MVP Pick up of the year – Carlos Gonzalez. He started the year on waivers in some very shallow leagues and is in NL MVP consideration.

Fantasy Pick up Pitcher of the year – Mat Latos. He has arrived as a true ace for the Padres and fantasy owners.

Being the last week, there are only a few decent pick ups left, to replace late injured players like Hanley Ramirez. It’s the last dash to grab those wins to win the championship or to place as high as possible in a roto league.

Here are a couple players who may help your team, if they can get some playing time.

Mike Alivles KC – Hanley replacement.  He is hitting for average and has provided a little power and speed in September too.  He should play every day this week.

Daniel Hudson Ari – Great end of season numbers.  He has one more start left and will be a hot commodity next season.

Mike Morse Was  - The kid has power.  What has been surprising is that he has been able to hit for average in the majors.  Ride the hot streak for one more week.

Bud Norris HOU - He has certainly had his ups and downs this year but he can do one thing well – strike out batters.  If you are in a tight race in strikeouts you can give Norris a shot and hope that he has one of the better performances.  He has the ability to dominate when he’s on.

and don’t forget my mancrush on Jordan Walden ANA RP for some K’s and he even got a save this week.

I hope these articles helped your fantasy team over the year.  See you again next spring training.

Eric Homola

With a Roto league, check you max and pace. You want to maximize your starts and not leave any possible points on the floor.  Conversely, if you are near the end of your limits, it’s time to dump the weaker pitchers and pick up set up guys to keep getting some strikeouts and hopefully lower your ERA and WHIP a little.

Make sure you are keeping an eye on your injured players. Will Hamilton come back before the playoffs? Did you pick up David Murphy who is raking in his place? With the rosters expanding to 40 players, a player will go DTD rather than to the DL15, and most teams will let the player sit out longer if they are not in a playoff race.

My man crush of the month goes to

Jordan Walden RP LAA – A 103 mph fastball is a wicked sight to see. With a 16.20 K/9 rate, he is putting up some strikeouts on the board. Aroldis Chapman has a 12.91 k/9 rate, and he is still getting all the publicity.  Marmol has a 15.64 k/9.

Logan Morrison OF, 1B FLA – A 35+ game reaching base streak is keeping him in the lineup everyday.

Lance Berkman 1B, DH NYY – Did you know he is batting .455 in Sept.?

Mark Ellis OAK – Batting .426 in Sept.

Ryan Kalish BOS – 14 RBI’s in Sept. , same as ARod and 1 less than Cargo.

Mike Stanton FLA – Has 6 HR in Sept. 2nd only to Tulo.

Jose Bautista TOR – Has 5 HR in Sept. , but only 10 hits batting .200. All or nothing baby.

Brett Myers HOU – Has the same era as Clayton Kershaw and .01 more than Ulbado Jimenez.

King Felix SEA – Better numbers than last year except wins, yes he deserves the CY Young award, and yes I am a homer.

The follow pitchers have won 7 games since the All Star Break - Bronson Arroyo, Jeremy Guthrie, C.J. WIlson, Tommy Hunter, Brian Duensing, Ricky Romero, Trevol Cahill, Daniel Hudson, Ryan Dempster, Carl Pavano, Gio Gonzalez, Roy Oswalt, and Tim Hudson.  Only 4 pitchers have won more.

Max Sherzer SP DET – Has 85 K’s since the All Star Break and a 2.42 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP.

Joaquin Benoit RP TB – Has 17 holds since the ASB. Most in the league.

Good luck to all in your last few weeks of Baseball.

And did Stephen Strasburg have a mini career in less than one year. Instead of being in the minors for 300 innings, he gets like 30. He starts out of the gate fast, then fades, comes back and then gets injured. It’s like his career has been 5 years, but it all happen in just months. A light that shines twice as bright while last half as long, and his light shone very, very bright.

The wire is starting to look like a hospital ward. Some of my teams have waited a long time for players like Ellsbury, Pedroia, and even Bedard to maybe play some ball this year. Here are a couple of big movers this week.

Gio Gonzalez SP OAK +20.8 – He is 4-1 in his last 6 starts and has given up less than 2 earned runs in those 6 starts. Plus he plays in Seattle this upcoming week.

Marcus Thames OF,DH NYY +14.3 – 7 homeruns in his last 11 games is sure enticing, but with Lance Berkman coming back from the DL, his AB will be cut. The New York Post is reporting that he will split time DH’ing for the rest of the season with Lance. Marcus will hit against lefties and Berkman against righties. So if you are in daily change leagues and are willing to check the starter against each day, then it’s time for Thames.

Neil Walker 2B,3B PIT +29.9 – A hit in 10 of the last 11 games combined with 4 homeruns as made Neil the most picked up guy for Pedroia owners.

