Rising:

Brett Wallace - the trade of Wallace to Houston coupled with the expected trade of Lance Berkman to the New York Yankees should give Wallace value for the remainder of the season at first base. Wallace was hitting .301 in Triple-A with 18 home runs and 61 RBI in 385 at bats.

Daniel Hudson - while most scouts view him as a number four or five starter with decent stuff but no real one dominant pitch, the move to the National League can only help his numbers and strikeout rate going forward.

Adam Kennedy – not a sexy name for fantasy purposes, but the trade of Christian Guzman to Texas gives Kennedy a full-time grip on second base going forward. With 12 stolen bases on the season, he is a good target for the remainder of the year in your fantasy baseball team is looking for steals.

Falling:

Jon Rauch – Rauch looks to be the odd man out in the closer role in Minnesota with the addition of Matt Capps. Rauch has a 3.05 ERA, a 1.36 WHIP with a .283 batting average against and a 84% save percentage on the season. He has struggled in July with a 5.40 ERA and a 2.28 WHIP putting him second in line for saves in the Twins bullpen.

Everth Cabrera – the trade of Miguel Tejada puts Cabrera on the bench from time to time with Tejada at shortstop and Jerry Hairston Jr. moving over to second base with David Eckstein out of action. He could see time against left-handed pitching with Tejada moving to third and Chase Headley sitting since he owns a .194 average against southpaws.

Scott Podsednik – the trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers gives him playing time for now with Manny Ramirez on the disabled list, but in two weeks when Manny returns, Podsednik likely falls into a fourth outfielder role filling in as situations arise.

Jorge Cantu – the trade to the Texas Rangers will cut into Cantu’s value as it looks like he will serve as a platoon role at first base with Mitch Moreland for the time being against left-handed pitching.

Edwin Jackson – the trade to the American League will likely raise his ERA and WHIP ratio unless he is flipped back to the National League in a trade tomorrow.

American League:

OF – Travis Snider:  Remember him?  Snider has not played since mid-May but is expected to be activated this weekend and is going to help out at both corner outfield spots when he returns.  Snider is hitting .316 with four home runs and 16 RBI over his last 10 rehab games.

2B – Alexi Casilla – the injury to Orlando Hudson makes Casilla relevant for a few weeks in Minnesota. If your team is searching for stolen bases, he might be able to swipe a couple for you.

SP – Zach Britton:  Britton was going to be recalled from Triple-A to start Saturday but as of Thursday morning those plans have changed.  Britton has made five starts since being promoted to Triple-A with a 2.28 ERA.  The Orioles will likely call up the youngster prior to September to make a spot start.  He’s a guy I want on my bench until he is recalled.  One of the Oriole rookie pitchers has to work out.

OF – Mitch Moreland:  called up by the Texas Rangers with Ian Kinsler going on the disabled list, Moreland will see time at first base and in the outfield. Moreland was hitting .289 in Triple-A with 12 home runs and 65 RBI in 353 at bats with two stolen bases.

3B – Josh Bell: the trade of Miguel Tejada to San Diego opens the door for Bell to get extended playing time the rest of the season. Bell was hitting .278 in Triple-A for the season with 13 home runs and 50 RBI before being recalled Thursday. With a 23 walk to 78 strikeout ratio, it is best to temper expectation on his performance.

National League:

OF – Logan Morrison:  Due to another freak post game celebration, Chris Coghlan will be out for at least 6 weeks.  Morrison was hitting .307 with six homer runs and 45 RBI before being recalled and will be a platoon partner with Emilio Bonifacio for the Marlins.

RP – Joel Hanrahan:  If the Pirates do trade Octavio Dotel, Hanrahan would split closer duties with Evan Meek.  Hanrahan does have more experience in the closer role as he closed games when he was with the Nationals in 2008 and 2009.  In 44 2/3 innings of work this year, Hanrahan has 60 K’s vs. 14 walks with a 3.42 ERA and 1.03 WHIP.

Mixed Leagues:

OF – Luke Scott:  Since returning from the disabled list ten days ago, Scott has hit over .400 with five home runs and 11 RBI.  With 9 games played at first base this season, he might have additional roster eligibility depending on your league rules.

