Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies
Over the last month, Ryan Howard has been fantastic. He has 35 RBIs and 11 homers in that span in addition to hitting for a very good batting average.

Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
Although Hanley Ramirez has been slowed a bit due to injury, he’s been great when he’s been on the field. In the last month, his on-base percentage is nearly .460 and he has 22 runs and 21 RBIs.

Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay Rays
Carlos Pena has basically been the Ryan Howard of the American League. As he tries to push his Rays into the 2009 postseason, he has 12 homers and 29 RBIs in the last month.

Carlos Pena - Tampa Bay Rays (Image: Zuma Press)

Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals
Earlier in the season, Matt Holliday appeared to be headed to a relatively disappointing season with the Oakland Athletics. But since being traded to the Cardinals, he has been outstanding.

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Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies
Since the Phillies traded for Cliff Lee, he has been amazing. Last year’s AL Cy Young Award winner is baffling NL hitters. In his first three starts with the Phillies, Lee is 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP.

John Lackey, Los Angeles Angels
The Angels have desperately needed a few of their starting pitchers to step up and get batters out. Lackey has responded to the challenge. Over the last month, he has four wins, an ERA of 1.79 and a WHIP of 0.93.

Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
Whenever there is a list of best starting pitchers, you can safely assume that Tim Lincecum will be mentioned. The Giants’ superstar continues to be very good. In the last month, he has 46 strikeouts in 37.2 innings to go along with a 1.91 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP.

Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays
Going into baseball’s trade deadline, Roy Halladay was the biggest name available. Although he could have easily been distracted by that hoopla, Halladay has remained focused even after all the trades fell through. Count on him to be a stud for the rest of the fantasy baseball season.

Roy Halladay continues to star for the Blue Jays (Image: Zuma Press)

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Nyjer Morgan, Washington Nationals
Earlier in the season, the Pirates traded Nyjer Morgan to the Nationals. With Washington, Morgan has been a star. In 38 games, he’s hitting .365 with 28 runs and 20 stolen bases. Get him on your fantasy team if he’s available.

Rajai Davis, Oakland Athletics
Although he was slumping earlier in the season, Rajai Davis is now swinging a very hot bat. He hit over .400 in July and is hitting better than .350 in August. He has 11 stolen bases since the All-Star break.

Chris Coghlan, Florida Marlins
Although he has had an up-and-down rookie campaign, Chris Coghlan is really playing well right now. In August, he’s hitting .436 and has an on-base percentage of .500 for the month.

Jason Bartlett, Tampa Bay Rays
Early on in the 2009 fantasy baseball season, Jason Bartlett was one of the biggest surprises. After being quiet in July, he has been nails in August. For the month, he’s hitting .400 with three homers, 12 RBIs and 11 runs.

Jason Bartlett - Tampa Bay Rays (Image: Zuma Press)

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Here’s a look at the closers in fantasy baseball that are performing the best right now:

Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees
Rivera is regarded by most as the best closer of all-time. He’s also currently the best closer of right now. He hasn’t given up a run since June 12th. Since then, he’s picked up 16 saves.

Huston Street, Colorado Rockies
In the last month, Street has been amazing. During that time, he has one win, nine saves, 13 strikeouts, an ERA of 0.82 and a microscopic WHIP of 0.18. In his last 11.1 innings, he’s given up only two hits.

Joakim Soria, Kansas City Royals
Although he was injured earlier in the season, Soria has bounced back and has pitched great as of late. In July, Soria had seven saves to go along with a 0.82 ERA and a 0.64 WHIP.

Rafael Soriano, Atlanta Braves
Soriana has long shown potential but he’s just now putting it all together. He’s become the Braves’ full-time closer and finished with nine saves in the month of July.

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Here are the best hitters in fantasy baseball right now:

1) Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
To begin the season, Alex Rodriguez was on the disabled list due to hip surgery. Now? That hip surgery is a distant memory. As of late, A-Rod is even stealing bases again.

2) Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
Albert Pujols has the NL MVP award in his back pocket. In the fantasy world, he’s likely the fantasy baseball MVP of the 2009 season so far.

3) Bobby Abreu, Los Angeles Angels
Coming into the 2009 fantasy season, there weren’t too many people high on Bobby Abreu. However, as of late, Abreu has been on fire. He’s even starting to hit homers once again.

4) Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers
Prince Fielder has been busy lately. If he’s not smashing homers for the Brewers, he’s winning Home Run Derbies. The great thing about Fielder this season is that he’s hitting for average and getting on base in addition to his power numbers.

5) Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
Is there a more talented baseball player in the world? Ramirez is hitting .347 on the season to go with 15 homers, 62 RBIs, 57 runs and 14 stolen bases.

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1. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
The best fantasy baseball pitcher is showing why he has that title. In the last month, he has five wins, 54 strikeouts, a 1.29 WHIP and a 0.80 WHIP.

2. Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks
While he doesn’t get as much attention, Haren is doing a good Lincecum impersonation. In has five wins, 46 strikeouts, a 1.40 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP in the last month.

3. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
Hernandez has been dominant for much of this season, especially at home. The Mariners are doing better than expected largely due to Hernandez’s pitching arm.

4. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
One of the highest regarded young pitchers in the MLB, Kershaw has been on fire as of late. In the last month, he has three wins, 33 strikeouts and a 0.61 ERA

5. Joe Nathan, Minnesota Twins
The best closer over the last month is no doubt Joe Nathan. He has ten saves, hasn’t given up an earned run and has totaled 15 strikeouts in 11 innings.

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1. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
For much of the 2009 fantasy baseball season, Albert Pujols has been on fire. In the last month, he has really, really been hitting well. In that time period, he has nine homers, 31 RBIs and 23 runs.

2. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
Hanley Ramirez has started to hit his stride. In the last month, the Marlins superstar has six homers, 15 runs, 33 RBIs and four stolen bases.

3. Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies
While he’s had a number of rocky moments this fantasy season, Tulowitzki has started to put it all together. In the last month, he has eight homers, 24 runs, 17 RBIs and seven stolen bases.

4. B.J. Upton, Tampa Bay Rays
Coming into the 2009 fantasy baseball season, many experts believed B.J. Upton was the biggest sleeper in the game. In the last 30 days, he has started to show that potential for the Rays. Most notable are his 13 steals during that time period.

5. Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants
In the last month, Pablo Sandoval has done a great job of getting on base. His on-base percentage of .440 is impressive — as are hs nine homers, 24 RBIs and 17 runs.

Albert Pujols is a fantasy baseball stud (Image: Zuma Press)

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1. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
In June, Hernandez has been practically untouchable. In five starts, he has a 0.94 ERA and a record of 3-0. In 38.1 innings, he has 35 strikeouts and has given up only 25 hits.

2. Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox
Beckett got off to a quick start and the began to slump. In June, that slump is over. In five starts, he is 4-1 with a 1.51 ERA. He has 35 strikeouts in 35.2 innings and has only given up 25 hits and four walks.

3. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
In many fantasy baseball drafts, Lincecum was the first player off the board. He’s now showing why. In five June starts, he has a 1.82 ERA to go along with a 3.1 record. In 39.2 innings pitched, he has 40 strikeouts.

4. Kevin Millwood, Texas Rangers
Millwood is no doubt the most surprising name on the list. He’s having a very good season for the Rangers and June has been no different. He has a 1.30 ERA in the month and a record of 4-1.

5. Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks
Haren has a June ERA of 1.70. In 37 innings, he has 33 strikeouts and has given up only 19 hits and five walks. His season ERA of 2.25 and WHIP of 0.81 has him as an NL Cy Young award favorite.

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1. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
Mauer is not a surprise on this list. For the season, he’s hitting .395 with 14 homers, 42 RBIs and 40 runs. Amazingly enough, his 14 homers are already a career-high.

2. Victor Martinez, Cleveland Indians
Last season, Martinez struggled at the plate and with injuries. This year, he’s playing much better. On the season, he is hitting .326 with 12 homers, 53 RBIs and 49 runs.

3. Miguel Olivo, Kansas City Royals
This is definitely a surprise. Over the last month, Olivo has hit seven homers to go along with 16 RBIs and 13 runs. If you want some power out of your catcher spot, consider picking up Olivo.

4. Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves
McCann has been hitting the ball very well as of late. For his 2009 campaign, he’s hitting .328 with an on-base percentage of .416. He has seven homers, 30 RBIs and 21 runs.

5. Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs
It appears as if Soto was going to be a bust this season — but he’s finally starting to pick it up. In the last month, he has four homers, seven runs and 10 RBIs along with an on-base percentage of .370.

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1. Jonathan Broxton, Los Angeles Dodgers
If you look at this guys stats, they are simply fantastic. Along with his 16 saves, he has six wins, a 1.41 ERA and an amazing 53 strikeouts in 32 innings. His 0.69 WHIP is also very impressive.

2. Francisco Rodriguez, New York Mets
Rodriguez got a big contract this past offseason to join the Mets. He’s now worth every penny. In 31.1 innings, he has 16 saves, 33 strikeouts, an ERA of 0.57 and a WHIP of 0.96.

Francisco Rodriguez - Best Closers in Baseball (Image: Zuma Press)

3. Trevor Hoffman, Milwaukee Brewers
Up until this past weekend, Hoffman hadn’t allowed an earned run. Even after he got scored upon, his ERA is still only 0.45. Add in his 15 saves and there’s no doubt he’s one of the best closers in baseball.

4. Heath Bell, San Diego Padres
When the Padres were playing very well, Bell was one of the main reasons why. Even though the Padres have cooled off, he has remained a very effective pitcher. In 27.1 innings, he has two wins, 18 saves, 32 strikeouts, a 1.32 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP.

5. Joe Nathan, Minnesota Twins
Nathan remains one of the most under-the-radar players in all of baseball. He’s pitching well once again this season — 1.78 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 15 saves and 29 strikeouts in 25.1 innings.

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