MLB Fantasy Week in Review, Aug. 17-23

Lots of big news in the world of fantasy baseball last week. A couple of potential Keeper League players were called up, there is a new closer in Chicago (about time), and everyone’s preseason man crush will be returning in Texas.

Here are the fantasy studs, the players who have had their fantasy value fall, and the potential pickups for the fantasy week that was Aug. 17–23.

 

Fantasy Studs

Brian Roberts

.379/4/8/.471 with three SB’s. Roberts had a monster week last week. Roberts remains one of the top fantasy second basemen in the game today.

 

David Ortiz

.400/3/10/.500. Ortiz was hitting the ball so hard last week that he had AJ Burnett talking to himself on the mound.

 

Hideki Matsui

.261/4/10. Matsui won’t give you average at this point in his career, but he will still hit the long ball and can drive in runs.

 

Jayson Werth

.440/5/9. Werth is starting to heat up again. When Werth is hot, he brings the Philadelphia Phillies’ lineup to a whole other level.

 

Adam LaRoche

.419/4/9. One of the most notorious second-half hitters in the game today, LaRoche’s 2009 is no different.

I still haven’t figured out the Adam LaRoche for Casey Kotchman trade by the Boston Red Sox.

 

Chris Carpenter

2-0 with a 1.20 ERA and 14 K’s in 15 IP. Carpenter is making a serious run at the Cy Young award and I think if the season ended today, he just might win it.

 

Ubaldo Jimenez

2-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 14 K’s in 16 IP. Jimenez out-dueled Tim Lincecum yesterday and is clearly the Colorado Rockies’ ace heading down the stretch.

 

Jose Valverde

Four saves with a 0.00 ERA and six K’s in four IP. Valverde is making up for the time he missed in the first half because of a calf injury.

 

Reasons for Concern

Francisco Liriano

Placed on the 15-day DL because of “left arm fatigue.” I put left arm fatigue in quotes because I just think the Minnesota Twins needed an excuse not to start him.

Liriano is 5-12 with a 5.80 ERA this season and has been one of the main reasons why the Twins are not where they are supposed to be in the AL Central.

Liriano hasn’t been the same since he had Tommy John surgery and has limited fantasy value until he can prove he can pitch effectively on a game-to-game basis.

 

Johnny Cueto

Placed on the 15-day DL with right shoulder inflammation. Cueto was terrible in his last eight starts before winding up on the DL.

Cueto was 0-6 with a Tim Stoddard-like ERA of 10.63. This is the second year in a row that Cueto has broken down in the second half.  This is something to consider when drafted Cueto next year.

 

Kevin Gregg

Who in the Chicago Cubs’ front office thought it was a good idea to make Kevin Gregg their closer? 

After melting down in San Diego last week (Florida Marlin fans are all too familiar with this), the Cubs have removed Gregg from his closer duties.

Gregg has zero fantasy value going forward.

 

Potential Pickups

Matt LaPorta

LaPorta was called up for a second time by the Cleveland Indians last week, and unlike the first time LaPorta got the call, he is actually playing.

LaPorta hit .333 in four games for the Indians last week. LaPorta has a ton of Keeper League potential, so picking him up now might pay off in the future.

 

Drew Stubbs

If you are looking for stolen bases, Stubbs might be your guy. Another player with Keeper League potential, Stubbs had 46 SB’s in Triple-A before being called up to the Cincinnati Reds.

He projects to be the Reds’ starting centerfielder for the future.

 

Carlos Marmol

Thanks to Kevin Gregg’s August meltdown, Marmol takes over as the closer for the Cubs.

Marmol is a little too shaky for my liking, but he should be able to pick up a couple of saves down the stretch.

 

Chris Davis

After hitting .335 with six HR’s for the Oklahoma City Redhawks, Davis is expected to be called back up to the Texas Rangers this week.

The Rangers have tweaked Davis’ batting stance and now think his early season struggles are behind him. Davis is not guaranteed to start, but could potentially take AB’s away from Hank Blalock.