Juan Gutierrez seems to have taken over the closer role in Arizona almost by default with the failures of other men before him. Although he has not been officially named as the stopper, he has gotten two saves in July. His overall numbers have not been very impressive thanks to a severe case of gopheritis this year with 13 home runs allowed in 36 1/3 innings.

Bobby Jenks has been removed from the closer role in Chicago but manager Ozzie Guillen is saying he could be back in the role soon with another decent outing. He has managed to blow only two saves on the season, despite a 4.95 ERA with a 1.57 WHIP. J.J. Putz has been strong in the bullpen with a 1.46 ERA and a .78 WHIP and could get the next crack at a save chance.

Jonathan Broxton has not picked up a save since July 8th and missed out on several opportunities last week after blowing a save and racking up a high pitch count. You might be able to talk up that fact to another owner in your fantasy baseball league and see if you can pick up Broxton on the cheap in a trade.

With the trade deadline looming this Saturday, there could be several more shake ups in closer roles for next week. The typical names that I have been mentioning all season apply here with the possibility that Matt Capps (WAS), Octavio Dotel (PIT), David Aardsma (SEA) and Kevin Gregg (TOR) could be dealt. If you are in need of saves, hopefully you have been following the handcuff chart below and already have someone in place in case a deal does happen.

The only somewhat surprising newsworthy event has been talk that Joel Hanrahan would take over as full-time closer or share the role with Evan Meek if Octavio Dotel is moved in Pittsburgh. Hanrahan has a 3.59 ERA with a 1.03 WHIP and is holding hitters to a .192 batting average. His career save percentage does not seem to foretell long term success with 14 saves converted in 25 opportunities.

American League:

It looks like the Texas Rangers have been scouting corner infielders in the likes of Jorge Cantu from Florida and Ty Wigginton from Baltimore as well as Mike Lowell in Boston. Reading the tea leaves, that could spell trouble for Chris Davis at first base. Since taking over after Justin Smoak was traded, Davis is hitting .200 with no home runs and one RBI in 45 at bats. His strikeout rate is down since coming back to the major leagues but it looks like Texas may not wait for his swing to come around.

Fantasy baseball owners are breathing a sigh of relief after Alex Rodriguez left the game Sunday after being hit on his wrist with a pitch. It looks like he escaped without any pain or broken bones so he is safe to leave active for next week.

Victor Martinez is expected to come off the disabled list for the Boston Red Sox and get the start at catcher at Monday. Matt Wieters came off the disabled list for the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday and hit seventh in the lineup going 1-for-4.

The Detroit Tigers lineup is in flux right now with a string of injuries over the last week. After losing Brandon Inge, the Tigers also saw Carlos Guillen and Magglio Ordonez go on the disabled list. Ordonez is expected to miss almost two months with a broken ankle. It looks like recent call up Jeff Larish could see the majority of time at designated hitter with Ryan Raburn, Scott Sizemore, Ramon Santiago and Don Kelly rotating between second and third base. Larish was hitting .275 in Triple-A with 15 home runs and 55 RBI in 298 at bats.

Ozzie Guillen continues to ride Omar Vizquel at third base for the Chicago White Sox and you can too while he is hot, especially since he can qualify at up to three positions in a line up depending on your leagues requirements for games played at a position. Vizquel is hitting .333 in July in 48 at bats with two stolen bases.

Wilson Betemit gets a shot at the third base job full-time in Kansas City with the trade of Alberto Callaspo to the Los Angeles Angels. Betemit is definitely a play in AL only leagues although his batting average is off to a fluky .382 in 68 at bats this year. If you are a team at the bottom of a dynasty or keeper league, this is the type of guy you pick up to package with another player to a contending team for a better keeper for next season.

Orlando Hudson is headed back to the disabled list for the Minnesota Twins a strained oblique. AL only leagues in search of infield help could pick up Alexi Casilla while Hudson is out of action.

Brett Anderson is expected to return to the Oakland A’s  rotation on Friday against the Chicago White Sox. In his last two starts in Triple-A, he threw 10 1/3 innings, allowing 13 hits, four runs and 11 strikeouts.

