Fantasy Baseball

The fantasy season is more than half over, and by now you are probably either panicking in the streets, or petitioning for the rights to the nickname, "Talented Mr. Roto ."

For the ones sitting pretty, good job. Keep up the good work, but don’t get comfortable. Make sure to realistically assess your players’ performances up to this point and don’t sleep on the waiver wire. You can always make you team better. Always.

But it’s the managers mired in mediocrity that I’m here to help.

Yovani Gallardo of the Milwaukee Brewers has been officially placed on the disabled list retroactive to July 5 with a strained left oblique he suffered in the bottom of the third inning on Sunday. Fantasy baseball owners will greatly miss the 8-4 Gallardo with his 2.58 ERA and 9.83 strikeouts per nine innings.

Jordan Schelling of Brewers.com noted that despite being recently named to the National League All-Star team, Gallardo will not take part due to the injury.

There have been a lot of trade rumors surrounding the Royals’ David DeJesus, but should fantasy owners care?  Will his value change dramatically if he were to be playing for a contender?

First of all, let’s look at the numbers he’s posted thus far in 2010 (through Sunday):

306 At Bats
.327 Batting Average (100 Hits)
5 Home Runs
35 RBI
40 Runs
3 Stolen Bases
.393 On Base Percentage
.467 Slugging Percentage
.363 Batting Average on Balls in Play

A few players could provide your club with a nice boost if you are willing to scan the waiver wire. Coco Crisp and his fresh legs could provide steals. Tom Gorzelanny’s newfound rotation opportunity could provide strikeouts. And Aubrey Huff is a surprising source for most offensive stats, along with a little position flexibility.

The struggles of Ubaldo Jimenez continue, but will he be able to rebound?  Could Wade Davis’s time in the major leagues be in jeopardy?  Is Matt LaPorta now a usable option in all formats since returning from the minor leagues?  Let’s look at these questions and all the rest from yesterday’s games:

Saves....some people care about them, some people could care less.  For those that do care, it's time to take a close look at each team's closer role.  It's July and the sample sizes are large enough to see some trends.  So here we go...

What to watch for

Through 82 team games (324 at-bats) this season, Reds’ second baseman Brandon Phillips is tied with Boston’s Kevin Youkilis for the major league lead in runs, with 62.

Phillips also has 10 homers and 10 steals at the mid-way point, putting him on pace for his fourth consecutive 20/20 season.

Mat Latos continues to roll on the mound.  Max Scherzer continues to put his early season struggles behind him.  

Few two-letter combos can be as devastating as the dreaded “DL” in fantasy baseball.

Anyone who has played the sport knows that dreams of championship sugarplums can quickly dissolve into nightmares of basement-dwelling dust bunnies thanks to a few badly timed injuries.

In one high-stakes 16-team roto league, my team is redder than Santa’s suit on Christmas Eve. Grady Sizemore, Scott Sizemore, Asdrubal Cabrera, Nate McLouth, Maicer Izturis, Jeremy Hermida, and Brandon Webb, among others, have given my squad more DLs than HRs or RBIs.

Every time we think the Tigers have depth in the rotation, they seem to have to dig deep into their system to find someone to plug into the mix.

The latest find has been left-handed pitcher Andrew Oliver, who made his second career start earlier this week after being drafted in the second round of the 2009 draft.