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 had done virtually nothing in his brief Dodger career before this season, but a very solid Southern League performance (2.62 ERA, 3 HR in 103 IP, 8.7 K/9) earned him the call. Eovaldi tossed five innings at Arizona in picking up his first big league win, allowing two runs on four hits, walking two and striking out seven. With an avg FB velocity of 94.4 and a swinging strike% of over 16 in his first start, there's certainly cause to be optimistic about Friday's outing against the Astros at home. Eovaldi's control is very suspect, but his excellent stuff and ability to keep the ball in the park are huge points in his favor. He's certainly worth a gamble if you have a rotation slot up for grabs.
J.D. Martinez - J.D. Martinez has three homers in his last 5 games, and he's obviously going to be starting for the foreseeable future. The 23 year old has a career minor league line (all at AA or below) of 342/407/551, so he clearly needs to be taken seriously. I'm not sure why he doesn't get a lot of positive press....the guy has done nothing but hit everywhere he's ever been. I'm becoming awfully bullish on Martinez, and I do think that he's worthy of a starting spot in most formats right now. The 'Stros have at least three, possibly four bats now that I would consider potential major league starters....probably the most they've had in quite some time.
James Darnell - James Darnell got the call to join the Padres yesterday after Chase Headley was diagnosed with a broken finger that will likely sideline him until mid-September at the earliest. While Logan Forsythe got the start yesterday, Darnell is going to play, and his minor league line of 303/403/514 suggests that the 24 year old can provide some value...even in Petco. I'd be ecstatic about Darnell's potential if it weren't San Diego, but even as a Padre Darnell merits a pickup in just about all formats, and by the end of the week we should have enough of a handle on how he will be utilized to determine just how deep of a league in which he should be considered to be a candidate to start.
Jose Constanza - Hot hitters play, so despite the fact that the Braves traded for Michael Bourn and they have Prado and Heyward hanging around, Jose Constanza is playing just about every day. It's hard to blame the Braves, really, since Constanza is 15-30 over his last eight games, and despite the fact that he has virtually no power he's chipped in a double, triple, and a homer over that stretch. The homer was the 7th of his professional career in just about 2800 AB's, so don't expect much more on that front, and a BABIP of .441 illustrates just how much regression we can expect in terms of AVG, but Constanza hasn't run much yet with the Braves, and he's a true 30+ SB threat, so there is some hope for improvement there. The soon-to-be 28 year old is merely a hot hand right now, and should resume his poor-man's Juan Pierre career track shortly, so spending a roster spot on him should be reserved for those in either desperate straits or those in the deepest of formats.
