Olivo leaves the yard

Royals catcher Miguel Olivo is on some kind of tear. The backup to John Buck is getting more and more playing time and making waves. Olivo hit his seventh home run Wednesday against the White Sox, his original Major League team. He's batting .299 with a chance to see a more at bats tonight with a 4-4 game in the 9th.

Fantasy Impact: Buck is not a bad catcher, but he might not be any better than Olivo. When Olivo was signed this offseason, he assumed he was going to be the starter. Instead, he was penciled in as the backup with a chance to earn time. Tonight he filled the DH slot, batting fifth in the lineup. Buck batted two spots behind him. Olivo looks like he's primed to take over the starting catcher job for Kansas City, but his track record suggests he will come down in batting average while hitting about 15 home runs.

Bradley lights up Lee

Milton Bradley hit his 12th home run of the season tonight, leaving him five shy of red-hot teammate Josh Hamilton. No. 12 came off Indians starter Cliff Lee, who is suddenly falling back to earth after an incredible run to start the year.

Fantasy Impact: Bradley's career high in home runs is 19. He's on pace for more than 30 this year. The strong start to his season, however, comes with a caveat: Bradley's only made it to 500 at bats once before in his career. Take away that season and Bradley's never reached 400 at bats in a single season. He always ends up on the DL.

As for Lee, his ERA is on a steady rise from under one to 2.45. His recent struggles include tonight's debacle of six earned runs in five innings. He still looks to be in line for the win.

Chi Sox sign Loaiza

The White Sox signed Esteban Loaiza on Wednesday. The right-hander had a magical season with the Sox back in 2004 when he won 21 games. He'll pitch long relief and spot start for the rest of 2008. The Dodgers released him earlier this year, in part to make room for rookie phenom Clayton Kershaw.

Fantasy Impact: None. You don't want him. This is probably a good move for the Sox who didn't have much of a long-man in their 'pen with much starting experience. Loaiza has a ton of experience in that regard.

Eddie 'V' vanquishes Phils for 8th victory

Edinson Volquez is no longer for real. He's surreal. Entering tonight's game in Philadelphia, Volquez owned 83 Ks in 68 innings of work, an amazing mark for a starter. At 7-2 with a National League-leading 1.46 ERA, tonight's challenge of facing one of the toughest lineups in baseball in one of the top hitters' parks in the majors ended up another as just another Volquez gem.

Not that any Volquez start is just another start. Check out these numbers against the Phillies:

7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

Volquez lowered his ERA to 1.32. He earned his 8th win. Perhaps most impressive -- he held the Phillies' top five hitters of Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell to one hit in 16 at bats.

Fantasy Impact: Volquez was a sell-high candidate based on his out-of-this world start to the season. This kind of performance, however, makes him one of the best pitchers in baseball. He appears to be legit.

This just in... Alexei Ramirez walked

Chicago White Sox' fill-in second baseman Alexei Ramirez walked in tonight's game against the Royals. It's just his third walk in 103 at bats. To call Ramirez a free swinger would be like calling Juan Uribe a candidate to lose his job. Uribe is just that, because Ramirez is starting to light it up in his first MLB season. The Cuban has three hits in each of his last two games, going 9-15 in his last four.

Update: Ramirez walked in his next plate appearance, giving him four walks in 104 at bats.

Fantasy Impact: He's not the Sox' starter at second yet, but it will be hard to take the job away now that Ramirez is finding all sorts of ways to reach base. He's a streaky player, and on a hot streak for now.

Ready Made

Given we're on the eve of the MLB draft, and considering the performances top prospect David Price is turning out, it's time to take a quick look at this year's crop for potential instant call-ups. That's what Sports Illustrated is thinking. The name a lot of people are talking about is Florida State catcher Buster Posey.

Pedro pitches well in return

Pedro Martinez' second start of the season went much better than his first one. The Mets' ace beat the Giants in his return from a hamstring injury. Martinez threw 63 of his 109 pitches for strikes, throwing freely and easily in his return. He also looked good at the plate with a couple of hits and an RBI.

Fantasy Impact: Martinez is still one of the better pitchers in baseball when he's healthy. The 36-year-old has landed on the disabled list four times in the past two years.

Bradley bashes two

Don't look now, but Milton Bradley is finally fulfilling his one-time status as a top prospect. The Rangers' DH is chasing teammate Josh Hamilton fairly closely as best hitter on the team. Bradley belted two solo homers on Tuesday, giving him 11 on the season.

Fantasy Impact: Bradley always seems to suffer some sort of freak injury, but he was always expected to be a dynamic performer, as well. As long as he stays healthy, he's a solid to strong contributor.