Daily Leaders 6/9/11

Bats

1. Josh Hamilton, TEX;  2 for 4, HR, RBI, BB, R:  Josh hasn't skipped a beat since returning from the DL and is showing why he was worth the wait. His power numbers are down even in limited at bats, but he is still hitting a crisp .303 on the year and is still driving in runs.

2. Matt Kemp, LAD;  3 for 5, HR, 3 RBI, 2B, 3B, R:  The bartenders know him on a first name basis here at the good ol' Daily Leaders Pub.

3. Lance Berkman, STL;  2 for 5, HR, 2 RBI, R:  It looked for a second that he might be slowing down, but the popular "sell high" candidate has now hit home runs in four of his last five contests.

4. Troy Tulowitzki, COL;  2 for 5, 4 RBI, 2B:  Tulo has not homered since May 17th, but he is hitting .355 since the beginning of June. I love this guy but he's Coach's problem now.

5. Michael Cuddyer, MIN;  2 for 4, HR, 3 RBI, R:  Big Mike has finally found his bat and also stumbled upon 2B eligibility. He has been a good source of power and average the past few seasons, so he is someone I would scoop up if needed in a heartbeat.

Arms

1. ^Justin Verlander, DET;  8 IP, 5 H, ER, BB, 10 K, W:  Verlander is arguably the best pitcher in the game right now and he happens to be on all of the Guru's teams besides one. Praise the lord. Verlander has 93 K's and sports a 0.94 WHIP going into his next start.

2. Johnny Cueto, CIN;  7 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 8 K, W:  Why he is not owned in 100 percent of leagues baffles my mind. Cueto has been around since the beginning of May, and has not given up more than 3 ER in any start while throwing up zero's three times.

3. Johnathan Niese,  NYM;  7.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, W:  Although Niese walked four, he was quite effective and handled a very powerful Brewers lineup. Niese has 33 K's in his last 33 innings, while not having a bad start since May 12th at Colorado.

4. Josh Beckett, BOS;  7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W:  Beckett outpitched C.C. for the third time this season en route to his fifth win. Beckett gave up a first inning homer to Curtis Granderson but there was absolutely nothing doing for the Yanks the rest of the night....or should I say early morning.

5. Madison Bumgarner, SF;  7 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 7 K, L:  He was handed the loss as he opposed Cueto, but boy has he turned it around. Madison has lowered his ERA from 7.79 to 3.23 over his past 9 starts.