Mike Aviles continued his hot hitting ways, going 4-for-5 with a homer in Boston's 11-2 thrashing of the Twins on Tuesday. Aviles scored three runs and drove home two in the game. He's been on an absolute tear since taking over the leadoff spot in the wake of Jacoby Ellsbury's injury and is now hitting .333 with three homers and 10 RBI on the season. Those who gambled on Aviles late in drafts as a shortstop or middle infielder are certainly reaping the rewards.

Mike Aviles is batting leadoff in Saturday's game against the Rays. There was some talk about Aviles as a leadoff hitter in spring training, and he'll have an opportunity to see regular at-bats there with Jacoby Ellsbury (shoulder) sidelined. Cody Ross is starting in center field and batting sixth. Darnell McDonald is batting ninth.

Mike Aviles returned to action on Wednesday April 11.

Mike Aviles twisted his left ankle Monday. It's why Nick Punto got the start at shortstop on Tuesday night against the Blue Jays. Aviles is day-to-day.

Mike Aviles is not in the starting lineup Tuesday against the Blue Jays. Nick Punto will make the start at shortstop and bat ninth against right-hander Kyle Drabek. Aviles should continue to play on a pretty regular basis, but Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine has already shown that he's not afraid to play Punto, as well.

Batting eighth in Sunday's wild loss to the Tigers, Mike Aviles went 3-for-5 with a double, three RBI and two runs scored. Aviles entered the game 0-for-6, and had yet to take an at-bat outside the nine hole. Even if manager Bobby Valentine keeps his position-versatile shortstop buried at the bottom of the order, he should rack up enough counting stats to be worth owning in a large majority of mixed leagues.

Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine indicated Tuesday that he is thinking about using starting shortstop Mike Aviles out of the leadoff spot. "Maybe, yeah," said Valentine. "Trying to warm up to it, see if I can see it. He quickly strikes fear into a pitcher's heart, I'll tell you that." We're afraid Valentine is exaggerating a bit here, as Aviles owns an underwhelming .318 career on-base percentage. One possible option is having him leadoff against southpaws, where he has a .348 career on-base percentage and a .924 OPS. Bobby V does like to mix things up, so we wouldn't rule it out. Either way, the 31-year-old is suddenly an intriguing fantasy option in AL-only and deeper mixed leagues.

Mike Aviles will open the 2012 regular season as Boston's starting shortstop. Aviles won the job by default, but he makes for an intriguing fantasy sleeper given the talent surrounding him in the Red Sox lineup and his own offensive potential. The 31-year-old holds a useful .288/.318/.419 career batting line and stole 14 bases in 91 games last year.

Mike Aviles went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored against the Blue Jays on Sunday. Aviles could be a nice little surprise in fantasy leagues if he fields well enough to hold down the shortstop position for Boston. He can hit .300 and make modest contributions in homers and steals from the bottom of the lineup.

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe thinks that the Red Sox could wind up trading Mike Aviles if they decide to commit to Jose Iglesias as their starting shortstop. He speculates that the Phillies might have interest. We would guess that the Brewers, who are looking for middle infield depth, would be, as well. But, we just don't see it happening, at least not for a while. The Red Sox are counting on Aviles to be their starting shortstop at the beginning of the season, and Iglesias, while a wizard with the glove, simply isn't ready for major league pitching. He's also currently nursing a groin injury.