Projo Fantasy Sports Blog

By David Ferris

Your work isn't done yet - you still need to get through 10 games before you hoist that trophy and take in the spoils. Keep your eyes on the prize.

Pitchers

BUY

Alfredo Aceves, SP, Yankees: He's had three tidy starts so far (1.80 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, three walks, 12 strikeouts), showing a good fastball and cutter and a couple of other pitches. I'm not afraid of the Orioles this weekend. Aceves also carries relief pitcher eligibility in a lot of leagues, which might help you slide him onto the active roster.

Scott Lewis, SP, Indians: His success is tied more to location than raw stuff - his fastball stops short of the 90s - but after seeing 14 scoreless innings go up on the board, after a superb minor-league campaign at two stops, what's not to like here? Lewis will probably get two more turns with Anthony Reyes down for the season, and I'll recommend both of them.

David Price, SP, Rays: The touted one is finally up, and he'll probably get a start on Tuesday when Tampa Bay has a doubleheader against Baltimore. If nothing else, sidle up to the telly and get a look at why everyone's so excited about the tall lefty. I'm expecting a quality start at minimum, and a dominant splash wouldn't surprise me one bit. The Rays figure to have the AL's best rotation into the next decade if they can keep everyone healthy.

SELL

Armando Galarraga, SP, Tigers: His control has been spotty of late, homers are up, and the Tigers might decide to rest him for the final week, content in Galarraga's progress and seeing no need to expose him to more innings. We're on board with the move; sometimes the long-term plan is the play, especially when you're in a losing season and not playing games of influence (the Royals won't make the playoffs, while the Rays are basically in, one way or another).

Hitters

BUY

Alberto Callaspo, Utility, Royals: He's got no power or speed, so why should you bother? Because he's playing every day, he qualifies at four positions, and he's hitting .333 over the last month (along with a 12-game hitting streak). The perfect swiss army knife for the top of your roster.

SELL

Taylor Teagarden, C, Rangers: It's easy to get carried away over the six homers in just 37 at-bats, but his minor-league profile doesn't support the debut at all, and Ron Washington is still using a backstop platoon (Teagarden has just one at-bat this week since his Monday grand slam). If you're desperate for a homer or two I can justify Teagarden as a flyer in the final week, but don't throw out a summer of modest results in Double-A just because he got off to a hot start in The Show.

Adrian Beltre, 3B, Mariners: Thumb surgery finally ended his season; he pulled the plug a few days ago and had the procedure Thursday. Most fantasy owners look at Beltre's 2008 haul and come away disappointed (.266, 74 runs, 25 homers, 77 RBIs, 8 steals), but considering the bum shoulder he played through most of the year and other nicks, we should salute the guy for getting through 143 games and posting credible stats.

HOLD

Alex Gordon, 3B, Royals: He's swung the bat pretty well since he came off the DL, and his mess of a 2008 season is going to set Gordon up to be a post-hype sleeper all over the map next year. He needs to figure out lefties (they've dominated him all year, .289 OPS) but Gordon is too young and talented to write off so soon. Be a contrarian in March and you'll likely be rewarded.

 Tags  Adrian Beltre AL Stock Watch Alberto Callaspo Alex Gordon Alfredo Aceves Armando Gallaraga baseball David Ferris David Price Scott Lewis Taylor Teagarden

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