Gio Gonzalez - Oakland

Owners in Head-to-Head leagues find themselves staring down the playoffs.  With just two weeks to go before fantasy playoffs kick off, dire straits are being traveled.

 

For those on the cusp, it may be time to finally cut bait on players who are not going to be able to help you out in these next two weeks.  Every roster spot is valuable, even your bench spots.  A player playing well on your bench is a player not playing well in someone else’s lineup.  It is your job to make sure your active lineup gives you the best shot at winning, but your team is not necessarily going to be hurt by someone going off on your bench.

 

If you are trying to scratch your way into one of those final playoff spots, you may have to look at sitting one of your slumping stars in favor of a hot bat off of the waiver wire.  If you are not convinced that Alfonso Soriano can help you more than your reserve left fielder this week, then you have to follow your gut, even if it means getting burned by a hot week from the notoriously streaky Soriano.  If you are convinced that you cannot afford to take a chance on Brandon Phillips’s sore wrist that led to his having gotten pulled from Sunday’s game, then you may need to insert a new second baseman into your lineup this week. 

 

Regardless of the situation, anything can happen in these past two weeks.  Two straight drubbings could knock down even the top seeds in your H2H league.  Rest is for the weak.  Suck it up.  Sack up.  Make the decisions that will put you over the top, Lincoln Hawk style. 

 

Ask those owners from your league last year how valuable their Shin-Soo Choo pick-up was last year.  Now is the time to hit on that pick-up. 

 

 

Marlon Byrd – LF, CF, RF – Texas Rangers (42% Y! Plus, 17% Y!, 10.0% ESPN)

The hot Texas summer is seeing balls put into play off of the bat of Marlon Byrd flying out of the Ballpark at a much higher clip.  11 of the 15 dongs he has socked have come in his last 48 games.  Over that time, he has hit .299/.353/.571/.923.  He has also swiped five bases while scoring 27 times and driving in another 33 runs. 

 

Moreover, since July 26^th, Byrd has batted either third or fourth in the order in all but one game played.  While teammates Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz have battled injuries these past few months, Byrd has been a stabilizing factor in the Rangers lineup.  He can also be a stabilizing force in your line up, and it is not often that you can add a hitter from the heart of the order on a playoff-caliber team for nothing at this point in the season.

 

 

Luis Castillo – 2B – New York Mets (23% Y! Plus, 9% Y!, 8.9% ESPN)

In the 32 games he has played in since the All-Star Break, the 14-year veteran has hit at a .389/.455/.454/.908 clip.  Sure, over that span of time the OBP is higher than the SLG—always discouraging when looking at picking up someone—but that OBP is pretty high.  The fact that he hits near the top of the order and gets on base at over a .400 clip means he should be scoring a ton of runs.  Anything else is gravy.

 

 

Alcides Escobar – SS – Milwaukee Brewers (22% Y! Plus, 5% Y!, 2.1% ESPN)

In the ten games following his call-up, the shortstop wunderkind has hit .321/.367/.464/.831, stolen a base, scored seven runs, driven in two, and hit a home run.  Now, his promotion came at the expense of J.J. Hardy, who was sent down in what was largely believed to have been a service time juking.  Once Hardy’s free agency has been successfully delayed by a season, he will likely get called up again.  That call-up will surely cut into Escobar’s playing time and accordingly his fantasy worth. 

 

What matters right now is that Escobar is the Brewers’ starting shortstop today.  Well, that matters, and so does his speed.  In 109 games at AAA-Nashville this season, the 22-year-old Venezuelan successfully converted on 42 of 52 stolen base attempts.  If you are looking for some bargain speed at this juncture, Escobar could be your man.

 

 

Gio Gonzalez – SP – Oakland Athletics (19% Y! Plus, 4% Y!, 1.3% ESPN)

The past month has seen Gonzalez seemingly put it together.  His ERA of 3.06 in his past 35.1 IP may be a bit misleading, especially when his WHIP has been 1.36 over that time.  The item that is most encouraging is that his 37 strikeouts in that time puts his K/9 up over 9.00 for the past month.  His ERA may not remain in the low 3.00s, but the Ks are there.

 

There you have it.  One short of five, but there aren’t many studs out there this week.

 

 

Josh Duggan welcomes your comments at mister.josh.duggan@gmail.com.  If you are going to heave insults in his direction, at least be funny and creative.  He is also the author of a Kansas City Royals blog, Royalscentricity (which is also syndicated at Bleacher Report, where he is a featured Royals columnist), and a pop culture blog, Inconsiderate Prick.