Charlie Blackmon - Blackmon has impressed enough during his first few weeks with the club that Dexter Fowler was sent back to AAA upon his activation from the DL, exactly what Blackmon owners were hoping for. Blackmon isn't going to be a star, but he pretty clearly could continue to hit over .300 (minor league AVG of .316 in almost three full seasons of work), has very good speed, and will provide enough pop to avoid sliding into the Juan Pierre category. He's a worthwhile pickup in most formats as a starter already.
Travis Wood - As I was afraid of a month and a half ago, despite quality starts in 7 of his last 10 outings Travis Wood's ERA has moved in the direction on his FIP ERA, instead of the other way around. Wood continues to keep the Reds in games nearly every time out, but the K rate has dropped as expected, the BB rate is becoming less and less of a strength, and the GB rate remains miniscule. Wood remains a decent matchup play in NL formats, but especially given an HR rate that is likely to increase I'd be wary of starting him outright in any league.
Charlie Morton - After rattling off five straight quality starts during May and the first part of June, Charlie Morton has been battered around his last three times out. Morton only lasted two innings against the O's yesterday, and has only pitched 11 innings in his last three starts, allowing 26 hits and 17 runs (15 earned). Regression is a cruel mistress, to paraphrase. The last two starts have seen his heretofore stellar GB rate waver as well, which is a bigger concern since it's basically all he has going for him with mediocre control and little ability to miss bats. I remain skeptical that Morton is much more than a back-end starter, and I would have little confidence in his turning this cold stretch around Sunday against Boston.
Xavier Paul - Xavier Paul swiped his ninth bag of the season last night, and suddenly he's started six games in a row. Paul is hitting 302/327/453 in June, and although he isn't even playing as well as I'd expect given his minor league track record, he's certainly providing enough value to be an NL-only option. Paul is starting over Garrett Jones for the time being (while Jones is currently starting over Overbay at 1B), but any slump would likely reduce Paul's PT drastically.
Tim Hudson - Huddy has had more GB than FB six times in his last 10 starts, and every one of those has been a QS. Unusually for him, the other four have all seen at least as many FB as GB, and all four of those have been of the non-quality variety. The big improvement for Hudson this year has been in his control, and it has allowed him to post the best FIP ERA of his career to this point, which for a guy that's never had a losing season in his 12 year career is reasonably impressive. He's been a bit fortunate with regards to BABIP again this season, and also with HR/FB a bit this year, so some regression is expected, but he should still be capable of a 3.50-3.80 ERA and is a clear mid-rotational starter in all formats.
