MLB Fantasy Baseball: Monday News and Notes

A weekend's worth of activity always brings with it a full set of notes to go over. We're all heading down the stretch of our respective seasons, with no more than two weeks left for most leagues. The key now is to micromanage and maximize your innings potential in pitching and at-bats. Go over it all with a fine-tooth comb, especially for borderline teams.

Let's get to the notes.

• John Maine could be done for the season. Maine has had recurring shoulder problems all season long, and the latest bout could send him to the showers early. He's battling a bone spur in his right shoulder, and that is reportedly the main piece to the problem with regards to his poor performance against Houston on Saturday. Certainly keep him reserved this week, as the risk is not worth the reward.
• Francisco Rodriguez recorded his 50th save of the season, leaving him just seven shy of the record set by Bobby Thigpen. Rodriguez has been dominant, but he hasn't been as good as other closers around baseball. From a fantasy perspective, his stats are helping you really only in one category. Even when he strikes out the side, the best you see is three from him. His WHIP hasn't been outstanding, and his ERA isn't dominant for a closer. This season, he's a one-category wonder.
• Julio Lugo is slated to be back in Boston for another MRI on his injured quad. Why is this news? The longer Lugo is hurt, the more we get to see of Jed Lowrie. Lowrie homered for the second time this season, so he isn't going to necessarily give you power numbers. He is giving you more RBI in many fewer games and an average better than .300 to go with it. If you're still in need of points there, Lowrie can be had in nearly all formats.
• Jimmy Rollins is hitting .234 since June 1. Rollins, at that point, was over .300 and is now trolling around .250. He's being booed in his own ballpark and is hardly showing any of the promise that was seen when it came to being able to carry a team as a first-round pick. It's rare to find a team with a full-fledged replacement for Rollins, but with this being the last week of the season, you need to be able to justify playing him. That's hard right now with the way he's going.
• You might say that Vernon Wells is back on track. Wells feasted on Red Sox pitching all weekend long. Wells homered three times and had six hits in the final two games after going hitless on Friday night. He's hitting .333 in his last seven and has certainly come on after the multiple trips to the DL. Wells should be as much an impact player next season as he has been to end this one.
• Checking in from the Fantasy Irrelevance Dept. is Rocco Baldelli. Baldelli homered yesterday, doubling his season total. The Rays outfielder/DH has played in eight games now, chalking a mark up over .300. In the White Sox series, he hit .400 and nailed both of his home runs. He won't make a gigantic impact, but this is all about riding a hot hand, especially the last week. Baldelli seems to have that right now.
• Hiroki Kuroda is being given the raw end of the stick by fantasy owners for the most part. Kuroda is the second-most effective pitcher on the Dodgers' staff, yet Derek Lowe is more owned. Kuroda's problems come when his off-speed stuff isn't working. Last night, no such problem. His slider was all over the place, and he shut down the Phillies' offense. In his last five outings, he's given up just one earned run in four of them.
• I'm shocked you can find about five percent of leagues that have Ricky Nolasco available. Nolasco has been nothing short of a stud in the second half, both on the road and at home. He hasn't allowed more than three runs in over a month. Nolasco has been just as good on the home as he has on the road, so if you're in the lucky five percent, grab him now.
• Looking at this week, if you need pitchers for wins, you should look to teams playing Atlanta, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Washington, and Oakland. Weak pitching staffs are found in the bottom of the Western divisions. Avoid anyone playing in San Diego this week, as hitters go there to die. And, of course, keep checking in with us and we'll keep you posted.

