Fantasy Baseball: Friday's Roto Roundup

Is Robinson Cano a Top 10 player for 2011? He went 2 for 4 with 3 runs batted in last night for the Yankees. Even with all of the All-Stars on that team, Cano is going to get a lot of run for the MVP award this season. He now is hitting .334 with 18 homeruns and 66 runs batted in. He is on pace to put up the following line: .334/115 runs/31 HR/114 RBI/4 SB. He has clearly established himself as the top 2B for fantasy, and I think he will be right on that cusp of players in the top 10 by next season.

Roy Halladay had another nice start last night, striking out 9 over 8 shutout innings. I don't know if the Phillies can make up their mind to be buyers or sellers, but Halladay would definitely not be hurt by having another ace to slot in behind him and in front of Cole Hamels.

Billy Wagner blew his second save in as many chances last night, losing in a walkoff to the Marlins. He had 2 walks (1 intentional) last night, and started the inning with the other. I think he's going to be fine, but I still want to see a clean save under the belt before I am completely sure.

Randy Wells had another nice start, throwing 7 shutout innings against the Cardinals yesterday to get the victory. In July, he now has a 1.25 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts in 28 innings. Earlier in the month, the difference between his FIP and ERA was one of the largest, and showed that he was due for some improvement. Clearly, that is starting to show through.

Kudos to C.J. Wilson, who threw 8 shutout innings against the Angels and won a 1-0 decision. He struck out 3 and only allowed 4 base runners while throwing 104 pitches. I have to admit, I was really concerned about Wilson at the beginning of the season, but he's really taken to the starting role, and I think that he's going to be able to keep this up for the rest of the season.

Shin Soo Choo returned to the Indians lineup with a 1 for 3 game against the Rays last night. Frankly, I'm shocked he is already back in the lineup, but it's a good sign for his owners that he's already back.

Hunter Pence went 4 for 5 last night with his 14th homerun, his 12th stolen base, and 3 more rbi (with 47 on the season). He is only hitting .268, but I think he could finish the season potentially with 25 homeruns and 20 steals. Probably an outside shot, but I think he's very likely to get to at least 20/20.

Corey Hart left yesterday's game in the 3rd inning after crashing into the wall trying to make a play. Sounds like he will be day-to-day, so make sure to adjust your lineup accordingly. This could also affect some of the trade rumors we have been hearing about Hart to this point as well.

Kelly Johnson hit for the cycle yesterday against the Giants, but it wasn't enough to help the Diamondbacks get a win. Johnson has also been mentioned as someone who is likely to be traded as well, and could help out a team with some pop in his bat.

Jonathan Sanchez had a start that outwardly looked really good but still bodes badly for him: 10 strikeouts, 5 walks in 5 innings pitched and 109 pitches thrown. He's going to have starts like this. Just remember this when you look at your WHIP.

In his return from the disabled list, Josh Beckett didn't really pitch well enough to silence his detractors. 5 2/3 innings pitched, 5 strikeouts, 1 earned run, but 3 walks and 98 pitches. The part that is tough about this is not the final line, which actually isn't too bad, but the fact that it came against a team that he probably should dominated in the Mariners. I'm not sold yet, and I'm wondering if this could be like his 2007 season all over again.