Homer Bailey has been nothing short of brilliant in the second half as he continues his climb up the fantasy pitcher rankings. Last night was a big win for Bailey and the Reds as he shut down their division rival, the St. Louis Cardinals. This is Bailey’s fourth straight quality start, and while his overall ERA looks a bit rough, Bailey has been a top-20 pitcher in the second half. With a strong finish to the season, Bailey will go into next season as one of the more intriguing pitchers for 2014.
Taking a look around the league, here’s a recap of last night’s action and suggestions for your fantasy baseball team.
Clutch Performers:
- Edwin Encarnacion — 3-for-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB
- Alejandro De Aza — 3-for-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB
- Salvador Perez — 3-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI
- Evan Gattis — 3-for-3, HR, R, RBI
- Homer Bailey — 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, BB, 8 K, W
Surprise, surprise!:
- Juan Pierre — 1-for-1, 2 SB
- Brandon Barnes — 3-for-4, HR, R, 5 RBI, BB
- Moises Sierra — 3-for-5, HR, R, 3 RBI
- Trevor Plouffe — 4-for-6, HR, R, 2 RBI
- Cody Asche — 3-for-4, HR, R, 3 RBI
- Donovan Solano — 3-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, SB
Left out in the breeze:
- Khris Davis — 0-for-4, 3 K
- Glen Perkins — IP, 3 H, 3 ER, BS
- Matt Holliday — 0-for-4, 4 K
- Chris Tillman — 5.1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 3 K, L
- Justin Upton — 0-for-4, 3 K
Trending developments:
- Joe Girardi wants Mariano Rivera to rethink retirement, and we could all agree with that.
- Jason Grilli returned from the DL, and manager Clint Hurdle hopes to have Grilli back in the closer role before too long. He is available in roughly 8 percent of leagues and should be added.
- Adam Eaton has been one of the hottest pickups this week and did not disappoint with a home run blast last night.
- Eric Young Jr. has been one of the more pleasant surprises this season as he stole his 35th base last night.
- Ricky Nolasco is 7-1 with a 2.27 ERA since joining the Dodgers.
- Craig Kimbrel has now converted 34-straight saves.
Prospect Watch – Billy Hamilton got called up and had an immediate impact in both fantasy and real life baseball. Let’s see what rotowire.com had to say:
Hamilton got his first major league steal Tuesday and scored the only run of the game, as the Reds beat the Cardinals. Spin: The rookie speedster entered the game as a pinch runner for Ryan Ludwick in the seventh inning, something that should become a theme for the Hamilton and Reds down the stretch. Even though he won’t get many at-bats, he’ll pinch run enough to be as good a source as anyone for steals in September.
Head-2-Head – With Roy Halladay looking like he is done and Dillon Gee taking on Atlanta, I’m taking the young gun, Taijaun Walker against the Royals. In his first major-league performance, he did not disappoint, and I expect him to pitch well enough to garner a spot start here.
Links of the day:
- Waiver-wire pickups for week 23.
- Even more pickups in who to catch, who to cut and who to keep.
- August trades having a fantasy impact.
- Major league roster expansion happened on September 1. A look at who to target.
- Wil Myers is not going to help you the rest of this season?
- A look at who is rising and who is falling.
