Wilson Ramos, C, Washington Nationals -- Ramos is about as hot as a fantasy batter gets at the moment, blasting his third home run in his last five contests, and his 13th overall this season, helping the Nationals handle the Mets yesterday afternoon. It was his only hit of the night, but Ramos has bene a steady resource of power, solid batting average and RBI. In his past nine games, Ramos has belted four dingers and driven in a whopping 13 runners, the most of any catcher in that span. He has been flying off the shelves in the past two week, and I've been advising you to grab him this whole time, but with many people in the playoffs set at catcher, he's still readily available in most mixed leagues. The 26-year old boasts a .272/.306/.473 slashline with 13 HR with 47 RBI in 65 games played, and since the Nationals dealt fellow backstop Kurt Suzuki back to Oakland, Ramos has been starting everyday, which makes it unusual that he's been so effective hitting the ball. Nonetheless, he is currently a steal if he is available, so snatch him up for your playoff run because at the moment, he's a guy I would even slot in at Utility if the matchup is right.
Tanner Roark, SP, Washington Nationals -- Roark was far from dominant, but the kid is winning games, earning his sixth victory of the year, and his second in two starts the past week. The 26-year old allowed two runs on six hits and a walk, striking out three. He won't overpower you with his stuff, but he pitches on the corners and doesn't walk many batters. Since joining the Nationals rotation, he's thrown 12 innings, yielding 10 hits and just those two runs (1.29 ERA, sub-1 WHIP), so he has put himself on the fantasy radar a bit, albeit not turning many heads. His only two starts were against the bottom feeders of the division as well, the Marlins and the Mets, two very soft hitting lineups, which also is a cause to think his fortunes could change in his next start, at Turner Field vs. division leader Atlanta. Proceed with caution if you plan on adding Roark to your team. He does face Miami and Arizona after that, so it could be in your best interest to sit him against Atlanta and play him against Miami/Arizona if you can afford to, we all know the playoffs are tricky.
Christian Yelich, OF, Miami Marlins -- Yelich finished 2-for-3 last night, raising his slashline back up to .290/.368/.398 for the season. The youngster threw up three 0-fers to start the week, but has responded by recording four hits in his last seven at-bats, scoring twice in the process. He has been hitting third in the lineup in between Donovan Solano/Placido Polanco and Giancarlo Stanton, which allows him to see better pitches because of Stanton's power behind him. His body still needs to fill out and the team around him isn't very good, but with 14 hits and seven runs in his past 10 games, he could come cheaply in standard mixed leagues, but should be gobbled up by now in mixed keeper, mixed dynasty and NL Only formats.
Aaron Harang, SP, New York Mets -- Harang, who started the season on the Mariners, made his New York Mets debut Thursday afternoon, allowing three runs on just four hits and a walk in six innings. In the still cavernous Citi Field, Harang did manage to give up three homeruns, albeit all of the solo variety. He did look sharp for the most part, hanging around the plate and striking out a season-high 10 batters. He certainly isn't the pitcher he used to be, but maybe a change of scenery is just what he needed. He is basically just an innings eater at this point with the Mets losing a few arms to injury recently, but he certainly holds value in NL Only leagues if he can at least give Manager Terry Collins six or seven innings. He has always been a reliable source of strikeouts, though his number has dropped a tad this year (97 Ks in 126+ IP).
Tyson Ross, SP, San Diego Padres -- Tyson Ross, who had made his way onto mixed league fantasy rosters everywhere, may have had a drop-worthy outing, lasting just two outs into the first, allowing seven baserunners (5 hits, 2 walks) and six earned runs. The performance ballooned his ERA to a still very respectable 3.29 (previously 2.79), but Ross has now given up 18 runs (15 earned) in his past 25 innings for a very modest 5.40 ERA. He hit a bit of bad luck for a while with the Pads scoring no more than three runs for him in eight straight starts, but today it was Ross that couldn't do his job, and with only three wins this year and none since August 10th, he is losing value quickly. It being the playoffs, it's time you take your chances with someone else if you haven't already
