Clearly, the biggest news of the day has to be that Stephen Strasburg has a torn ligament in his elbow, and will more than likely need Tommy John surgery soon. When he has this surgery, he will likely miss 12-18 months depending on how his rehab goes. I commented earlier, but for me, Strasburg is only a keeper in leagues with a high amount of keepers (essentially just full roster dynasty leagues at this point), or leagues where his value is so ridiculous as to warrant it. For auctions, I would say that the limit would be less than $5 in 2012. Clearly, though, wait until he actually has the surgery before reacting.
Brett Anderson left his start after 2 innings yesterday with a hyperextended knee, and I'm really starting to worry that he could be injury prone. I would say that if he goes onto the disabled list again, he is probably droppable in most leagues.
Brandon Phillips did not play yesterday against the Cubs, most likely due to the effects from being hit in the hand by a pitch on Wednesday. Being extremely helpful, manager Dusty Baker would also not comment on whether or not Phillips would be available. It may be time to look for a replacement if you need the at bats immediately, and hopefully there will be a decision one way or the other in the next day or two.
Jay Bruce hit in the leadoff spot for Phillips yesterday, and apparently it suits him as well. He hit 3 homers yesterday and drove in 5 in the victory. He now has 16 homeruns and 55 runs batted in, but this probably wasn't the level of production you were hoping for when you drafted him. I do think he's going to figure it out to the elite prospect level he had before reaching the Majors, but I don't think it will be until 2011.
The trade of Brian Fuentes to the Twins opens up another opportunity for a closer with Fernando Rodney taking over for the Angels. While the team has not played that well (and thus not had nearly as many save opportunities as the past), he is a must own if you are trying to get those last few saves to put you over the top.
At some point, Jaime Garcia is going to regress at least somewhat. He threw 5 1/3 shutout innings last night, but allowed 12 base runners in that time. He struck out 7, and now has a 2.33 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. One of those numbers is telling more truth than the other, and at some point they're going to come back in line.
Another day, another home run for Jose Bautista. That brings him to 42 on the season, and it is almost to the point where I'd be shocked if he didn't get to 50. Which is just going to make him that much harder to rank next year.
Miguel Cabrera hit his 32nd homer last night and drove in his 105th run of the season. I think he has to be at worst your #3 player overall for next season, and could definitely be either #1 or #2. He's now hitting .341 to go with those numbers.
Jon Lester outdueled David Price yesterday to inch the Sox closer in the AL East race. Lester went 7 innings, struck out 10, and allowed no earned runs. The 5 walks are a bit concerning, but he remains a top-10 pitcher to me.
A.J. Burnett is unownable in my opinion. He went 3 1/3 and allowed 8 earned runs in that time. He now has a 5.17 ERA, and I'm really wondering if he's going to end up on the disabled list at some point before the end of the season.
Chris Narveson could be a deep league play after a nice start yesterday against the Pirates. He struck out 8 over 7 innings, recording his 10th win of the season. The overall season numbers aren't so hot (5.52 ERA, 1.46 WHIP), so you really need to be careful with him.
Tim Lincecum continues to struggle, and I'm really wondering when he's going to get back on track. He went 6 innings, striking out 6 but allowing 4 earned runs and walking 3.
Brad Bergesen has been pretty good in the month of August, posting a 3.18 ERA and 3 wins. Another play if you need a starting pitcher really badly.
Clayton Kershaw had a nice start against the Rockies, but did not factor in the decision. Ray and I tend to go back and forth about what we think of Kershaw for the future, and it is always nice to see a start where he allows just 1 earned run, and only 2 walks. The part that continues to concern me is the amount of high pitch counts it takes him to get through these starts. He threw 115 pitches to get through that 6 innings, but with only 2 walks and just 6 strikeouts, I have to imagine that he had a lot of 2 and 3 ball counts.