Javier Vazquez- FLA- Hot- Vazquez shut out the Mets In his 7 IP last night, allowing just 3 hits. He exhibited the traits that have led to his resurgence, striking out 6 and walking only 1. Vazquez looks solid for...

Jeremy Hellickson (SP-TB) Hellickson's record fell to 11-10 after earning the loss last night against the Rangers. He allowed 2 runs on 6 hits, 4 walks and 1 home run while striking out 4 in 6 innings of work....

Nick Evans - Nick Evans has started the last 5 games for the Mets, including a 4-8 performance yesterday during the Mets' sweep of the Marlins. Evans has posted a minor league ISO of .200 over 2735 AB's, so there's...

Anthony Swarzak SP (MIN) - I'd avoid starting Swarzak in all leagues today. He has a 3.62 ERA, but an xFIP of 4.87 exposes his true skills - or lack thereof. I'm never a fan of pitchers with low...

A sample of this week's notes..... Andre Ethier (OF-LAD) - Unless the Dodgers are sold and the current management is swept out, it's looking like Ethier's career with the Dodgers could be coming to a close. The latest incident has...

Evan Longoria - (3B - TB): Longoria's started to put things together in a pretty big way of late, but I remain utterly perplexed that his performance this season hasn't continued to grow upon past levels. Longoria's improved his...

Peter Bourjos - Bourjos homered again last night, giving him four in the past week along with a 341/383/648 line for the month of August. The OF situation in Anaheim is extremely crowded right now, and all five players involved...

Prince Fielder- MIL- FYI- For the first time in 5 games, Fielder wasn't walked and he hit a homer. His last 3 homers have come in games where he didn't have a BB. It looks like teams are careful with...

Chris Capuano (SP--Mets) When the Mets signed Chris Capuano during the off-season, they knew it was one of those low-risk/high-reward deals. For $1.5 million, the lefty came cheap. Sure, he been oft-injured but the Mets knew that he was capable...

Michael Bourn- ATL- Hot- Bourn tied his career high for hits in a game with a 4-for-5 effort yesterday. He has pretty much picked up right where he was with Houston after being dealt to the Braves at the deadline....

Justin Morneau (1B - MIN): As with every baseball season there are a number of players that seem to haunt/tantilize owners all year long. Morneau appears to be one of those guys for owners based on the questions I...

Kyle Seager- SEA- Hot- Seager has raised his average to .313 on the strength of a 6-game hitting streak in which he has gone 15-for-25 with 2 homers, 5 doubles, 7 runs scored and 3 RBI. Seager's .397 BABIP is...

Carlos Gonzalez (OF-COL) Gonzalez went 2-for-5 with 2 runs scored, 2 strikeouts, a walk and 3 RBI in the Rockies win over the Astros on Wednesday. The home run was his twenty-third of the season, and he improved his...

A sampling of this week's prospect updates: Natonal League 12 Brett Jackson CHC OF B+ Has turned it on in August - .369 with 5 HR. 29 K in 20 games however. 15 Jonathan Singleton HOU 1B B+ HR every...

Ryan Braun (LF-MIL) Braun went 2-for-3 with 2 doubles, 2 stolen bases, 2 walks, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored in the Brewers' victory over the Pirates. Braun now has a career high 28 stolen bases along with 25...

David Ortiz DH (BOS) - Ortiz has missed some games with a heel injury, but appears to be ready to rejoin the starting lineup today. Fantasy owners in daily leagues need to get Ortiz back in their lineups ASAP....

Jordan Schafer - As David mentioned, Jordan Schafer did make his anticipated Astro debut yesterday, going 0-4 before being lifted for a pinch-hitter. Schafer is likely to be the starting CF the rest of the way for Houston, and it...

1. Jacoby Ellsbury (OF - Red Sox) - Ellsbury has missed three straight games with a back injury, but the expectation is that he will return to the Red Sox lineup on Tuesday. The back injury stems from an...

Jerome Williams - Back in 2003 a rookie right hander came on to the baseball scene in San Francisco, pitching 131 innings with a 3.30 ERA and 128 ERA+. At that time, 21-year old Jerome Williams looked like a sure...

