Fantasy Baseball - The Weekly Rundown

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Another exciting week is behind us, as we inch closer to the fantasy baseball playoffs. Michael Phelps is officially the greatest Olympian ever, after winning his record breaking 8th gold medal. Don’t worry though…nobody will care about swimming in a week or two. Olympics Shmalympics, the NFL is finally here! Favre is still the man, Ocho Cinco sprained his left shoulder, Tarvaris Jackson sprained is MCL, and the Patriots are ranked #1 so far. Speaking of #1, Nadal took the top spot from Federer in the ATP Tour Rankings.

Before we know it, the fantasy playoffs will be right around the corner. Check back next week for standout individual performances, predictions, and status changes.

Italicized stats indicate weekly leader.

Notable Hitting Weeks

Melvin Mora - .562 AVG, 1.587 OPS, 9 R, 3 HR, 13 RBI- 12 multi hit games in the last 14. Mora is confident behind the plate, and although he won’t keep this up, you might want to pick him up and ride the wave if he is a free agent in your league.

Ty Wiggington - .571 AVG, 1.729 OPS, 9 R, 4 HR, 11 RBI - Wiggy snuckup on us all. He is hitting .308 on the year with15 homers in 83 games this season. If you have a hole in your lineup, Wiggington might be a decent pickup since he has eligibility at 1B, 2B, 3B, and OF. A 14 game hitting streak isn’t too shabby either.

Big Time Pitching

Javier Vazquez - 16 IP, 2 W, 18 K, 0.56 ERA, 0.63 WHIP - One helluva week from a guy who was 8-10 before these two starts. Don’t run to the waiver wire to pick him up though unless you have a very week staff.

Johan Santana - 16 IP, 2 W, 13 K, 1.69 ERA, 0.81 WHIP - Santana has been throwing a ridiculous number of strikes (85 strikes out of 113 pitches in his last start), and the bullpen seems to have settled down. Well, aren’t you happy you drafted him now?

Chris Perez- 3.1 IP, 3 Saves, 6 K, 0.00 ERA, 1.2 WHIP - Adam Wainwright will remain a starter now that Chris Carpenter is injured, but Perez still isn’t a great option at RP’er. He isn’t being used in the traditional fashion, and may lose some save opportunities. Still, he is a decent pick up in most leagues.

Shockingly Bad Weeks

Dan Uggla - .174 AVG, .538 OPS, 2 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI - I told you not to expect Uggla to carry your team anymore.

Torii Hunter- .056 AVG, .338 OPS, 1 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 SB - Torii was on fire up until this week. The Angels didn’t have an overpowering offense this week, and I’m assuming Torii just had a couple poor games.

Adrian Gonzalez- .190 AVG, .51 OPS, 0 Everything - Gonzalez is hitting .190 since July 1, but has hit 3 homers in August so far. Hopefully he can pull it together, but it is probably difficult to find motivation in San Diego.

Aaron Harang- 3.1 IP, 4 K, 21.6 ERA, 3 WHIP - Harang is having a terrrrible year, which is shocking considering he has posted 2 straight 16 win seasons prior to 2008. His numbers have even been worse since being activated from the DL with a strained forearm. I think its safe to drop him at this point. If you disagree than how can you justify a 3-13 record?

Week 21 Predictions

• Chipper Jones will hit .400 this week
• Hideki Matsui will start, and put up very solid numbers
• Feliciano, Heilman, and Kunz will get a save for the Mets
• Darrell Rasner will have a great start on Tuesday against Toronto
• Robinson Cano will continue hitting well with his boyfriend Melky Cabrera in the minors