Johnny Cueto (SP--Reds) Johnny Cueto continues to collect quality start after quality start. On Thursday, he dominated the Rockies as he pitched seven shutout innings, striking out nine and allowed just three hits with no walks. His ERA hit the sub-2.00 mark again and is now resting at a stellar 1.94. Out of 18 starts made this season, Cueto has allowed more than three earned runs in only one of those outings and has fifteen total quality starts. With 120 innings pitched on the year, Cueto just qualifies for the the leader in ERA. He'll face the Nationals in his next start. Keep him active in all formats as he has been on fire.
Cory Luebke (SP--Padres) Cory Luebke had a solid outing on Thursday against the Mets even though he ended up with a no-decision. It was a short outing for him as he lasted just five innings because of poor pitch command but he did manage to strike out eight for the outing with two runs allowed. After starting the season in the bullpen, Luebke's value has increased since he has become a starter at the beginning of July. His overall 3.09 ERA is solid enough and his K/9 of 9.27 makes him even more attractive. With a low home rate (HR/9 of 0.61) and low BB/9 of 2.24, Luebke is certainly becoming a worthy pickup in N.L. leagues and deeper mixed ones. Just be aware that the offensively challenged Padres will sputter to provide Luebke run support in order to notch wins. But otherwise he is putting together very credible numbers.
Carlos Beltran (OF--Giants) Looks as though Carlos Beltran will be sidelined for a while and will miss the weekend series against the Marlins. Beltran hadn't played a game since last Sunday against the Phillies as he left the game with a sore wrist. He received a cortisone shot which typically means that he will be out resting for a few days. Since joining the Giants, Beltran is batting just .244 with a .261 OBP and has yet to connect for a long ball with his new team. So fantasy owners will be in a wait-and-see mode hoping that this soreness will go away soon and won't require a trip to the DL. For now, keep Beltran in reserves until his status crystallizes. He's had a very solid bounce-back year and could be a difference maker down the stretch.
Michael Morse (OF--Nationals) Michael Morse left Thursday's game after he was plunked by a Ryan Dempster fastball. The good news is that after having x-rays done, it appears that Morse has an elbow contusion and may just wind up missing a couple of days and avoiding time on the DL. Morse has been a real find this season for fantasy owners as he has been on fire since the All-Star break batting .353 with five home runs and 19 RBI. The season overall has him batting .319 with twenty home runs. Hopefully he will be back before the weekend is up but his situation should be monitored. He's been a solid start in all mixed formats.
Angel Pagan (OF--Mets) Angel Pagan has had a pretty erratic year, plagued with injuries and inconsistency. He was out of the lineup on Thursday after he left Wednesday's game with back spasms. He's batting average high for the year hit .263 back at the end of June, but since then he has been hovering in the .240's for a while. He has still produced a good amount of stolen bases (22) and with Jose Reyes back on the DL we could see more opportunities forthcoming since Pagan has taken over the leadoff spot with Reyes out. Despite the recent ailment, he's also starting to show some signs of life in his bat since August has come. But probably the biggest indicator that Pagan could be entering into a hot streak is that guy has a lowly BHIP of .258 but has been hitting line drives at a rate of 21.7%. He's strikeout rate (10.5%) has improved by about 5% from last season and his contact rate is rate around 90%. I'd expect to see some upswing from Pagan in the days to come assuming the recent back problems don't keep him out for an extended period of time.
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