Aroldis Chapman SP,RP CIN +25.3 – Gotta love that 100 mph high cheese. 3 ups with no hits and only 1 walk. Nice start. And kudos to the Reds for making some smart decisions this year.

Well I went to see the Angels play the Mariners this week and I got a chance to see Jordan Walden of the Angels. All I can say is that the Mariners wanted nothing to do with him that night. He hit 102 mph on the gun and 100 for half of his pitches, yet he gets no coverage from ESPN, even with that LA ESPN thing. He had some arm troubles last season, but looks real good this year. If you are in a deep deep league, look him up. 4 appearances with 7K’s and only 1 ER. Of course if someone can catch up with one those fastballs, its going to go a long long way.

I am reading a book about the Braves GM John Schuerholz. One amazing little tidbit. The Braves had a signed and sealed trade, well a verbal agreement with the Pirates to trade for Barry Bonds in 1992. When the Pirates GM told then manager Jim Leyland, he went nuts and the trade was off. For 16 hours, Barry Bonds was a Brave, and he didn’t know it. The Braves had the budget to sign Bonds to a long term deal too. It just begs the question, what would have happened? Would the Braves become an uber dynasty and win even more world series trophies? Would Bonds still become the player he became in San Francisco? What would happen if the Braves didn’t resign Maddux?

Not too much action on the add / drop area. But here are a couple of movers and shakers.

Fernando Rodney  RP LAA – How the Angels got the Twins to pay the rest of Fuentes $9 million dollar contract to become a set up guy?  Fuentes becomes a set up guy, practically guaranteeing that his option won’t be picked up next year, since he needed 55 games finished to activate an option for next year. So Rodney steps into the closing role officially and raises his value, while Fuentes value dies.

Ryan Rayburn 2b DET – Got some extra playing time, and has been using it well. .311 6HR 17RBI in 25 August games.

Daniel Hudson SP ARI – I liked this kid from the MLB Network show “the club.” He was one of the last cuts to the pitching staff, out of spring training. But since he had more options left, he was sent down. A 4-2 record with a 3.10 ERA and a 1.15 Whip is not bad for the rook.

Most of the add / drop action has been on the dropped side. Other than injuries or losing of closing duties, here are a couple of players whose value has dropped, but still are salvageable.

Jeremy Hellickson SP TB – I know he was sent down, but he will be back next week, so don’t fret. He will either get some long relief or spot start here or there.

Chris Johnson 3B HOU – His big hot streak is over, but question is, can he make adjustments and stay in the bigs, or will he fall victim to the book.

Mike Stanton OF FLA – He goes on a homer tear and is the most added player for a few weeks, umm, the power hasn’t gone anywhere and will probably be made in bunches when the rosters expand and more AAA pitchers are playing.

Pedro Alverez 3B PIT – Like most Pirates, starts out hot, then cools. A hot streak is probably coming.

Young could get plenty of playing time for the rest of the season.

Eric Young Jr. 2B COL – He is a true speedster. 7 stolen bases in his first 60 AB’s. He may drag your team in some stats, but if you can get a dozen extra steals, it might get you a couple of points in a roto league.

David Murphy OF TEX – +18.9 – 12 of his last 14 games, he has a hit. Toss in 4 stolen bases and Mr. Murphy can help cover any weak spots in your outfield.

Jeremy Hellickson SP TB – Yes, pitchers grow on trees like oranges in Tampa. Well, not really, but the fruit of being a crapy team for many years is starting to pay off. Hopefully they can retain some of this talent for the future so they can contend annually. Oh, back to Hellickson. 3-0 record in 4 starts. 2.05 ERA and a .76 whip is nice addition.

Brian Duensing SP MIN – 4 victories in the last 5 starts. He is currently the best pitcher in Minnesota, considering he is supposed to be the #5 pitcher, it’s a nice bonus.

Hong-Chih Kuo  RP LAD +25.5 – Broxton is on a time out, take the saves while you can.

Hisanori Takahashi RP NYM +23.6 – K-Rod, please watch Bull Durham. You are not supposed to use your pitching hand to hit someone. Takahashi got the first chance at saving a game. He may keep the position or lose it to that dreaded closer by committee tag.

Brandon Lyon RP HOU +15.8 – Lindstrom is down, Lyon is up. It may be short termed, but use him or lose him.

One of the Best Pitchers PASB

David Aardsma RP SEA – What, how could this be, doesn’t he “suck.” Well, when you have given up only 2 hits since the ASB and your whip is .55 with a 0.00 era with 14K’s with 7 saves is the complete opposite of sucking.

Need some SB

Crisp has been running well in Oakland.

Coco Crisp OAK – Tied with Bourn for the 2nd most SB PASB with 11.

