Ted Lilly - Lilly pitched fantastic on Wednesday, earning the W by going 8 strong innings of 5-hit, 1 ER ball while striking out 5. Here's how the season has gone for Lilly (from a fantasy perspective): he was drafted, he sucked, he was dropped by a ton of owners, new owners picked him up and saw an instant rebound, and then he slowly tailed off to a slightly above average pitcher for a very good team. Sound about right? His ERA has hovered in the high 4's for most of the 2nd half. He's still 10-for-13 in QS since July 1st and 15-for-19 since June 1st. Those are solid QS numbers from a guy that was dropped to ownership levels below 80% by the end of Week 4. It'll be interesting to see how the general fantasy public values him going into 2009 drafts. Most will forget his horrible start and draft based on his overall numbers. I think he's slightly better than his overall 2008 season numbers, especially given his QS success rate for the entire summer.
Dan Haren - A high pitch-count got Haren into trouble early, leading to just 4.0 IP with 99 pitches. He only gave up 1 ER, but allowed 6 hits and 3 walks without factoring into the decision. Four of Haren's last 5 starts have been non-quality ones. He has given up 5 ER in 3 of those starts and just doesn't seem as sharp as he was throughout the rest of the season. Even despite his recent struggles, Haren is still posting a sub 3.50 ERA (which just goes to show how good it was before this cold streak). Obviously there are no decisions to be made with Haren since he's one of the top pitchers in the game. You just have to keep marching him out there and hope he turns it around soon.
Shane Victorino - Shane Victorino is having a terrible September. He has yet to post a multi-hit game this month and with an 0-for-4 on Wednesday, he's hitting below the Mendoza line in the last 9 games (6-for-24). He doesn't even have an extra base hit to his name since the triple he hit back on August 26th. The good news about singles for Victorino is that it gives him a chance to swipe a couple of bags (3-for-4 in September). But with an OBP below .250, those opportunities have been few and far between. Unless you really need steals, it might be best to bench Victorino until he turns it around.
Bronson Arroyo - Playing for a struggling Reds team, Arroyo doesn't get much credit for his resurgence in the 2nd half. But with another solid performance in yesterday's game against the Brewers, Arroyo is 7-3 with a 2.84 ERA and 1.12 WHIP since the All-Star break. His K rate is down slightly, posting an 8.1 K/9 in the first half compared to a 6.3 in the 2nd half. But in total, he still posts decent strikeout numbers and seems to be on a roll right now. He's a 2-start pitcher for next fantasy week against the Cardinals and the Brewers (again).
Jamie Moyer - Typically, I stay away from geriatrics when it comes to fantasy baseball (seriously, how could I NOT make an old joke when writing about Jaime Moyer in mid-September). But Moyer might not be THAT bad of an option for Thursday's contest (even if he is pitching on 3-days rest). Here's how I look at it: Milwaukee hasn't exactly been playing that well lately, ranking 2nd to last (behind the Rockies) in runs scored over the last 7 days in the MLB. He's also posted 4 quality starts in his last 6 outings and 3 W's to show for it. There are worse options if you're in pitch-and-ditch mode in H2H desperation mode.
