Chris Duncan (OF/1b), STL

News: In what's been a revolving door outfield that's allowed manager Tony LaRussa to get prospect Colby Rasmus plenty of playing time, Duncan remains the only Cardinal outfielder who has started every game. While there's a lot of frustration out there (see, owners of Ryan Ludwick) because of this, there appears to be a method to LaRussa's madness. Duncan has hit safely in all but one of those eleven starts, and was 3-for-4 for the second straight day Thursday in Chicago. He also hit his second homer of the young season and drove in three runs in the 7-4 victory. Duncan is batting .389 on the year.

Views: Though his numbers against Carlos Zambrano (3 for 14) aren't overwhelming, expect Rick Ankiel (0 for 6, and off to a .188 start) to get the day off tomorrow if Rasmus starts. It's always a guessing game with LaRussa, but for all the complaints by fantasy owners, Duncan is earning all of the playing time he's gotten so far this season. Perhaps most importantly, Duncan is hitting lefties. All four of his at bats today came against a left-hander (3 against Marshall, with the fourth being against Neal Cotts), meaning that he's now 7-for-18 (.389) against left-handed pitching this season. It's a small sample size, but those 7 hits against lefties are two more than he had in 34 at bats against them last season. Lifetime, Duncan is just a .215 hitter against lefties in 181 at bats... including this year's numbers. He's shaking the platoon label.