The Cleveland Indians have tabbed 25-year-old Josh Tomlin to get the start on Tuesday against the New York Yankees. Tomlin was 8-4 in Triple-A with a 2.68 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 107 1/3 innings.

National League:

J.A Happ returned to the rotation for the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, allowing three runs in five innings with eight baserunners and four strikeouts. His numbers were less than stellar in Triple-A so if you have better options for your rotation, I would leave Happ benched for now.

For those that still don’t believe that the place in the batting order has little to no impact on fantasy stats, check out Starlin Castro’s numbers for the Chicago Cubs since being moved to second in the batting order. In 73 at bats, he is hitting .329 with 10 runs scored, two home runs, nine RBI and three stolen bases, numbers that give you a chance to play him now in mixes league formats.

The Colorado Rockies lineup is going to cancel out a lot of players effectiveness this week with the team scheduled to face three left-handed starting pitchers. That means Seth Smith platoons with Ryan Spillborghs and Jason Giambi platoons with Brad Eldred at first base. In addition, the first basemen also have to deal with Brad Hawpe working into the mix with Dexter Fowler seeing more playing time in the outfield.

Troy Tulowitzki is supposed to return to the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday although he may receive a day off here or there more than usual in the early going. His return will move Clint Barmes back to second base and puts Jonathan Herrera back to the bench.

The trade of Dan Haren to the Los Angeles Angels knocks him out as a two-start pitcher in week 17 and leaves an open slot in Arizona’s rotation for Tuesday.

Two-start pitchers week 17: remember again that the list below is more focused on mixed leagues since in AL or NL only leagues in most cases you do not have the option to rotate too many starting pitchers with the smaller player pool. The pitchers below are listed in alphabetical order by team name per category.

American League:

Start them:

Clay Buchholz (BOS) ~ @LAA (Pineiro), DET (Verlander)
John Danks (CHW) ~ SEA (Hernandez), OAK (Anderson)
Gavin Floyd (CHW) ~ SEA (Rowland-Smith), OAK (Braden)
Justin Verlander (DET) ~ @TB (Shields), @BOS (Buchholz)
Zack Greinke (KC) ~ MIN (Liriano), BAL (Bergesen)
Francisco Liriano (MIN) ~ @KC (Greinke), SEA (Rowland-Smith)
CC Sabathia (NYY) ~ @CLE (TBD), @TB (Shields)
Felix Hernandez (SEA) ~ @CWS (Danks), @MIN (Slowey)
Colby Lewis (TEX) ~ OAK (Braden), @LAA (Pineiro)

Roll the Dice:

Max Scherzer (DET) ~ @TB (Garza), @BOS (Matsuzaka)
Joel Pineiro (LAA) ~ BOS (Buchholz), TEX (Lewis)
Javier Vazquez (NYY) ~ @CLE (Westbrook), @TB (Garza)
Matt Garza (TB) ~ DET (Scherzer), NYY (Vazquez)
James Shields (TB) ~ DET (Verlander), NYY (Sabathia)
Brandon Morrow (TOR) ~ BAL (Bergesen), CLE (Westbrook)

Although he has two tough match ups, Scherzer is 5-1 in his last seven starts and has a 2.00 ERA with a 1.11 WHIP through four starts in July. Pineiro had won seven starts without loss before getting hit hard in last start against the New York Yankees. He allowed two runs in six innings against Boston earlier this year and three runs in six innings versus Texas. Vazquez has had an inflated ERA thanks to 17 home runs through 100 innings this year compared to only 20 allowed on 219 1/3 innings in Atlanta last season. He had a 3.23 ERA with a .97 WHIP in June and is 2.84, 1.00 so far in July. Shields has been sliding after starting the season with two goods months. His ERA was 7.67 in June and is 5.47 so far in July. In three starts against New York this year, he has a 3.86 ERA and has yet to face Detroit this season. Morrow has regressed in July after dominating in June. In July he has a 5.82 ERA with a 1.59 WHIP. If you own him, I think there has to be concern for him the rest of the season. He is at 107 innings on the year which is already close to his career high of 124 2/3 between Triple-A and the major leagues last season.

