Jimmy

Rollins

Consider reserving Rollins this week if you have a capable backup.

Rollins compared his hamstring to Ken Griffey Jr.'s, and said that stopping and starting in the field and on the basepaths cause him the most trepidation.

Rollins is batting .285/.344/.437 with 40 doubles, 10 triples, 12 home runs, 64 RBI, 111 runs and 30 stolen bases. He’s the best fantasy shortstop in the NL this season.

Hopefully he can avoid the quintuple-double, as he’s also been quite impressive with the glove and has just eight errors this season. In NL-only leagues, Rollins has been the most-valuable, best-all-around shortstop this season.

A two- or three-year deal could be discussed later on. For now, the Phillies seem to be concentrating on a one-year pact. Rollins made $2.4 million last season.

Well, it’s a start, and a sign that Rollins is figuring out the type of player he is. He would again be a valuable player if he could just maintain that pace for an entire season.

This is a great sign for Rollins owners. His lack of selectivity has held him back in the past, but now his on-base percentage is .376. If Rollins remains patient, he’s going to steal a lot of bases and score a lot of runs in that lineup.

Pardon us for being a little less than excited. Rollins came into camp saying he would work on his bunting with a goal of adding 15-20 bunt hits to his average this season, and blaming his sore hamstring for his low stolen-base total in 2003. It’s still early, but half of his hits thus far are homers. This wouldn’t be nearly as troublesome if Placido Polanco didn’t already look like a better choice to hit second than Rollins does. If Jimmy continues to see himself as a power threat, the Phils would do better to bump him down to the 7 or 8 spot.

Assistant GM Ruben Amaro said he expects to avoid arbitration with all three players. However, it doesn’t look like any long-term deals will be worked out. What happened to Pat Burrell and David Bell last year might have something to do with that.

Rollins wants to cut down on his strikeouts and go back to being a 30-40 steal guy this year. Whether or not he’s recommended in fantasy leagues could depend on where he bats. The Phillies currently have him penciled in as their No. 2 hitter, which would be very good for his fantasy value. However, they’re probably better off using Placido Polanco in the spot. If they do, that would drop Rollins to the bottom of the order and make him a weaker pick.