David Ortiz DH (BOS) - Ortiz has missed some games with a heel injury, but appears to be ready to rejoin the starting lineup today. Fantasy owners in daily leagues need to get Ortiz back in their lineups ASAP. Ortiz has turned back the clock thus far in 2011, and at this point there's really no good reason to doubt he will continue to produce throughout the end of the season. It's quite amazing that he has more or less cut his strikeout rate in half leading his EYE to jump from .57 to .98. Ortiz's increased contact skills this year have not come at a cost to his power (as they do with some aging players) as both his .257 ISO and 18.6 HR/FB% are right in line with his career marks.
Brandon Allen 1B (OAK) - Allen went 2-4 with two long homers against the Yankees yesterday. He should certainly be owned in all AL leagues and deeper mixed leagues but is making the case to be owned in standard leagues as well. Allen's power is likely to continue as he is putting the ball in the air plenty (50 FB%) and has enough raw power (14.3 HR/FB% - and that doesn't take into account yesterday's blasts) to turn those fly balls into round trippers. Allen is also showing no problem keeping pitchers honest as he has walked a robust 14.3% of the time.
Ricky Romero SP (TOR) - Romero takes the mound today with a favorable matchup against the Royals. His 2.73 ERA has been a blessing for owners, but I'm concerned that he will falter down the stretch. The fact is Romero has pitched pretty much the exact same as last year when he wilted down the stretch. His 2010 xFIP: 3.64. His 2011 xFIP: 3.63. Romero is currently benefiting mightily from a .242 BABIP which is well below his career mark of .289. He has also been fortunate to strand 80.5% of runners when he's only done so at a 74.8% clip for his career. Look for those numbers to normalize and for Romero's ERA and WHIP to spike.
Adrian Gonzalez 1B (BOS) - Gonzalez homered twice yesterday, but lost in the shuffle of all his MVP talk has been a surprisingly quiet HR output from Gonzalez. Those homers just now get him to 20 on the season. He looks to fall well short of the 36 homers he averaged the past 3 seasons, and that was with getting pitched around and playing at Petco Park! Perhaps a more aggressive approach at the plate (4.4 percentage drop in BB rate, career high 35.6% chase rate) has prevented Gonzalez from generating the loft he normally does. Currently his raw power, in the form of his HR/FB%, appears to be in line with his career average, but his high GB% of 46.8% (at the expense of fly balls) is what is keeping the balls in the park for Gonzalez. With a .343/.404/.535 batting line owners are certainly not complaining, but it is a little surprising Gonzalez has not hit more dingers.
Andrew Bailey RP (OAK) - Bailey had a rough 9th inning against the Yankees as he allowed 2 runs before finally converting the save opp. In that inning Bailey allowed 2 hits and 2 walks and failed to strikeout a batter. Bailey owners shouldn't have any worries over the shaky outing, though. He has been dominant this season as evidenced by his 2.22 FIP. Bailey's 2.8 HR/FB% screams for some regression, but considering it was 5.6 and 5.1 in his first two seasons respectively, it likely won't rise much.
