Monday/Tuesday Recap

Sorry, between work and vacation last week, I'm really slacking. I'll be catching up today and things should be smoother for a while. :)

Andy Pettitte - 5 2/3 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, W (8). Yet another subpar outing from Pettitte, but he limited the damage and picked up the win. With his luck turning around and the Yankees offense hitting very well, he's likely to start helping out in the win column, but his declining K-rate and high WHIP make him a fringe mixed league starter.

Justin Verlander - 6 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 K. Detroit didn't rally with runs until the 7th after Verlander had departed, so we has denied a victory in this one. He's clearly not pitching as well as he was earlier in the season, and my suggestion that he might fatigue later on this year seems to be accurate. He has the talent to bounceback, but he worked a long year last year. Keep an eye on him.

B.J. Upton - 1/3, 1 R, 3 RBI, HR (16). Upton had 9 HR before the AS break in 200 AB, but has slugged 7 HR after the AS break in only 94 AB. This isn't exactly what owners had in mind as he hasn't stolen a base since June 7th, prior to his DL stint, but nobody's complaining. He was a huge preseason sleeper in the SB department as many were expecting 40 if he won significant playing time, but instead he's hitting .323 with 16 HR, 52 RBI, 53 R, and has been moved to the 3rd spot in the order. He's a bigtime keeper candidate.

Adrian Gonzalez - 2/4, 1 R, 1 RBI, HR (18). Gonzalez has been a bum since May. He started out hot and was defying the odds while playing most of his games at Petco Park, but he really went south in June and has stayed that way since. He's wasn't quite as good as he started, but he's too good to be playing this bad. Benching him until he gets hot isn't a bad idea, depending on your alternatives.

Rich Hill - 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. This was his best start in quite some time. He dominated down the stretch last year and to start this year, but like I mentioned before, he hasn't pitched all that well since April. This was a step in the right direction, even if it did come against a weak Houston offense. It's likely the league adjusted to him as they saw him more, so now it's up to him to re-adjust. His command has been part of the problem.

Wandy Rodriguez - 8 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K. Ervin Santana part 2. He is well worth using at home, and well worth benching on the road. His home stats are 74 2/3 IP, 6-2, 1.69 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and 65 K. His road stats are 57 1/3 IP, 1-8, 8.16 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, and 51 K. Is that's not a split worth playing into, I dunno what is.

Prince Fielder - 1/4, 1 R, 1 RBI, HR (33). He's starting to heat up again with 3 HR in his past 6 games after not homering in July after the 13th. Just the ups and downs of owning players, and it's clear he's ready to start mashing again.

Matt Holliday - 3/4, 1 R, 2 RBI, HR (21). Who doesn't love Matt Holliday? He's turned into one of the best fantasy OF over the past 2 years and continues to kill the ball. He's an elite 1st OF.

Curt Schilling - 6 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 K. He had good control, but missed too much over the plate and was hit by a good hitting team. Overall, this was a pretty successful return and he's safe to activate for his next start.

Jered Weaver - 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. Good progress made here, especially against Boston's offense. He's likely to remain an inconsistent pitcher given the fact he's giving up 120 H in 107 1/3 IP, but he's good enough to pitch around problems and he pitches in front of a solid offense.

Kevin Youkilis - 2/4, 1 R, 2 RBI, HR (12), SB (3). Youkilis has picked it back up in August so far, hitting .323 this month. He's been moved to the 2nd spot in the order, which is a solid spot for him. He doesn't strike out a lot and makes solid contact. He'll remain a very nice asset in AVG and R, and he'll be decent in RBI. He has some pop and doesn't steal. Overall, he's a lower tier 3B. He shouldn't be used at 1B.

Tim Lincecum - 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 8 K. Thanks to the Ks and lowly Nationals offense, he limited the 10 baserunners to only 1 run. He's walked 5 in 3 of his last 5 starts, so his control is becoming a problem. He won't continue to only give up a run or two by doing that.

Dmitri Young - 1/4, 1 R, 2 RBI, HR (10). Young cooled off a bit in the 2nd half of July, ending with a .295 AVG, but he's hitting .414 in August with 8 RBI in 7 games. He's not going to score a lot of runs or hit for big power, but his lofty AVG and solid RBI production make him worth using as a UTIL hitter. It looks like he's here to stay this year as a solid fantasy option.

Ryan Howard - 2/4, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR (32). He's almost caught up to Prince Fielder despite the DL stint as he's now 1 behind him in the NL HR race. He's put together back-to-back 10 HR months, hitting .280 and then .323 in those months. He's clearly back to being a bigtime fantasy 1B after his disappointing start. He was overrated a bit in drafts this year, but should settle in as a solid late 1st round pick next year. Philly needs to find a bat to support him in the lineup this offseason.

Jose Guillen - 4/6, 2 R, 2 RBI. He's hitting .290 on the year, but Safeco has sapped some of his power as he's only hit 13 HR. Still, he's on pace for .290, 20 HR, 100 RBI, and 90 R. A pretty solid season as a 3rd fantasy OF.

Raul Ibanez - 3/6, 3 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR (8). Ibanez had a big June with 5 HR and 20 RBI, but he's nowhere close to last season's career year and is proving that he's not worth a spot on your fantasy roster with his performance this season. Don't hang onto him thinking last year will resurface.

