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Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero was activated from the disabled list yesterday after successfully rehabbing a broken right index finger. On his first night back he saw limited action, pinch hitting in the 8th inning, where he flew out to right field.

Those of you who may be expecting Montero to provide some home runs for your fantasy baseball team might want to think again. Sure, he hit 10 home runs in 214 at-bats in 2007, but he’s third on the depth chart currently, and a pinch hitting role is where manager Bob Melvin wants to use Montero.

Montero’s arrival meant the departure of outfielder Alex Romero, who was optioned to Triple-A Tucson, meaning the Diamondbacks have three catchers: Montero, Chris Snyder and Robby Hammock.

That will allow Melvin to use Montero more as a pinch-hitter, a role in which he hit .350 (7 for 20) with three home runs last season.

Montero isn’t a fantasy play in any format right now. He might become an NL-only option if Chris Snyder continues to flounder at .204/.343/.315.

Here is a review of this weeks best pickups as reviewed on Daily Roto Pickups. I will try to supply one from each of the following positions at my weekly review here on Crooked Pitch (C, CI, MI, OF, SP and RP) I will include their current availability which may have changed since my initial review. I will also update reviews if they are a better or worse pickup.

C: Dioner Navarro - I love this pickup right now. He is coming back from a minor injury and has played well in his rehab games. He had an amazing second half (for a catcher!). He had 179 AB’s after the break and had 30 R, 8 HR, 31 RBI with .281/.340/.475 which would be 75/20/75 in 450 AB’s. If you play in a 2 catcher league he is a must and in other mixed leagues he is a great backup or injury fill in.

He is currently owned in 14% of leagues.

CI: Matt Stairs - I am surprised that he is not up from 10% owned with Thomas getting released. The team also did not call up Adam Lind, so he should be playing everyday. Last year in 357 AB’s he hit 21 HR which would be about 30 HR in 500 AB. The Blue Jays are also playing pretty well right now and should give him some RBI chances. He is a career .267 hitter, but has batted over .280 as recently as last year.

He is only owned in 10% of CBS leagues.

CI: Jorge Cantu - The problem here is that he is not as strong a play with only 1B/3B eligibility. He was so much better with 2B eligibility during that 2005 season. If he regains his form though he could have 20+ HR and strong RBI, but not in the range of his 2005 season of 117. His BA has varied from bad to OK so don’t count on much there. He also doesn’t walk a lot so the OBP is poor and so are runs. I do like that he has 2 SB already while never topping 4. If he got 10+ this year he would add even more value.

He is only owned in 27% of CBS leagues.

MI: Brendan Harris - Harris has a little pop and just hit a homer on Sunday. But, he will never hit much more than 10 HR and could top out around 15. He is limited on speed as well, but should be around .280 or so in the average. In my OBP league he doesn’t help, but in a Yahoo league, he is a good MI or replacement for Rollins on the DL.

He is only owned in 25% of CBS leagues.

OF: Luke Scott - In the field I would pick up Luke Scott. I don’t think his stats will be top tier, but it is not unreasonable to expect 25/90 with good BA and OBP. Baltimore will definitely let him play and he seems to still be hot. Bill James projects him at 24/83 with a .280 BA in 461 games. Up that to 500 and he reaches my numbers.

He is only owned in 56% of CBS leagues.

SP: Jeremy Guthrie - He has played really well for 3 out of 4 starts. The other start was not very good and has hidden his stats and made him look worse than he is. I don’t see K’s or wins coming from him in great numbers, but he can be a back end starter in most leagues. If you’re dealing with injuries in the rotation then go get Guthrie.

He is owned in 49% of leagues.

SP: Hong-Chih Kuo - This is neither long term or for those with a strong staff, but Kuo can be a quick boost in K’s. He has thrown more than a K per inning and will stick in the 5th spot for now. He is being limited on pitches which kept him from a win last time out, but pitching in the NL west and with a strong K rate is nothing to ignore. I would spot start for now, but also be aware he is a big injury risk.

He is only owned in 18% as of this morning on CBS.

SP: Scott Olsen - Whether or not he will lose his cool or even pitch 20 more starts is not the point. He appears to be healthy now and he is facing the Nationals on Sunday. This is one of my 3 must start opponents this year. The others are the Giants and the Twins. I expect another good start and perhaps you can get some K’s from him. His owned percent is going up after shutting down a weak Nats lineup. The Brewers this week will be more of a challenge.

He is only owned in 66% as of this morning on CBS.

RP: Manny Acosta - After the injury to Moylan and Soriano any one with an open RP spot and looking for4 saves needs to take a shot on Acosta. If your rate stats are high you might want to pass, but in a league without holds I would give him a shot over a Neshek(pitching poorly in 2008) or Broxton. He should pick up more saves than any of the other options. As a Soriano owner I have him starting tomorrow. How has his owned percent only gone to 31%? He may not be the best, but he is getting saves. Now that Soriano has had more discomfort go get him if you need saves.

He is only owned in 31% as of this morning on CBS.

Troy Patterson runs a fabulous website called Daily Roto Pickups. Every day he gives you a pitcher and a hitter that may be available in your league to go grab off of the waiver wire. This is great stuff!

Troy has agreed to write a weekly column for us here. He’ll cover the upcoming weeks’ best free agent pick-ups.

Make sure that you visit Daily Roto Pickups every day.

Troy’s first article should be posted this evening.

The Colorado Rockies have been holding open tryouts for the second base job since early March. The candidates have moved through as if they were a revolving door of prospects and aged veterans. The Rockies didn’t care who won the job, they just wanted someone to take it. Finally, as April is coming to an end, it looks as if Clint Barmes has solidified his hold on that starting 2B job.