Brandon Beachy SP (ATL) - Beachy continued his stellar rookie season last night by limiting the Diamondbacks to 1 run over 6 IP. As usual, Beachy had his strikeout pitch going; he struck out 7 while walking just 1....

A.J. Burnett - The rumors swirling around whether AJ. Burnett may eventually be moved to the bullpen are alive and kicking this morning after the Yankees' right hander was shelled on Saturday night by, of all teams, the Twins. Burnett...

Rich Harden - I've said it before but it remains true. Rich Harden is like the really good-looking girlfriend that you just can't quit. On Friday, Harden reminded fantasy owners just how good he used to be in his heyday...

Craig Kimbrel (RP--Braves) If I had to vote on a ROY today, my vote would go to Craig Kimbrel who continues to put together a dominant rookie year and is quickly establishing himself as a top-tier closer. Kimbrel collected his...

Zack Greinke SP (MIL) - In keeper leagues, Greinke may be an undervalued commodity. The truth is he is elite. Greinke has a 2.92 FIP and 2.31 xFIP, but a deflated strand rate (66.7 LOB%) has inflated his ERA...

Jeff Francoeur (OF--Royals) The Royals rewarded Jeff Francoeur's fine efforts this season with a two year extension that is estimated around $13.5 million. Francoeur struggled to find consistency in his hometown Atlanta and had on-and-off times while playing for the...

David Price- TB- Hot- Price has thrown 2 straight quality starts against the teams at the top of the AL East, allowing just 1 run on 16 IP. This came after his usage eased up a little bit, with 3...

1. Geovany Soto (Catcher - Cubs) - Soto has been pretty inconsistent all year and his .220 average in August isn't helping much either. He has, however, been on a bit of power surge with 4 HR and 9 RBI...

J. J. Putz- ARI- Hot- Putz doesn't seem to be having any effects from the tendinitis that landed him on the DL last month. He recorded his 30th save of the season yesterday, allowing no hits, striking out 2 and...

Justin Verlander SP (DET) - Just another day at the office for Verlander as he held the Minnesota offense completely in check yesterday. He allowed just 1 ER in 7.2 innings of work while adding 7 strikeouts and just...

Lucas Duda - Duda reached base four times last night and homered for the 2nd straight game in the 5-4 win over the Padres, and he's now hitting 354/444/622 since the All-Star Break. He's going to play primarily 1B for...

Juan Pierre - We're getting to the end of Juan Pierre's fantasy baseball career. Pierre is hitting .284 this season to go along with 20 steals but it's becoming obvious that age is catching up to the speedy outfielder....

Dan Uggla (2B-ATL) - We'd be remiss if we didn't acknowledge Uggla, who saw his hitting streak end Sunday, just 23 games short of Joe DiMaggio's major league record. For the record, Uggla entered the streak batting just .173/.241/.327. He...

John Danks (SP - CHA): It's been a frustrating season for Danks and his fantasy owners, but Sunday was a nice step in the right direction for his value and his production. Danks took a no-hitter into the 6th...

Salvador Perez - Salvador Perez has arrived in Kansas City to assume the starting catcher's role, making four rookie regulars in the KC lineup right now. Perez is universally recognized as an excellent defender behind the plate, and he's apparently...

Dan Uggla - We're one day closer to seeing Dan Uggla run through a huge banner with the number 57 on it. Uggla singled in his first AB and added his 27th HR of the season on Saturday to up...

Andy Dirks- DET- Hot- Dirks went 4-for-4 for the first time in his young career, hitting a double, scoring a run and knocking in a run. He also walked for the first time since July 15th. Dirks is hitting a...

Dan Uggla (2B--Braves) Dan Uggla continued his improbable hit streak going 3-for-3 with two home runs. He's now up to 32 games and all of this for a guy who has a lifetime contact rate of just 73.4%. Somewhat ironic...

Curtis Granderson (CF-NYY) Granderson went 1-for-4 with a strikeout, a home run and 2 RBI's agains the Angels yesterday. While he improved his slash line to .275/.367/.583, the home run was his third in two days and his thirty-second of...

