Let’s do the final round up…

It was another lost year for Sizemore.

33 – Games played by Grady Sizemore this season, probably the best Avoid selection of the series. Not only did he sustain a season-ending injury extremely early in the season, he was awful in the 33 games he actually played. He batted .211 while only crossing home plate 15 times, putting him on pace for a career low 74 runs. He was so bad the injury probably saved his owners the headache of figuring out what to do with him. Some may see this as an excellent steal in 2011 drafts, but it’s pretty clear at this point that he will never be the player he was in 2006 and 2007 ever again.

17/11 – Home runs/steals for Curtis Granderson so far this season. After his 30/20 All-Star campaign last season for Detroit, many were expecting big things due to the move to the home run friendly Yankee Stadium and far superior roster in New York. The low batting average figured to stick around, but the fantasy community was hoping for something in the range of 40/30 by the end of season, not scraping for a 20/15 finish. He did miss nearly all of May with hamstring problems, but he never really hit a stride at any point in the season so to imagine things would have been different is wishful thinking at best. His draft stock will be interesting to watch as we approach the 2011 season.

.253 – Batting average for Lance Berkman this season. Before the season I said, “His numbers in ‘08 were buoyed by a ridiculous .341 BaBIP, and his 2007 stats look more like his 2009 stats, so I’m thinking he’ll be in range of those two years than 2008.” That actually ended up being a generous projection for the former Houston Astros first baseman, as the .253 is the worst batting average he has posted in a decade, way back to his rookie season in 1999. He has played a bit better with the Yankees, but he’s old and just doesn’t have it anymore. He is no longer fantasy relevant.

A sophmore slump for Beckham makes him a great 2011 target.

9 – Home runs for Gordon Beckham this season. For my round eight target, I said, “Give him 550 at bats and you’re looking at a 90/22/90 guy who’ll chip in 13 stolen bases.” Projected over 567 at bats, Beckham’s line would look like this: 73/12/64/6. Boy was he disappointing. The comforting thing for this miss is that I was definitely not alone. His ZiPS projection was 80/20/84/10, and Bill James had him at 93/21/96/10. When this many people get it wrong one year, keep that guy on your radar as a post-hype sleeper the next.

97 – Runs for Martin Prado this season. He was a recommended pick late in drafts because of his .300 batting average and three infield-position eligibility. He has brought owners a lot more than that, however, as his batting average is not only an even higher than expected .313 but he has racked up 97 runs, and actually swatted 15 home runs up to this point. He was the ultimate utility man and ended up starting for many teams. Can you believe this guy was going at number 208 right before the season?

12 – Home runs for Royals first baseman Billy Butler this season. What happened here? Butler batted for a career high .310 average, actually lowered his strike out to ball ratio, and had a .328 BaBIP over the course of the year, yet his counting stats have tumbled and his power has disappeared. His home run to fly ball ratio has tumbled from 11.9% last season to a poor 7.4% in 2010. His groundball to flyball rate didn’t even change really, he just flat out couldn’t get it over the fence. Hopefully he can rediscover his long ball in the offseason.

47/46 – Runs and RBIs for Atlanta third baseman Chipper Jones. It turned out the future Hall of Famer was a bust even in the eleventh round, knocking 10 home runs and hitting .264 again before going down for the season with a torn ACL after 95 at bats. He says he wants to play again, but it’s hard to imagine him doing it well as a 39 year old post-knee surgery. Like Berkman, he’s a former legend that has faded off fantasy radars. It’s sad, but it has to happen sometime.

15.73 – strike outs per nine innings ratio for Chicago Cubs closer Carlos Marmol. Holy s%^t. That’s an absolutely ridiculous number that is a testament to the filthiness of his slider. But we knew he had the stuff, it was more a question of if he could put it in the strike zone consistently, something he hadn’t been able to do. In my write up I say, “Until he gets his control issues solved I’m staying far away.” Well, he solved them, at least enough. He went from a 7.91 BB/9 ratio to 6.03, nearly a drop of a full two walks. As a result his ERA came down to 2.88, despite a high .340 BaBIP. His 2.01 FIP indicates he can be even better. I will be targeting him next year in drafts.

Lopez was a big part of a disappointing Mariners' offense.

.237 – Batting average for Mariners third baseman Jose Lopez. I was big on Lopez after Chone Figgins arrived, figuring that if he secured the three spot in the line up he could drive in a bunch of runs, as Ichiro and Figgins are big OBP guys. Lopez thanked me by dropping his batting average 35 points and treating his at bats like he’s teaching Little League fielding practice, as his HR/FB rate dropped 6% from last season while his GB rate has risen. It also didn’t help that Ichiro and Figgins posted career lows as well. It was a truly terrible season for the 26 year old, who won’t be going very high in drafts next year.

187 – Yahoo! rank for Phillies first baseman and preseason number four overall Chase Utley. The major damper on his season was a thumb injury that erased six weeks from the middle of the year, but like Sizemore, wasn’t playing well before that. Barring a strong finish his batting average will have dropped for the fourth consecutive season, and his counting numbers averaged over 162 games are all projected to stay the same or drop. He is not by any means done playing and a rebound is surely possible. It will be interesting where he falls in drafts next season.

That’s all for this season! I want to thank everyone for reading and hope that your teams were somehow better off because of me.

I’m in full-fledged football mode now (I promise I’m much better at football) so be sure to check me out over at Brunoboys.net, where my wide receivers rankings came out today, my first Targets and Touches article will come out tomorrow, followed by a live chat that night and on Friday. Lots of me right now.

Thanks again for reading and good luck in your championship runs!

Lane Rizzardini has been playing fantasy sports for over 10 years. His earliest memory was drafting Fred Lane in 2003, only to find out Fred’s wife had shot him in the offseason. You can find more of Lane’s writing over at BrunoBoys.net.

You can contact him at Lanerizz@gmail.com or through his Twitter page.

And just a heads up: Next week will be the final By The Numbers of 2010, so we’ll be going through some of my hits and misses way back from my Mock Draft Reports in the preseason. Be sure to tune in!

Mixed league owners need to get on board with Walker.

4 – Yahoo rank over the past two weeks for Neil Walker. The Pirates second baseman has been on fire, blasting five home runs and driving in 16 runs. Perhaps unaware to many, Walker has been batting third for Pittsburgh for some time now, and he’s clearly been taking advantage. The home runs are a huge surprise considering he only had five on the season previous to this hot stretch, but it’s important to realize he has been batting in the .300 range for most of the season. He is the exact kind of random spark plug that can add a few home runs to bring your team a title.

2 – Stolen bases for Rafael Furcal since returning from the DL September 3^rd. The fact that he is already back active on the base paths is a great sign that he is over his back issues and he needs to be plugged back into line ups immediately, especially considering he had a 3-4 game Monday. When healthy he can be one of the best short stops in fantasy. He provides a high batting average (.316), stolen bases (nine seasons of 20+ stolen bases), and even a bit of power, exhibited by his five home runs in July. All owners, and especially those of the day-to-day Elvis Andrus need to make sure their league is not one of the 25% in which he is available.

600 – Career saves for Trevor Hoffman, who achieved the feat Tuesday night against the St. Louis Cardinals. An absolutely huge feat which could not have come any sooner, as his struggles this season and the emergence of John Axford have delayed the accomplishment longer than anyone expected. As a result, his 600^th save may be his last; the Brewers really have no reason to go with the Hoff over Axford from here on out, giving Axford a boost down the stretch and essentially making Hoffman waiver fodder, not likely to reemerge ever again. Bow your heads, baseball fans, a legend like Hoffman doesn’t come around every day.

It's time to drop Niemann in most leagues.

23 – Earned runs allowed by Jeff Niemann since returning from the disabled list. This is a red alert, drop immediately situation, as three horrible starts in a row after returning from injury is always a bad sign and at this point in the year you don’t have time for him to fix things.

In fact, he may not even get time in his own rotation. The recent bad play has opened the door for super-prospect Jeremy Hellickson to finally join the rotation. The Rays have needed an excuse, and this is exactly what they’ve been looking for because they don’t have to figuratively point the finger at Niemann; injury is totally out of his control. Even if Niemann gets another start, you aren’t going to want him anyway.

5 – Strike outs over four innings for Vicente Padilla in his return from the DL Monday. It wasn’t a great outing, allowing three runs and taking the loss against the San Diego Padres, but considering his filthy eight game stretch from late June to early August over which he posted a 1.32 ERA and an eight strike outs per nine innings average and the fact that he is only owned in 15% of leagues means anyone looking for late season pitching help should take a close look at the right-hander. If he can produce anything like that down the stretch he will be a valuable asset to any rotation looking for a fantasy crown.

