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My apologies for not getting to the Monday morning Roundup. I got home late from a barbecue on Sunday, and was pretty beat.
For those of you looking for some fantasy football advice, check out the SB Nation Fantasy War Room from Monday, and if you have questions, feel free to drop in to the nightly War Room from 6:00pm - 10:00PM ET.
Phillies outfielder Domonic Brown appears to be holding his own since he call up a few weeks ago. He went 1-4 with a double and 2 RBI last night and is now hitting .268-.358-.338 with 0 home runs, 8 runs, 10 RBI and an excellent 8-9 strikeout to walk ratio in his 71 big league at bats thus far. He hasn't hit for power, but has shown a solid eye at the plate, which is more important right now. He has hit in 15 of his 20 games as well, so he is showing consiistent contact as well. The power will come. Be patient.
I have been down on Rockies outfielder Dexter Fowler for quite awhile, but that changed this season. He has proved me wrong, and has shown he can be a decent producer for fantasy owners. Fowler went 1-2 with 2 walks, a run and a stolen base last night, raising his slash line to .304-.391-.499 with 12 HRs, 14 doubles, 11 triples, 67 runs, 42 RBI and 12 stolen bases. I wonder if the power will appear in his age 27 season in 2013.
More Roto Roundup after the jump:
Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson never ceases to amaze me, as he continues to pitch effectively despite a very low K/BB ratio and a slightly elevated HR/FB rate. He held the Royals to just one run on 6 hits, a walk and 6 strikeouts in 7 innings of work last night to earn his 8th win of the season. He is now 8-8 with a 3.28 ERA, a 4.79 FIP, 4.67 xFIP, a 1.29 WHIP and a pedestrian 86-48 strikeout to walk ratio in 134.1 innings this season. His extreme FIP - ERA rate will be used in plenty of fantasy pieces on him in the offseason.
Orioles third baseman Manny Machado has cooled off a bit since his hot start to his big league career. He is 0-10 in his last 3 games, but has hit in 7 of his first 11 big leagues games. He is hitting .250-.268-.600 with 3 HRs and 7 RBI. Seven of his ten hits have gone for extra bases thus far. I read in last week's KLaw chat that he thinks Machado may stay at third base in 2013.
Mets starter Johan Santana was scheduled to make his start on Thursday, but late last night we heard that he is scheduled for an MRI on his back, and could miss the Thursday start. Actually, he could be shut down for the rest of the season, and who could blame them? Since his 134 pitch no-hitter back on June 1st Santana has been the left handed version of Tim Lincecum. In his 10 starts since the no-no, he has given up 45 runs on 78 hits (13 home runs) and 18 walks in just 49 innings. I think we have seen the best of Santana and would stay away from him next season.
When power hitters get hot, the home runs come in bunches, and that is exactly what we are seeing from Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton went 2-5 with 2 HRs and 4 RBI last night, and is now hitting 288-.362-.595 with 26 HRs, 55 runs and 65 RBI in just over 330 at bats this season. Over his last 5 games, he has hit 5 home runs and driven in 10 runs. He will hit 50 home runs in a season in the very near future. He just needs to stay healthy for a full season.
Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy has had his best season at the plate in 2012. He went 2-3 with 2 HRs, 2 runs and 4 RBI, raising his triple slash line to .328-.379-.554 with 8 HRs, 27 runs and 39 RBI this season, all this despite missing two months of the season.