I need some Runs

Aramis Ramirez 3B CHC – Didn’t his hand fall off this year.  I guess it is fine, since he leads the league in runs PASB with 27. Also 7 HR and 23 RBI’s while batting .297 doesn’t hurt.

I need some RBI’s

Pedro Alverez 3B PIT – How about 21 RBI’ s PASB. Considering that Pujols also has 21 RBI’s, that is good value.

I need K’s

Cole Hamels SP PHI – Huh, doesn’t Halladay or Lee lead the league? Nope, Mr. Hamels has 50K’s PASB, leading the league PASB. Now he does sport a 0-4 record PASB, but it seems not to be his fault, with a 2.14 ERA and a .98 WHIP.

Colby Lewis SP TEX – 45K’s PASB.  He also suffers from bad run support, a 3.11 ERA and 1.25 WHIP says he should turn it around.

I need wins, or at least not losses.

Dice-K SP BOS – I don’t know how he has done it, but he has not posted a loss in 7 straight games.

I need power and average

Mike Stanton OF FLA – Wasn’t he a rookie bust? No sir, he just needed time to adjust. He is batting .444 PASB with 9 HR. He is tied in PASB HR’s with Beltre, Dunn, and Teixeira

I am too far over my MAX/PACE stats, I need a reliever to add.

David Robertson RP NYY – 12.1 IP 18K’s 1 W 1 SV 4 HD’s .89 WHIP with a 0.00 era PASB, this should help any fantasy team.

Chris Johnson 3B HOU +54.8 – If you got the bad news with Youkilis going down, then here is your guy for now. Batting a league leading .429 since the all star break, Mr. Johnson is on a hot streak. Stats like 11 runs in the last 6 games doesn’t hurt either.

Chris Perez RP CLE +17.1 – Perez is now the closer of the Indians, and the team taking it to some pretty good teams lately. A quick 5 saves in a little over a week, will help a team move up the saves category fast.

Adam LaRoche 1b +17.1 ARI – Another Youk alternative here. He is known to be a second half player. 2010 is like every other year, he batted .252 pre all star with 13 HR and a .787 OPS. Since the All Star break he is batting .325 with 5 HR and a .950 OPS.

Raul Ibanez OF PHI +18.1 – Probably the best time to try to move him if your league still allows trades. He is on a 12+ game hitting streak and is batting over .400 post all star break with a nice 1.094 OPS. Much better than his pre all star splits of .243 with a .723 OPS.

Rajai Davis OF OAK – Mr. Stolen base has raised his value by bringing his bat around. .315 since the all star break and has almost matched is pre all star break stats in homeruns.

Danny Valencia 3B Min – .379 post all star break, just stating the facts.

JP Arencibia C TOR -  “Arencibia hit a home run on the first pitch he saw, the third player in team history to homer in his first at-bat (1989 Junior Felix, 1977 Al Woods). He’s also the first Blue Jay with a four-hit game in his major league debut.” – ESPN.com

My god what a debut, Carlos Who? Just kidding, ride it while it lasts, he should get lots of starts for the 2 weeks John Buck is on the DL, but things might be changing in the Great White North. “Koo-koo-koo-roo” – Strange Brew eh, time to open a cold one, and stay thirsty my friends.

Scott always seems to be underrated.

Wow, this non-waiver trading deadline was fun. I haven’t even gone over all the trades yet. Some trades killed some players fantasy value. Sorry Kerry Wood, without save chances, you are gone to the wire. Austin Kearns, without F/T AB’s, can’t have you either, plus you weren’t doing good lately. Lilly, I like that you might be playing for a team that can get you some run support. Theriot, please start stealing bases again, or you aren’t worth owning.  Ludwick, going to SD is going to be tougher, but you should still hit them in. Haren, welcome to Disneyland, hope the arm doesn’t hurt, and Texas is pretty good huh.  Minnesota, I guess you don’t trust your guys, and needed to bring in a closer even though Rauch was 21 for 25 in save chances. Chicago thinks they found a flaw in Jackson’s delivery, I hope it’s true.

I wanna toot my own horn for a second. Last week I said to go trade for Dan Uggla. If you did, you were rewarded with 5 homeruns 7 RBI’s a .320 average with a stolen base for the last 7 days. Friggin sweet.

The biggest thing that I am surprised at this year is how many teams are picking up the salaries of the players being traded. Heck, even the Pirates could have afforded Berkman if they knew Houston was going to pay $11 million to trade him, ok, that was too big of an exaggeration.

The trades won’t affect the wire until next week, so here are the big movers and shakers for the week.

Luke Scott OF BAL +50.9 – Half of all players in the entire ESPN fantasy leagues pick up Scott this week. I guess it’s the 5 homeruns in the last 13 games.