7 – RBIs for everyone’s favorite nice guy Jim Thome over his last three games, including four bombs. He’s been getting consistent time in the DH spot and capitalizing with his trademark power swing that currently has him tied with Frank Robinson for eighth on the all-time list. Plan on seeing him take the spot outright very soon.

However he’s also been providing some batting average as well, posting a .328 average since the beginning of August while still maintaining a reasonable .344 BaBIP. He’s also walking more which is clearly helping. If he can manage to keep the hot bat alive he is worth a pick up in all leagues as his normally substantial power numbers can get freaky when he’s on a roll like this.

Kubel is always a reliable source of production.

3 – Hits for Minnesota Twins outfielder Jason Kubel, including a home run Monday. He is on pace for his second consecutive 25 home run, 100 RBI season and is currently one of least appreciated players capable of that in the major today. Unfortunately the .300 batting average from 2009 proved to be an anomaly so we should think of him as more of a .270 range guy rather than a high-average power hitter that we wish he was.

But right now, the important part is how he can help your fantasy team this season, which he can. September is typically his second most productive month, posting a .512 slugging percentage over 107 games, and the wrist injury that cost him a few games at the beginning of the month is clearly not an issue considering he already hit a home run since his return. Look for him to be serviceable down the stretch and hit that 25/100 mark by the end of the year.

1.51 – Increase in ERA from last season for BoSox closer Jonathan Papelbon. He has had a terrible 2010 after tying a career second best 1.85 ERA in ’09, though that was where signs of issues first started. The peripherals are a horror story: an 89% left on base percentage combined with a 26.7% ground ball rate led to a 3.98 xFIP. It was only a matter of time before the floor fell through and exposed how poorly he has been playing despite the high strike out rate. His latest four run blown save really puts a nail in the coffin for his season, and while it’s tough to sit him or god forbid drop him, you have to at least think about it with championship dreams on the line. If you need the saves you have no choice but to keep going with him, but if saves are something you have in abundance you need to seriously consider sitting him down before he hurts you in other areas.

8 – Number of games missed by Justin Upton with a slight shoulder sprain. The young outfielder has had a disappointing season by most people’s standards, as he was taken in the 2^nd-3^rd rounds of most drafts after a promising 84/26/86/20/.300 in 2009. He has the talent to be a counting stats monster, but a high strike out rate has dampened those numbers and we’ll have to wait till next season to see if he can live up to the hype.

As far as this season goes, he had an MRI Tuesday that came up clean, but considering that the D-Backs are well out of contention there is some concern he could be limited the rest of the year. A back up plan needs to be acquired now so owners won’t miss a beat in these most crucial of times where every at bat counts.

6 – Number of saves in his last four outings for Hong-Chih Kuo, who has suddenly become the closer for the Dodgers to the agony of Jonathan Broxton owners. Broxton has had a “down” year by most standards, but he is still has an elite fastball and is strike out over a batter per inning, leading to the confusion by most of why he has lost the job. Joe Torre seems to be playing head games with us, and unfortunately none of us really know what he is thinking, only that he likes Kuo and not Broxton as of late.

It’s not as if Kuo is bad, he actually is quite good, boasting a superb 3.80 K/BB ratio and .12 HR/9 average. Anyone who didn’t regard the largely unknown Kuo as a legit option need to rethink their opinion of the five year pro, which makes the question not if Kuo can perform in the closer’s role but whether manager Joe Torre  will continue to send him out there instead of one of the best relievers in the majors. For those in need of cheap saves, Kuo is an option but one that could evaporate quickly so it will be important to keep close tabs. As for Broxton owners, all you can really do is pray, and hope that Torre changes his mind.

Lane Rizzardini has been playing fantasy sports for over 10 years. His earliest memory was drafting Fred Lane in 2003, only to find out Fred’s wife had shot him in the offseason. You can find more of Lane’s writing over at BrunoBoys.net.

You can contact him at Lanerizz@gmail.com or through his Twitter page.

The Houston Astros’ hurler who came over in the Roy Oswalt trade had missed most of the year with forearm problems and only started three games for the Phils before the move south. He hasn’t missed a beat, going 4-2 and minus one major blow up (one inning, seven runs against the Cardinals) has sported an ERA below two. He did a lot of the same last season, finishing 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA, good for 8^th in the majors.

So why isn’t he considered as one of the top pitchers in the majors? Because when you look at the numbers, things don’t look pretty. The most glaring warning sign are his FIP and xFIP, which are both at least a run (and his xFIP is actually two) above his current ERA. The situation was similar in 2009, with a FIP and xFIP at 4.33 and 4.49, respectively. Moving on we see a generous BABIP (.230), a high Left On-Base percentage (77.5% in 2010, a whooping 85.2% in ’09) and an alarming K/BB ratio of 1.28. His fastball velocity doesn’t even average 90 MPH. All of these things suggest a major downfall at any moment.

Yet there he is, avenging that atrocious Cardinals loss with a two-hit shut out Monday night, looking fantastic in the victory. Hitters say he’s hard to get a read on because he’s tall and comes over the top, making it easier for him to hide his pitches. He is also extremely accurate which makes up for the lack of pitch velocity. He may have an occasional major blow up like the twice aforementioned outing against the Cards, but his stuff is for real and he needs to be recognized.

It’s a reminder for fans of this article (Right fans? Fans? Hello?) and of Sabermetrics (myself included) that numbers can tell you an awful lot, but sometimes you just have to do it the old fashioned way: by watching them play.

Baltimore is winning plenty of games right now and Uehara is getting all the saves.

1 – Runs allowed by Koji Uehara since taking over the closer’s role. Welcome to fantasy relevance, Koji. He has rattled off four straight saves in consecutive appearances and is clearly Buck Showalter’s finisher of choice despite Michael Gonzalez’s return from the DL some time ago, especially after the one out save he recorded in his last outing.

This is only Uehara’s second season in the majors and he actually started 12 games last season so it’s tough to gauge how successful he will be in this role. While his low 27% groundball rate scares me a bit, he boasts an impressive 6.2 strike out to ball ratio and his 1.47 FIP is even lower than his already impressive 1.93 ERA. The fact that he has only pitched 28.1 innings this season makes this a bit of a small sample size, but he was an effective closer in Japan before making the trip to the states, and so far there’s no reason to think he won’t be effective the rest of the way.

4.40 – Fernando Rodney’s ERA as the closer for the Detroit Tigers last season. Welcome back to fantasy relevance, Fernando. Brian Fuentes is the latest closer acquired by the Twins as they bolster their bullpen for a playoff run, making eighth inning man Rodney the guy in Anaheim.

He had 37 saves last season with the Tigers, but he was the definition of a roller coaster ride. As pointed out his ERA was atrocious for a reliever, and not even great for a starter. His WHIP (1.467) was nerve-wreaking, and his 1.49 K/BB ratio didn’t help matters. Yet magically, he only ended up with one blown save the entire year, so he’s clearly doing something right.

Considering his career track record, expect more of the same from Rodney as he closes out 2010 for the Halos.

A happy Manny is a productive Manny and he seems happy with the move to Chicago.

1.049 – OPS for Manny Ramirez at U.S. Cellular Field, his new home with the Chicago White Sox He was picked up off waivers last week and figures to start his first game as a good guy in black tonight. In the AL he will only have to be the designated hitter, perfect for him and his notoriously bad defensive play. He will also play in a much friendlier hitter’s park.

All of this is huge for his fantasy value. However the best part is this: after he was traded midseason from Boston to Los Angeles in 2008, he went off, batting .396 and clubbing 17 home runs in only 229 plate appearances. With his perchance for revenge and improved situation, look for Manny to have a huge second half.

6 – Home runs for Marcus Thames last week, good for a top three ranking in Yahoo leagues. In the absence of Alex Rodriguez, Thames has become an everyday DH and is flourishing. He has a .368 batting average for the month of August which in that line up always translates to big RBI numbers, 14 over 18 games.

Is it for real? The home runs definitely could be (well at least as real as six home runs in seven days can be), as he has two seasons of 25+ home runs, but the .318 season batting average is totally unprecedented for him. He has a .249 career batting average and never posted a higher average than .252. The reason is pretty clear: his current .380 BaBIP is a whooping 103 points higher than his career average. Unless Yankee stadium is really having that big of an effect on his BaBIP, this can’t be for real. In case you were thinking about picking him up for the playoff stretch, I would seriously look elsewhere.

