Kevin Correia, Padres

There are seven days of fantasy-ing left until we seamheads are all left to watch games that have no bearing whatsoever on our carefully constructed rosters of toolsy dudes, live arms, and hot bats. 

 

I know that I speak for many when I say that there is about to be a gaping hole in my life where fantasy baseball used to be.  Sadly, its football and basketball variations will not suffice.  Activity in keeper leagues simply is not the same as when there are actual games being played.

 

So before we all begin trying to invent a new system to value players and pinpoint who will rebound and who is destined for a crash, there is the formality of seeing this fantasy season to an end. 

 

The key in ROTO leagues is to identify if there are any categories that can still be had, and then pour all of your resources toward gaining ground in that category without making a fatal sacrifice to a category in which you have no breathing room. 

 

In Head-to-Head leagues, well, some of your seasons are already toast.  For others, this is it.  It is time to make all the appropriate changes while not over-managing.  Five games of a stud on the Cardinals or the Yankees is still more likely to lead you to victory than picking up some scrub on a team like the Twins or Tigers scrambling for the playoffs.  Any issues that your team is likely to face as a result of players getting rested up for the real playoffs your opponent is just as liable to be dealing with.

 

Rather than try to address all these potential needs, I’ll stick to what I’ve been doing all season and allow for you to meet your needs from those who make the list.

 

 

Kevin Correia – SP – San Diego Padres (42% Y! Plus, 16% Y!, 7.0% ESPN)

He has been in this space once before thus far.  His performance leading up to that point and since has warranted his fantasy ownership.  Since June 6^th, he has maintained an ERA of 3.32 and a WHIP of 1.19 with an 11 – 6 record and 97 Ks to 38 walks over 138.1 IP.  There is not much risk to this add.  Just do it if you didn’t the first time around. 

 

If you needed more convincing, he has spent the last month lowering his ERA with a 1.90 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP, four wins, and 33 Ks.  Seriously, what is there not to like here?

 

 

Jon Garland – SP – Los Angeles Dodgers (53% Y! Plus, 22% Y!, 13.4% ESPN)

Likely facing off against Correia at Petco on Thursday is Jon Garland.  Yes, he doesn’t strike guys out.  Yes, he has been recipient of some lucky bounces since jumping on board with the Dodgers.  The fact of the matter is Garland has been lights out since joining the Dodgers.  His 3 – 1 record in five starts is nice.  His 1.91 ERA, while not particularly in line with his FIP of 3.67, isn’t too far out of the realm of reality when taken in comparison to his WHIP at sea-level of 1.15.  His 2.75 K/BB in L.A. is a little sexier as well.  We’re only talking about a week here, so there is no need to expound upon future worth here.  For this week, Garland can help.

 

 

David Murphy – LF, CF, RF – Texas Rangers (17% Y! Plus, 7% Y!, 4.3% ESPN)

Murphy, no relation to Eric, has been swinging a hot bat since August 31^st.  With the Rangers’ outfield having opened up with injuries, the 17^th pick of the 2003 draft has spent his past 23 games tearing up AL pitching.  Over that time, he has been hitting .341/.398/.545/.943.  With that raking, he has piled up 20 runs, 16 driven in, four dingers, and two steals.  Even if the power and speed isn’t overwhelming, he has been producing everywhere else on the stat sheet.  Take him.  Now.

 

 

Placido Polanco – 2B – Detroit Tigers (47% Y! Plus, 37% Y!, 80.3% ESPN)

While the Tigers as a whole are doing everything they can to give the division away, Polanco has played well enough of late to make this column for the second time this season.  As we should all know by now, Polanco does not hit for much power and he doesn’t steal bases with any special sort of aplomb.  What he can do is put the ball in play.

 

Hitting a lowly .268 on August 30^th, Polanco has spent his last 24 games raising that batting average to .290.  What that means is that he has hit .400/.439/.526/.966 while his teammates have largely fallen flat.  He has also crossed the plate 17 times, driven in another 13, swiped two bags and cleared the fence another two times.  With a guy who inevitably finishes the season hitting somewhere in the neighborhood of .300, I suppose such a tear was inevitable.  Hop on the Polanco Train for this final week and hope that he will lift your offensive ratios from a middle infield slot.

 

And that marks the last time I tell you to add someone this year.  Hopefully this space has been helpful to you.

 

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, and is a dues paying member of the FSWA.