Notes for Monday's games:

• Armando Galarraga is 3-0 against Cleveland this season with an ERA at 3.57. The Tribe is only hitting .159 against him as a team. Given the fact that he's 4-2 at home, keep Galarraga active and he makes a solid spot-start option for teams looking to start the week off right.
• Francisco Liriano gets to face a weak-hitting Mariners offense tonight. Liriano has been nothing less than impressive since his return from the DL. He's 4-0 in August with a 1.14 ERA. He's faced Seattle twice this season and has allowed just two earned runs in seven innings.
• Odd that, at this point in the season, Jered Weaver hasn't faced the A's, and that even being in the division, the A's don't have many at-bats against Weaver. Looking at August is a split story. His first two outings were against the Yankees and both were bad. He's been on the road for three of the four starts. The A's offense doesn't deserve a start against Weaver, but he's a borderline play. At just 5-4 at home with a 4.03 ERA, the numbers aren't in his favor. WHIP is where he will help, checking in at 1.16 at home.
• Conor Jackson is a .310 hitter against Jake Peavy, but the rest of the Diamondbacks haven't been good. Adam Dunn is just 5-23, Chris Young only 4-19, and Stephen Drew just 5-20. Peavy has a 1.42 ERA at home and a .193 BAA. Keep your Diamondbacks on the bench.
• Khalil Greene is now 0-14 against Dan Haren, but Kevin Kouzmanoff, Jody Gerut, and Adrian Gonzalez all make solid plays against him. Haren is 3-1 against San Diego, with the loss coming in his last outing. He's struggled in August, having only allowed less then four earned runs in one of his four outings.
• Garrett Atkins is hitting just .125 in his last six games but has been very solid against Matt Cain. Matt Holliday is just 6-26, Troy Tulowitzki just 4-20, and Brad Hawpe is a horrific 1-15. Cain has been tough at home and very good through August.
• Jeff Francis has been hit very hard all month and is not good on the road. Even against San Francisco, Francis isn't worth the gamble associated. While there are very few Giants with fantasy relevance, Francis isn't worth the start here.
• Brett Myers is worth the gamble at home. He was pitching well there, even without the demotion. Given his recent trend and his solid performance last time out against the Dodgers, he's worth keeping active and grabbing for a quick start. Make the move.
• Spot start calls? Go with Myers, Jeff Karstens, and Armando Galarraga.

Notes for Tuesday:

• Gavin Floyd hasn't had the same amount of success on the road as he has at home. Batters are hitting 70 points higher against him on the road, and Baltimore's offense, while not getting wins, did generate offense while in New York.
• Andy Pettitte has struggled against Boston, no matter where the game is played. Right-handed hitters are batting .316 against Pettitte for the season, but he has held down lefties to an average below .200. Those numbers don't apply to David Ortiz, though. Ortiz is hitting .357 against the lefty for his career. The lowest average among Sox regulars? Dustin Pedroia at .261.
• Only Derek Jeter is hitting above .300 against Tim Wakefield, but Johnny Damon and Ivan Rodriguez are close, at .298. We always caution about using a guy right off the DL, this is even more true when the injury involves a shoulder.
• Scott Baker will get the ball against the Mariners. This is one of the best starts of the day, as Baker is pitching very well and the Mariners are very bad. Baker is available in about 60 percent of leagues still. Seriously, grab him and start him. Best advice you can get today.
• Carlos Beltran is just 10-49 against Jamie Moyer, but Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, and David Wright all make solid options against the Phillies' starter. Delgado has eight home runs in 77 at-bats against Moyer. Moyer's been very good in August but has only faced one decent offense. His struggles at home (4-4, 4.32 ERA) outweigh the recent run of good luck.
• Derek Lowe's road numbers are awful. Batters are hitting .330 and his ERA is a stellar 5.88. While Washington doesn't hit the ball well, this is only for gamblers. Lowe could put together a solid outing, but has allowed four or more runs in each of his last three road outings. Unless you only need the win, don't start Lowe.
• Jair Jurrjens has had good success at home, but has pitched poorly against Florida in all of his outings this season. In August, he's just 1-3 with an ERA of 4.50. We like Jurrjens a lot, but there, again, are better options this late in the game.
• While Albert Pujols has hit .382 for his career against Ben Sheets, he's the only Cardinals regular worth starting. Keep everyone else reserved.
• Early spot start calls: Baker, Pedro Martinez, Kevin Millwood, and Wandy Rodriguez.

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