Fantasy Baseball: Hitters Stock Watch

Buy

Lorenzo Cain, OF, Royals
A hip injury ruined his breakout story in April, but he's healthy now and absolutely raking (9-for-19 since the break, two homers). The Royals have immediately inserted Cain into the middle of the lineup, and he's capable of giving us 10 homers and 10 steals the rest of the way. Consider him Melky-lite.

Chase Headley, 3B, Padres
There's a solid chance he'll be moved away from Petco Park during trading season, which roto owners would love to see. Headley's posted a .279/.378/.497 slash line away from his cavernous home park this year, along with eight homers and eight steals. He could be an All-Star in a fair ballpark.

Jayson Werth, OF, Nationals
Here's the cheapest power-speed guy you can find in many leagues - Werth is a free agent in more than half of the public pools we sampled. The Washington outfielder is ready for a rehab assignment (he's coming back from a broken wrist) and could easily post a four or five-category collection of numbers over the final two months. Why not stash him for a couple of weeks and see where the story takes us?

Sell

Carl Crawford, OF, Red Sox
He's been an ignitor over his first three games back (5-for-10, six runs, three steals), but see the bigger picture here: his elbow will need Tommy John surgery after the season (that's already confirmed) and Crawford has never hit lefties well during his career. Eventually the southpaw issue is going to rear its ugly head, and Crawford won't be at full health for the rest of the season. You might want to consider shopping his pretty stats right now. Heck, the Red Sox are currently doing the same thing.

Bryan LaHair, 1B/OF, Cubs
The monster April is still holding up his stats, but just barely: he's in a .235/.308/.374 funk since May 4, with 64 strikeouts over 179 at-bats. And don't bother calling LaHair when a lefty is on the mound - he's just 3-for-42 against them, with a puny .330 OPS. It was fun while it lasted. And eventually the Cubs will have to accept that LaHair doesn't have the defensive chops to play the outfield.

Hold

Freddie Freeman, 1B, Braves
He's rolling on a 10-game hitting streak right now (with three homers), suggesting that the cortisone shot to his fingers came through nicely. And you can tell Freeman has been seeing the ball well, as he's collected four walks against a mere two strikeouts over that span. It wouldn't be the shock of the century if Freeman went on to have a better career than KC's touted first baseman, Eric Hosmer - and for the balance of 2012, Freeman is definitely the better bet. Keep doing what you're doing, Fab Five Freddie.

Logan Morrison, OF, Marlins
The average isn't where we want it and he's a horror show in the field, but at least the pop has come back (eight homers over his last 37 games). Clip and save on Morrison for next year; he's still capable of being a .290-25-95 machine for the rest of the decade, especially if he gets shipped out of Miami. He didn't forget how to hit overnight, but a change of scenery would do nicely.