Brett Meyers SP HOU +26 – I guess everyone is learning that even though he pitches for the Astros and he is good. He is one of 3 Astros who are signed to a contract for next year. Arbitration looks to be fun in Houston next year.

Andres Torres OF SF +28.4 – 7 homeruns 20 RBI’s and batting .317 in July. Impressive, make that even more impressive by bringing home those numbers while missing almost an entire week in July. If you haven’t picked him up now, you will regret it.

Angel Pagan OF NYM +9 – 23 SB with a .308 tells the story. Add in a few homeruns this last couple of weeks, and he is a great pick up.

Jeff Keppinger 2B,3B,SS HOU (4.9) – Even though people are dropping him, I have picked him up in several large leagues. Not only has he hit .353 in July, but if you looking for a replacement for Kinsler or Prado, then Jeff can fill in til they get back.

Hot player to try to trade for:

Delmon Young OF MIN – .431 with 6 homeruns and 28 RBI’s  in July are very nice, but the most interesting thing is that his name is being used in the same sentence with MVP. Not saying he is going to win it, but he is definitely one of the reasons why Minnesota is still in it this year.

Prediction for a big increase next week:

Jon Jay OF STL - His bat made Ludwick expendable, impressive.

The wire is basically an extension of last week. So Beckham, Volquez, Perez, Stubbs and Wood round out the top 5 pickups this week. At least some of the better players are coming back from the DL, like Shin Soo Choo, Josh Beckett, and Ryan Ludwick to name a few.

Here are a couple of players who are making a impact lately.
JJ Putz RP CWS – 25 appearances without giving up a run. A new White Sox record, and now Ozzie is talking that JJ or Thornton might see some save opportunities. But I have heard this before, but Putz is putting up great numbers that will help any team.

Pedro Alverez 3B PIT – 2 games, 2 homeruns. The deuces are going wild, which is nice to see after his slow start.
Jack Cust DH OAK – 6 homeruns in 11 games, tied for best in last 11 with the next player on the list. Sounds like his bat likes the summer heat.

Geovany Soto C CHC – 6 homeruns in the last 11 games. Mauer has 5 for the entire season. If you have a scrub catcher and Soto is still somehow available, you got to pick him up.

Fred Lewis OF TOR – Yes he is hurt, but I have to acknowledge that since his trade, he has a decent average, some stolen bases, and a little power. If David Dejesus is still on your team in a deep league, then Lewis might fit into one of his shoes.

I know it’s only been a week and half since the All Star game, but here is an expanded top ten list of the best batting averages post all star break.

1. Neil Walker .485
2. Starlin Castro .471
3. Gordon Beckham .467
4. Nelson Cruz .462
5. Justin Upton .452
6. Josh Hamilton .429
7. Omar Vizquel .414
8. Matt Holliday .407
9. Kevin Youkilis .405
10. Delmon Young .405
11. Derrick Lee .400
12. Juan Rivera .400
13. Angel Sanchez .400

Here are some the hot movers and shakers for the week.

Ramirez is finally starting to get hot at the plate.

Aramis Ramierz 2B CHC +28 – 5 homeruns in the last 10 games might be a big sign that he is hitting like his old self. He may not be 100% healthy, but when he has 7 multi hit games in his last 10, then I would scoop him up.

Edinson Volquez SP CIN +14.5 – 6 IP 1 ER 9K’s in Colorado is a good sign that he is back. He was pitching in the mid 90’s, so the speed is there. But being only 11 months since Tommy John surgery, give him some leeway for his upcoming games.

Carlos Beltran OF NYM +9.6 – The wait has been very long, but 3 straight games hitting the ball is nice to see. He even tried to steal a base, but the attempt said more about him being healthy rather than being called out by a hair. Expect days off to keep him fresh, especially before getaway games.

Gordon Beckham 2B,3B CHW +8.8 – While he has been a major disappointment in the first half, he has started the second half strong.  A 6 game hitting streak with 2 of his 4 homeruns is saying that he is finally starting to see the ball better.  Maybe he read the Howie Kendrick playbook of being a second half player.

Matt LaPorta 1B CLE +8.2 – While only for deep leagues looking to fill a UTIL spot, LaPorta has come back from his minor league demotion and has started to play up to expectations. He has hits in 8 of his last 10 games and raised his yearly batting average 20 points in those 10 games.

Andres Torres OF SF +12.8 – .308 4 HR 7 RBI’s 3 SB in July.

He is 100% owned, but may be undervalued.

Dan Uggla 2B FLA – He is my trade target of the week. His batting average for this year is 22 points above his career average. He is hitting .405 in July, but his power is down a bit. Uggla is heavily rumored to be traded to Colorado. Can you imagine his swing in Colorado? I have traded for him in a couple of my leagues already.