Fantasy Baseball Week 12 Winners, Losers, and Waiver-Wire Wonders

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

By Derek of The Sportmeisters

Another week of baseball in the books means another winners, losers, and waiver wire wonders blog from the fantasy guru. Keep in mind, the stats I show are the players stats for the week, not on the season. Let’s go!

Winners

SP – Chad Gaudin – San Diego Padres – 15 IP, 2 W, 20 K, 3 BB, 5 HA, 2 ER

Gaudin was nearly un-hittable this week. He started two games and only allowed five hits in 15 innings. He also struck out 20 to just three walks in that time. He is 3-3 in his last seven games and has looked great in some of those, but also looked terrible in others. He has only walked five in the last three games and is starting to look like a possible waiver wire wonder, but not yet.

SP – Aaron Cook – Colorado Rockies – 15 IP, 2 W, 8 K, 3 BB, 12 HA, 2 ER

Cook has found his stride and his 5-1 June record shows that. He has pitched six or more innings in every June start and has only walked seven in those six games (42 total innings). He is now 8-3 on the year and is looking like and every week must start.

SP – Tommy Hanson – Atlanta Braves – 11.3 IP, 2 W, 6 K, 7 BB, 6 HA, 0 ER

This kid is Gold! He beat both the Red Sox and Yankees this week and hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last 17.3 innings. He is now 4-0 in five starts and has a 2.48 ERA. This kid looks to be for real and should be started while he’s hot in all formats.

SP – Zack Greinke – Kansas City Royals – 14.3 IP, 2 W, 8 K, 0 BB, 15 HA, 3 ER

Greinke continued his fantastic start this week, winning both starts. He showed excellent control, not walking a batter in either game, while striking out eight. He is now 10-3 on the year with a miniscule 1.95 ERA. He has 114 strikeouts to just 18 walks and looks to be right back on track after two losses in his previous four starts. He remains a must start fantasy ace.

RP – Joe Nathan – Minnesota Twins – 3.3 IP, 3 SV, 7 K, 0 BB, 1 HA, 0 ER

This must start fantasy closer hasn’t allowed an earned run since May 15 and has 10 saves this month, three this week. He should be in your lineup at all times.

RP – Mariano Rivera – New York Yankees – 3 IP, 3 SV, 6 K, 0 BB, 1 HA, 0 ER

Congrats to Mo, as he saved his 500th game on Sunday. He has been his usual lights out self this year, saving 18 games and has only allowed four earned runs this month. He is also a must start fantasy closer.

RP – Huston Street – Colorado Rockies – 3 IP, 3 SV, 4 K, 1 BB, 2 HA, 0 ER

This guy is on fire. Street has 11 saves this month and has lowered his ERA from 3.22 to 2.91 in that span. The Rockies have been hot lately and Street has reaped the rewards. Continue to start him while the team is hot.

SS – Hanley Ramirez – Florida Marlins – .385 BA, 10 H, 5 R, 3 Doubles, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 SB. 1 CS

This is the number one fantasy pick we all wanted to see. Hanley hit three home runs this week and two of them were Grand Slams. Right there is eight of his 15 RBI for the week. He now has 12 home runs, 51 RBI, and 11 stolen bases on the year to go along with his .333 batting average. Obviously, he is a must start fantasy player at all times.

OF – Jermaine Dye – Chicago White Sox – .500 BA, 12 H, 4 R, 4 Doubles, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K

Dye was red hot this week. He had six straight two hit games and hit .500 this week. He raised his season average to .287 and has 18 home runs and 45 RBI. He should be started in all formats, especially while he’s hot.

OF – Ichiro Suzuki – Seattle Mariners – .500 BA, 14 H, 8 R, 2 Doubles, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 SB, 1 CS

All this guy does is hit. Ichiro is now hitting .372 on the year and has an 11 game hitting streak going right now. He will start to steal more bases soon and should be started at all times.

3B – Alex Rodriguez – New York Yankees – .368 BA, 7 H, 5 R, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 9 BB, 2 K

A-Rod is back with a vengeance. He started slow, but caught fire this week, with seven hits in 19 at-bats with nine walks and nine RBI. He has a five game hit streak going and has raised his average to .232 in that span. A-Rod is obviously a must start and looks to be turning it around.

2B – Aaron Hill – Toronto Blue Jays – .346 BA, 9 H, 7 R, 3 Doubles, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 SB

Looks like this guy’s hot start was no fluke. Hill has kept on hitting, with a .305 average to go with his 19 home runs and 56 RBI. He came out of nowhere this year and looks to be becoming a top tier fantasy second baseman. Start him with full confidence while he’s hot.

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