Friday's Games: Hughes Back On Track

Phillip Hughes - 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, W (2). That's much better. Hughes bounced back from his terrible first start after spending a few months on the DL with a bigtime performance against a good Cleveland offense. He'll be slightly inconsistent as with most rookies, but his arm is fresh for the stretch run and he'll be a valuable asset in mixed leagues for the rest of the year.

Fausto Carmona - 7 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. Not a bad start versus the Yankees. This was the first time he's allowed more than 3 ER over his past 8 starts as his surprising season continues. Still, with the 1.27 WHIP and only 89 K in 151 2/3 IP, his 3.26 ERA stands to rise.

Joba Chamberlain - 2 IP, 4 K. Another bigtime Yankees pitching prospect has been promoted, although he's being limited to the bullpen for now and probably won't have fantasy value. I post this because with Clemens serving his suspension over a 5 day stretch in which the Yankees play 5 games, they'll need an extra starter. If they call on Chamberlain to start one of those games, give him strong consideration for a spot start.

Joe Blanton - 4 IP, 7 H, 9 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. Enough is enough. He had a strong April, mediocre May, an amazing June, but he's working on turning in his 2nd straight horrendous month. There's probably a lack of mixed league rotation candidates on your waiver wire, so the best bet here is probably to keep him on the bench versus strong offenses.

Jack Cust - 2/5, 2 R, 7 RBI, HR (18). He's still only hitting .265, and he's on a 75 R pace over an entire season, but he's providing very good value in HR and RBI. You could do worse for a 3rd OF, so continue using him there if you have. Just keep in mind you have to balance out the fact he's really only contributing to two catagories.

Daisuke Matsuzaka - 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K. Another strong performance, although he yet against displayed command problems. He was able to work around those, but the bullpen blew up and relinquished the lead. His stuff and K rate allows him to combat the random control issues.

Erik Bedard - 7 2/3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Another great outing from Bedard, especially against the Red Sox. He's really taken a big step forward this year and has elevated himself into the role as a fantasy ace. He's been able to battle through a mediocre offense and a shaky bullpen to post a solid win total.

Eric Gagne - 1/3 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 1 BB. He has been horrible since being traded to the Red Sox, allowing 9 H, 2 BB, 6 ER in only 3 1/3 IP. Given he's not closing, he's well worth benching until he gets himself straigthened out.

Billy Wagner - 1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, BS (2). 2's galore. He hadn't allowed a run since June 13th, almost 2 months prior. Wagner continues to be an elite closer who just had an offnight last evening.

Carlos Beltran - 1/3, 1 R, 3 RBI, HR (20). Beltran belted his 20th HR in his return last night, but it appears that he'll only play in games where he can bat left-handed. The strained oblique that landed him on the DL still causes him pain when batting right-handed, so he'll be platooned for now. Make sure to have an extra OF on hand so that you can take him out in games where he doesn't start.

Hanley Ramirez - 2/4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 3 SB (36). This included 2 steals of 3rd base. Han-Ram is continuing his assault on major league pitching and is working his way into a early-middle 1st round pick in redraft leagues next year. He's among the top 4-5 keepers in all of fantasy baseball.

David Weathers - 2/3 IP, 1 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 K. He's actually pitched very well in closing situations this year, but his owners will have to put up with outings like this in non-save situations. It's blowups like these that separate closers into different tiers as Weathers will be more vulnerable to outings like these.

Ken Griffey Jr. - 2/4, 2 R, 1 RBI, HR (27). 10 HR away from 600. He's really regressed in the 2nd half so far as his AVG has dropped down to .273 on the season. He should get hot again, but it's possible that he's just not a .290 hitter anymore. He should have been dealt a while ago due to injury concerns, but if you've hung onto him, he'll maintain solid power numbers while healthy, but AVG could be a problem.

Chuck James - 6 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. One bad inning. A pitcher like James probably shouldn't be used against Philly on the road, but he actually pitched pretty well. He's not a mixed league starter that can be plugged in regardless of opponent.

Cole Hamels - 7 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, W (13). Solid run support added another win to Hamels' total, who wasn't on his A game judging from the K total, but he still limited the baserunners and ended up with a solid start.

Tom Gordon - 1 IP, 1 BB, SV (6). Don't read too much into this...Myers just needed a night off. He might pick up a couple more saves this season, and thanks to both that and Myers' fragile health, he's well worth owning.

David Bush - 6 IP, 11 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. Against Houston? I'm off the bandwagon again. If he can't consistently pitch well against softer offenses, he's not worth playing matchups with.

J.J. Hardy - 1/5, 1 R, 1 RBI, HR (19). His first HR since June. He's turned into trash, so I hope he's still not on your team. It's a bit confusing as he came up through the Milwaukee system as a solid power prospect, and while he was definitely playing over his head the first two months, his complete collapse has lasted longer than anticipated.

Brad Penny - 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K. He's still been a quality start machine in the 2nd half, but this was the first outing in 5 starts that he hadn't allowed 3 ER. His 2.54 ERA is due for a correction as his WHIP sits at 1.20, but the .241 BAA is very good and shows how well he's pitching.

Adam Wainwright - 9 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. Another great start from Wainwright, but unfortunately he was outdueled by Brad Penny last night.

Shaun Marcum - 6 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (9). He's still rolling on an improbable hot streak, mowing down the Royals last night with ease. Continue riding out the hot streak.

Gil Meche - 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K. He pitched pretty well last night, but was incredibly inefficient, needing 101 pitches to complete 5 innings, preventing him from pitching deeper into the ballgame.

Vernon Wells - 2/4, 2 RBI, SB (8). Wells continues his modest improvement in the 2nd half, although some more power would be nice.

Javier Vazquez - 7 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, W (10). A little sloppy with the hits allowed, but he did a good job stranding baserunners and picked up his 10th win of the season. He's won 6 of his last 8 starts.

C.J. Wilson - 1 1/3 IP, 1 K, SV (4). 4/4 since Gagne left. These save situations are still involving key matchups against lefties, so Wilson is continuing to get save opportunities. We still haven't see Benoit in the 8th and Wilson in the 9th, so there's still not clear-cut pecking order despite the save chances saying otherwise.

Jacque Jones - 3/5, 1 R, 1 RBI, HR (3), SB (3). A great night for Jones, and considering how hot he is at the plate in August (.444, 10 RBI in 9 games), he's worth picking up for the short term.

Conor Jackson - 3/3, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR (9), SB (2). Big night for Jackson, but he just hasn't become the hitter that he's been projected to be yet. He has 20-25 HR power, but should hit well over .300 once he matures. He'll be a lower tier 1B, but he's not there yet as his .272 AVG proves.

Scott Baker - 5 1/3 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K. The Angels are not a good matchup for fringe mixed league starters as they've hit the ball well all year. Baker was on quite a roll, so a bad outing against a very good offense should not be held against him. If anything, it proves that Baker should not be used against elite offenses.

Kelvim Escobar - 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 4 K, W (12). 12 walks in his last two outings. That's a source of concern for the oft-injured pitcher, although he's done an incredible job of avoiding major damage by only allowing 3 ER in that span.