Roto Roundup: Brandon Belt Homers Twice, Paul Goldschmidt With a Big Game

Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista went 3-4 with a HR and an RBI yesterday and is hitting .311-/448-/636 with 34 HRs and 77 RBIs. Bautista is struggling in August, hitting just .143-.295-.343 with 2 of his 5 hits leaving the yard.

Bautista's teammate Brett Lawrie went 1-4 with an RBI and a SB yesterday. In his 4 at bats, he saw 27 pitches, which is incredible. Six of his 11 hits have gone for extra bases thus far, two of which were long balls. It will be very interesting to see where he is ranked heading into 2012 drafts.

Padres outfielder Cameron Maybin went 1-4 with 2 runs scored, a walk and a strikeout, and a SB yesterday. He has now stolen 31 bases in 34 attempts and is on pace to steal 41 bases. He is also on pace to drive in 41 runs, but he is having his best season at the plate, as he is hitting .276-.331-.402 with 7 HRs, 31 RBIs and 63 runs scored.

More Roundup after the jump:

Giants outfielder Brandon Belt went 2-4 with 2 HRs and 2 RBIs yesterday, and he should get more playing time with Andres Torres on the DL and outfielder Carlos Beltran still hurting. Belt should play over Aubrey Huff or Cody Ross assuming Beltran is healthy.

Orioles outfielder Nick Markakis went 3-5 with a HR, 2 runs and 4 RBIs yesterday and is hitting .284-.335-.400 with 12 HRs, 55 RBIs, 54 run and 9 SBs. His power has dropped every year since 2007, but he has already hit as many HRs this season than he did last year, so maybe the 20 HR power will return.

Cubs batters struck out 18 times yesterday against the Braves and still won. The Braves bullpen threw 3.2 innings and struck out 10 Cubs, including rookie Arodys Vizcaino getting two outs, but striking out 3 batters. He threw 2 wild pitches, so one of them must have been on a third strike.

White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko went 3-3 with 2 walks and a run. He is quietly having a very good season, hitting .311-.395-.555 with 27 HRs and 82 RBIs. Amongst fantasy first baseman, he is 3rd in HRs and 4th in RBIs this season.

I forgot to mention Brandon Allen's call up in my Sunday Morning Roster Rumblings post yesterday, but Allen went 3-4 with 2 runs and an RBI yesterday. I hope he can make it in Oakland because he was never really given a shot in Arizona. 

Mariners second baseman Dustin Ackley went 1-3 with a walk and an RBI yesterday and is proving that he is just a slow starter at the plate. Since his call up, covering 175 at bats, he is hitting .297-.374-.503 with 5 HRs, 25 RBIs, 24 runs, 2 SBs and a solid 30-22 K/BB rate.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt went 3-4 with 2 doubles, a run and an RBI yesterday, and is hitting .268-.318-.463 with 2 HRs, 7 RBIs, 6 runs, a SB and an 18-3 K/BB rate in his 41 at bats since his call up. He will have to improve his K rate as the season goes on, or he could lose playing time to recently signed first baseman Lyle Overbay.

Last offseason, new Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers made outfielder Justin Upton available in the trade market, but thankfully, he did not deal him. Upton went 2-4 with a HR, a double, and an RBI yesterday and is now hitting .306-.379-.564 with 25 HRs, 75 RBIs, 79 runs and 18 SBs. He has dramatically reduced his strikeout totals this season, as he is on pace to strikeout 125 times, compared to 150+ last season. His strikeout rate has dropped from 27% in 2010 to 17% this season.

Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp went 2-4 with a HR, 2 runs, an RBI and a SB yesterday, and is now just 2 HRs from his first 30-30 season. Kemp is hitting .320-.394-.581 with 28 HRs, 89 RBIs, 74 runs and 31 SBs thus far and is one of leading candidates for NL MVP this season. He is second in the NL in HRs, second in RBIs, third in SBs and 4th in BA at this point.

Apparently ESPN's Buster Olney agrees with me...sorta....he tweeted this last night:

Buster_ESPN Buster Olney 

@gtpappas Wow, NL MVP a really, really tough call. Let me say this, for now: Best player in NL has been Matt Kemp. But LAD not in race.

39 minutes ago 

Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda shut out the Astros for 7 innings yesterday, giving up just 5 hits, a walk and striking out 6 to win his 8th game of the season. For the season, he is 8-14, with a 2.88 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and a 121-40 K/BB rate in 153.1 innings pitched. He has given up 3 runs or less in 9 of his last 10 starts. In those 10 starts, he has 3 wins, all coming when he has shutout his opponent.

Keeper league owners pay attention: according to Buster Olney, the Diamondbacks are planning on calling up first round pick Trevor Bauer this season:

Buster_ESPN Buster Olney 

@AStaton Yes, Bauer is getting called up. It's just a matter of when, and in what role.

1 hour ago