Weekly League Touts (May 23-29)

By Mike Salfino and David Ferris

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Put 'em in

Huston Street, P, A's: The initial reports on Octavio Dotel's elbow were murky but complaints of extreme pain are never good. Street gets the saves while Dotel is on the DL and has dominating stuff (27 Ks in 22 innings).

Bruce Chen, P, Orioles. The former phenom is striking guys out with unexpected frequency in '05. This week, he gets two starts against Seattle and Detroit with that mighty lineup behind him.

Bench 'em

Sammy Sosa, OF, Orioles: The Orioles said that Sosa will need time to condition his legs before being activated off the DL. Even if he's activated this week, he'll likely struggle while getting back into shape. Remember, he was struggling before his foot infection.

Kyle Lohse, P, Twins: The results have been there lately and he gets two starts this week, so why bench him? Because he still isn't missing enough bats and he's teased us before.

NATIONAL LEAGUE


Put 'em in

Craig Biggio, 2B, Astros. Now parked in the third spot in the batting order, and the eligibility at two positions is always nice.

Jeff Francis, P, Rockies. For once the young flamethrower gets two starts away from Coors Field. There is no safer time to plug him in.

Bench 'em

Matt Lawton, OF, Pirates: He's hit a rough patch, and the Bucs face a handful of tricky left-handers next week.

Russ Ortiz, P, Diamondbacks: It's bad enough to be toting around a 5.11 ERA, but the peripherals suggest it should be even worse. A lot of pitchers got overpaid last winter, but this contract was the biggest blunder of all.