen, DH -- Also works as their right fielder, with Butler at DH. Since May 7, he's hitting .533 (16-for-30) with a homer and nine RBI. He's only owned in 42 percent of leagues.
5. Billy Butler, 1B -- He now has 15 games played at first base, but the hefty righty has just one homer so far this year.
6. Mark Teahen, RF -- Remember when he was the Royals' top hitter just a couple seasons ago? He has 10 RBI this season.
7. John Buck, C -- He hit 18 homers last season, but he only has two so far this year. But he's getting his average up there, hitting .333 this month.
8. Tony Pena, SS -- He's owned in just two percent of leagues, which is how it should be.

L.A. Angels: Mike Napoli is getting the bulk of the starts again behind the plate, with Jeff Mathis seeing spot time, but neither are really doing much anymore ... The Angels are at Toronto for three games, then they travel to play the White Sox. While that sounds bad, they're actually one of the strongest road scoring teams in the AL.

L.A. Dodgers: Blake DeWitt has been a huge surprise for the Dodgers this season, especially considering the fact they went through Nomar Garciaparra, Andy LaRoche and Tony Abreu just to get to him. But he's now the injured player, sidelined with a sore lower back, and Russell Martin has six games at the spot now. As a third baseman, Martin is batting .357 -- but Fantasy owners won't really need to use him at third base most likely, since catchers are so thin.

Milwaukee Brewers: Ryan J. Braun signed an eight-year deal with Milwaukee for the richest contract in team history. A year ago at this time, Braun was still trying to get his defense up to par with Triple-A Nashville. From his May 25 call-up to now, only Ryan Howard (136) has more RBI than Braun's 127. Yeah, but what have you done for me lately? Oh. He has five homers and seven RBI in his past five games ... But along with Corey Hart and Joe Dillon, they are the only three Brewers hitting .300 or better in May. Mike Cameron is still struggling to find a rhythm at the plate, and it'll be interesting to see how long manager Ned Yost keeps batting him near the top of the order.

Minnesota Twins: The Twinkies have seven games this week, with four at home against the Rangers, and three at Comerica Park in Detroit. Texas has a 4.81 ERA on the road (ranked 23rd in the majors) and the Tigers have the worst home ERA in the AL.

N.Y. Yankees: The N.Y. Daily News reports that Jason Giambi has been wearing a gold thong under his uniform pants to try and snap out of a slump. Even Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon have acknowledged that they've tried wearing it too. Rumors are unfounded that Andy Pettitte wore them just twice, in order to come back from an injury quicker. "Giambi's a little freaky," said Mets manager Willie Randolph, a former Yankees coach. "I wouldn't go there." Giambi hit a homer Saturday, his third in eight games, so it looks like he has to do some laundry this weekend. He leads the Yankees in home runs.

N.Y. Mets: The Mets are on the road for six games this week, with three games against the Braves' tough pitching staff, and three at hitter friendly Coors Field. Atlanta has the second-best ERA at home in the majors (2.78), and the Rockies have the worst home ERA (5.32). Expect an inconsistent week ahead for the Mets.

Oakland Athletics: After catcher Kurt Suzuki sat out Thursday's game, he was back in the lineup Friday at Atlanta. He ended an 0-for-23 slump by going 1-for-4, and he has now started 38 of the team's first 42 games, which is tops among major league catchers. All those starts behind the plate could cost him later in the season.

Philadelphia Phillies: Chris Coste got the start behind the plate for the Phillies, with starter Carlos Ruiz sidelined with a stomach ailment. Coste is producing well with limited time, and he has eight hits in his past 17 at-bats. The Sports Xchange notes that his lunging swing was developed by playing fast-pitch softball in the mid-90s. "When you play at that level, you've got to be ready to hit because that ball is flying in at you from 45 feet away or whatever." Coste said. During his hot streak, your Rotisserie mixed team will get help in batting average, but don't expect much run production.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Ryan Doumit will be sidelined for about a month with a fractured thumb, and once he returns, it's an injury that could affect him at the plate. Ronny Paulino returns to the starting position behind the plate. While the latter won't make you forget about the former, Paulino has been a solid hitter in the past. In his past six games, he's hitting .240 with two doubles and five RBI.

San Diego Padres: While the Padres are still the worst scoring team in the majors, this is a great week to start the ones on your bench. They have seven home games against St. Louis (4.88) and Cincinnati (5.72), which both have two of the worst road ERAs in the majors.

San Francisco Giants: 1B John Bowker continues to hit well for the Giants, and he's slowly inching his way up the batting order. He's batting .389 with a homer and six RBI in the month of May. He's owned in only four percent of leagues, but his output makes him a must-own player in NL-only leagues.

Seattle Mariners: We're talking an awful lot about catchers today, but here's one more: Kenji Johjima. He started off horribly, then the Mariners chose to bring up catching prospect Jeff Clement -- and he didn't do any better. And Johjima is finally coming around, batting a team-best .341 in the month of May, with seven RBI and six runs scored.

St. Louis Cardinals: Yadier Molina leads the team with 17 hits in the month of May. That's the last time I talk about a catcher for the rest of this column ... The Cardinals are on the road for six games this week, at two very tough pitching parks (Petco Park and Dodger Stadium). The 3.33 runs allowed per game by the Padres in this park is the lowest in the majors. Offenses are hitting just .207 here against San Diego. And the Dodgers have allowed just eight homers against them in their stadium -- also lowest in the majors.

Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays picked up Jason Bartlett in the Delmon Young trade because they loved his defense. Early in the season, he was struggling with some throws to first base, but he settled down and his range is a huge improvement. The Rays currently have one of the best defensive infields in the majors, and Bartlett is beginning to turn things around at the plate. He's not going to produce many runs, but he has brought his batting average up over 30 points since late April.

Texas Rangers: Ian Kinsler is on pace for 46 stolen bases this season. He hasn't been caught stealing a base in his past 18 attempts, dating back to last year ... Remember when LF David Murphy came from nowhere to win AL Rookie of the Month honors in April? Well, he's batting even better in the month of May, gong 16-for-56 (.286), with three homers and 11 RBI in 15 games. He's still available in two-thirds of CBSSports.com leagues.

Toronto Blue Jays: Brad B. Wilkerson is just 5-for-27 (.185) in eight games with the Blue Jays so far. Kevin Mench is just as bad, with only three hits in 17 at-bats (.176) with Toronto.

Washington Nationals: Elijah Dukes has seen a good number of starts over the past week (at center and left field), but he has just one hit and one RBI (on a sac fly) to show for it. He strikes out a lot and his power hasn't come back to him, so consider him in NL-only play for now ... Nick Johnson, we hardly knew ye. After missing all of last season with a broken leg, he now has torn tendons in his right wrist, which will now cost him at least a month of the '08 season. Dmitri Young returns from a lower back injury just in time to start at first base. He hit .320 with 13 homers and 74 RBI last season in Johnson's place.

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