Fantasy Baseball: Monday's Roto Roundup

Trevor Cahill was due to have a bad start in my opinion, and the Yankees were more than willing to give it to him: 4 innings pitched, 8 earned runs, 2 strikeouts. His ERA for the season is up to 2.82, but he clearly has still been worth starting regardless of the matchup. I don't think that this particular start really changes how he should be viewed.

Javier Vazquez got the win in relief last night, going 4 1/3 innings and striking out 6 while allowing 1 earned run. I haven't seen any video of the start yet, but this has to be a good sign for him. I do find it interesting that he has pitched so well out of the bullpen in his last few appearances but was so poor out of the rotation. He is someone to watch, especially if he's been dropped in your league.

Starlin Castro had 3 hits and 3 runs scored yesterday in the Cubs' victory over the Pirates, and I think he may have to be a top 15 shortstop next season. He's hitting .313 with 28 doubles, 3 homeruns and 39 runs batted in. He profiles to me as one of those players who may not necessarily give you a lot in one category, but he won't necessarily kill you in any category either.

Alex Rios was apparently trying to make for a mini slump in one game last night, going 5 for 6 with 3 runs, a homerun, 4 runs batted in, and a stolen base. He' seems like he's going to be just outside my top 10 outfielder next year, if only because I'm not sure I trust him to repeat the season he's having: .295, 19 HR, 78 RBI, 28 SB.

Jason Heyward would like to remind everyone that he's still in the Rookie of the Year race as well, and went 4 for 5 with 4 runs batted in, 3 runs scored, and his 16th home run of the season. He's now hitting. 278 and has 62 runs batted in. I'm not 100% sure he will win the award, but I think he's likely to at least.

Jay Bruce continues to fill in for Brandon Phillips at the top of the Reds' batting order, and it appears to suit him really well. He went 3 for 5 with another homerun (his 18th), and 2 runs scored as well. Bruce is now hitting .274 on the season, and could actually still be a sleeper for next year.

Aaron Hill finally hit his 20th homerun of the season yesterday in the loss to the Rays, and I have to imagine that he's going to be better next season. I don't think that the 36 homer season he has in 2009 will ever be repeated, but a 2B who hits 25 homers still has a lot of value. Now only if his batting average would recover....

Mark Reynolds went nuts last night, hitting 2 homers and adding a single and 5 runs batted in to lead the Diamondbacks to victory. He now has 31 homeruns and 86 runs batted in, but still just a .215 batting average. He's definitely a player to pair with a high average type like Ichiro or someone of that variety to help balance him out for next season.

Hiroki Kuroda has really been having a good second half of the season, and continued that with 7 2/3 shutout innings against the Phillies yesterday. 7 strikeouts last night, and his season ERA is now down to 3.39, about where it should be overall. Since the All-Star break he has a 2.94 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 52 innings, although just 3 victories.