Update Stock up, Stock down

MOVIN' ON UP

Nick Swisher, 1B/OF, White Sox. Mr. Swisher, welcome to the 2008 season! How was your two-month vacation after spring training? Whatever Swisher's problem was in April and May (.201-4-14), he seems to have figured it out. He's 13-for-34 (.382) with four dingers and 10 RBIs so far this month and soon could find himself batting higher than seventh, as he has been. That would mean more confidence and more run-producing opportunities for the resurgent Swisher.

Jason Giambi, 1B, Yankees. If I could grow facial hair, I would be rocking a mustache just like Giambi's . It might look ridiculous (OK, ridiculously awesome), but you can't argue with the results. In the past 28 games, Giambi and his nose neighbor have gone 32-for-91 with nine homers and 21 RBIs. I think the entire Yankees team should grow mustaches so this could be their fight song on the way to winning the World Series.

Jose Guillen, OF, Royals. Speaking of guys resurrecting their mixed-league careers, Guillen is swinging a scorching-hot bat right now. In a recent four-game series against the Yankees, Guillen went 9-for-16 with four home runs and 10 RBIs. He's not the sexiest OF option, but he deserves to be started in all formats during this streak. Here's a free tip if you own Guillen: Start him during day games (.313-9-28 in day games; .253-2-21 at night).

MOVIN' ON DOWN

Raul Ibanez, OF, Mariners. Ibanez has been somewhat of a streaky hitter in his career, and right now he's in one of his cold spells. Ibanez has just one home run, 11 RBIs and eight runs scored in his past 25 games. Even though he just turned 36 this week, I think Ibanez has a chance to reheat. Remember, he hit .357-15-44 in August and September to close out the '07 season after hitting just .184-0-12 last July.
Michael Bourn, OF, Astros. Steals are Bourn's biggest fantasy asset, but he's struggling to get on base. And as the saying goes, you can't steal first base. Because of his pathetic .280 OBP, Bourn has just one theft in his past 11 games and has been dropped from the leadoff spot to seventh. The move might help take some pressure off Bourn at the plate, but until he figures out his swing and returns to the top of the order, he'll have trouble providing enough steals and runs to remain fantasy-relevant.
Alex Gordon, 3B, Royals. Gordon managed to get his batting average up to .296 on May 21, but has gone 15-for-75 (.200) since then to drop his average 29 points. He finally homered for the first time since May 9 (107 at-bats!) on Tuesday, so he might be showing signs of coming out of his funk. Don't give up on the sweet-swinging Gordon, but there's not much incentive to start him in mixed leagues right now.

LOOKING AHEAD

Jason Bay has been solid in the past month or so, but he faces a rough schedule next week. First up is a three-game road series against the White Sox, who sport the best team ERA (3.35) in the majors. Also, Bay is hitting just .245-4-10 on the road compared to .317-10-24 in Pittsburgh. Fortunately for Bay, he returns home for a three-game set against the Blue Jays. Unfortunately, Toronto is also top-three in team ERA (3.51) and he'll likely face Roy Halladay, Jesse Litsch and Dustin McGowan, all of whom he has never faced.

BY THE NUMBERS

Think you could name at least half of the league's top 10 hitters with runners in scoring position so far this season? Go ahead, I'll wait. Done? OK, here are the top 10 batting averages with RISP through Tuesday's games: John Buck (.474), Casey Blake (.472), Mike Lamb (.410), Ian Kinsler (.397), Juan Pierre (.390), Ryan Sweeney (.390), Conor Jackson (.383), Placido Polanco (.383), Dioner Navarro (.381) and David DeJesus/Reed Johnson (.375).
Notably, Chipper Jones (.356) and Lance Berkman (.350), both likely top-10 guesses, are in the top 25 at 17th and 22nd, respectively. Meanwhile, the league's RBI leader, Josh Hamilton with 70, is 64th with a .307 average with RISP. Not bad, but he's no Placido Polanco.

COVERING THE BASES

If you're like me, you already were using Jerry Hairston Jr., who just landed on the DL with a broken thumb, as a Band-Aid at various spots in your SN Ultimate Fantasy Baseball league. If so, now we both need to find a tourniquet to replace him for the next 2-4 weeks.
It'll be virtually impossible to find a comparably productive utility option at Hairston's price, but here are a few options for less than $3M who could fill in for him for about the same price: Marco Scutaro ($2.95M), Alexei Ramirez ($2.73M), Alexi Casilla ($2.26M) and Ramon Vazquez ($0.93M). After you grab one of these guys, make sure you send Hairston a Get Well Soon card.

Associate Editor Brad Pinkerton is a fantasy baseball expert for Sporting News