A.J. Ramos/Fernando Rodney
Pick up Fernando Rodey right now if he's available in your league. A.J. Ramos was placed on the 15-day DL Tuesday, retroactive to August 6. Ramos was placed on the DL with a broken ring finger, which will likely keep him on the DL longer than the 15-day minimum. Rodney is a proven closer, who is having a strong season, and shut down the Giants Tuesday after picking up a save on Sunday, as well. His ownership has gone down to 31.6 percent in ESPN leagues since he was traded out of the closer's role, but that number should shoot up immediately.
David Dahl
Dahl went 1-for-4 with two runs scored on Tuesday afternoon, extending his hit streak to 15 games to start his career. Dahl is hitting .373/.403/.610 in those 15 games, and is now one game short of the longest hit streak to start a career in Rockie history. (Can you guess who owns the record? Answer at the end of the write up.) Dahl is a big-time prospect, and has the benefit of hitting in Coors, but that being said, he's getting mighty lucky. His .500 BABIP is the stuff of small sample size legend, and his 18 strikeouts to three walks aren't elite. On the other hand, Dahl was rocking in Triple-A before the call up (.484/.529/.887 in 16 games at the Triple-A level), so he's about as hot a hitter as you can find right now. Dahl has also been in the starting lineup every game but once since the call up, and even that game he got a hit in a pinch-hit appearance. His ownership is sky-rocketing day-by-day, as he is now over 50 percent ownership in ESPN leagues. Dahl's bat is bound to slow down a bit at some point, but he's yet to attempt a steal after averaging about 20 stolen bases a season in the minors, so he has some room to improve there. The Rockies are on the road until Monday, but at this point, he's a must start in any stadium until his bat cools off. Dahl has a lot of potential heading into 2017, as well, and will be a trendy draft pick that you should take a definite look at. (The answer is Juan Pierre for the Rockies. The MLB record is Chuck Aleno with 17 games in 1941, so he's not far off that, either.)
Tom Koehler
Koehler had another strong outing on Tuesday, nabbing the win after seven shutout innings. Koehler gave up just two hits, while striking out six and walking three. Koehler has allowed a combined two runs in his last four starts, going 3-0 in that time. Koehler has lowered his ERA to 3.83 as a result of this recent stretch, and he is now 9-8 on the season. The only bad sign with Koehler's Tuesday start was the three walks. Koehler's walk rate this season is a way-too-high 4.11 per nine, but over the three previous start he had only walked one per each start. If Koehler can keep the walks down, I'd trust him as a solid stream in 10-team and low-rotation guy in anything bigger, but if the walks start to pop back up, I'd flee. Koehler's next start is against the Reds, who although they have Joey Votto, rank 24th in walk rate this season. I'd keep him around for his two-start next week, but wouldn't be afraid to cut bait if he started to struggle, especially if that was due to his control again.
Alex Reyes/Michael Wacha
The Cardinals announced Tuesday that Michael Wacha will be headed to the 15-day DL with shoulder inflammation. This is obviously important news for Wacha owners, especially given that the Cardinals GM said Wacha might need a limit on his innings even if he returns. But the big part of that news is that the Cardinals called up top pitching prospect, Alex Reyes. Reyes can hit 100 mph as a starting pitcher, and although he hasn't had the prettiest numbers in Triple-A this season, he's a must add due simply to his ceiling. He has 93 strikeouts in just 65.3 innings pitched, and he has a healthy groundball rate to boot. If he can harness his fastball a bit (32 walks in those 65.3 innings), he'll be darn tough to hit, even at the major league level. The Cardinals haven't announced Reyes' role just yet, and there had been prior rumors that he would be in the bullpen, but he's worth a spec add regardless. You can always cut him if need be.
Daily Fantasy Leagues
Chase Anderson
Chase Anderson gets the start on Wednesday, and while a pitcher with a 5.01 ERA and 5.21 FIP might not jump off the page at you, if you're looking for a deal at the pitcher's spot (a risky proposal on certain days), Anderson might just be your guy. In his last three starts - an admittedly small sample - Anderson has allowed just four runs combined, going at least five innings in each start. That's an admittedly low bar, but the 2.25 ERA looks nice and he has struck out more than a batter per inning (17 in 16 innings). Two of those starts have come against a decent Diamondback squad, and two have come at home in the hitter-friendly Chase Field. (The other home start was against Pittsburgh.) Anderson looked far better in 2014 and 2015, especially a quietly strong 2014 season. FIP supports his recent strong starts, and he has been using his fastball a lot more regularly in his last three starts. In the six starts in which Anderson has thrown his fastball at least 40 percent of the time, per Brooks Baseball, he has never given up more than three runs in a start, and he has a combined 2.86. This may be a bit of noise, but if he has indeed figured out that he needs to throw the pitch more often, that could be a significant improvement. On top of all that, Anderson gets to face the anemic Braves offense on Wednesday. If you're looking for someone almost no one else will be going with in tournament play, Anderson is your man.
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