Sit Them:

Kevin Millwood (BAL) ~ @TOR (Romero), @KC (Chen)
Brad Bergesen (BAL) ~ @TOR (Morrow), @KC (Greinke)
Jake Westbrook (CLE) ~ NYY (Vazquez), @TOR (Morrow)
Bruce Chen (KC) ~ MIN (Pavano), BAL (Millwood)
Dallas Braden (OAK) ~ @TEX (Lewis), @CWS (Floyd)
Ryan Rowland-Smith (SEA) ~ @CWS (Floyd), @MIN (Liriano)

Braden has not won since his perfect game back on May 9th and has allowed 20 hits in his last 10 2/3 innings. Rowland-Smith’s last win came back on June 20th. Since that time, he has allowed five runs in his three of his last seven starts. Chen was decent in June but has since come back down to earth in July with a 5.24 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP ratio. Westbrook has gone six innings in four of his last five starts with a 2-2 record during that time. He has a 3.72 ERA against Toronto in his two starts this season. One thing to keep in mind is that he has been mentioned in trade rumors and with the deadline next Saturday, there is a slight chance he could miss the second start of the week.

National League:

Start them:

Ryan Dempster (CHC) ~ @HOU (Wright), @COL (De La Rosa)
Josh Johnson (FLA) ~ @SF (Cain), @SD (Garland)
Jon Niese (NYM) ~ STL (Garcia), ATL (Haren)
Cole Hamels (PHI) ~ ARI (Haren), @WAS (Strasburg)
Barry Zito (SF) ~ FLA (Nolasco), LAD (Kershaw)
Matt Cain (SF) ~ FLA (Johnson), LAD (Billingsley)
Jaime Garcia (STL) ~ @NYM (Niese), PIT (Duke)
Stephen Strasburg (WAS) ~ ATL (Hanson), PHI (Hamels)

Roll the Dice:

Dan Haren (AZ) ~ @PHI (Hamels), @NYM (Niese)
Tommy Hanson (ATL) ~ @WAS (Strasburg), @CIN (Arroyo)
Bronson Arroyo (CIN) ~ @MIL (Wolf), ATL (Hanson)
Jason Hammel (COL) ~ @PHI (Blanton), CHC (Silva)
Ricky Nolasco (FLA) ~ @SF (Zito), @SD (LeBlanc)
Chad Billingsley (LAD) ~ @SD (Garland), @SF (Cain)
Jon Garland (SD) ~ LAD (Billingsley), FLA (Johnson)

Haren is a risky play this week with the possibility of being traded and missing a start in addition to him not winning a start since June 12th. He is still racking up strikeouts, but his batting average against is 61 points higher than it was last season. Throw out Hanson’s two interleague bombings and he has not given up more than two runs in a start since back on May 20th when he gave up eight against Cincinnati. Hammel had not lost since May 21st before dropping his last two decisions although he was not too bad in them. He has yet to face either team he pitches against next week this season. Nolasco has won five of his last six starts with four runs allowed or less in all of them. He owns a 3.29 ERA in July with a 1.10 WHIP.  Garland’s ERA has risen a run and a half since May 30th when he had a 2.15 ERA. He has a tough second start against Josh Johnson and Florida.

Sit Them:

Jorge De La Rosa (COL) ~ PIT (Duke), CHC (Dempster)
Wesley Wright (HOU) ~ CHC (Dempster), MIL (Wolf)
Randy Wolf (MIL) ~ CIN (Arroyo), @HOU (Wright)
Joe Blanton (PHI) ~ COL (Hammel), @WAS (Lannan)
Zach Duke (PIT) ~ @COL (De La Rosa), @STL (Garcia)

Wolf has had an ERA over 5.50 each of the last three months and a WHIP over 1.52. I don’t need to remind you how brutal his last start was. De La Rosa has been bad in two of his three starts since returning to action with his last start much better, allowing two runs in six innings against Florida. Duke had lost five straight starts before breaking into the win column in his last game against Milwaukee. Blanton has allowed exactly three runs in five of his last seven starts while surrendering five runs each in the other two.

