Roto Roundup: A.J. Burnett Implodes, Alex Gordon Keeps Hitting

A.J. Burnett just continues to struggle, and I'm wondering if he's getting close to being removed from the rotation. He lasted just 5 outs yesterday, but gave up 7 earned runs. It's hard to imagine that the team is going to keep running him out there every 5 days if he keeps pitching like this, but I'm not sure where they turn to if they want their highly-paid pitcher fixed.

We're really getting to see what the Royals have seen in Alex Gordon all these years. He went 3 for 5 with 2 runs batted in and 2 doubles last night, and has now raised his average to .299/372/.491. He really seems to have figured it out.

Even though his hitting streak ended last week, Dan Uggla just continues to destroy everything thrown his way. He hit 2 more home runs yesterday to bring his total to 29 on the season, and has managed to get his average up to .232 for the year. This is a guy who was hitting around .160 in early July.

It definitely has not been the year that his owners were hoping for, but Evan Longoria has been hitting better of late. He hit his 20th homerun of the season last night as a part of a 4 RBI, 2 hit night. He could be a very nice bargain at the drafts next season.

Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News is reporting that Giants' closer Brian Wilson is likely to be headed to the disabled list. John Shea is reporting that the team will go with a closer by committee for now, but realistically it could be anybody for the time being. 

Another day, another closer implosion. Jason Isringhausen of the Mets faced 4 batters, all of whom reached, and all of whom scored. The part that was interesting to me was that the team used Bobby Parnell prior to Isringhausen in the game. If you haven't done so yet, I wouldn't drop Izzy until one of them shows us who will be closing the majority of the time.

Gio Gonzalez has been having a bit of a rough second half, but last night showed why he's been so valuable to fantasy owners. He went 8 innings, struck out 9 while allowing just 1 earned en route to the victory. 

Brandon Allen has been extremely hot since being called up last Saturday, and continued with 2 hits and 2 runs scored last night. He's hitting .407/.433/.630 since his callup. Remember, most leagues are down to the point in their season where every little bit helps. Don't be afraid to pick him up and ride this hot streak til it ends.

Despite having a bit of a rough first inning, Matt Garza settled down nicely to pick up the win for the Cubs. He went 7 scoreless, and struck out 8.

Doug Fister had a nice start against the Indians last night, allowing just a Shin-Soo Choo home run over 7 innings. I'm not sold he can pitch this well all the time (despite having done so to this point), and would look for favorable matchups for him.