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Changes in Detroit
The Tigers made several fairly unexpected changes over the weekend. Starter Max Scherzer has been struggling all year, and he is headed to the minors to straighten things out. Armando Galarraga will be taking his spot in the rotation, and was solid in his first start against Boston (5.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K). He is though only interesting in AL-only leagues. Even in 2008 he was not as good as his surface numbers appeared (3.73 ERA, 4.88 FIP). This does mean that Dontrelle Willis actually has solid job security as long as he is healthy.

Changes in Detroit
The Tigers made several fairly unexpected changes over the weekend. Starter Max Scherzer has been struggling all year, and he is headed to the minors to straighten things out. Armando Galarraga will be taking his spot in the rotation, and was solid in his first start against Boston (5.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K). He is though only interesting in AL-only leagues. Even in 2008 he was not as good as his surface numbers appeared (3.73 ERA, 4.88 FIP). This does mean that Dontrelle Willis actually has solid job security as long as he is healthy.

Rookie Scott Sizemore was expected to be a solid offensive second-baseman, but he struggled mightily with just one home run and a .297 OBP in 97 at-bats. The odd news here is that with Sizemore heading back to the minors for some more seasoning, Carlos Guillen is the new second-baseman in Detroit. Guillen is still currently on the DL, but he is expected to return at the end of May. In the meantime, Ramon Santiago, Danny Worth, and Don Kelly will fill in. None of these players seem intriguing even in AL-only leagues. Guillen is a shadow of his former self as a hitter, and while the position flexibility helps, he’s just not that good. He is also a huge injury risk. None of the other players are likely to get enough consistent playing time to help either.

The one player that does benefit here is rookie Brennan Boesch. Mostly I view this 2B-situation as a way to keep Boesch’s bat in the lineup. He’s currently slugging .676 in 71 at-bats, but with just 2 walks. He does however have hits in 16 of 19 games including 8 multi-hit efforts. Boesch is a must-add in basically all formats while he’s currently hitting like this. He will be in the middle of the Tigers lineup for the foreseeable future.

Jimmy Rollins is back
Get Rollins back into your lineups immediately. Wilson Valdez is likely out of a job (he’s out of options). The great Phillies lineup just got even better.

Pat is the Bat no more
Tampa released scuffling Pat Burrell into the wild on Saturday, and recalled Hank Blalock. This move gives the Rays more flexibility in the lineup since Blalock is left-handed and can also play first and third. Willy Aybar will pick up more at-bats, and will consistently face lefties. Blalock is intriguing since he was hitting .349/.405/.505 at AAA-Durham and has hit in the past with Texas. He’s a must-add for AL-only leagues, and could be worth a flier in deeper mixed leagues.

The other first-rounder for the Nationals gets called up
Drew Storen was picked 10th overall by Washington last year, and now he will soon debut in the majors. He spent two seasons as the closer for Stanford, and should eventually occupy that role in the big leagues. Storen had a 1.08 ERA with 4 saves and 15 strikeouts in the minors this year (16.2 IP at AA-AAA). For now he will probably pitch in front of Tyler Clippard and Matt Capps, but those two should be prime trade candidates if Washington is even remotely interested in rebuilding. I think he will get opportunities in the latter half of this season, and if Capps is the one traded it would make sense to hand over the job to Storen and not Clippard.

Is it time to buy back in with Chad Billingsley?
Chad Billingsley looked like he was head toward stardom after 2008, a year in which he posted a 3.14 ERA with 16 wins and 201 strikeouts. Since then he suffered a broken leg, and some highly publicized meltdowns in the playoffs and questions about his mental make-up. After initially struggling this season, the powerful L.A. pitcher seems to be righting the ship.

Billingsley had his longest outing Sunday since 6/30/09 going 7.1 innings allowing just 4 hits and 0 runs with just 1 walk and 6 strikeouts. He actually threw just 95 pitches, and would have stayed in had the Dodgers had more than a 1 run lead at the time. This was the fourth solid start Billingsley has had in his last five outings. In those four starts he’s gone 24.2 IP allowing just 5 runs. He is still having some problems with walks, and he hasn’t yet earned the confidence of manager Joe Torre to be allowed to pitch through problems, but he’s improving. Now might be the time to grab him from an owner who doesn’t believe Billingsley can keep this up. He is forecasted for 11 more wins with a 3.8 ERA and 130 more strikeouts. His talent suggests even more is possible.

Travis Snider suffers a tough break
The young Toronto outfielder was finally starting to hit with a great .378/.404/.711 line with 3 HR and 10 RBI in May. Now he’s headed to the DL with a sprained wrist. He is only owned in 12.4% of ESPN leagues so it looks like very few people noticed this hot streak. Snider’s first few games when he returns bears watching. If he keeps hitting you should pick him up quickly.

Nick Johnson to undergo annual surgery
The DH will be out until at least July after undergoing surgery on his wrist. The Yankees probably won’t be doing anything interesting with the now open DH spot. They will likely use the slot as a rotation with Marcus Thames getting time, and you will also see more of Francisco Cervelli behind the plate with Jorge Posada as the DH. Joe Girardi wants to avoid Posada catching three days in a row. Although Thames has hit well thus far, the increased exposure to right-handed pitching will crater his average.

Closing Time
As usual, discussion about bullpen situations will be in the Closer Report. Look for that on my blog. Also remember to follow me on Twitter @thejonlee.