American League only:

2B – Scott Sizemore – I’m sure many AL and mixed league owners drafted this guy hoping to make a splash with him.  After hitting just .206 to begin the year, the Tigers sent him back down to Triple-A.  He’s been recalled to help out at second and possible third base while Brandon Inge is out with a broken finger.  In 167 at-bats in Triple-A, Sizemore was hitting .329 with 19 RBI and 32 runs scored.  He deserves a bench spot on your AL only team if he’s available if he is still available on waivers. He got the start on Thursday and went 0-for4 while hitting sixth at third base.

RP / SP – Brian Duensing – Duensing is going to take the rotation spot for Nick Blackburn in Minnesota who has just been dreadful this season. Duensing has only pitched in relief this season but made nine starts last season for the Twins.  In 2010, he has pitched 43 innings with a 3-1 record and a 1.67 ERA.  He pitched four innings in his last relief appearance to stretch him out.  I believe he may only go five to maybe six innings in his first start tomorrow against Baltimore.  His next start after that is against Kansas City.

National League only:

C – Erik Kratz – This is a true feel good story. If you were watching the Triple A All-Star game like I was last week, you saw that he was pulled from the game because he was being called up by the Pittsburgh Pirates.  What make this such a great story is that he is a 30-year-old rookie. He was hitting .296 with 9 HR and 37 RBI before being recalled and the plan was for him to platoon with Ryan Doumit. With Doumit just recently going on the disabled list, Kratz should see the majority of action over the next few weeks.

OF – John Jay – Jay is currently in a platoon situation with Randy Winn while Ryan Ludwick is on the disabled list but that may change shortly since he’s hitting .378 with three home runs, 11 RBI and 18 runs scored over 82 AB
this season. He could see a boost in playing time if he is moved in a trade as well as St. Louis does not have really any top level minor league prospects at this point.

12/15 Team Mixed League:

OF – Matt Diaz – Disregard his overall numbers and just pay attention to what he has been doing since he has come back from injury. He is currently hitting .400 in the month of July with four home runs and 11 RBI in 40 at bats. He might not get the start every game, but he is a good guy to grab if you need some help with your team batting average.

The league is a 15 team mixed league format with a $1,000 FAAB budget per team. Minor league players cannot be bid on until they are called up unless they had been drafted and were later dropped during the season.

So far there have been a total of 362 free agent pick ups for a total spent of $11,276. Of those pickups, only 181 had another owner bidding on the player or exactly 50%. If we look at only the 181 players that had multiple bids, the highest bid totaled $9,533 while the second highest bid was $5,236.

It is no surprise that the highest bid players have been rookies coming up to the major leagues in the form of Mike Stanton, Starlin Castro, Dexter Fowler, Jose Tabata and Jhoulys Chacin. Searching for saves also takes a big hunk out of a teams budget as Alfredo Simon ($204), Manuel Corpas ($179), Jim Johnson ($103), Evan Meek ($99) and Tyler Clippard ($85) led the way in relief pitcher spending.

It is interesting to note that of the 362 players that have been picked up, 83 of them were picked up multiples times, or 23% of the moves have been recycled players. Usually you would attribute that to fringe pitchers being added and dropped to maximize two starts but there have been quite a few hitters that have fallen into the category as well. Leading the way has been Jamie Moyer who has been added five different times already this season. Also high on the claim list has been Daniel Bard (4), Jason Motte (4), Michael Saunders (3), Livan Hernandez (3), Tom Gorzelanny (3) and Yuniesky Betancourt (3).

If your league uses a nine man pitching staff in a mixed league format, the tendency has been to go with either two or three closers. I think with the number of closers that lose their job each year due to performance or injury, plus the amount of your free agent budget it costs trying to find a new one, the ideal option is to grab three instead of two at the draft or auction. This way even if one loses their job, you still have two to fall back on.

The statistics above obviously show there is a lot of room for improvement considering only 50% of the players had another owner bidding on them. Technically all of the players purchased could have been bought for $1 instead of what they went for. The more you are able to close that gap in understanding the other owners in the in the league in terms of roster needs, spending patterns and money available, the more money you will free up to purchase extra players because of a tighter bidding pattern.

