Domonic Brown (OF - Phillies) - After a few eye-opening games, Brown has certainly cooled-off when he gets the chance to play. The good news is that he’ll stay in the majors now that Ross Gload is on the DL. The bad news for fantasy owners is he hasn’t been getting much playing time since Shane Victorino returned from the DL. He only has 6 AB since August 12th, making it tough to even own him in NL-only leagues. He remains a valuable keeper as one of the Phillies top prospects, but won’t offer any sort of consistency in PT down the home stretch.
Stephen Strasburg (SP - Nationals) - Another precautionary move by the Nationals regarding Strasburg’s arm. He was removed from the game on Saturday in the 5th inning after grabbing his right wrist. The Nats quickly pulled the ace from the game and is considered day-to-day. Tests will be done and we won’t know specifics until those results are in, but you have to imagine the Nats will continue to be extra careful with Strasburg and could potentially shut him down at any moment.
Johnny Cueto (SP - Reds) - Johnny Cueto made his first start since his “Rockette impression” a few weeks ago that led to his suspension. It was pretty obvious that Cueto was a little rusty, allowing 5 ER in 3.0 IP including 3 BB and 4 HR. Despite a couple of rough outings in August, Cueto had a solid July and the Reds will be playing at 110% until the very end. That keeps Cueto’s fantasy value high, especially if he can repeat the 2.01 ERA figure he posted last month.
Jonathan Broxton (RP - Dodgers) - So is he the closer or not? Give us some answers Joe Torre! He pitched a perfect 9th on Saturday to earn the save and earn a little confidence back. Still, nothing is definitive in L.A. right now and we’re still looking at a closer-by-committee situation between Broxton, Hong-Chih Kuo, and Octavio Dotel. Of course, if he can steer the ship back on track, he will be the favorite to get the majority of the saves down the stretch. He’s worth stashing until its obvious he’s the closer again.
Wandy Rodriguez (SP - Astros) - Wandy is still looking for his first win in August, but that is certainly not from a lack of effort on his part. Another QS from him last night gives him 10 in the last 11 starts. Perhaps most importantly is his strikeout numbers. He posted 10 K’s last night, the 2nd time he had double-digit K’s this year. Sure, his overall K/9 of 7.7 is decent, but the splits are definitely impressive. Pre-All Star Break, Wandy posted a 6.84. His post break rate is 9.5. His value continues to rise as he puts up QS and K’s.
