Roy Oswalt: There might not be a more valuable fantasy pitcher over the last 6 weeks than Roy Oswalt. Oswalt continued his tear throwing a 1 hitter on Thursday night and making it look quite easy. He needed just 102...
Jeremy Guthrie: The Orioles may shut down Guthrie for the rest of the season due to an ailing shoulder. Guthrie had a solid season, 3.57 ERA in 29 starts, but with a pretty average skill set; 5.7 K/9, 2.8 BB/9,...
Carlos Gomez- MIN- Hot- Gomez went 2-for-4 and stole his 30th base of the season yesterday. If he had an OBP of higher than .290, Gomez would have a much higher steal total. However, as long as he stays allergic...
First Pitch – Value Picks – September 10th, 2008 As Joe alluded to yesterday, our focus after this week will start to shift towards next year for those in keeper formats, which means this will be the final Value Picks...
Manny Burriss: Burriss could be done for the year with a strained oblique. Considering that he had just 14 games above Single-A ball before coming to the Giants, Burriss did a good job, 1/18.283 with 13 steals in 240 AB....
Brandon Wood - After two homers last night, Wood has three in his last three games, so maybe he's finally adjusting to the big league level. The 23 year old has seen his plate discipline deteriorate in each of the...
Greg Maddux- LAN- Cold- Maddux continues his extreme home/road splits even when the road venue is his former home. Pitching in San Diego last night he was touched for 4 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in 6 IP...
Prince Fielder: Spring Training 2007 I went on a big campaign about Fielder not having the type of power that would result in 50 HR seasons and that the Ryan Howard comparisons weren’t appropriate. Of course Fielder went on to...
Randy Johnson Johnson was scratched from his start on Sunday against the Dodgers due to a sore shoulder. Let Andre Ethier and company rejoice. From all the reports, the injury isn’t serious, with Johnson saying that he just needs a...
Brendon Morrow- SEA- Hot- Morrow was supposed to throw no more than 100 pitches last night, but when he was carrying a no hitter into the late innings, that notion went out the window. Morrow finally gave up a hit...
I have to register my astonishment at how great Bronson Arroyo has been in the second half for the Reds. After allowing just 1 ER in 6.1 IP with 6 K's last night against the slumping Cubs, he brought his...
Trevor Hoffman – Hoffman recorded his 28th save of the season, and he will most likely save at least 30 games for the 13th season out of the last 14. The only season he did not obtain 30 saves came...
Jered Weaver: Weaver will have his next start pushed back 3 days after injuring his hand while trying to get up off the bench in the Coamerica Park dugout. After bursting onto the scene in 2006, 11-2 with a 2.56...
B. J. Upton- TB- Hot- Although his homer total is way down from last season (from 24 to 8), Upton’s has hit 33 doubles, as opposed to 25 in 2007. His Batting EYE has also improved dramatically, from .42 to...
This week's Prospect Spreadsheet update wraps up my contribution in this area this year. The minor league season is just about over, though guys like David Price are staying down to help their teams through the playoffs. This year's awards...
Reports yesterday said Torii Hunterwas out with a head injury so I kept him out of my lineup for today and, quite naturally, he went 3-4 with 1 R, 3 RBI and a SB. Hunter has been seeing the ball...
Dallas McPherson: The Marlins called up McPherson from Triple-A, where he had a monster season, 42/98/.275. He has legitimate power but consider that his home park in Albuquerque gave his power a boost and his 66% Ct% will get worse...
Justin Verlander - Yesterday was the latest in a season-long stretch of rough outings for Justin Verlander, as he allowed six singles, a homer, and two walks to the Yankees in just 1 2/3 innings to take his league-leading 15th...
Jonathon Niese- NYN- Rookie- The Brewers may not be the best of teams for southpaw Niese to make his major league debut against. Milwaukee is 31-14 against lefties, the best mark in the NL, and are hitting .274 against them...
Matt Cain- SF- Cold- Cain’s control problems caught up with him yesterday as he had as many walks and runs allowed (5) as innings pitched. He also gave up 8 hits and struck out 3. Even with only 5 IP,...
Justin Morneau was fantastic for the Twins yesterday as he went 2-5 with a homerun and 4 RBI. Morneau's line for the season is .312/21/108/85 and he still has plenty of time to surpass the 25 HR mark. I am...
Michael Bourn With the Astros firmly out of the NL Central race, the organization announced a few days ago that Bourn would get the majority, if not all, of the starts in center field through the end of the year....
Will Venable - With Scott Hairston gone for the year, Will Venable has gotten the call for the Padres as, likely, their everyday CF. The Padres' minor league system is full of offense-suppressing parks, as you'd expect given their big...
Daisuke Matsuzaka – Dice-K might have a sub 3 ERA this season, but he has not pitched as well as one might think. He has a pretty atrocious walk rate, allowing 5.29 batters to reach 1st base via a free...
Clayton Kershaw: The youngster couldn’t be the stopper for the Dodgers on Thursday night as things unraveled quickly for Kershaw in the first inning. After opening the game with a strike-out on 3 pitches, Kershaw gave up a HR to...
Howie Kendrick: Kendrick left the game on Wednesday night with a strained hamstring, the same hamstring that forced him to miss 42 games earlier in the season. He says the injury is not as bad as the first one, but...
Fausto Carmona- CLE- Cold- Carmona raised his record to 7-5 last night, pitching the Indians to their 10th straight win. It was not a performance to write home about, though, as he allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and 3...
First Pitch – Value Picks – August 27th, 2008 Alright gang, by the end of this week we’ll be in the final month of the season. At this point it’s become clear whether you’re playing out the string or making...
Gavin Floyd – Floyd won for the 14th time this season by defeating the Orioles yesterday, but I am still unconvinced that he is a good fantasy pitcher. I have not been a Floyd fan all season because I feel...
Brandon Lyon: Despite allowing 10 runs in his last 5.1 innings, Manager Doug Melvin said that Lyon’s job as the closer is safe unless he begins to struggle in save situations. Although he has converted 25 of 30 saves and...
Jordan Schafer- ATL- Idea- Schafer, ranked as the top prospect in the Braves’ system before the season, has rebounded from his HGH suspension and extremely slow July. Last month he batted a weak .228 for AA Mississippi, but is cranking...
Nelson Cruz - Just like last time he came up, Cruz returned to Texas with a bang last night, blasting a homer, double, and a single in five trips to the plate. Something to keep in mind every single time...
Brandon Lyon: Make it 3 consecutive appearances and 5 of his last 6 outings that Lyon has now allowed at least one run. His last two appearances have come in non-save situations and you have to figure at this point...
Grady Sizemore swiped 3 bags last night, bringing his season total to 34 and topping his 2007 finish. Sizemore will also reach the 30-30 mark for the first time in his career with one more homerun. As it stands, his...
Clayton Kershaw Entering Saturday’s game against the Phillies, Kershaw had been in the midst of a stretch of five consecutive quality starts, going 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA and a 29:9 K:BB in those 31 innings. Saturday though, the expected...
Carlos Pena: I told you the best was about to come with Pena back at the beginning of August and Pena’s rewarded my faith. On Friday night Pena launched his 8th HR of the month and 13th extra base hit...