Get used to seeing Gonzalez in the first round of fantasy baseball drafts.

2 – Number of home runs for Carlos Gonzalez Sunday against the Dodgers, his second multi-home run game of the month. He has been an absolute draft steal, emerging this season as a legit five-tool player. He is currently on pace for an unfathomable line of 122/41/128/28/.326. The batting average actually leads the NL for those who qualify, complicating the triple crown race headlined by Albert Pujols and Joey Votto. To think his preseason rank wasn’t even in the top 100 is mindboggling.

Drafters won’t make that mistake next year, however. He’s already being projected as a first round pick in all formats, which may seem like a huge jump for a guy who hasn’t done this before but watching him play you can clearly see he’s for real. Maybe the batting average will slip a bit, but that kind of across the board production cannot be a fluke. First round is not overpaying for talent like this.

2011 – Season Stephen Strasburg will miss due to impending Tommy John’s surgery on his throwing elbow, ending his season and eliminating him from any sort of fantasy value till 2012. It feels so sudden; we waited so long for his arrival, yet we barely got any time with the phenom before he was taken from us.

It’s a sad story for all baseball lovers and sports fans in general. His 2.91 ERA and 12.18 K/9 ratio don’t even tell the whole story. He boasts four masterful pitches that he is able to mix and match seamlessly, downing even the most elite pitchers. There are simply no holes to poke here, he’s the real deal and we’re just going to have to turn away his picture sitting at our bedsides and hope he comes back into our arms the same way he left. To lose a guy like that is devastating, but we must carry on. Leave your flowers, say your prayers, and let’s get geared up for the fantasy playoffs.

200 – Strike outs for Jered Weaver. Raise your hand if you thought he would be the first to that mark this season. He’s been an underrated stud this year, currently ranked 28^th overall in standard Yahoo! leagues after being pre-ranked out of the top 100.

We could have seen this coming. He has shown consistent improvement in all major pitching statistics every season he’s been in the majors. This is especially apparent in his command, as his strike out totals have risen gradually from 105 over 123 innings his rookie year to 200 over 182 innings so far this year.

His 3.12 ERA is excellent, his walk ratio (2.37) is too, and he’s not even getting lucky (.295 BaBIP). When drafting next year remember, this isn’t washed up brother Jeff, this is a legit talent entering the prime of his career. Don’t be fooled.

2 – Runs allowed by Cincinnati reliever Nick Masset over the past two months. After a horrible first three months in which he posted a 5.88 ERA and basically got run out of the park. However his luck suddenly took a turn for the better at the start of July and now he looks unhittable.

I say luck because that definitely has something to do with it. His BaBIP the first three months of the season was a tough .387, which plummeted to .203 as the temperature rose. While an improved groundball rate has aided in this somewhat, that’s an unbelievable change in fortune. His 10.02 strike outs per nine innings ratio makes him useful in holds leagues, but he is bound to give up some runs soon so don’t expect a sub-one ERA like he’s currently posting.

.255 – Batting average for newly acquired Tampa Bay DH Brad Hawpe, 25 points lower than his career average. He’s had an awful year but helps strengthen the Rays’ bench for the playoff run. Unfortunately it does nothing for your fantasy team, and he’s really only being talked about here to keep you from going to get him thinking he’ll take off with his new team.

He’s bad, and not even getting unlucky with a .314 BaBIP. He is just plain not getting the bat on the ball, which has also sapped his home run power (.432 slugging percentage). Perhaps the hitting coaches in Tampa can help him adjust, but if he hasn’t done it yet I have a hard time believing he can fix things this late in the year. Plus the bench is crowded in Tampa and he has no guarantee of consistent playing time. Barring some sort of radical explosion he can be forgotten the rest of the season.

.70 – WHIP for Brewers pitching prospect Jeremy Jeffress over 11 relief appearances in Double-A since returning from a 100-game suspension for a second positive marijuana test. He’s supposed to be the minor leaguer focus of the week but he literally got called up as I was writing this last night. We’re still going to talk about him anyway, because he has been nasty since getting off the ganja.

A first round pick in the 2006 draft, Jeffress boasts a fastball in the mid-to-high 90’s, a nasty curveball and solid command, exhibited by his sub-one WHIP and 15/2 K/BB ratio. His change up is reportedly a bit lacking at this point, making him better suited for late-inning relief work. His call up probably won’t garner much fantasy value this season, but he should be given a hard look in holds leagues next year and kept in the back of all manager’s minds as a possible source of saves in the near future.

Lane Rizzardini has been playing fantasy sports for over 10 years. His earliest memory was drafting Fred Lane in 2003, only to find out Fred’s wife had shot him in the offseason. You can find more of Lane’s writing over at BrunoBoys.net.

You can contact him at Lanerizz@gmail.com or through his Twitter page.

So let’s get to it.

Soriano has been nothing short of outstanding this year.

9 – Number of pitches Rafael Soriano needed to strike out the side Monday for his 38^th save of the season. His August game log is just plain sexy for his owners. Nine appearances, nine saves, one earned run allowed. This rare nine-pitch, three strike out performance really highlights the type of season he’s been having. His ERA currently stands at 1.79 and he posts nearly a strike out per inning, numbers definitely good enough to put him in the top tier closer conversation. He will not come cheaply next year.

1.266 – OPS for Omar Infante since Chipper Jones went down August 12^th. With Martin Prado now moving to 3^rd, Infante will finally have a permanent home at 2^nd base and appears locked into the leadoff spot in the Braves line up. The .300+ batting average has been there all season (and he’s actually been batting closer to .400 since July), but the consistent playing time and spot in the line up has resulted in a 12/3/6/2/.468 line over the last 11 games. Those of you scrambling for help at, well any position really (Infante is eligible at 2^nd, 3^rd, SS, and OF) need to grab the All-Star.

1.000 – Win percentage over four starts with the Dodgers for Ted Lilly, including a complete game shut out in his last start against Colorado. He’s doing everything he can to keep the Dodgers in the playoff race, but at 12.5 games back of first in the NL West it’s looking bleak.

It shouldn’t affect Lilly from a fantasy perspective. While the 26/4 strikeout to walk ratio seems too Cliff Lee-like to be true, it’s not as if he was doing poorly in that department before (3.0 K/BB with the Cubs). I fully expect the veteran to continue to pitch well, especially motivated by impending free agency.

A new spot in the batting order has done wonders for Longoria.

1.006 – OPS for Evan Longoria since being moved to the clean up spot August 9^th. Owners were getting nervous watching him trudge along at a .268 clip since the beginning of July, but Longoria has mercifully rediscovered his bat in a big way, posting a 10/3/14/.322 line.

This is exactly what happened last season, and could end up being a yearly trend we will have to get used to throughout the young third baseman’s career. His career splits by month read like a perfect step ladder, with his monthly totals in order from April to September as follows: .335, .280, .258, .258, .274, .293. Those owners who are just on the cusp of playoff contention can count on a boost from their first round pick.

4 – Batting average points Albert Pujols trails Joey Votto by for the NL lead. This is important because it is the only thing keeping Pujols from being the front runner in all three Triple Crown categories. He currently leads Adam Dunn by two home runs (yes, Adam Dunn is in second) and Votto by six RBIs.

He would be the first to achieve the feat since Red Sox outfielder Carl Yastrzemski in 1967, and it would be particularly impressive for Pujols as he is having a down season by his standards (1.013 is his 2^nd-lowest OPS since 2002). Despite my fandom issues, it would be nice to see a (fingers crossed) clean guy pull off one of the most impressive feats in sports.

40 – Home runs for Jose Bautista, who I called dead at the end of June but he has continued right along defying career numbers and expert assessments. My apologies Jose, it was just business.

It will be the talk of the offseason as experts puzzle over his numbers trying to explain what was never supposed to happen. The guy had never hit more than 16 home runs in six major league seasons. He never even posted a slugging percentage above .420! Yet all it apparently took was an earlier start to his swing and we get this 2010 explosion. It will be interesting to see where his ADP shakes out next season.