It you look at the other teams in the league and review their bidding history, most often you will notice a pattern when they bid on certain types of players or positions. This will help you when it comes time to placing the bid of not going too much over what the second place bidder does. Some teams will never go over $50 on a bid, other teams will bid $1 for the majority of the players and take whatever they can get while saving up money to make a splash later in the season. Either way, there is data there to help you improve your free agent bidding if you take the time to examine it.

When it comes to losing lower dollar amount bids, most often it is because the owner bid $1 and the winning bid was either $3 or $5. Out of the 142 winning single digit bids, in none of the cases was the second highest bid either 6,7, or 8. It looks like owners have $5 as the threshold for lower level bids in the majority of cases, otherwise they are bumping the bid to double figures.

Looking at all the double digit winning bids, what is the last digit that owners prefer to use? Out of 220 double digit bids, numbers ending in nine (18%) were most popular, followed by the number five (16%) and the number one (14%).

Kevin Gregg may have picked a bad time to struggle for the Toronto Blue Jays but it may help him keep his job as closer by reducing his trade value. Gregg almost blew a save on Saturday but was pulled after allowing three walks, but did blow the save on Monday night, allowing two runs in 2/3 of an innings. He has converted 21 of 25 saves on the season, but outside of a stellar April, his numbers were bad in May (5.11 ERA, 1.95 WHIP) and worse in June (8.10, 2.25).

It presents an interesting dilemma in Toronto where Gregg, Jason Frasor (4.54 ERA, 1.60 WHIP) and Scott Downs (2.52 ERA, 1.02 WHIP) are all in the last year of their contract and have been mentioned in trade rumors. If Gregg is moved, Frasor or Downs would figure to get first shot as closer although neither one has a good historical save percentage. Shawn Camp who picked up the save after replacing Gregg could figure into the mix as well with a 2.44 ERA and 1.02 WHIP, although at 34-years-old is not a long term solution.

Kerry Wood going to the disabled list in Cleveland opens up the door for Chris Perez to take over ninth inning duties. After a rough start in April, Perez has been a little better each month of the season and posted a 2.13 ERA with a 0.71 WHIP in June. His walk rate still poses a problem as he has allowed seven free passes in 5 1/3 innings in July, but if you are looking for saves, he might be out on the waiver wire in your league. Wood is likely to be traded at some point when he returns so Perez should have some value as closer for the remainder of the season.

Mike Gonzalez will be activated from the disabled list this week by the Baltimore Orioles and is expected to eventually reclaim the role as closer from Alfredo Simon. He had two Triple-A outings, working a scoreless inning in one of them and allowing two runs in 2/3 of an inning in the other. Simon was 7-for-8 in save chances between June and so far in July.

Fantasy baseball owners are going to have a tough decision next year where to rate Carlos Marmol of the Chicago Cubs. Marmol currently leads all closers in strikeouts by more than 23 and his batting average against of .157 is 4th best behind Billy Wagner, Mariano Rivera and Jose Valverde. The downfall for Marmol continues to be his walks, with 33 through 43 1/3 innings. He walked ten in May and June and has walked eight this month including five in his last game. Unless he is able to get his control corrected, it is going to keep him being in the upper tier of closers next season.

Two-start pitchers week 16: remember again that the list below is more focused on mixed leagues since in AL or NL only leagues in most cases you do not have the option to rotate too many starting pitchers with the smaller player pool. The pitchers below are listed in alphabetical order by team name per category.

American League:

Start them:

Phil Hughes (NYY) ~ LAA (Kazmir), KC (Lewrew)
Tommy Hunter (TEX) ~ @DET (Galarraga), LAA (Kazmir)
Brett Cecil (TOR) ~ @KC (Davies), @DET (Bonderman)

Interesting that Cecil got hammered in his three interleague starts, allowing 16 runs in 15 2/3 innings but otherwise has been solid against American League teams this year.

