News To Use, From A Fantasy View

BY Aaron Gleeman

Brewers 2B Weeks lands on disabled list

Cardinals to place Wainwright on 15-day DL

Reds' Hairston suffers fractured thumb

Griffey hits homer No. 600 versus Marlins

Mets' Church to go on disabled list

Swisher homers from both sides as Sox sweep

Indians send down Cabrera, turn to Barfield

Fewer than 15,000 people saw it thanks to the game being played in Florida, but Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 600th career homer Monday. Griffey's first-inning blast off left-hander Mark Hendrickson was his first long ball of the month, just his third homer since mid-April, and only his second homer of the year against a southpaw. He's now 10 homers away from moving past Sammy Sosa to join Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, and Willie Mays in the all-time top five.While a 38-year-old Griffey takes a long, detour-filled path to eventually reach the destination that once seemed like a given when he was "Junior," here are some other notes from around baseball .

Nothing official has been announced yet, but Eric Hurley is expected to make his major-league debut Thursday against the Royals. Considered by many to be among the elite pitching prospects in baseball heading into last season, Hurley saw his prospect stock drop somewhat after posting a 4.00 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A. He's fallen even further this year, going 2-5 with a 5.30 ERA in 13 starts at Triple-A.Lost in that ugly ERA is Hurley turning things around following a horrible start and his 72-to-29 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 74.2 innings is very strong for a 22-year-old at Triple-A. However, he's served up 15 homers in those 74.2 frames and ranks as one of the most extreme fly-ball pitchers in the minors. That's a very bad skill set to have when hoping to call the Rangers' power-boosting ballpark home, which is why Hurley is a poor bet in the short term and iffy in the long term.

Last season it was Asdrubal Cabrera who came up from the minors to take over as the Indians' starting second baseman when Josh Barfield got off to a brutal start, but this season the script has been flipped. Cabrera was sent down Monday after hitting .184 through 52 games, as the Indians called Barfield up from Triple-A. Unfortunately, while Cabrera was deserving of a call-up last year after playing well in the minors, Barfield hit just .255/.297/.382 in 55 games at Triple-A.Barfield was once considered a top prospect and batted .280 with 13 homers and 21 steals as a rookie for the Padres in 2006, but he hasn't hit since and doesn't figure to start now. He can still provide some value on the bases, which makes him a worthwhile pickup in AL-only leagues, but don't expect much of an impact offensively beyond the occasional homer. Cabrera remains the better option at second base, so bet on him reclaiming the job in the second half.

It's tough to have much fantasy value while hitting .210, but Rickie Weeks has managed to be plenty productive with a 20-homer, 25-steal, 115-run pace. Unfortunately, he was placed on the disabled list Monday and is expected to miss a significant chunk of time with a sprained left knee. Hernan Iribarren is up from Triple-A to replace Weeks and could work his way into regular playing time at second base. He has little power, but is a career .318 hitter with some speed.

Hitting coach Jeff Pentland got the ax Monday in Seattle, taking the blame for an MLB-worst record. In three seasons under Pentland's tutelage, Mariners hitters have ranked 13th, 14th, and 14th among AL teams in walks, so it's tough to defend the decision to fire him. With that said, Pentland figures to be followed out the door shortly by manager John McLaren, with general manager Bill Bavasi sticking around to turn off the office lights despite being primarily at fault. Bavasi has made a series of poor free-agent signings and misguided trades, building a horrible, veteran-laden team that has gone 23-41 despite a $115 million payroll. Firing the hitting coach or the manager won't do any good if Bavasi remains at the helm, although the Mariners did win in dramatic fashion Monday when Miguel Cairo pulled off a successful ninth-inning squeeze bunt with the bases loaded. Of course, Cairo being on the roster to begin with is part of the problem.

AL Quick Hits:

Dontrelle Willis turned in a brutal start Monday against the Indians, coughing up eight runs while recording just four outs . Alex Rios' power has been disappointing thus far, but after going 3-for-4 with a stolen base Monday he's already within two steals of last year's career-best total of 17 . After allowing 18 runs over his previous 23.1 innings, Cliff Lee bounced back with a solid, rain-shortened start Monday to win his 10th game . Nick Swisher homered from both sides of the plate Monday as the White Sox finished off a four-game sweep of the Twins for the first time since the 1970s . Ian Kennedy (bursitis) threw a bullpen session Monday and reported no problems, but may be headed back to Triple-A once he's healthy . There was initially some concern that Joey Gathright suffered a serious shoulder injury while making a diving catch Sunday, but he started in center field Monday . Adam Loewen (elbow) threw a two-inning simulated game Saturday and is slated to begin a minor-league rehab assignment Tuesday at Single-A.

NL Quick Hits:

Matt Holliday (hamstring) is expected to return from the disabled list Tuesday after going 6-for-10 in three minor-league rehab games over the weekend . Manager Cecil Cooper said Suunday that Michael Bourn won't be moving back into the leadoff spot soon after hitting just .218/.280/.306 in 46 games atop the batting order . In what'll be the first big step in his recovery from a torn shoulder muscle, Chad Cordero is set to throw a bullpen session Wednesday . After previously losing playing time in a platoon with Doug Mientkiewicz, Jose Bautista started at third base Monday for the ninth time in 10 games . Jerry Hairston is expected to miss 2-4 weeks after suffering a fractured thumb Monday, making Paul Janish the Reds' everyday shortstop . After missing a month with a fractured hand, Paul Lo Duca began what figures to be a brief rehab stint Sunday at Single-A . Andruw Jones is ahead of schedule in his recovery from knee surgery, but remains unlikely to return this month . After sitting out with the flu, Dmitri Young returned to the lineup Monday for the first time in six days