Roto Roundup: Ian Kinsler, Chase Headley, Eric Hosmer and Others

Has anyone seen Dylan Bundy pitch? I have not, but here is a video, highlighted by the very last pitch he threw. It's short, only 54 seconds long, but watch it to the end. He has that pitch, a 96-98 mph fastball and the yet to be seen cutter. I hope he gets promoted to AA soon as I have seats 4 rows behind the dugout on August 17th for the Trenton Thunder - Bowie Baysox game.

Yankees outfield prospect Mason Williams will miss the rest of the season as he dislocated his non-throwing shoulder diving for a ball. He will have surgery today. Williams is hitting .277-.302-.422 with 3 HRs, 13 runs, 7 RBI and a stolen base in 83 at bats after his promotion to High A this season. In Low A, he hit .304-.359-.489 with 8 HRs, 55 runs, 28 RBI and 19 stolen bases.

Padres third baseman Chase Headley really needs to get traded so we can fully appreciate how good he is. He went 2-4 with 2 RBI and is now hitting .273-.372-.431 with 13 HRs, 52 runs, 57 RBI and 12 stolen bases in 16 attempts. He is on pace for 20 HRs, 86 RBI and 18 stolen bases, and I woudn't hesitate to rank him in my top 8-10 third baseman for 2013. If he should get traded, he could move up to around the top 5 or 6.

Reds outfielder Jay Bruce is hyped up every year by some fantasy baseball writers, me included, with everyone thinking he will finally put together a monster power season, and we are still waiting for it. He went 2-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI last night, and is now hitting .249-.333-.499 with 21 HRs, 58 runs and 66 RBI this season. Something to watch is his BABIP trend, which is falling from .334 in 2010, .297 in 2011 and just .269 this season, which is below his career BABIP of .288, so there could be some regression here, but not much. He is on pace for a 32 HR, 102 RBI season, and his ISO of .249 is the highest of his career, but I thought he could approach 40 HRs this season. Maybe I need to lower my power expectations on him going forward, as a 32-100 season is still darn good.

More Roundup after the jump:

Nationals first baseman Adam Laroche started the season like he was Albert Pujols hitting .329-.41-.549 in April with 4 HRs and 17 RBI, but he followed that up with a .247-.350-.506 May, and a .182-.253-.466 June. But, he hit very well in July, hitting .304-.353-.478 in July, and he has kept it up in August. He went 3-4 with a HR and 2 RBI off of Cole Hamels last night, and is now hitting .270-.345-.507 with 20 HRs and 64 RBI for the season. He is a free agent in the offseason and should land a job somewhere, probably on a 1 or 2 year deal, and is a fine late round choice in 2013 fantasy drafts.

To say that Eric Hosmer has had a bust of a season would be an understatement. He was probably the most hyped hitter in baseball coming into the season, and I may have contributed to that a bit. No, I really contributed to the hype. But, I am still a long term bull on Hosmer. He went 2-5 with a HR, 2 runs and 3 RBI, and is hitting just .230-.300-.365 with 10 HRs, 47 runs, 45 RBI and 10 stolen bases this season. His SLG hasn't broken .440 in any month this season, and that isn't acceptable for fantasy owners. I think he will prove to be a steal in 2013 drafts, as he will be a mid to late round draft pick after his performance this season.

Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler is having another solid season at the plate, even though his power numbers are down. Kinsler went 3-5 with a HR, double, a walk , 4 runs, and 2 RBI last night, raising his slash line to .276-.343-.449 with 13 HRs, 76 RBI, 51 runs and 19 stolen bases. Kinsler has traded power for batting average this season, which is a nice trade off, but is still on pace for a 20 HRs, 118 runs scored, 79 RBI and 30 stolen bases. He will be the second ranked fantasy second baseman for me heading into the 2013 season.

Kinsler's new teammate Mike Olt made his major league debut last night, going 1-3 with a run scored. There are people out there who think Olt will eventually replace Michael Young in the Rangers lineup, playing first base against lefties and DHing, while subbing for Adrian Beltre at third base from time to time. The Rangers will probably place him in their lineup full time beginning in 2013, unless he hits this season. If he hits this season, he will see more and more time in their lineup.

Rockies shortstop Josh Rutledge just continues to hit since his call up a few weeks ago. Rutledge went 1-4 with a HR and 2 RBI last night, and has now hit in all but 3 of his 18 big league games. He is hitting .375-.387-.772 with 5 HRs, 6 doubles, 2 triples, 12 runs, 14 RBI and 3 stolen bases in his 72 at bats thus far. He won't keep this up all season, but I have to wonder if he is the Rockies second baseman in 2013. With Troy Tulowitzki coming back next season, the Rockies have to put him on the field somewhere. Rutledge played 22 games at second bases at AA Tulsa this season, so he is familiar playing there, and showed double digit power and speed as well.

The Cardinals have a nice dilemma to deal with on a daily basis, juggling Lance Berkman, John Jay, Carlos Beltran and Allen Craig in an out of their lineup. But those of you in keeper leagues should try to get your hands on Allen Craig though, as it is more than likely that the Cardinals allow Lance Berkman to leave via free agency freeing up first base for him in 2013. Sure, they have Matt Adams in AAA, but there is no way they can keep Craig's bat out of the lineup on a full time basis next season. Craig is hitting .295-.362-.556 with 15 HRs, 46 runs, and 54 RBI in just 241 at bats this season. If he gets full time at bats in 2013, he could put up a 30 HR, 100 run, and 100 RBI season. Pay/draft accordingly.