10/2 – Strike out to walk ratio for young Cincinnati pitcher Homer Bailey. Need a young, fresh arm to round out your pitching staff for the playoff run? Bailey is your guy. He’s only allowed one run since his return from the minors and three fewer hits than strike outs. Obviously it’s a small sample size but remember, this guy threw a complete game shut out back on May 12^th and was a top ten prospect in 2008, so he has the skills. I expect him to finish the season with an ERA (currently at 4.52) closer to his current FIP of 4.15, and managers looking ahead to next season should circle him on the draft sheet for later.

0 – Walks allowed by Cardinals’ rookie Jaime Garcia in his last start, a complete game shut out against San Francisco. It comes as a bit of a surprise considering he hadn’t pitched more than six innings in his past four outings and many were wondering if his young arm was beginning to tire, but this helps his case to stay in the Cardinals rotation. There has been talk of skipping starts to keep him fresh but with St. Louis 2.5 games behind the Reds in the NL Central race they might need to use him if he continues to play well.

They might need to use him, but you don’t. With playoff hopes on the line I am hesitant to trust a young arm that hasn’t pitched this many innings since 2006 in the low minor leagues. Add that to a FIP and xFIP above 3.35 and you have the signs of tougher times ahead for Garcia.

3 – Home runs for Coco Crisp this month. Where did this come from? The human breakfast cereal’s season didn’t really start until late June and while his usual quickness on the base paths is there, it’s his power numbers and RBIs that have been a surprise. His current pace this month would put him at 20+ home runs and 86 RBIs over a full season, something he’s never come close to accomplishing. Looking at his splits he does boast his best batting average in September (.303) and hits the most home runs near the end of the season, so it wouldn’t exactly be a shock if he continued to play somewhere near this level the rest of the year. Feel free to give him a spin in mid-range mixed leagues.

61 – Times Royals’ third base prospect Mike Moustakas has struck out in 400 at bats this season. That’s extremely low, and when you consider he also only has 32 walks you see the most exciting thing about Moustakas: his ridiculous contact rate. Like targets in football, if you put the ball in play you’re bound to get a hit at least every once in a while, and when you’re only 5’11” but weigh 230 at 21 years old many times those hits are home runs, as he exhibited in Double-A to the tune of 21 bombs over 250 at bats.

He cooled off quite a bit after getting promoted to Triple-A, but is currently having his best week so far and had a nine game hit streak going as of last Friday. Definitely look for him to keep improving and join the major league squad next year.

Lane Rizzardini has been playing fantasy sports for over 10 years. His earliest memory was drafting Fred Lane in 2003, only to find out Fred’s wife had shot him in the offseason. You can find more of Lane’s writing over at FantasyFootball.com.

You can contact him at Lanerizz@gmail.com or through his Twitter page.

I’m here to help, with a look towards the future and the young stars you should have on your radar for next season that your playoff-bound league-mates probably aren’t thinking about. Here are ten prospects we’ll be talking about in the very near future as possible staples of your fantasy roster.

If you are out of contention this year, you should consider adding Bryce Harper.

9,900,000 – Dollars phenom prospect Bryce Harper will make over the next five years (the largest for a non-pitcher who had not become a free agent) as the Nationals’ new wunderkind in the waiting now that the first has made it big. Like the first guy, he’s a Scott Boras client and so naturally the deal got done seconds before the deadline. After landing absolute studs with the first pick in the last two drafts, the Nationals are surely hoping it’ll mean never having the pick again.

As far as Harper, he’s got elite level talent and is ready now, at the ripe old age of 17. If you thought the Strasburg and Wieters hype was obnoxious, you haven’t seen anything yet. We’re talking LeBron’s Decision obnoxious, but in this case it’s actually warranted. He hit 31 home runs in only 66 games with the College of Southern Nevada, with an eye-popping .987 slugging percentage. He hit one over the fence every seven at bats. That’s 76 home runs over 162 games. Did I mention they use wooden bats in the Southwestern Athletic Conference?

They’ll move him from catcher to outfield, meaning he could be ready as soon as next year. Dynasty players take notice.

.520 – Batting average for Jesus Montero from August 6^th to August 12^th. The #5 prospect as ranked by Baseball America has been on fire as of late after a horrible June when he was batting .220. With three home runs this week the young Yankee now has 14 on the year with an OPS of .841.

While he clearly has skills at the plate, it’s his defense that will keep him out of the majors as anything other than a designated hitter. He leads the International League with 14 passed balls and throws out a pathetic 23% of base stealers. He may have to switch to first base or the outfield if he wants to make the big boy roster in the next year or two.

Don't forget about Chapman - the talent is still there.

103 – MPH on a fastball thrown by Aroldis Chapman in a late-June relief appearance. Remember when people actually debated whether to take Strasburg or Chapman in fantasy drafts this year? Sorry Chapman camp, despite the ridiculous numbers on the gun and an impressive strikeout ratio (11.4 K/9), his control is just not pro-ready yet. A 5.1 BB/9 ratio in the minors will get him killed in the majors.

But when he finds any sort of consistent accuracy, you better believe he’ll be an automatic add in mixed-leagues. This kind of strike out potential doesn’t come along very often.

32 – Stolen bases for Desmond Jennings in 98 games with Triple-A Durham this season. The Carl Crawford clone needs to hit the weight room more if he wants to reach the 15-20 home run potential Crawford brings to the table but the speed and skills on the base paths are clearly there, going 32-34 in steal attempts.

The 23-year-old centerfielder will surely be up in the majors next year and could be a good source of runs and stolen bases in his rookie season, with a .300 average in his future as Tampa’s leadoff hitter.

9 – Home runs for Royals’ first base prospect Eric Hosmer in the 32 games since joining Double-A Northwest Arkansas. The third overall pick in the 2008 draft is finally showing the skills scouts thought he had before eye issues and a hand injury ruined his 2009 season. The giant park in Wilmington where he began the season masked a lot of his home run potential but he’s tearing it up now, keeping his batting average right around .300 while increasing his slugging. He even provides some speed, having swiped 13 bags so far this season.

Because of the lost 2009 the 20-year-old will probably need another year before he’s major league-ready but when he is, 30/15 is not out of the question.

10.9 – Strike outs per nine innings ratio for 21-year-old RHP Michael Pineda since his promotion to Triple-A. He’s defying convention and actually pitching better at the higher level as far as his peripherals go. An improved strike out rate, along with a sub-one WHIP are developments to get excited about. His only problem in Triple-A has been keeping the ball in the park, having given up six bombs so far in Tacoma while only allowing one down in Double-A with 100 more batters faced. If he can figure that out he’ll be up with the Mariners in no time.

52 – Stolen bases for Baseball America’s #2 prospect Mike Trout. The 18-year-old first round pick is still just getting into High-A ball but has been extremely productive in his short time since joining the farm system. On top of the absurd steal totals, he ranked first in runs with 74 and second in batting average, going .362 with Low-A Cedar Rapids. He also has zero errors, which doesn’t do anything for your fantasy team but ensures a quicker rise to the top.

Currently he’s playing pretty average with Rancho Cucamonga (seriously), posting a .297/.376/.441 line over 29 games, but hopefully the outfielder can catch on soon and keep moving up the ranks.

7-1 – Record for Chris Archer in nine starts with Double-A Tennessee, the same record he had in 14 starts in High-A. He’s another guy playing better after a promotion, but in his case after four years of minor league ball it’s about time he started moving up the ranks.

The 21-year-old Cub prospect has a 97 mph fastball and a nasty slider which has led to an impressive 8.8 K/9 rate but the 5.8 BB/K ratio suggests he’s trying to paint corners against the better hitters and just doesn’t quite have the control yet. Sound familiar Cubs fans? We can only hope.

0 – hits allowed over nine innings by Toronto’s #1 prospect Kyle Drabek in a July 4^th start. One of the big pieces of the Roy Halladay trade, the 22-year-old RHP is 5-1 with a 1.64 ERA since the no-hitter, a huge breakthrough for him which could mean a promotion soon. You’d like to see a better strike out ratio at the Double-A level (7 K/9) but he’s a groundball pitcher and it doesn’t seem like he’ll ever be a substantial strike out threat considering his fastball has been only topping out at 91 MPH as of late. But I expect him to join the Jays at some point next season and contribute at the back end of their rotation.

99 – MPH registered on the gun for Dominican pitching prospect Yordano Ventura. The 19 year old is only in rookie-ball right now, but a marked improvement in velocity combined with excellent walk numbers (3.54 SO/BB) has caught a lot of attention within the farm system. He’s also been developing a curveball that reportedly is looking solid. He’s definitely one to shelve away for a couple years.

