Wednesday Wrapup - Gorzelanny, Lowe Leave Hurt

Alex Rios - 2/5, 1 R, 1 RBI. Who knows that lineup Blue Jays manager John Gibbons will throw out there each day, but Alex Rios batted 3rd last night, and if for some reason he stayed there, it'd give his fantasy value a slight boost being in a better RBI spot. He's the best hitter on that team, so there's little reason not to use him there.

Aaron Cook - 9 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K. All the damage was done before the 2nd run was driven in during a GIDP. Not fantasy noteworthy (unless you're a mind-reader and spot-starter him), but he finished this game in only 74 pitches, which some state is a record since pitch counts started being tallied. I haven't see that confirmed anywhere, but it's incredible efficiency combined with a complete lack of patience. Cool.

Matt Holliday - 4/4, 4 R, 3 RBI, HR (18). Big game from a big player. Gotta love owning Holliday.

Joe Blanton - 6 IP, 11 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 3 K. That's 4 straight 4+ ER, 10+ H performance from Blanton. Unfortunately things are still evening out for Blanton who now sports a 3.69 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. This is more in line with his talent level, so expect the shellings to stop soon.

John Lackey - 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 7 K. His numbers are also evening out as well. I'm learning things as I go here, and there were a few more sell high guys that I should have mentioned, with both Blanton and Lackey qualifying. Both are good mixed league pitchers, don't get me wrong, but both were pitching above their heads and just couldn't keep up the pace they were on. So noted for next year.

Francisco Rodriguez - 1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, BS (3), W (4). Just a brutal performance from K-Rod, but he got lucky and the Angels came back to win it in the bottom of the 9th. No closer is immune to these outings over the year.

Chone Figgins - 3/5, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB (26). Another big game from Chone who has boosted his AVG all the way up to .325 with this game. He has definitely come back from a down year last year, and also a brutal start after an injury this year to re-establish himself as a top fantasy middle infielder.

Mike Piazza - 3/5, 2 R, 1 RBI, HR (3). He's really hitting the ball well since returning from his extended minor league rehab assignment.

Erik Bedard - 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, W (10). The strikeout machine continues his mastery of the AL, lowering his ERA to 3.05 for the season. As the law of averages has it, don't be surprise by a shelling sometime soon, but he and Zambrano are probably the 2 hottest fantasy starters going right now.

Corey Patterson - 3/5, 2 R, 1 RBI, HR (5). Patterson is hitting .429 with 3 HR and 5 SB in 12 G since the AS break, and he's continuing to hit 2nd. There's no reason he should be unowned in fantasy leagues right now.

Josh Beckett - 8 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K. Who knew the Red Sox/Indians series would feature two consecutive 1-0 pitching duels? Beckett was the unlucky one here, getting outdueled by Carmona and not picking up a win in a start that he would win 95% of the time.

Fausto Carmona - 8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (13). Perhaps his finest start of the year for this impressive youngster. Maybe he won't fade away like I previously thought.

Cole Hamels - 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. Great outing from Hamels, but the makeshift Phillies bullpen let him down in the 9th inning. They badly need Gordon and Myers back healthy as they had to have known that Alfonseca wouldn't last.

Ryan Howard - 2/5, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR (28). A-Rod and Fielder better watch out. Despite the DL stint, and thanks to 6 HR in 8 games, Howard is right on their heels.

Tom Gorzelanny - 2 1/3 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 1 K. Told ya. He left with left shoulder stiffness and his status is uncertain at the moment. Hope you sold high on him, he has a history of these sorts of injuries. Hopefully he'll come back healthy though.

Tom Glavine - 6 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, W (9). Not his best work, but he did enough to pick up the win. He'll continue being a non-impressive, but fairly solid fantasy starter for the rest of the season thanks to the league he pitches in and the team he plays for.

Jason Bay - 1/3, 2 run HR. 3 HR in 2 days has Bay owners seeing a bit of light ahead. He's way past due for a hot streak.

Brandon Phillips - 2/4, 1 R, 1 RBI. He had his AVG in the .270s a lot, but it's up to .284 right now thanks to a scorching .337 July. If he can maintain it in the .280s for the rest of the year, he'll stop being a minor liability in AVG and a true 5 catagory player.