Johnny Cueto (SP--Reds) Johnny Cueto continues to collect quality start after quality start. On Thursday, he dominated the Rockies as he pitched seven shutout innings, striking out nine and allowed just three hits with no walks. His ERA hit the...

Rick Porcello (SP-DET) The Indians knocked around Porcello last night in as his overall record fell to 11-7. Porcello, who hadn't allowed more than 3 runs in any start since June, allowed 11 hits, 1 home run and 8 earned...

1. Jonathan Sanchez (SP - Giants) - Sanchez continues to struggle and there are rumors out in San Francisco that his spot in the rotation is in jeopardy. Sanchez lasted 4.1 IP and allowed 4 ER and 5 hits, earning...

American League 8 Jason Kipnis CLE 2B A- HR binge was a very nice surprise. Should be able to stick around for quite some time. 9 Brett Lawrie TOR 2B A- Start to MLB career couldn't be going any better....

Chris Capuano (SP-NYM) Capuano earned a no-decision after he allowed 4 earned runs on 9 hits, 1 walk and 3 strikeouts in 6 innings of work against the Padres last night. His record remains at 9-10 for the season. While...

Delmon Young OF (MIN) - While Young has certainly been a bust this season, I maintain he has value in standard mixed leagues going forward. When I told this to a friend in a discussion earlier today, he simply...

Nathan Eovaldi - The Dodgers dipped down to AA to replace Rubby de la Rosa in their rotation, and they may have come up with a guy worth taking a flyer on. Nathan Eovaldi is a 21 year old that...

David Price (SP - TB): For the 2nd time in his last 3 outings, Price has struggled to handle the A's offense. On Sunday he wasn't able to get through the 5th inning before being pulled, allowing 4 ER's...

Asdrubal Cabrera - To illustrate how much Asdrubal Cabrera has improved his power from 2010 to 2011, you just need to look at his ISO. The Indians' shortstop posted a .071 ISO in 2010 and entered Saturday's game against the...

Jon Rauch (RP-TOR) Rauch allowed 2 hits and 1 run, but he earned his eleventh save of the season in last night's victory over the Orioles. Before the game, John Farrell said he would stick with Rauch as his closer...

1. Jonathan Sanchez (SP - Giants) - I guess you probably could blame some cobwebs for Sanchez getting blown up last night. Afterall, it was his first start since June 24th so you can't expect him to be too...

1. Mark Trumbo (1B - Angels) - Trumbo isn't ready to slow down any time soon. With his 2nd HR in the last 3 games, he now has 21 for the season, giving him an AB/HR of 17.4. Other than...

Jay Bruce (OF - CIN): Bruce's potential breakout was the talk of the fantasy landscape back in May, but since then he's struggled to live up to owners' increased expectations. After hitting .342/.402/.739 in May, Bruce has slumped to...

Matt Harrison- TEX- Cold- Harrison may be experiencing some regression to the mean. He has had 2 starts of the non-quality variety in his last 3 outings. His ERA hasn't suffered much as he has allowed only 4 runs in...

1. Tim Stauffer (SP - Padres) - Stauffer just keeps posting the quality starts. If his run support was just a little higher, his record would be much better than 7-8. With another QS last night, he now has 10...

The big news in the prospect world this week is Arizona signing No. 3 overall pick Trevor Bauer. Bauer joins Jarrod Parker and Tyler Skaggs to give the Dbacks arguably the best three-pack of pitching prospects in the game. Mix...

Phil Hughes (SP-NYY) Hughes earned a six inning complete game shutout because the game was called after a rain delay during the seventh inning. Hughes allowed only 3 hits and struck out four to earn his second win of the...

Derek Lowe- ATL- Cold- Lowe has only 1 quality start in his last 10 appearances. He suffered some bad luck last month with a .359 BABIP but didn't help himself with a K/BB ratio that dropped to 1.40 as he...

Lucas Duda - Duda has started every game since the Beltran trade, so it looks like the Mets are going to try and live with his atrocious defense in the outfield for the time being. I can't believe they wouldn't...

1. Coco Crisp (OF - A's) - Coco Crisp gets little attention playing out in Oakland, but he is worth a fantasy look if you're desperate for some steals. His ownership has been steadily climbing, but still remains unowned in...