Just a reminder, in case you missed my Thursday morning post, all of our fantasy football coverage will be posted on the SB Nation Fantasy page going forward. Mike Gallagher and I are posting our updated position rankings, with the Tight End rankings posted yesterday, and Mike's Running Back and Wide Receiver rankings scheduled for this morning. In addition, my Defense/Special Teams rankings will post this morning as well.
Make sure you check out all of our rankings at the SB Nation Fantasy page today.
The Braves sure know how to breed starting pitchers don't they? Wow. Last night, Kris Medlen tossed a complete game 5-hit shutout of the Padres for his 4th win of the season. He walked none, struck out 6 and induced 14 ground ball outs. He is now 4-1 on the season with a 2.03 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and a 58-17 strikeout to walk ratio in 80 innings pitched. He has made just 4 starts this season, after spending most of the season in the bullpen, and has given up just 19 hits, walked 4 and struck out 22 in 25.2 innings pitched. The Braves may have a back log of starters, but Medlen should remain in the rotation after this dominant outing. If he keeps pitching like this, he will be the Cory Luebke of 2013 fantasy drafts.
Mets rookie starter Matt Harvey dominated again last night, holding the Reds to just one run on 4 hits, a walk and 8 strikeouts in 7.2 innings of work to earn his 2nd win of the season. He has made 5 starts since his call up, and is 2-3 with a 3.00 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and a 34-13 strikeout to walk ratio in 30 innings pitched. He has given up 2 runs or less in 4 of his 5 big league starts, and he is another starter who will get some offseason love heading into 2013 fantasy drafts.
Chipper Jones will be retiring at the end of this season, but I wonderi if he will come back next season if the Braves do well in the playoffs this season. Jones went 2-4 with 2 HRs, 2 runs and 3 RBI last night, and is now hitting .315-.391-.519 with 12 HRs, 44 runs and 53 RBI in just 270 at bats this season. He is having a vintage Chipper season at the plate, and he will certainly be missed should he hold true to his word and retire this season.
More Roundup after the jump:
Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton is putting together another hot streak. On Wednesday night, he hit 2 solo HRs, and followed that up by going 2-4 with a walk and 3 runs scored. After a very hot April and May, and a horrific June and July, Hamilton is hitting .316-.371-.649 with 5 HRs and 17 RBI in August. For the season, Hamilton is now hitting .293-.360-.599 with 34 HRs, 75 runs and 101 RBI. Hamilton is set to become a free agent this offseason, and barring a change in stance by the Rangers, Hamilton is set to earn a very big contract in the free agent market. It will be very interesting to see where he lands, and how that will impact his fantasy value in 2013.
White Sox outfielder Alex Rios had one heck of a disappointing 2011 season, and he was probably a very late round pick in 2012 drafts, or a waiver wire pickup, but he has been anything but this far. He went 1-4 with a HR and 3 RBI last night, and is now hitting .309-.339-.530 with 19 HRs, 70 runs, 70 RBI and 17 stolen bases. He is on pace for 26 home run and 24 stolen base season, and is approaching 100 runs scored and 100 RBI. I imagine he has helped many fantasy owners compete for league championships this season.
Garret Jones just loves hitting against the Dodgers. Yesterday, he went 2-3 with 2 3-run home runs, to help the Pirates avoid a 4 games sweep at the hands of the Dodgers. Jones is having a pretty good season at the plate, slashing .283-.316-.542 with 19 HRs, 52 runs and 64 RBI in just over 300 at bats this season. Jones has platooned at first base and played some right field this season, so he has some position flexibility heading into 2013 fantasy drafts, where he is rosterable in NL-only league formats, and a late round pick in mixed league formats.
What the heck has happened to Angels starter Dan Haren. Wow. Haren lasted just 3.2 innings last night, giving up 5 runs on 7 hits, 2 home runs, and just 2 strikeouts. Against the light hitting Rays. He is now 8-10 with a 4.90 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and a very solid 101-33 strikeout to walk ratio in 128.2 innings pitched this season. After regularly pitching deep into games in his career, he has thrown 7 or more innings in just 4 of his 22 starts this season.