With the offense still gaining traction, Barmes has moved ahead of Jayson Nix at second base because of a hot bat.

“Barmes is going to get the first shot now, and he needs to be given every opportunity to ride the momentum he’s picked up,” manager Clint Hurdle said.

Hurdle stopped short of calling Barmes the starter, but the lineup choice has screamed volumes over the past week. Barmes has started six of the past eight games. He hit .394 (13-for-33) and drove in eight runs on the road trip. Nix is batting .132 and Monday, by design, was taking groundballs at shortstop during batting practice.

Barmes is 16-40 (.400/.429/.650) and has a home run, 8 RBI and a stolen base. But there are a few signs that this hot streak is artificially inflated. Let’s talk about the good and the bad.

• Good: Barmes’ contact rate is at 90% currently.
• Bad: Barmes’ hit rate (BABIP) is 43% (.429).
• Good: Barmes’ flyball rate is 52.8%.
• Bad: Barmes’ HR/F rate is only 5.3%

This tells us that Barmes is making great contact and that a lot of his balls (over half being flyballs) are falling for hits, but aren’t leaving the yard. Sooner or later, his hit rate should revert back towards 29% - 30%. When it does, if his flyball rate and HR/F ratio stay the same, his batting average will suffer as outfielders find ways to keep his balls from falling safely.

You can safely add Barmes in NL-only leagues. However, in mixed leagues, Barmes should not be your primary second baseman. He, most likely, shouldn’t even be your primary middle infielder, if your league uses that position. You can, however, add Barmes and use him for spot starts and situational match-ups (Barmes hits right-handed pitchers almost .150 points better than lefties) until his batting average starts plummeting, which I believe it will.

26-year-old Detroit Tiger pitcher, Armando Galarraga saw his first Major league action last week and impressed with a 6.2 inning outing where he only gave up one hit, two earned runs and had six strikeouts. He got the win that day and looks as if he’ll do it again today.

The Tigers are ahead of the Blue Jays 5-0 in the 7th right now and Galarraga threw 5.1 innings of scoreless baseball. He gave up three hits, walked four and struck out four. If things hold up for him, once the game is final, Galarraga will be 2-0.

Galarraga was promoted last week to fill in for Dontrelle Willis, and anyone pitching in the potent Detroit lineup should be given some consideration. But remember that he hasn’t pitched too much above AA. He also missed a good portion of 2006 with shoulder problems. So, even though Galarraga is showing promise right now, his track record isn’t established enough to push him into the must sign category.

In AL-Only leagues you should surely look to sign him. For this short-term stint, he looks to be ready to perform. But, signing him in hopes that he’ll continue like this, or even continue in the rotation all year, is wishful thinking. You can also look at him in very deep mixed leagues right now. But only as a fill in and surely not as one of your top 5 starters. Don’t throw a lot of eggs in Armando’s basket just yet.

Pretty even match between the American League and the National League this week with the MVP awards. There are even a few surprises mixed in. Enjoy!

Catcher: This was a tough call as no catcher really strutted his stuff ahead of everyone else. So, I’m going to give the award to someone, who most likely, is a free agent in your league, Chad Moeller (NYY). Moeller hit .350/.435/.600 with 5 runs scored, a home run, and 3 RBI as he continued filling in for Jorge Posada.

First Base: Conor Jackson (ARI) showed superb stuff this week hitting .480/.519/1.080. He also scored 10 times, hit 3 home runs, knocked in 10 and even stole a base.

Second Base: Chase Utley (PHI) is a man among boys. This is his 2nd MVP award and maybe his best week yet. he hit .391/.462/.1.087 with 6 runs scored, 5 home runs, and 8 RBI.

Shortstop: This was a close race between Jose Reyes, Ryan Theriot, Hanley Ramirez and Derek Jeter. But I’m giving the award to Ryan Theriot (CHC) who hit .481/.533/.815 with 9 runs scored, a home run, 4 RBI and a stolen base.

Third Base: Here’s another close race between Miguel Cabrera, Chipper Jones, and David Wright. I was prepared to give the award to Cabrera until I saw that his on-base percentage was lower than his batting average. That just didn’t sit well with me, so Chipper Jones (ATL) wins the week 3 fantasy baseball MVP award. He hit .565/.600/1.174 with 6 runs scored, 4 home runs, and 7 RBI.

Outfield: “Manny being Manny” is quickly turning into the definition of tearing the cover off of the ball. Manny Ramirez (BOS) hit .417/.517/.958 with 7 runs scored, 4 home runs, and 8 RBI and he’s really keeping the Red Sox alive while Papi finds his swing.

Starting Pitcher: John Danks (CHW) only gave up 8 hits in 14.2 innings of work this past week. He won both starts and had an ERA of 0.00 and a WHIP of 0.68 while dazzling with a 6.00 strikeout to walk ratio (12:2). He’s also available in some leagues, so give him a look in very deep mixed leagues and AL only’s.

Relief Pitcher: Billy Wagner (NYM) recorded three saves this past week and posted a 0.00 ERA and WHIP. He struck out three batters while walking none.

The Detroit Tigers will be without the use of Placido Polanco and Gary Sheffield today as they rest what ails them.

Placido Polanco has a stiff back. Gary Sheffield has a sore shoulder. Neither player will be available for the Tigers’ series finale today against the Blue Jays. How much more time they’ll miss is the question.

Manager Jim Leyland was emphatically certain about one thing, though, after the Tigers lost 5-3 to the Jays on Sunday. When asked if Sheffield would be able to play today, he replied “absolutely not.”