Jon Lucroy - Lucroy smacked a pair of homers last night against the Cubs, giving him 8 for the season and bringing his line up to 328/379/554 for the year. The 26 year old has been steadily improving in just about every facet of the game, yet he's still owned in just 1/5 of ESPN leagues and doesn't get nearly enough press as an up-and-coming young catcher. For me he's a clear #1 catcher in all formats: looking at the improvements in contact rate and HR/FB rate, the numbers that he's putting up don't surprise me at all.
Dale Thayer - Thayer's value is back up, as with Huston Street likely out for a few more weeks Thayer has banged out two easy saves as the interim closer. Thayer has fairly pedestrian stuff for a late-inning guy, but he has excellent command of it and a forgiving ballpark behind him half of the time. In the end, what matters for fantasy purposes is that he's getting save opportunities, and thus is a viable choice for anyone's bullpen until Street returns, which will likely be sometime in a 10-day stretch starting early next week.
Andrew Brown - Anytime playing time opens up in Colorado it's time to sit up and take notice, and with seemingly everyone hitting the DL in Rockie-town, Andrew Brown is apparently their new cleanup hitter for the time being. Brown has done absolutely nothing in his 53 MLB ABs thus far, but the 27 year old has 45 doubles and 44 homers over 749 ABs at AAA between this year and last, so there's definitely some pop there. He strikes out a ton, so there will likely be some AVG issues, but if you're looking for some cheap power in a solid lineup for the stretch run, Brown could be a sleeper choice.
Jacob Turner - After a false start or two, it looks like Jacob Turner will be coming up to the Marlins as soon as rosters expand next week, and he's likely to start one of the two games in Arizona on 9/1. Turner has a gaudy ERA down at AAA New Orleans, but the same control issues have been present, so I'm not entirely certain that he's ready for this test. Turner has great stuff, and his GB rate and swinging strike% have both been very positive indicators in his brief major league time this season, but he's likely to be rather inconsistent results-wise until his control improves/returns. I am very positive on his future, but I'd be leery trying to start him down the stretch this season.
Jake Elmore - The D-Backs might be slipping into player evaluation mode, as the Stephen Drew trade yesterday might open up a bit of playing time for Jake Elmore at SS down the stretch. Elmore has excellent speed and control of the strike zone, but even in his age 25 season has shown little pop besides the occasional double. Those in OBP-based leagues will want to keep an eye on him, as singles, doubles, walks, and steals from a SS have some value in certain formats. With Willie Bloomquist still dealing with a stiff back and John McDonald nursing a sore elbow, Elmore might be the only SS option available for Arizona right now, so he's likely to get enough playing time to have a little value in deeper leagues.