Hope you enjoyed this look into the minors. I’ll make sure to talk about one prospect a week until the season is over.

Lane Rizzardini has been playing fantasy sports for over 10 years. His earliest memory was drafting Fred Lane in 2003, only to find out Fred’s wife has shot him in the offseason. You can find more of Lane’s writing over at FantasyFootball.com.

You can contact him at Lanerizz@gmail.com or through his Twitter page.

Molina is one of many smart moves made by the Rangers.

The trade deadline came and went, with the usual 80 moves being completed right before the deadline. Worst move? Probably the Twins, who gave up an excellent catching prospect in Wilson Ramos and left-handed pitcher Joe Testa for Nationals’ closer Matt Capps. What was wrong with Jon Rauch’s 21-24 save success rate?

The biggest winner? The Rangers, who acquired an ace pitcher (Cliff Lee), a veteran catcher (Bengie Molina), a legitimate first baseman (Jorge Cantu), and quality infield depth (Christian Guzman). This team is primed for an explosive second half.

But in fantasyland we care more about the individual than the team, so let’s run through some players whose value changed over the break.

2 – Stolen bases for Scott Podsednik since joining the Los Angeles Dodgers in a deal that sent prospects Lucas May and Elisaul Pimentel to the Royals. Who would have thought Scotty Pods, who is currently top five in the majors in stolen bases, would be ranked top-65 in Yahoo! leagues at age 34 in Kansas City?

After largely disappearing in Colorado in 2008, he has had a resurgent year and half, batting over .300 and rediscovering his base path magic with 62 stolen bases up to this point. He’s on pace to match totals from his breakout 2003 campaign (100/12/58/43/.314).

Unfortunately, the move to Los Angeles means a serious decrease in playing time. He’ll be valuable until Manny Ramirez returns from the DL in roughly two weeks, but after that he’ll only be useful in NL-only leagues as a high-end bench player.

3 – Wins for Ted Lilly in 18 starts this season. Along with Podsednik, the Dodgers acquired the left-handed Lilly and shortstop Ryan Theriot from the Cubs in exchange for Blake DeWitt and two pitching prospects.

The move will do wonders for Lilly who, while leaving the cushy NL Central, will surely post much higher win totals with the playoff-minded Dodgers than he did with the woeful Cubs. He also avoids a move to the American League which would have hurt his value quite a bit. Love him and cherish him the rest of the year.

It will be interesting to see how Ludwick fares without Pujols.

.298 – Batting average in 14 games at Petco Park for new Padre Ryan Ludwick, who comes over in a three-team deal that sends Jake Westbrook to the Cardinals. He joins a mediocre at-best outfield group consisting of Scott Hairston, Tony Gwynn Jr., Will Venable and recent fireball Chris Denorfia, so he should have no problem finding playing time.

He also batted in the fourth slot his second game with the team behind major power threat Adrian Gonzalez, which would make up at least some for leaving a line up in which he batted in front of studs Albert Pujols and Matt Holiday.

His value does decrease some due to the change in scenery in Petco, but if you needed RBIs this move is right up your alley.

4.30 – xFIP for the aforementioned Jake Westbrook. The move from the AL to the NL Central makes Westbrook an extremely intriguing second half option. I actually dropped Tommy Hunter for Westbrook because Hunter’s weak peripherals (4.55 K/9 rate, 4.88 xFIP) suggest more implosions like the eight run massacre he sustained in his last start, while all of Westbrook’s numbers paint a much-rosier second half picture, and they don’t even factor in his recent positive move yet.

He allowed two runs and struck out seven over six innings in his debut for the Cards, a promising performance to say the least. More like that and his 7% ownership in Yahoo! leagues should rise quickly, so jump while you still can.

2 – Home runs for third baseman Jhonny Peralta in his debut for Detroit. The man with the misspelled name joins a team in dire need of healthy bodies, as Peralta will be holding down third until Brandon Inge comes back from the DL. Then, and the most intriguing part for fantasy owners, he’ll move to shortstop the rest of the year, essentially guaranteeing eligibility at the thin position in all leagues he has not yet attained it.

Despite this and the strong debut, keep in mind he is currently batting .252 and nothing about the move would indicate a major change in fortune. Temper excitement.

13 – Losses for new Philadelphia hurler Roy Oswalt this season, 12 coming with Houston and one in his first start for the Phillies in which he allowed four earned runs to the Nationals. Nothing to worry about of course, as the electric right-hander currently boasts a very reasonable 3.53 ERA and nearly a nine strike outs per nine innings average.

He will be what Cliff Lee should have been: the third lockdown starter in a rotation that already includes Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels. Enjoy the much-increased win totals, owners.

Try to use Happ's solid first start in Houston to sell high on him.

4 – Starts for J.A. Happ this season. The other half of the Oswalt deal, Happ has been sidelined for nearly the entire year with left forearm inflammation and struggled to find his velocity again once he recovered.

Obviously he’s back now, and actually got a win the same night Oswalt lost by throwing six shutout innings against Milwaukee. His future performance is maddeningly tough to predict, as despite horrible peripherals he continues to put up great numbers.

I would try to trade him immediately; a .237 BaBIP, 91.2% left on-base percentage, and 33.9% groundball rate is a recipe for total disaster, no matter how good he is at getting out of jams.

.276 – Career batting average against right-handed pitchers for Jorge Cantu, the new Texas Ranger that arguably fills their only weak position at first base. It looks like Manager Ron Washington plans to use him primarily against right-handers while Mitch Moreland will take over duties against lefties.

This isn’t exactly an ideal situation from a fantasy perspective, but Texas did send practically blind power hitter Chris Davis back to the minors, so clearly the club is serious about giving Cantu substantial playing time.

He’s a major acquisition for the Rangers and will benefit from their stacked line up, but the .264 hitter is not so impactful for your fantasy squad. He’s still only bench worthy in 12 team mixers.

60 – Walks for Edwin Jackson over 134.1 innings this season, tied for 4^th most in the majors. He also has 13 wild pitches, good for second most in the majors. Clearly control is a problem for the young righty, but the no-hitter he threw on July 2nd against the Rays exemplifies how good his stuff can be when he locates (and even in that game he walked eight).

Despite the tough move back to the AL, you have to like him getting out of the desert. Remember, it was only last year when he posted an excellent 3.62 ERA with Detroit. Control will continue to be a problem for him, but he will give you plenty of useable starts if you’re willing to ride the rollercoaster.

53 – Current batting average points below his career average for Lance Berkman, the newly acquired Yankees’ first baseman who will be used primarily as the DH.  He has had a very down year by his standards and is clearly nearing the end of his career. If you’re still relying on him in mixed leagues I’m sorry for you. The move to New York will help, but how much I’m not sure. Not enough to save his season. What the 34 year old decides to do this offseason will be interesting to watch.

That’s all. Hopefully the trade deadline was good to your teams. Get ready for the playoffs.

Lane Rizzardini has been playing fantasy sports for over 10 years. His earliest memory was drafting Fred Lane in 2003, only to find out Fred’s wife has shot him in the offseason. You can find more of Lane’s writing over at DigitalSportsDaily.com.

You can contact him at Lanerizz@digitalsportsdaily.com or through his Twitter page.

Despite a poor start last night, there is no one pitching better than Wainwright lately.

Busy week so I’m forfeiting the intro. I put all of it into my Dan Haren diatribe. Enjoy.

1 – Overall Yahoo! pitcher ranking for St. Louis hurler Adam Wainwright. The man referred to in some circles as “XXX: Return of Zander Cage” (because his curveball is so extreme it could win the X-Games and fight terrorism at the same time) is having another stellar season, posting a 1.94 ERA, .213 batting average against, and a zesty 3.78 strike out to ball rate.

I didn’t think he could possibly exceed the 2.63 ERA and 212 strike outs from his break out 2009 season but the ceiling just keeps rising for the 29 year old. His ERA has steadily improved from the 3.70 he posted back in his first full season in 2007 and while his peripherals suggest an ERA in the 2.5 range is where he will end up to finish the season (.267 BaBIP, 3.21 xFIP) he is a lock to finish in the top five for major league pitchers and a strong Cy Young candidate in a crowded NL. Bask in the glory of Zander Cage.

5 – Innings Dan Haren lasted in his first start for the Angels before being hit in the right arm by a line drive. That’s tough, and adds to laundry list of glaring issues he has after his trade to the west coast.