Roll the Dice:

Jake Arrieta (BAL) ~ TB (Garza), MIN (Slowey)
Daisuke Matsuzaka (BOS) ~ @OAK (Sheets), @SEA (Pauley)
Dan Hudson (CHW) ~ @SEA (Pauley), @OAK (Sheets)
Jeremy Bonderman (DET) ~ TEX (Feldman), TOR (Cecil)
Scott Baker (MIN) ~ CLE (Laffey), @BAL (Tillman)
Doug Fister (SEA) ~ CWS (Danks), BOS (Wakefield)
Matt Garza (TB) ~ @BAL (Arrieta), CLE (Masterson)
Ben Sheets (OAK) ~ BOS (Matsuzaka), CWS (Hudson)

Arrieta had two good starts back-to-back allowing one run in each of them in 6 1/3 innings. His WHIP ratio of 1.54 poses a problem to your team’s numbers. If you owned Hudson or just recently picked him up, this is the week to start him against two of the lesser offenses in the American League. Baker has allowed five or more runs in four of his last six starts so there is some risk to him. Hard to figure that the two teams that have hit Bonderman well this year would have been Seattle and Kansas city; every other team he has held to four runs or less. Sheets has given up four runs or less in every start since May 2nd but the lack of the A’s offense means wins are going to be hard to come by. The magic dust is starting to wear off for Fister, as he has allowed 16 runs in his last 20 1/3 innings.

Sit Them:

Chris Tillman (BAL) ~ TB (Davis), MIN (Baker)
Kyle Davies (KC) ~ TOR (Cecil), @NYY (Pettitte)
Tim Wakefield (BOS) ~ @OAK (Braden), @SEA (Fister)
Aaron Laffey (CLE) ~ @MIN (Baker), TB (Garza)
Armando Galarraga (DET) ~ TEX (Hunter), TOR (TBD)
Anthony Lerew (KC) ~ TOR (Litsch), @NYY (Hughes)
Kevin Slowey (MIN) ~ CLE (TBD), @BAL (Arrieta)
Scott Kazmir (LAA) ~ @NYY (Hughes), @TEX (Hunter)
David Pauley (SEA) ~ CWS (Hudson), BOS (Matsuzaka)
Scott Feldman (TEX) ~ @DET (Bonderman), LAA (Santana)
Jesse Litsch (TOR) ~ @KC (Lerew), @DET (Galarraga)
Wade Davis (TB) ~ @BAL (Tillman), @CLE (Masterson)

I would really like to recommend Slowey, but after surrendering five or more runs in five of his last six starts, it is time to reserve him if you have not already. Check his numbers this year to last year and they are almost identical. If you are looking for a reason to start Wakefield, his ERA has been two runs lower on the road than at home this season (6.63 vs. 4.40). He allowed six runs in six innings in his lone start against Oakland this season. Kazmir has lost four in a row, allowing 30 runs in 19 2/3 innings. Pauley was 1-6 with a 3.68 ERA in Triple-A with 56 strikeouts in 85 2/3 innings before being recalled. Feldman struggled in both of his starts against Detroit and the Angels allowing four and five runs respectively. Davis has struggled with his command, making it hard for him to get through a full five innings. He has lasted that long in only five of his last nine starts.

National League:

Start them:

Jair Jurrjens (ATL) ~ SD (LeBlanc), @FLA (Robertson)
Carlos Silva (CHC) ~ HOU (Rodriguez), STL (Carpenter)
Johnny Cueto (CIN) ~ WAS (Martin), @HOU (Oswalt)
Mike Leake (CIN) ~ WAS (Atilano), @HOU (Rodriguez)
Ubaldo Jimenez (COL) ~ @FLA (Sanchez), @PHI (Kendrick)
Clayton Kershaw (LAD) ~ SF (Lincecum), NYM (Dickey)
Madison Bumgarner (SF) ~ @LAD (McDonald), @ARI (Kennedy)
Tim Lincecum (SF) ~ @LAD (Kershaw), @ARI (Enright)
Chris Carpenter (STL) ~ PHI (Moyer), @CHC (Silva)

Roll the Dice:

Ian Kennedy (AZ) ~ NYM (Pelfrey), SF (Bumgarner)
Barry Enright (AZ) ~ NYM (Dickey), SF (Lincecum)
Anibal Sanchez (FLA) ~ COL (Jimenez), ATL (Lowe)
Wandy Rodriguez (HOU) ~ @CHC (Silva), CIN (Leake)
Dave Bush (MIL) ~ @PIT (Lincoln), WAS (Atilano)
Mike Pelfrey (NYM) ~ @AZ (Kennedy), @LAD (McDonald)
R.A. Dickey (NYM) ~ @ARI (Enright), @LAD (Kershaw)
Kyle Kendrick (PHI) ~ @STL (Hawksworth), COL (Jimenez)
Jamie Moyer (PHI) ~ @STIL (Carpenter), COL (Francis)
Wade LeBlanc (SD) ~ ATL (Jurrjens), PIT (Lincoln)
J.D. Martin (WAS) ~ @CIN (Cueto), @MIL (Capuano)

