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Roto Roundup: Zack Greinke, Justin Upton, Dallas Keuchel and Others

Alex highlights some of the top fantasy performers from Sunday, including Zack Greinke, Justin Upton, Dallas Keuchel and others.

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Zack Greinke piles up more zeroes

Another day, another scoreless performance from Zack Greinke, who won the battle of National League Cy Young favorites against Max Scherzer and the Nationals on Sunday. The Dodgers right-hander improved to 9-2 by shutting out Washington over eight innings, striking out 11 batters, walking only one and allowing just three hits in a 5-0 win.

The shutout extended Greinke's scoreless streak to 43 2/3 innings, lowering his ERA to 1.30 and his WHIP to 0.82. In 131 1/3 innings, Greinke has 117 strikeouts and just 21 walks, while he's allowed just 87 hits and held opponents to a .186 batting average – the lowest in his career. Next on the schedule for Greinke is another tasty matchup against the New York Mets on the road.

Greinke's performance Sunday against Scherzer put him squarely in the driver's seat for the NL Cy Young award, but what should Greinke owners expect the rest of the way? According to FIP, Greinke is the fifth best pitcher in the game, tied with Jake Arrieta of the Chicago Cubs at 2.52. He's certainly had luck on his side with a .232 batting average on balls in play, which is the the second lowest BABIP behind only Chris Young (.207) of Kansas City. In addition, Greinke's strand rate is way higher than his career average (89.9 percent in 2015, 74.7 percent career).

Based on the numbers, one could consider selling Greinke while his value is highest, but the only way you're doing that is if you're receiving one of the top hitters in the game. ZiPs and Steamer each project Greinke to have an ERA closer to 3 the rest of the way. With some BABIP correction, I think he'll pitch closer to a 2.75 ERA, give or take, and he'll certainly continue to be one of the best pitchers in either league.

Justin Upton on the move?

With the trade deadline just two weeks away, the hot stove is about to get, well... hot. Like emoji fire hot. After making the most noise over the winter, the San Diego Padres find themselves seven games out of the second Wild Card spot. So it's no surprise that A.J. Preller and the Padres could look to sell. San Diego, which traded away valuable, young talent in the offseason, has many pieces that a contending team might want to acquire for the stretch run: Tyson Ross, Ian Kennedy, Andrew Cashner, Craig Kimbrel and Will Venable come to mind.

But perhaps the Padres' biggest trade chip comes in the form of 27-year-old outfielder Justin Upton, who will be a free agent at the end of the season. Upton entered Sunday slashing .252/.331/.426 with 15 home runs, 47 runs, 49 RBI and 17 steals, and any contending team looking for an offensive upgrade in the outfield would be foolish not to consider the young slugger even if it's just a two-month rental. The latest team to be connected to Upton is Baltimore, which has struggled to get substantial production in the corner outfield. Upton would be a big upgrade for the Orioles, or any team, really, as he's on pace for at least a 20/20 season, and probably closer to 25 home runs in the power department - the boost in speed has been a nice surprise.

Upton has done most of his damage in Petco, which is somewhat encouraging; 12 of his 15 home runs have come in San Diego. On the other hand, he's hit an abysmal .208/.308/.306 on the road with roughly 30 more plate appearances. I'm not as worried about Upton's home/road splits as I am about his sporadic hitting. After hitting .343 in May, he's been below .200 over the last two months with a .196 BA in June and a .125 BA in July. As an Upton owner, you'll have to take the good streaks with the bad streaks, but I don't see his fantasy value shifting dramatically one way or another if he gets moved.

Roto Roundup

Dallas Keuchel was impressive again in a 10-0 win against the Rangers, striking out 13 while allowing two hits and no walks in seven scoreless innings. With the win, the 27-year-old left-hander is 12-4 with a 2.12 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and a 127/34 K/BB ratio over 144 1/3 innings. Keuchel has built on his breakout 2014 season, adding more strikeouts (7.92 K/9 in 2015, 6.57 K/9 in 2014), while still inducing an elite groundball rate of 64 percent. He entered Sunday's game as the No. 1 starting pitcher in the American League, and No. 3 overall after Zack Greinke and Max Scherzer.

Marco Estrada nearly went the distance Sunday, tossing eight shutout innings with five strikeouts and no walks in a 4-0 win over the Rays. Estrada has been a nice find for the Blue Jays, as the 32-year-old righty has provided Toronto with valuable innings, going 7-5 with a 3.22 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 74/29 K/BB ratio in 95 frames. He's a top-60 starting pitcher, according to the ESPN Player Rater, and has been equally impressive at home (3.78 ERA) and on the road (3.28 ERA). Estrada hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in each of his last six starts, and next on the schedule is a road matchup in Seattle. I'm skeptical that Estrada can continue this run of success with a .252 BABIP.

In more great pitching news, Jake Arrieta continued his dominant 2015 season with seven scoreless innings against the Braves, striking out 10, walking three and allowing three hits. The victory improved the All-Star snub to 11-5 with a 2.52 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 133/28 K/BB ratio in 128 2/3 innings. If not for the dominance of Greinke and Scherzer, Arrieta would be getting a lot more attention for the NL CY Young award. Entering Sunday's start, Arrieta had the fifth lowest FIPin baseball at 2.58, behind only Scherzer, Chris Sale, Clayton Kershaw and Corey Kluber. After Sunday, his FIP stands at 2.53.

The Cubs will activate Rafael Soriano prior to Monday's game against Cincinnati, the team announced after a 4-1 in against Atlanta. Soriano, 35, had 32 saves with the Nationals a year ago, posting a 3.19 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 59/19 K/BB ratio in 62 innings. Washington decided to part ways with the veteran right-hander and turn over their closer duties to 27-year-old Drew Storen instead. Soriano could be in the mix for some save chances, but it's not yet clear how Joe Maddon and the Cubs decide to use their new late-inning reliever. To make room for the relief pitcher, the team designated Edwin Jackson for assignment.

In a game that had Twitter abuzz, the Mets survived an 18-inning marathon against the Cardinals, as a sacrifice fly from Ruben Tejada provided the go-ahead run in the snooze fest. Carlos Martinez, who was scheduled to pitch this upcoming week, was used in relief and was charged with the loss. Michael Wacha appears to be set up with a two-start week now, with potential starts on Tuesday and Sunday.

There was even more dominant pitching Sunday, as Danny Duffy held the White Sox to one run over eight innings, striking out four with the only run coming across home plate on a solo home run from Tyler Saladino with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Duffy, 26, is 4-4 on the year and owns a 4.24 ERA with a 45/28 KBB ratio in 70 innings. He gets the Astros next, and that could be a dangerous outing for the young left-hander.

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