Carlos Villanueva- MIL- Rise Value- With the spate of injuries striking Milwaukee's starters, Villanueva will probably get the start on Tuesday. He performed very well in his recent stint in the minors (3.24 ERA, 0.48 WHIP, 9 Ks in 8-1/3 IP) but whether he can go long into a start is a big question. If you need a win from Villanueva, it's iffy. However, he could provide a few innings of decent work.
Sergio Mitre- FLA- Caution- Maybe there is a physical problem with Mitre. (As if that would be something unique when talking about Florida pitching.) There seems to be a sharp dropoff in his performance starting with his July 24th appearance. In the 8 starts since then, Mitre has allowed 15 walks in 41-1/3 IP (as opposed to 20 walks in 102-1/3 IP before that.) His ERA has shot up from 2.82 before this stretch to 8.93 during it. With the 3 hit batters last night, that is evidence that Mitre suddenly lost his ability to locate his pitches. That is often a sign of injury. The Marlins think that he may be just suffering from fatigue and are considering moving back his next start from Wednesday to Friday to give him extra rest.
Tim Hudson- ATL- Cold- Hudson gave up 2 homers in a start for the first time this season and it cost him. They accounted for all 4 runs he game up in his 6 innings of work. Hudson allowed 6 hits, didn't walk anyone, and struck out one. It was his second consecutive lackluster outing and he has given up 9 runs in 11 innings on 15 hits and 3 walks while recording just the 1 K. After beginning his career as a strong finisher, Hudson has shown a marked rise in his ERA in September in each of the past 4 seasons. He may be getting an early start on this type of late season swoon this year.
Hunter Pence- HOU- Hot- Pence has started heating up. He has collected a hit in all but one game since returning from the DL. The difference between now and the first few games since his return is that he is getting multiple hits and walking more often. Through his first 6 games back, Pence was hitting .214 and drew 2 walks. In his last 4 games, he has gone 6-for-14 and walked once in each game. This gives him an overall Batting EYE of .55 since coming back, far above the .18 he posted before going on the DL. Leading off seems to agree with Pence and the rookie is a fantasy asset again.
Yovani Gallardo- MIL- Hot- Three of Gallardo's four starts prior to last night were not good. That made it look like it was going to be easy for the Brewers to stick with their original plan of shortening Gallardo's time in the rotation to save his arm from an excessive workload this season. Then, two of the Milwaukee starters landed on the DL. Plus, Gallardo threw a solid game last night, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits and a walk while striking out 7. With the Cubs lust a game and a half ahead and the club running short of healthy arms, expect Gallardo to stay in the rotation and likely perform well enough to have fantasy value.
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