Boesch rewards manager's trust: Detroit outfielder Brennan Boesch finished 2 for 4 with a pair of singles during the Tigers' 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh in an interleague contest on Saturday. Boesch extended his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games and has raised his batting average to .244, his highest mark since April 17. "I hold my ground forever with Brennan Boesch," Detroit manager Jim Leyland told MLB.com. "I love him to death. I think he's got a high ceiling. I don't feel any differently than I have about that. He's one of my favorites." (Updated 05/19/2012)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 5/23/12).
Fantasy Analysis
Boesch endured a slow start to the season, but has remained in the lineup and amassed 15 total hits during his current hitting streak. But he was demoted from the two-hole in the batting order and slotted seventh on Saturday. "If that's where I'm going to help the team most on that day, then that's where I'll be," he said about his lineup position. "I really don't think about it that much, to be honest." With Boesch starting to get hot, Fantasy owners should keep him active in the majority of deeper formats for now. (Updated 05/19/2012).
05/20/2012 19:47 Hit Parade for Week 8
Some catchers have been bitten by the injury bug in recent days, leaving some owners scrambling. Our Scott White shares some recommendations and helps set your lineups for Week 8 in his Hit Parade.
05/19/2012 19:22 Pirates bounce back, edge Tigers
Andrew McCutchen hit a pair of two-run homers and A.J. Burnett pitched six solid innings to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-3 win over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday.
05/18/2012 21:53 Verlander's near no-hitter carries Tigers
Justin Verlander came within two outs of his third career no-hitter, allowing only Josh Harrison's ninth-inning single in the Detroit Tigers' 6-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.
05/16/2012 12:32 Setting the Trends: Should you bother with Nava?
The Red Sox are sure running through their fair share of outfielders. Our Nando Di Fino touches on their latest candidate -- Daniel Nava -- and other popular pickups in his Setting the Trends.
05/15/2012 18:15 Tigers win with 8-run sixth inning
Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Raburn and Austin Jackson homered during an eight-run rally in the sixth inning Tuesday and the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 10-8.
In the end, the torn ligament in Brennan Boesch's right thumb that sidelined him for the final month of 2011, not to mention the playoffs, might prove to be the greatest thing that happened to him in Fantasy. If not for that injury, he likely wouldn't slip past the middle rounds on Draft Day. He was having what was shaping up to be a breakout year, hitting .310 with 12 homers and an .899 OPS from the beginning of June to the time of the injury in early August. And though he had a similar stretch in the first half of 2010 only to slump to .163 in the second half, he had been relatively steady this time around. Whether or not he would have again crashed and burned before season's end we'll never know, but the fact of the matter is during the games he did play, Boesch outperformed both Chris Young and Adam Jones on a per-game basis in standard Head-to-Head leagues. Yet because of the thumb injury, his debilitating slump still takes priority for some Fantasy owners. If you can look beyond it and see Boesch as the emerging 26-year-old slugger he is, you'll recognize he's a value outside the top 40 outfielders. (Updated 2/13/12)
Actual 
AccuScore Projections) Note: Points are rounded down.