Derrek Lowe - 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K. Lowe left his start early with a strained groin, and he has an upcoming MRI, which will reveal the extent of the injury. Stay tuned.

Brad Lidge - 1 IP, 1 K, SV (5). He's 5/5 since coming off the DL, pitching 7 IP with 3 H, 3 BB, and 13 K. He's quietly becoming the old Brad Lidge again. I can't guarantee him keeping this up the rest of the year, but if he stays with Houston the rest of the year, he should remain a very valuable closer. His 1.94 ERA isn't going to allow you to buy low.

Mike Mussina - 5 2/3 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (5). He pitched around some baserunners to maintain a slim 2-1 lead til the Yankees opened it up in the 8th inning, lead by A-Rod's 35th HR. Considering it was against the Royals, this was expected of him.

Gil Meche - 7 1/3 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K. Meche was actually pitching a very good ballgame until A-Rod got to him in the 8th. I still question his mixed league fantasy value, but you could find worse I guess.

Hideki Matsui - 1/5, HR (18). His 10th HR this month. This is as much power as he's shown in his entire career in the US.

Ted Lilly - 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, W (11). Not his best effort, but against the current Cardinals lineup, you don't need your best, especially when you're a lefty and can neutralize their 2nd best hitter (Chris Duncan) simply by taking the mound as a LHP. His fantasy owners will happily take it as Lilly has won 6 starts, and 7 of his last 8.

Adam Wainwright - 5 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. His K:BB ratio was great, but he left too many pitches over the plate and got hit around. He was having quite a nice month prior to this outing, so stick with him and hope that this is a bump in the road as he starts to realize his potential.

Mike Fontenot - 2/5, 2 RBI. He's up to .331 on the year with 3 HR, 20 RBI, 24 R, and 5 SB in 39 games. His minor league track record says he's playing over his head, but if he's unowned and you're having trouble at 2B, you might as well use him while he's hot.

Kenny Rogers - 4 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 2 K. He surrendered 4 HR in a very ugly outing, but it's his 3rd straight ugly outing after coming back from the DL very strong. He's now been lit up in 3 straight starts, including the struggling offenses of the Royals and White Sox. This is cause for concern, but if he's healthy, he'll bounce back and be the AL version of Tom Glavine.

Josh Fields - 2/4, 2 run HR (8). That's 3 HR in 4 games for Fields. He's hitting .286 with 6 HR, 17 RBI, and 14 R in 23 games this month, which is pretty solid for a 3B. He might be worth stashing now, depending on your 3B situation and bench, to see if he's figured things out already.

J.J. Putz - 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 K, BS (1). He's human, so you don't have to contact your local authorities.

Adrian Beltre - 3/5, 1 R, 4 RBI. He had been quiet recently, but he's still at .325 with 5 HR and 22 RBI this month. He, like several others, have been alternating bad month/good month, and because of that, his overall AVG stands at .274. He's a lower tiered fantasy 3B as it stands right now until he can show some more consistency.

Kenny Lofton - 2/5, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR (7). With a .303 AVG, 62 R, and 21 SB, he's been a fine fantasy OF for speed purposes, plus the 7 HR isn't too bad. He's been worthless against LHP, though, posting a .221 AVG with 0 HR and 0 SB. Use him accordingly.

Brandon Webb - 7 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, W (9). He walked the bases loaded in the 1st inning, then cruised from there on out. It was a very encouraging outing after the 1st inning, showing the vintage Webb from 2006. Hopefully he can build on this and go on a nice run of starts. His 1.29 WHIP leaves a lot to be desired, but he's battled and kept his ERA at a very nice 3.23.

Chris Young - He's hitting .260 post AS break with 3 HR and 6 SB, so that's been a nice uptick in his steals. He's only hitting .237 overall, but with 16 HR and 15 SB, he's provided decent fantasy value. If he can keep his AVG around .260, he's worth playing depending on your options. Let's hope he continues hitting for a more reasonable AVG in the 2nd half.

Chuck James - 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. Another solid outing from James, but he was a victim of poor run support and lost. That's 5 straight starts of 2 ER or less for James, but he's only won 2 of those outings.

Brad Hennessey - 1 IP, 1 H, 2 K, SV (7). He's quietly settled in nicely as the Giants closer, going 7/9 in save opps over the year. The Giants just don't generate many save chances, though.