In case you haven’t noticed, the Dodgers are white hot. They are 23-3 since the All-Star break and currently boast a 7.5 game lead over second place Arizona in the NL West. They are looking like a lock to make the playoffs and are gaining ground quickly on Atlanta for home field advantage in the NL. With 3.5 games left to make up, this team still has plenty to play for.
When it comes to the home stretch in Fantasy baseball, jumping on a hot team is highly advisable. The number one reason is if you have a few of their pitchers or their closer you can really rack up wins and saves in bunches.
Obviously Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Kenley Jansen are going to be owned in just about every league out there. Unless your leagues trade deadline hasn’t passed these guys won’t be visiting your roster. Your nuggets of goodness are going to come off your waiver wire.
Ricky Nolasco came over via trade from Miami on July 6 and has made seven starts since his arrival. He has won four of those starts. He had five wins over his first 18 starts with the Marlins. While he isn’t going to post elite peripherals, he won’t kill you. With roughly eight starts remaining he realistically can provide another four wins.
A.J. Burnett and Cole Hamels each have five on the season! If you own them both I guarantee you are near the bottom of your league in wins. Nolasco is available in 20 percent of leagues on CBSSports.com and can definitely help your squad.
Observation
Shoulder inflammation landed Dan Haren on the 15-day disabled list back on June 25. He required a minimum stay. Prior to his stint, his ERA stood at a whopping 6.15 and he was on plenty of waiver wires. Since his return though he has been a totally different pitcher, posting a 2.30 ERA over his last seven starts. Whether his shoulder was bothering him or he just needed a few weeks to clear his head is up for debate. What we do know though is the time off definitely did some good. A look at his numbers only reveal one thing that troubles me, and that is he is inducing ground balls at a career low 33.9 percent. That’s third worst in the league this year and 8.9 percent lower than his career mark. His recent hot streak has brought on a 36 percent ground ball rate. Better, but still a number that needs to keep climbing if he wants to salvage the rest of this season.
Speculation
In his second start of the season the A’s Sonny Gray was electric. He struck out nine while allowing four hits and a walk over eight shutout innings. Sure it was against the lowly Astros, but it was impressive nonetheless. For the season he has allowed just two runs over his first 18 innings pitched while striking out 20. The strong start to his career has owners rushing out to waiver wires to get their hands on him. While I suggest doing so as well, I will throw out that I think you should temper your expectations with the 23 year old. While he was a first round pick back in 2011, he wasn’t exactly dominant in the minors. He posted a 3.66 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 7.3 K/9 over 292.1 innings pitched. His mid-90’s heat and plus curve are plenty of reason for optimism. I just think he needs time to fine tune his command. He deserves a look next time out against Seattle, but I wouldn’t suggest throwing him out there against the leagues better offenses.
A line drive to the head isn’t enough to stop Alex Cobb. Photo Credit: Joseph Maddon
Revelation
The Rays activated Alex Cobb off the 60-day disabled list on Thursday. A line drive to side of his head landed him there. I think it is safe to say many guys would be a little shaky their first time back out on the mound. Cobb apparently wasn’t one of them. He gave up one run on three hits while striking out six over five strong innings. He got his pitch count up to 88, so the team decided not to tax him his first time out. His long stay on the DL forced some owners to have to cut him lose. If he is available in one of your leagues he needs to be scooped up immediately. Prior to getting popped in the head he was 6-2 with a 3.01 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 76 strikeouts over his 83.2 innings pitched and was arguably the team’s best hurler over his first 13 starts.
Observation
Prior to the All-Star Break, Devin Mesoraco received just 171 at-bats. Reds manager Dusty Baker is notorious when it comes to playing veterans, so Mesoraco sat idly by splitting time with Ryan Hanigan. Just about a month ago Hanigan injured his wrist and needed a DL stint. Mesoraco caught fire, hitting .301 with four homers and 13 RBIs over his last 71 at-bats. Hanigan returned from the DL on August 9, and the two have once again begun splitting playing time. Both hit left handers better than righties. Mesoraco has better numbers against both this season. Baker just doesn’t seem to care. If you picked up Mesoraco, watch him very closely over the next week. If this split continues he unfortunately won’t be of much use in mixed leagues down the stretch.
Speculation
The Royals acquired Emilio Bonifacio from the Blue Jays on Wednesday. Heading into the season he was a favorite of mine as a cheap source of stolen bases to round out my squads. Obviously his sporadic playing time combined with poor play meant that move didn’t exactly pan out for me. His move to Kansas City can potentially change his fortunes. Second base has been a variable black hole with Chris Getz leading the charge toward mediocrity. Mike Moustakas and Alcides Escobar have both been disappointments as well. The injury to Lorenzo Cain opens up playing time in the outfield as well. Bonifacio’s abilty to play all over the field means he should see regular work. Kansas City ranks second in the league in stolen bases with 96, so that means he will have the green light on the base paths as well. Bet you can guess who I am picking back up for some cheap speed down the stretch.
Revelation
Since the All-Star break Brandon Belt has hit .324 with four homers and 10 RBIs over 71 at-bats. His recent hot streak has run his season line up to .273-55-15-49-5 over 359 at-bats. He is now on pace for his first 20 homer season and has recently been seeing time in the three hole. San Francisco hasn’t exactly been an offensive juggernaut this year, but the move will definitely put him in line for more run production. It will also afford him much more lineup protection with Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence hitting behind him. With The Giants having nothing left to play for, Belt should be given ample opportunity to prove himself in the heart of the order. He is now a mixed-league worthy option again.
*All statistics include the games of Thursday, August 14
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