Kennedy has had success in two starts against San Francisco with a 1.93 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He has yet to face the Mets this season. Rodriguez has been rolling, winning three of his last four starts with only five runs allowed in 26 innings to go with 25 strikeouts. Bush has been a much better pitcher in June and July compared to the first two months of the season. He has allowed two runs or less in six consecutive starts. Pelfrey has been more inconsistent of late, going 1-3 in his last five starts with a no decision. His ERA has been steadily on the rise since the beginning of June. After rolling off six straight wins, Dickey has suffered three losses with a no decision. His last three starts he has pitched better than his record shows with four runs allowed in 20 2/3 innings. LeBlanc has not won since June 12th although he has pitched well if you throw out his start at Colorado and his interleague start versus Tampa Bay. J.D. Martin has allowed three runs or less in six of his seven starts this year so his overall record is very deceiving.

Sit Them:

Jeff Francis (COL) ~ @FLA (Robertson), @PHI (Moyer)
Nate Robertson (FLA) ~ COL (Francis), ATL (Jurrjens)
James McDonald (LAD) ~ SF (Bumgarner), @NYM (Pelfrey)
Jeff Karstens (PIT) ~ MIL (Capuano), SD (TBD)
Brad Lincoln (PIT) ~ MIL (Bush), SD (LeBlanc)
Blake Hawksworth (STL) ~ PHI (Kendrick), @CHC (Gorzelanny)
Luis Atilano (WAS) ~ @CIN (Leake), @MIL (Bush)

Francis had been pitching decent from the middle of May to mid June before allowing 16 runs in his last 12 innings. McDonald is just coming up from the minor leagues where is numbers were less than dominating for a guy who has played at that level before. Kartsen’s only has one win since May 8th. Atilano is 1-5 in his last seven starts. Hawksworth ERA has not been too terrible, but is letting batters hit over .300 against him which kills your team’s WHIP ratio.

American League only:

SS – Yunel Escobar – The trade from Atlanta to the  Blue Jays can only help Escobar after hitting a miserable .237 in zero home runs and only 19 RBI.  Last year, Escobar hit .299 with 14 home runs and 76 RBI and hit .321 after the All-Star break.

National League only:

SS – Alex Gonzalez – The other side of the Escobar trade that took place on Wednesday.  Gonzalez comes to the Braves after having a career first-half while with Toronto, hitting 17 home runs and 50 RBI with a .257 average.  He’ll fill a hole at shortstop in the real world, but to think he’ll repeat those power number during the second half is  unrealistic. Gonzalez is hitting seventh in Atlanta’s line up tonight.

SP – James McDonald – McDonald is set to replace John Ely in the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation. You can read more about him here.

RP – Ernesto Frieri – just called up by the San Diego Padres, this is a guy to consider adding, especially if you league has specific relief pitcher designations for your rosters. Frieri who will turn 25 next week, had 37 2/3 innings in Triple-A with 49 strikeouts and a 1.43 ERA to go along with 17 saves. He is likely to take the spot of Mike Adams in the bullpen with Adams headed to the disabled list.

1B – Brad Eldred – called up by the Colorado Rockies with Todd Helton going on the disabled list, Eldred will serve as the right-handed hitting platoon mate to Jason Giambi giving him more value in leagues that have daily transactions. Eldred was hitting .267 with 22 home runs and 64 RBI in 266 at bats in Triple-A before being called up.

12/15 Team Mixed League:

SP – Travis Wood – How can I not recommend the Cincinnati lefty after pitching 8 2/3 perfect innings in his last outing before the All-Star break against Roy Halladay?  He only has three major league starts so far with three no decisions, but has pitched 20 2/3 innings with 17 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.18 to go with a .68 WHIP.