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 the loss and bringing his record to 4-7. The strikeouts are still there, as I've mentioned before, with 6 more in yesterday's game to keep his K/I over 1.0 for the season. Still, when Barry Zito is healthy, he may take the spot in the rotation which would greatly diminish Sanchez's value. For now, he's good for K's and he's still penciled-in for next Tuesday's start, but watch the situation closely.
2. RA Dickey (SP - Mets) - Another quality start, but another loss for RA Dickey. He went 6.0 IP with 3 ER, but his defense let him down and allowed 2 unearned runs to score leading to his 11th loss of the year. Dickey's record is 5-11, but his QS% is 14-for-24 with a 3.75 ERA and 1.28 WHIP. While his numbers aren't flooring, they certainly do not match-up to his dismal record. Other than keeping his team in the game and posting modest ERA and WHIP numbers, Dickey offers little else to fantasy owners with a K/9 of just 5.9.
3. Randy Wolf (SP - Brewers) - I can't sit here and recommend a pickup of Randy Wolf. However, he has been solid lately and has shown a tendency to go through extended streaks throughout his career. With an 8.0 inning, 5 H, 1 ER gem last night, Wolf has posted quality starts in 5 of his last 6 starts. During that time, he has a 2.83 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and has gone 7 or more innings 4 times. On the downside, he also only has a 4.1 K/9 and a 2.8 BB/9 during those agmes. Wolf can blow-up at anytime, so I can't feel confident even with these solid numbers. Stay away.
4. Jayson Werth (OF - Nationals) - Jayson Werth has certainly had a disappointing season for the Nationals and his fantasy owners. If you bought him on the cheap at the All-Star break, you are getting all of the dividends. In the first half of the year, Werth hit .215/.319/.362 with an AB/HR of 32.6, and an FPI of 0.49. Since the break, he has looked more like the old Werth with a .271/.380/.482 with an AB/HR of 21.3, and an FPI of 0.72. Its tought to pull the trigger on trades like this, as you never know if he's going to rebound like Werth did or stay in an extended funk like Adam Dunn, but the regression-to-the-mean approach definitely worked in this situation.
5. Jay Bruce (OF - Reds) - Jay Bruce knocked his 2nd HR in the last 3 games, which is hopefully a sign that the power drought is over. Prior to those two knocks, Bruce's last HR came on July 9th. A look at the game logs shows that Bruce's HRs definitely come in bunches. Going back to that July 9th date, he had hit 3 HR in 4 days. Bruce's AB/HR of 18.0 is an improvement from the 2010 rate of 20.4, and pretty much in line with his career rate of 18.5. He will eclipse last year's career-high total of 25 by a healthy margin and his OBP of .348 is hovering near his career high of .353. You can see the superstar potential in Bruce and with just a bit more added consistency and an improvement on his K%, he could make that leap in 2012.
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