Let’s start with the simple fact that he’s moving to the AL and will face a legitimate batter instead of an awkward pitcher three times a game. It’s worth noting he didn’t do too shabby in the AL from 2005-2007, posting his career best 3.07 ERA over 34 starts in his final season with the Oakland Athletics, but he has delivered two 200+ strike out seasons with the D-Backs, something he never accomplished with the A’s. Moving to the AL will always hurt a pitcher’s strikeout numbers, and usually with that comes a rise in ERA.

Second, he’s a historically poor second half performer. His first-half ERA is nearly a full run lower than his second-half ERA (3.29 vs. 4.26), something that’s held consistent the past four seasons. A trip the AL no doubt means that trend will continue.

But oddly (and this is the final problem), he hasn’t been the stellar first-halfer we are used to seeing. His ERA currently stands at 4.57, and while the strike out numbers are at their highest totals of his career, he’s been disappointing for owners.

He’s been getting murdered by a .355 BaBIP and a 14.1% home run to fly ball percentage so for most players you would assume good times are on the horizon. He’s apparently healthy too. I’m concerned, however, that his second half regression will cancel out an improvement in his peripherals. Keep close tabs on him.

3-0 – Record for early bust Javier Vasquez in July. He’s been pitching very well lately, posting a 3.05 ERA since June. It is helping to offset the awful start he had to the season when he put up an ugly 9.78 over his first four starts.

Is he back? I’m not buying it. A good reason for that low ERA lately is the .210 BaBIP he’s been blessed with since his positive play started. And he’s only coaxing ground outs at a 33.7% clip, a recipe for disaster in the home run friendly Yankee Stadium. He is a perfect sell high candidate right now.

There is still plenty of time for Mauer to have more big nights like the one he has in KC.

5 – Number of hits for Joe Mauer on Monday versus Kansas City, a game which ended a whooping 19-1 in favor of the Twins. The Gold Glover and AL MVP winner from 2009 has been having a disappointing season by most people’s standards. Of course for Mauer, those standards are 28 home runs, a .365 batting average, and an absurd 1.031 OPS.

People should have known a repeat of those totals would have been an amazing feat that’s simply not realistic for a full-time catcher. What he is doing this season (54/6/50/.305) seems to be more what we should expect from him from now on. Be happy when he gives you 90+/15/90+/.300 at the end of the season.

5 – Home runs the past seven games for Orioles outfielder Luke Scott, who was named player of the week. Clearly he’s on a mission to prove his can actually make it around all four bases without pulling a hammy, as he did June 30^th which led to a DL stint for most of July.

While the home run power is clearly legit (48 home runs the past two seasons), the .429 BaBIP indicates the batting average will drop back down to the .278 he was hitting before he hurt himself. Keep in mind he’s only a career .268 batter so a second half surge would really put his average in uncharted territories that would be too big of a jump to be realistic. Temper expectations.

.427 – Batting average in July for the red hot Delmon Young. After years of disappointment and average performance, the number one pick in 2003 is finally living up to the hype. He’s already matched his career high of 13 home runs and is on pace to obliterate all other best totals to date except stolen bases.

Despite the Scott-type BaBIP in July of .428, I’m willing to believe in the Young surge because of his high draft pick. He also seems to have finally have found his batting eye, posting a drastically improved K/BB ratio of 2.35 (it was 7.67 last season). Not every number one pick bursts onto the scene like Steven Strasburg and Jason Heyward have. He should have been picked up already in all leagues and inserted into starting line ups.

3 – Home runs over two games for outfielder Curtis Granderson to start the week. The problem is those are only his eighth, ninth, and tenth dingers of the season after he blasted 30 with Detroit the previous year. Just about everyone was banking on at least 35 if not 40 with his move to Yankee Stadium and that stacked line up but clearly he has not lived up to the hype.

It’s not exactly clear what the problem is, his BaBIP is actually higher than it was last season, and while his strike out to ball ratio is higher, it’s not so dramatic as to totally suck the power out of his bat. All the balls that used to soar out of the park (10.8% per fly ball) have now turned into line drives (5% increase from last season).

While I’m not terribly optimistic, let’s hope for a second half surge from the entertaining Yankee.

5/2/6/2/.316 – Line for Chris Denorfia last week. Who? The May 17^th call up has been having a great July, slamming six homers and registering a 1.117 OPS. Reportedly it’s the result of a plate adjustment and hard work with batting coach and mascot for morning people Randy Ready.

Is it for real? I seriously doubt it. He’s never shown enough promise to hold down a major league roster spot, the 49 games in 2006 being the most he’s played in a season. A 19^th round selection from eight years ago that’s been bounced around between three teams is just not a promising fantasy option until we see this kind of production continue for a while longer.

Weeks is quickly becoming one of the top power hitting 2B in baseball.

1 – Yahoo! ranking the past month for Brewers’ second baseman Rickie Weeks. Well this is interesting. After an injury-wreaked 2009 season, he’s come back equipped with a howitzer for a bat, blasting 22 bombs this season which already eclipses his career high of 16 back in 2007.

We might have been able to see this coming, but I’m not sure anyone believed the nine home runs over 37 games he hit last season, and as said above we didn’t get a chance to see if it was real or not. Because of that it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine at least ten more trips down that yellow slide for Bernie Brewer courtesy of Weeks.

.93 – WHIP for Wandy Rodriguez this month. There’s the Wandy we all know and love. After an excellent 2009 in which he posted a 3.02 ERA and 193 strike outs over 205.2 innings he’s fallen on his face so far in 2010. The 4.80 is his highest ERA since 2006 and breaks a three-year streak of consistent improvement.

But lately things have been looking up for the Astros’ number two in the rotation. He started the month by striking out ten Pirates over seven innings while only allowing one run. Nice, but easy opponent, let’s see him play somebody good.

So he went out against the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, who currently rank #1 in the NL in runs scored (aka, somebody good) and threw seven innings of one hit ball in which he allowed only three base runners.

That’s a big statement for the struggling lefty and his owners who have been forced to hold on to him due to lack of trade value. Your patience should pay dividends, as such a steep drop off cannot possibly continue for a talent pitcher like Wandy.

That’s all for this week. Next time we’ll sort through some (because “all” might mean days of writing) of the big moves that will happen at the trade deadline and what that means for them the rest of the season.

Lane Rizzardini has been playing fantasy sports for over 10 years. His earliest memory was drafting Fred Lane in 2003, only to find out Fred’s wife has shot him in the offseason. You can find more of Lane’s writing over at DigitalSportsDaily.com.

You can contact him at Lanerizz@digitalsportsdaily.com or through his Twitter page.

But now we get move to one of the most fun parts of the baseball season: the trade deadline. The waiver wire suddenly gets a big boost in activity as people jump on players who suddenly have value due to the transactions of playoff hopefuls and surrender monkeys.

Perez could be closing for the Indians for a while.

The position of most impact is relief pitching, as two or three closers always get traded to a contender looking for bullpen help, paving the way for a young up and comer to take over 9^th inning duties. This is a huge opportunity for you save chasers (myself included) to load your bullpens with saves.

We’ll start with four guys who could end up closers before the trade deadline ends then hit some other numbers.

1.50 – ERA for Indians’ set up man Chris Perez since June. We’re starting with him because you need to stop reading and go grab him now if he’s for some reason still available. I’ll explain when you get back.

Ready? Okay, current closer Kerry Wood (he of the 6.30 ERA) recently went to the DL with a blister on his right thumb, making Perez the closer. Wood has already been on the trading block for quite some time now, and while this injury doesn’t exactly make him more attractive to potential buyers he will be back from the DL before the deadline and will most likely be moved.

Thus, it can be speculated that Perez’s reign as closer will continue unabated the rest of the season. I dropped Chad Qualls for him without blinking, but that might not be saying much.

6 – Number of earned runs allowed for Evan Meek over 43 appearances this season. I know I drooled all over him last week, but since we’re talking about set up men with impending save opportunities, I’m reminding you again to grab him. He’s been fantastic all season and is probably the best guy in this foursome.

Unfortunately, he also plays for Pirates, so keep in mind save opportunities won’t come as frequently.

There could be some saves in Brandon League's future.

3.64 – ERA for Brandon League, the man next in line to receive saves in Sea-Town. The Mariners are sellers once again, and David Aardsma’s name has been thrown around in more than a few scenarios. There’s no one else in the Seattle pen worthy of taking over the closer’s role, and while the ERA may not look spectacular, but minus a few bad days (four worst outings: 2.2 innings, 13 runs allowed. Rest of season: 44.1 innings, six runs allowed) League really has been great this season. Pounce as soon as Aardsma gets moved.

