Belated Monday Review

Manny Corpas - 1 IP, 1 K, SV (2). He's definitely secured the closer's job for Colorado at the moment. I doubt Colorado will be in any rush to return Fuentes to that role when he returns, so there's a chance that Corpas could close all year if he keeps pitching well. Besides, Fuentes, if healthy, has a decent chance of being traded as well.

Willy Taveras - 1/3, 3 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB (22). He's been in and out of the lineup a lot recently with groin problems, but it's obvious that he's feeling much better with the 2 steals. He's safe to activate again.

Victor Martinez - 1/3, 1 R, 2 RBI, HR (17). Martinez is enjoying the best fantasy season at the catcher position this year outside of Russell Martin. He was definitely a far better value than Joe Mauer, being drafted up to 2 full rounds after him. Martinez is actually on pace for a career high in HR (needs 6 to tie) and RBI (needs 34 to tie) if he stays on the same pace he's currently on. Given they're using him more at 1B, he's less likely to wear down as opposed to being the fulltime catcher.

Paul Konerko - 1/5, 3 run HR. His AVG is up to .270, and he's also up to 19 HR on the season. With a solid finish, he'll probably reach 30 HR again. He definitely came through on my buy low suggestion back when he was struggling.

Kason Gabbard - 9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K. Hard to get too excited here given that it was against the Royals, but you have to take notice anyways. Combining his performance through 5 starts (3-0, 3.38 ERA, 1.19 WHIP) with Julian Tavarez pitching horribly, and he's probably the new 5th starter once Curt Schilling returns from the DL. I would take a wait and see approach in mixed leagues. The fact he pitches for Boston is enticing given the win potential, and the 25 K in 29 1/3 IP so far is nice as well, but the 14 BB is concerning.

Manny Ramirez - 1/4, solo HR (13). He's really starting to take off, and us owners can hope that it's for a longer period of time than his previous hot streak this year.

David Ortiz - 1/4, 2 run HR (16). Just like his buddy Manny, Ortiz is starting to heat up as well. These two have been dormant for a while, so I expect a nice finish if Ortiz is recovered from his leg injuries. The knee is still a concern, but hopefully Ortiz will continue finding ways to hit well despite it.

Chris Duncan - 2/3, 1 R, 3 RBI, HR (18). I love the fact that LaRussa put him in the 4th spot last night behind Pujols. When the Cardinals are facing RHP, this is an excellent move to give Pujols a bit more protection than the aging Scott Rolen has offered. If Duncan can find a way to resolve his issues against LHP (.254 AVG, 1 HR), he could become a fantasy star. As is, he's a great platoon OF.

Vernon Wells - 2/4, 1 R. Sure enough, after his hot streak in the leadoff position, Wells was moved back to the 3rd spot in the order. This is great news for his fantasy value as his hits will result in more RBIs. Reed Johnson has resumed leading off, and if he can replicate last season's success after he shakes off the rust from his injury, him and Rios will give Wells plenty of RBI opportunities.

Mariano Rivera - 1 IP, 1 H, 2 K, SV (14). Anyone remember his struggles in April? He hasn't had an ERA above 1.74 in any month since then.

Tim Lincecum - 6 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 8 K. Thankfully he was unhittable last night because he didn't have his control from pitch #1. It's nice to see him put up such a great outing despite all the walks, but that sure won't happen very often.

Rich Hill - 8 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, W (6). He pitched very well last night even if he didn't rack up the Ks like usual. Pretty much what his owners expected against the weak Giants offense, and he got some great 8th inning heroics from the offense to pick up his 6th win.

Bob Howry - 1 IP, 1 K, SV (6). Howry's run as the closer is about out as Dempster is due back by the end of the week. He could be good for another save or 2 in the meantime, but he'll move back to a setup role with Marmol once Dempster returns.

Dmitri Young - 2/3, 1 R, 3 RBI, HR (9). He's making himself a very attractive 1B for teams looking to upgrade at the deadline. He's turned himself it a very nice UTIL player for fantasy purposes, and a move to a contending team on a better offense would only increase his fantasy value. He's always been an excellent hitter, but injuries have held him back far more often than not.

Dave Bush - 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, W (8). Another fine outing from Bush who's completely turned himself around since the beginning of June. All the runs came on solo HR. He's fine to use as a back-of-the-rotation starter in mixed leagues as his W, K, and WHIP will be very helpful.

Corey Hart - 1/4, solo HR (13). He's slowed down quite a bit recently, including not stealing a base since June 26th. He was due for this, but should maintain his value as a quality 3rd fantasy OF. I just hope you sold high on him before he backed off from the ridiculous pace he was setting for himself.

Ichiro Suzuki - 2/3, 1 R, SB (24). He's slowed down some too, but he has stolen a base in each of his last two games, so hopefully he'll start running more again after not stealing a base this month until Monday.

Jorge Sosa - 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. A pretty successful return from the DL for Sosa, and you can pick him back up again in case he was dropped. He should be a fairly solid 5th starter for your fantasy team.

Brad Penny - 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K. He struggled early, but really settled down and turned in a great performance. A few more starts like these will definitely make me think twice about him being due for a 2nd half collapse. I still think some rough times are ahead for him, though.

Jeff Kent - 1/2, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR (12). It's been a strange season for Kent so far. He started off hitting .319 in April, but only had 2 HR. He followed that up by only hitting .225 in May, but slugged 6 HR. He was completely worthless in June, hitting .247 with 2 HR, but he's come back in July with a scorching .390 AVG with 2 HR so far. All in all, he's hitting ..281 with 12 HR, and given his cleanup position in the order, he's posted solid RBI/R totals as well. He's done being a great fantasy 2B, but he's still useful at the position.