• J.D. Salyer

Fantasy Daily: Anthony Rizzo, Ian Kennedy, Jonathan Singleton

 

Ian Kennedy throws a pitch.
Ian Kennedy dominated the Pirates on Wednesday. (Denis Poroy/Getty Images)

Taking a look around the league, here’s a recap of yesterday’s action and suggestions for your fantasy baseball team.

Clutch Performers – Anthony Rizzo had a monster game last night, launching two shots into the stands, finishing 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. Rizzo has had his ups and downs this season, but compared to last season, he has definitely regressed. His ownership of over 90 percent is rather amazing since he is outside the top-20 for first basemen. Going forward, Rizzo has the ability to smack home runs but has been a batting-average killer all season. He is still a very interesting dynasty league prospect who should be owned. Otherwise, 12-team mixed leagues should look elsewhere.

  • Zack Greinke — 8 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 7 K, W
  • Shin-Soo Choo — 4-for-5, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI
  • Aramis Ramirez — 2-for-3, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB

Surprise, surprise! – Ian Kennedy had his best outing as a Padre yesterday, shutting down the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ian Kennedy scattered four hits in seven scoreless innings while racking up eight strikeouts. Ian Kennedy looks very comfortable in his new home and should be a guy to target if you are in need of pitching help. He faces his old team, the Diamondbacks, next Tuesday.

  • Felix Doubront — 8 IP, 5 H, ER, BB, 3 K, W
  • Dayan Viciedo — 3-for-4, HR, R, 4 RBI
  • Jason Castro — 2-for-3, HR, 3 R, RBI, BB

Left out in the breeze – Here are the guys who didn’t make the cut:

  • Jeremy Hellickson — 4.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, L
  • Rafael Betancourt — 0.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, L, BS
  • Mark Trumbo — 0-for-4, 2 K

Trending developments – Here is what’s trending:

  • Jeff Locke is 0-2 in his last six outings with a 6.69 ERA. Needless to say, the wheels have come off a bit. He takes on the Giants tonight.
  • Wilin Rosario is on a 12-game hit streak with a .353/.353/.627 slash line to go along with four home runs.
  • In the past six days, Addison Reed has piled up five saves while allowing just two hits.
  • In the past week, Martin Prado is batting .448 with two home runs, seven runs and eight RBI.

Prospect Watch – After coming off a 50-game suspension, Jonathan Singleton has become a very interesting fantasy prospect. If you are looking at his overall triple-A numbers, they are not that impressive, which is due to a major slump. But in August, this kid has been on fire, hitting nearly .300 with a couple home runs and a boatload of RBIs. His Oklahoma City hitting coach holds Singleton in the highest regards (per Baldwin).

He’s a can’t-miss kid. He has the whole package. The life in his swing doesn’t come along very often. He was off just a tick or there but I knew he wasn’t very far off.

His numbers said he was far away but I could see his swing was close. Pete Rose used to say the cream always rises to the top. You knew a player with that type of talent would catch fire.

Going forward, the consensus is that the Astros are not far away from calling this kid up to see what he can do. I feel as though he might struggle like he did in triple-A when he initially gets the call-up. If you are in need of some help at first base for next season, this guy should be on your radar.

Head-2-Head– I would advise not to stream anyone today, but if I had to pick someone off the scrap heap, I’d go with Jose Quintana against the Royals. Quintana should be good for at least six innings and a couple of earned runs. Let’s just hope the White Sox can give him enough run support to pick up the win.

Links of the day – It’s link time!