21 – Strikeouts for Drew Storen over his first 25 appearances. This is the biggest long shot of the group as current closer Matt Capps is still under contract till 2011 and with Tyler Clippard struggling lately the Nats may not want to throw their rookie phenom into fire right away. But Washington is a seller and Storen’s peripherals along with his future role as dynasty closer means there is at least a slight chance we could see him take over his throne sooner rather than later.

Now some other stuff:

6 – wins for Jake Westbrook, the latest coming in a two earned run, five strikeout performance on the 16th. You may wonder why I’m talking about a pitcher with nothing really spectacular on his resume or having done anything of note recently, but like I said, the trade deadline changes everything.

Westbrook figures to be pitching for a contender before the deadline hits, meaning a glut of wins could be coming in his future which make him a unique buy-low candidate. Because he has such vanilla numbers he should come for next to nothing, which is exactly what you should be looking to give for him. He’s a perfect low-cost option to fill out a rotation as you prepare for your fantasy playoff push.

1.022 – WHIP for Vicente Padilla this season in his first full season with the Dodgers. Another pitcher benefitting from a move to the NL, he’s posting career bests in K-rate and walk rate and maintaining a tidy 3.64 ERA despite a higher than average HR/FB rate.

Remember, this is guy who posted a combined 3.45 ERA with the Phillies in 2002 and 2003, then faded as a member of Texas in the AL. He’s not exactly a sexy name (well, the right voice might be able to do a sexy “Vincente”) but with a 2.03 ERA since June 19^th, you could do a lot worse.

2 – Runs scored for Brian Roberts in his first rehab start for Double-A Bowie on Monday. He went 2-5 with a double and also chipped in an RBI. Could Double-Trouble (a nickname I just coined) finally be back to make an impact this season?

He’s definitely worth a pick up if his original owner in your league finally got fed up with all the setbacks and dropped him. He’s a double machine and has swiped at least 30 stolen bases the past four seasons. He has declined some with age, but at second base his speed and consistency are more than enough to warrant a starting spot in all leagues.

Ramirez loves hitting in the summer.

6 – Home runs for Aramis Ramirez so far this July. Here we go again. Mr. July just can’t get enough of the heat, as he’s batting .364 with 17 RBIs in only 14 games. That’s obscene for a guy only batting .180 up to that point. Way to keep the faith managers who kept the faith, you are more nobel than I (I dropped him).

*UPDATE 12:30 AM Wednesday* I just got back from the Cubs game, where I had the privilege and agony of watching Am Ram lead a monster Cubs comeback victory with three bombs and seven RBIs on the day Lou Piniella announced his retirement. It was magical, fairy tale even, and one of those waiver moves that will haunt me forever if I don’t win it all.

3.55 – Strike out to walk ratio for Jeremy Hellickson in 19 starts for Triple-A Durham. He has 110 strike outs over 109 innings to go along with a stellar 2.56 ERA. The numbers would indicate he’s ready for a shot at the majors, and it should happen soon, because Wade Davis is just not cutting it. He has needed a ton of pitches to get through routine outings without registering many strike outs (5.7 K/9 ratio).

But the final nail in the coffin is the 5.49 FIP, a full run higher than his currently unimpressive ERA. Bad outings are on the horizon for Davis, and that means a wide open door for Hellickson.

1,826 – Career wins for Cubs’ manager Lou Pinella, who announced he will be retiring at the end of the season. Sweet Lou will go down as one of best managers and characters in the game’s history. It’s unfortunate that he will finish on a bit of a disappointing note, but when your 3-4 hitters have a combined batting average of .234 and your best pitcher is Carlos Silva, there’s not too much you can do.

Here’s the obligatory Lou Pinella quotes page, along with my favorite:

“First of all, I don’t know how to Twitter. Second of all, I’m not going to learn how to Twitter. Look, I’ve heard of Facebook. Actually, it’s on my phone; I see it once in a while. But I’m really not a Facebook or Twitter guy, you know? I’m a prime rib and baked potato guy.”

We’ll miss ya Lou.

That’s all for this week. Keep your eye on the news wire this week and get ready to pounce on fresh fantasy value.

Lane Rizzardini has been playing fantasy sports for over 10 years. His earliest memory was drafting Fred Lane in 2003, only to find out Fred’s wife has shot him in the offseason. You can find more of Lane’s writing over at DigitalSportsDaily.com.

You can contact him at Lanerizz@digitalsportsdaily.com or through his Twitter page.

If Volquez is available in your league, grab him now!

Welcome to the All-Star Break everyone, the three day period in the season where you have to find something else to do with the time you normally spend going over stat lines and setting line ups. It’s okay, I know it’s frustrating. Pat yourself on the back for making it through. It’s game on Thursday.

Hopefully you used the time to examine your squad, figure out strengths and weaknesses, and possibly make some trades or adds to fix them (now is the time to pick up Edison Volquez and Michael Gonzalez if they’re still out there).

So with the All-Star Break at hand, we’ll review ten All-Stars worth talking about.

5 – Complete games for the Rangers’ newly acquired ace Cliff Lee in his last seven games. That ties his high from last year and he’s starting to look like a C.C.-type workhorse. Lee is moving from an extreme pitcher’s park in Safeco to an extreme hitter’s park in Arlington, but he’ll have a better bullpen and with a pitcher like Lee there is no reason to worry. His ERA might go up a tick but the Rangers are going to work him as much as possible while they have him, only a good thing for owners.

Go to your local Lee owner and talk up the park impact and that he gave up six runs in his first start against Baltimore (Baltimore’s first four-game road sweep in 15 years).

26/2/24/3/.332 – Current season stat line for Charlie Manuel’s utility choice Omar Infante, a pick that has everyone scratching their heads. Sure, he plays a lot of positions (2^nd, 3^rd, SS, OF eligible in Yahoo! leagues) which is what “utilityman” usually infers, but how can a guy who ranks 215^th in at bats possibly be considered an elite player? And while All-Stars don’t always have to be fantasy monsters, a player only owned in 9% of Yahoo! leagues clearly isn’t doing a whole lot to create runs, which is the point of the game. If you aren’t good at that, then you aren’t good at baseball.

Those of you clamoring for defensive considerations I don’t disagree; defense is important. And you and Franklin Gutierrez can go have your own All-Star game at Petco and watch guys shag fly balls. Infante has no business on that field when Kevin Youkilis can’t make his team.

61/10/39/4/.325 – Stat line for NL starting second baseman Martin Prado, another head-scratcher but one that I actually love and think deserves to be here. Prado was a deep sleeper in this year’s draft and those lucky enough to take him seriously and keep him on their roster have been rewarded with a very solid source of batting average and runs; the home runs are nothing to scoff at either. Throw in three position-eligibility and you have yourself a very valuable player.

He’s also replacing the injured Chase Utley, so it’s not as if he was voted into it, though I’m not sure why he’s starting over Brandon Phillips. It’ll be interesting to see where he falls in drafts next season.

Don't stop believing in Jimenez.

6.31 – ERA for Ubaldo Jimenez over his past four starts, alarming after a 1.15 start. You’re pretty happy right now if you made the bold move and traded him for a big haul, but there is no way these are signs of a poor second half in the offing. Sure, his ERA probably won’t finish the season under two, but I guarantee it’s under 2.4.

His last start should give you confidence in his future success. After outings of six and seven earned runs he bounced back against St. Louis, throwing eight innings of one run ball. You have no choice but to stay the course now, but it’s the best choice to make too.

23 – Saves for Rangers’ closer Neftali Feliz, good for 5^th in the majors. He’s been huge this year, and the Cliff Lee trade all but assures he will remain in the closer role instead of being moved to the starting rotation, a possibility that was discussed at length at the beginning of the season. His last two bad outings have been against the Orioles and White Sox, who both suddenly got hot at the tail end of the first half. Other than that, he’s been flawless. The first of many All-Star games to come for the young flamethrower.

.298 – Batting average for AL final vote winner Nick Swisher, the only stat he has over All-Star snub Kevin Youkilis. I talked about it in this week’s Week in Review, so I’ll go through this quickly: The Youk has more runs, RBIs, home runs, and steals and has a higher OBP, slugging percentage, and OPS. ‘Nuff said.

