Jason Heyward -- Heyward took batting practice yesterday, the first time he's faced live pitching since breaking his jaw nearly a month ago. Atlanta hitting coach Greg Walker said, "It went well, and that is not an easy thing to do. Now it is all about him getting his timing." The Braves hope to have him back in the lineup next week, but contributing to just a few games obviously limits his remaining fantasy value this year. Heyward has had a down season, but he still has excellent raw abilities and is likely to be a bargain on draft day next year.
Billy Hamilton -- Reds prospect Billy Hamilton made the first MLB start of his career last night, going 3-for-5 with two walks, two runs, an RBI, and four (!) stolen bases. Hamilton stole 75 bases at Triple-A this year and is one of the fastest players to come around in quite a long time. His hitting ability is in question, and there may not be room for him in Cincinnati's outfield, but if he manages to lock down a starting job in 2014 he will have massive fantasy value due to all the steals he'll accrue.
Patrick Corbin -- After giving up six runs in two innings on Tuesday, Patrick Corbin will not be shut down by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He's only up about 13 innings from last year (not that such things necessarily mean much) and will likely make two more starts. His 14 wins and 3.17 ERA don't reflect his true talent level, but his 3.48 xFIP is still excellent, and despite protests by some stat guys, I do like Corbin a decent bit for 2014. His fastball is up to 92 mph this season and his secondary stuff is solid to go with good control. He's not this kind of near-elite pitcher, but he is a good one that will have plenty of value in mixed leagues next season.
Yonder Alonso -- After hitting in a batting cage on Monday, Yonder Alonso felt more pain in the hand that has kept in out of action this month. "I'm still trying to make it happen, but it didn't feel well after I hit," said Alonso. "It might not work out this season." If Alonso's season is indeed done, he'll finish with a .281/.341/.368 triple-slash, 6 home runs, and 6 steals in 375 plate appearances. Alonso isn't the prototypical first baseman since he doesn't have monster power, but he is good enough to be worth a pick in deep mixed leagues next year and should be quite valuable in NL-only leagues.
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