James Shields of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays appears to be turning into a pretty good young starter. The 26 year old right hander improved to 7-4 on the year on Friday in a win against the Kansas City Royals. Shields isn't a fantasy stud but it is impressive what he is doing for a bad team. Shields has improved his WHIP from a year ago of 1.44 to 1.03, he has raise his K/9 from 7.51 to 8.05 and his BAA has come down from a .288 clip to .232. Shields has made 11 quality starts out of 18 tries and he does still play for the Devil Rays so it is hard to recommend him but if he continues to improve he is a pretty good guy for the back end of the rotation.
Delmon Young of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays isn't stealing headlines, but he is quietly having a very productive rookie season. Young is currently batting .280 with 9 homeruns, 47 runs batted in, 6 stolen bases, and 19 doubles. Young has the talent and time to continue to improve (.257 BA in April, .247 in May, .310 in June and .364 in July) and with consistent power numbers of 3 HR per month and 14.3 RBI per month you can afford to wait for him to improve, which he will do.
Andrew Miller of the Detroit Tigers made the best start of his young career on Friday against the Boston Red Sox. Miller threw seven innings and allowed only one run on three hits while striking out six. Miller has had an up and down season with four quality starts out of six tries but he has certainly shown that he is capable. Miller has the talent and with some improved breaking stuff and some big league experience he could become a valuable fantasy pitcher. But for right now Miller is almost negating his strikeout total (25) with 17 walks and those walks mean he has walked a fine line between quality starts and trouble. Until Miller gets his control and consistency in order he is a High Risk pitcher.
Jack Cust of the Oakland Athletics had been one of the hottest hitters in the game over the months of May, June and the beginning of July but it appears he is coming back down to earth. Cust went zero for four on Friday against the Seattle Mariners and he is now just three for his last eighteen with 10 strikeouts in that stretch. Cust has earned a bit of slack with his impressive performance over his first 156 at bats of this season (.288 14 HR 38 RBI 1.026) but it would come as no surprise if he went into a big slump sometime soon. Use caution if you are thinking about making a move to acquire this guy.
Kameron Loe of the Texas Rangers has been pitching really well lately. Loe threw six shutout innings against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night and only allowed five hits and three walks along the way. Loe would have likely earned his fifth consecutive win in as many starts but the Rangers bullpen gave up the lead leaving Loe with a no decision. Over his last five starts Loe has watched his ERA sink from 7.40 to 5.36. Loe had a lot to make up for after a 1-6 start but he is making progress. Keep an eye on him.