.944 – OPS for Robinson Cano, who is making a strong case to be the number one 2^nd baseman next year. He’s currently on pace for 122/32/116/.336/.389/.556, all career highs. And there’s no reason he won’t keep it up either. His batting average is 33 points higher after the break, and he has more home runs despite almost 600 fewer plate appearances. He’s just about untradeable right now, he does so much at such a weak position. He’ll be a first round pick next year.

1.011 – OPS for Joey Votto, who has been an absolute monster this season. He was a bit of a head case last season but he has come back with a bang. He’s set to obliterate career highs in runs, home runs (25 in 2009, currently has 22), and RBIs. 100+/35/100+ seems Votto-Matic at this point. And to think he almost got left off the All-Star roster.

Meek could have plenty of value very soon.

1.11 – ERA for Evan Meek, the Pirates’ reliever who should be on your radar as a future closer as the trade deadline arrives at the end of July. Rumors are flying around about Octavio Dotel being moved, and while Pittsburgh isn’t exactly a boon for save chances, Meek has proven himself plenty capable of handling the job. I’m a little concerned about the 3.28 xFIP which indicates a blow up is coming in the near future, but his performance to date and the 8.32 K/9 ratio make him well worth the pick up.

9 – Home runs for Marlon Byrd, the lone Cubs’ representative. To have guessed the Cubs would be so bad that Marlon Byrd would be their only All-Star would have been… well understandable considering their track record of disappointment, but still, Marlon Byrd? Really?

The Cubs’ All-Star should have been Carlos Marmol, who has posting just stupid strike out numbers. His K/9 ratio is a whooping 16.85, which would be a record. If he was a starter and pitched 200 innings, he would have 374 strike outs to end the season. Yet Byrd’s “eh” line of 47/9/40/.312 gets in. Oh well, that’s the way the cookie crumbles I guess.

That’s all for this week. Congrats to NL on finally winning the freakin’ game. Also congrats to David Ortiz, but not his owners.

Lane Rizzardini has been playing fantasy sports for over 10 years. His earliest memory was drafting Fred Lane in 2003, only to find out Fred’s wife has shot him in the offseason. You can find more of Lane’s writing over at DigitalSportsDaily.com.

You can contact him at Lanerizz@digitalsportsdaily.com or through his Twitter page.

But it’s the managers mired in mediocrity that I’m here to help. While I normally don’t advocate trading established talent for a group of unproven guys having good seasons, but if you’re weak in multiple positions it might be time to entertain trade ideas like that. It’s a desperate move and you have to be careful, but if you’re continuing to fall in your league rankings it can’t hurt to make a bold move or two. If it works, you’re back in the running, if not, you’re pretty much where you were before.

And of course you should become more active on the waiver wire and start taking flyers on possible diamonds in the rough to replace struggling stars like Aaron Hill, Adam Lind, and Aramis Ramirez. I’ve listed a few below, all owned in less than 50% of Yahoo! leagues. Good luck.

It looks like LaPorta will finally realize his potential this time around.

3 – Home runs for Matt LaPorta since his call up June 27^th. The former major prospect has been disappointing up until this point. He clearly has the power, but has never been able to carry the .296 career average in the minors over to the big leagues resulting in a more than a few send backs over the years.

Maybe he finally got fed up with traveling to exotic places like Peoria on Greyhounds, because this time the .364 bashing of minor league pitching has translated to a .333 over the nine games he’s been back, along with a ridiculous 1.178 OPS. He’s the full-time starter at first base for the Indians now that Russell Branyan got shipped back to Seattle. He’s currently day-to-day with a head contusion after colliding with Elvis Andrus last night, but NL-only and deep leaguers should snag him and hope this time he’s here to stay.

12 – Consecutive game hit streak for new Rockies’ shortstop Clint Barmes, whose doing all he can to take the sting out of losing Troy Tulowitzki. Hopefully Tulo owners picked up the hot Barmes, whose batted .403 and knocked three homers during the streak. His BaBIP has been a bit high as of late (.367) but that tends to be how hit streaks happen and it looks like it’s simply correcting an unfair .244 up until now.

His much improved 2.33 SO/BB ratio gives me optimism for a continued run of success for Barmes, though let’s temper our expectations to around a.280 average the rest of the way; career .248 hitters usually don’t suddenly start hitting .300 the second half of the season.

.302 – June batting average for Sean Rodriguez to go along with four dingers and six stolen bases. Another second base replacement option, he’s the Rays’ every day starter at the pivot position, and like the Yankees and Rangers, you want a piece of this line up. I’m a little nervous about the .366 BaBIP, but considering his gaudy minor league numbers in 2009 (87/30/98/9/.294 in 108 games), he could be a big piece of any manager’s rebuilding hopes.

Now for some other numbers from around the league:

Votto didn't feel the love from the All-Star selections but he might feel it from fantasy baseball owners in the first round of 2011 drafts.

1.574 – Jaw-dropping OPS for Joey Votto over his past nine games. Clearly he’s not taking this snub thing too well. After Monday’s two bomb performance in which he unloaded some frustration on the Big Apple (like, literally), he’s at 21 home runs for the season, tying him for first in the majors with Jose Bautista (who picked that in the pool?).

There’s no reason the former Rookie of the Year runner up can’t keep this going. Consider him a lock for 100+/35/100+/.300 and enjoy.

10 – Rank on the All-Time Home Run list for Jim Thome, who passed Harmon Killebrew after a big four home run week (which was good for 3^rd overall in Yahoo! leagues). Everyone roots for Thome no matter what team he is on, and it’s always nice to see one of the good guys do well even though his fantasy value is long gone.

But boy was it special when he had it. Between 2001-2004 he hit 190 home runs and registered an OPS of 1.025. That’s unbelievable, and anyone who thinks this guy isn’t a Hall of Famer probably rates Nick Swisher’s wife around a five.

28:2 – K/BB ratio for Ricky Nolasco over his last three starts. Welcome back Ricky, you scared us for a while there. Remember, this is the guy who went 7-2 the second half of last season and struck out 105 batters over 94.1 innings after a rough start that included a stint in the minors. His starts have gotten progressively better and his buy-low window is quickly closing, if it hasn’t already.

7 – RBI’s for Torii Hunter on our nation’s birthday. The perennial Gold Glover is poised to beat career highs in runs and RBIs while maintaining an average close to last year’s career high of .299. It’s pretty astounding to think he could actually be getting better at age 34 but his numbers seem to indicate this is exactly the case. His K/BB ratio is way down, while his Extra Base Hit Percentage is way up. Basically, this is not a guy you should be trying to sell high.

No one loves the second half more than Teixeira.

.243 – Batting average for Mark Teixeira so far this season. Owners have to be freaking out that he hasn’t turned it around faster, but never fear, his midseason turn around seems to have arrived. He’s batting .306 since June 6^th with six home runs and a BB/K ratio above one. He’s also benefiting from a much fairer .300 BaBIP than the .235 he was cursed with the first half of the season. And despite the weak start he’s still on pace for 112/28/108, and I’d expect that home run number to rise to around 35 by the end of the year.

2.74 – ERA for Clayton Richard this season. We’ll finish with a couple Padres’ here, as Petco Park has proven once again to be one of the best pitchers parks in the majors. But it isn’t all the park, as Richard has improved all his important numbers while being free of BaBIP assistance. The only troublesome number is his high 80% Left On Base Percentage, which is probably why his FIP is at 3.43. But his strikeout numbers are sound, and other peripherals are so much better that he should be considered a solid SP4 in most formats.

8.22 – K/9 ratio for Matt Latos, the break out youngster whose become the cream of this young crop of San Diego pitchers. His .243 BaBIP is a bit worrisome, but he throws a ton of strikes and is getting batters to swing at 31% of pitches outside the strike zone (a 6% improvement) while maintaining a Contact Rate similar to last season’s 77.8%.

An improved slider seems to be the cause of his success. He’s throwing it harder (83.8), making it move more (2.4 Horizontal Movement) and using it 20% more often.

I’d say he’s the real deal, and if you missed out on him this year, be sure to keep him on your radar for 2011.

We’ll have a special All-Star edition next week. For now, make sure you go over your league’s rules for the Break (many leagues have no innings limits, for example). A four-game week can get very bizarre.

Lane Rizzardini has been playing fantasy sports for over 10 years. His earliest memory was drafting Fred Lane in 2003, only to find out Fred’s wife has shot him in the offseason. You can find more of Lane’s writing over at DigitalSportsDaily.com.

You can contact him at Lanerizz@digitalsportsdaily.com or through his Twitter page.