Magglio Ordonez - 3/5, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR (18). He's come roaring back in August after a pedestrian July, hitting .478 with 2 HR and 6 RBI in 6 games. I was very skeptical about him continuing his hot hitting and suggested selling high, but while his AVG has dipped to .313 from .367 and his R pace is down after the AS break, his HR and RBI pace are right in line. I still think the high tier OF you could have gotten in return will outproduce him from here on out, but he's going to make it close from the looks of it.

Jonny Gomes - 3/4, 2 R, 4 RBI, GS (13). Gomes is producing as advertised, showing 30 HR power and RBI production from the bottom half of the order. They should move him up to 5th to make use of what he does well, and he should remain in your fantasy lineup if you need HR/RBI and can take his AVG hit.

Roger Clemens - 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, W (4). A very nice start last night from Clemens, and he also got ejected in the 7th inning for hitting Alex Rios. It was well deserved as the Blue Jays finally hit A-Rod for the popup play earlier in the year. Clemens saved his best fastball and pegged the Jays best hitter in return. The ejection was deserved, but I don't fault Clemens at all for retaliating.

Robinson Cano - 0/1, 3 BB, SB (3). Cano has displayed poor baserunning at the major league level, but the thing to note here is the huge turnaround he's displayed at the plate. He hit .385 with 6 HR and 24 RBI in July, and is hitting .435 with 2 HR and 8 RBI in August so far. He's raised his AVG up to .308 on the season and now has very solid RBI and R totals. His 6th/7th spot in the order will allow him to rack up great RBI totals with A-Rod, Matsui, and Posada ahead of him.

Bronson Arroyo - 6 2/3 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, W (5). Much better. Washington blasted him last time out, but he shut down a much better Dodgers offense this time around. You can ignore his last start as an abhoration given his much improved performance around that outing.

Oliver Perez - 5 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 5 K. He had his command last night, but Atlanta was all over him and hit him hard. He still has great numbers on the year, and it was nice to see another start from him without a walk. Don't worry about this outing.

Jeff Francouer - 4/5, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR (13). Big night for Francouer as he raised his AVG to a completely shocking .310 on the season. He's already surpassed last year's walk total in 50 less games, so it's obvious that his improved patient at the plate has led to this. He's still not showing the same power, though.

Sean Marshall - 5 1/3 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 2 K. He was pitching well last night, but surrendered 4 hits in the 6th inning, and the Kerry Wood allowed both of the inherited runners to score before Marshall's book was done. His last bad start was against a great Philly offense, but this was against Houston. I'm a bit worried, but I wouldn't drop him yet.

Jake Peavy - 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, W (12). Another dominant start by Peavy as he's allowed 1 ER in his last 3 starts, winning all 3. He's back on top of his game as NL's best starting pitcher.

Anthony Reyes - 7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. Reyes was a tough luck loser last night as he continues to get terrible run support. He remains on the radar, and pro-active owners needing a pitcher should think about picking him up to see if he's finally adjusted to the major league level.

Mark Teahen - 4/4, 2 R, 1 RBI. Teahen was a popular sleeper heading into this year given his monster run during last summer, but he's settled into a .290 hitter with little pop and only 10 SB. The .290 AVG and 64 R are nice, but that's not enough to make him worth starting at either 3B or in the OF. He's a solid fantasy reserve, but that's all for now.

Todd Helton - 3/5, 3 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR (11). It's weird that Helton only has 11 HR after being used to him hitting 30+ every year, but it's clear that his constant back injuries in recent years have sapped him of his power. The .298 AVG and 65 RBI are nice, but he's just not producing enough to warrant starting at 1B. He's a solid reserve.

Troy Tulowitski - 2/4, 1 R, 1 RBI, HR (13). Tulo really cooled off last month, and he had been hitting horribly this month as well until last night. Let's hope he starts getting hot again now.

Tom Gorzelanny - 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, W (10). To my surprise, he certainly bounced back well from his shoulder injury. Given how well he pitched last night, I'd ignore this last shoulder injury moving forward. Keep in mind he does have a history of arm issues, though.

Justin Upton - 3/4, 2 R, 1 RBI, HR (1). Just missed the cycle last night by a single, grounding out in his last at bat. Mixed leaguers might as well take a chance on him now if he's going to hit well from the start, depending on your OF situation. Just keep in mind that he's 19 years old.

Gary Matthews Jr. - 3/5, 3 R, 4 RBI, HR (14). Big night last night for Matthews, although his AVG now sits at .274. As I've said before, he's right on pace with his breakout season last year in everything but AVG and R, but the lack of R production is explained by him hitting further down in the order.

Barry Zito - 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K. Dump him. His velocity is down, which makes his curve less effective, and his location is horrible. Something is wrong here.

Barry Bonds - 3/3, 3 R, 1 RBI, HR (22). #756 for Bonds, baseball's new all-time HR king. I'll touch on this in it's own article.

Bengie Molina - 2/4, 1 R, 3 RBI, HR (12). He's maintaining his lower tier fantasy catcher status with solid power numbers for a backstop. Continue using him if you don't have a top catcher.