Cory Luebke - Luebke continued his excellent September run, allowing only a two-run shot to Mark Ellis over 7 innings of work in an 8-2 win in Colorado. Luebke has struck out either 8 or 9 batters in 6 of his last 9 starts, and while he's only posting quality starts a bit over half the time the K rate is more than making up for it. A full season starting in Petco next year, should he maintain a starting slot, would make Luebke a very solid sleeper in just about every format despite the slightly poorer control he has exhibited since mid-August.
Wilin Rosario - Rosario is up and playing every day at the expense of Chris Iannetta, and the 22 year old backstop is already showing off his impressive power, knocking 5 of his first 7 hits for extra bases. He's also showing his impatience and inability to make contact, striking out over a third of the time with just two walks through 36 AB's. Rosario has excellent pop, but the Rockies already have a guy with excellent pop that also can take a walk but struggles to make contact in Iannetta, but the Rockies have proven time and again that they will find any excuse to keep Iannetta from playing every day. Rosario is a very solid keeper prospect due to his power at a weak position, but his ceiling is certainly limited by his contact rate and complete lack of speed.
Mike Minor - Minor has had eight starts since returning to the Braves at the beginning of August, and he's 4-0 with a 4.03 ERA over that stretch. He's only managed two quality starts out of the eight, but he's fanning over a batter an inning and only walking 2.6 per 9. His high pitch counts and low GB rate are marks against him, but his peripherals are certainly strong enough to expect that he'll start bringing his ERA down into the 3.00's before very long, making him a clear-cut SP option in all formats going forward.
Matt Downs - The 27 year old Downs has had a pretty abbreviated career, as he hasn't even picked up 2000 AB's yet in a pro career that stretches back to 2006. After last night's start in RF for Houston, Downs has at least one game at every position but C and P, and there's been some talk about having Downs get some time in behind the plate prior to 2012. Downs has plenty of power and patience, and he's shown some speed in the minors as well, so any more playing time would make him a very intriguing choice in NL-only formats. As it stands right now, he probably doesn't play quite enough to justify a roster spot for fantasy purposes, but he leads the team in SLG and is 4th in HR despite just 186 AB's.
Chien-Ming Wang - Yes, it's been against the Mets, Marlins, and Dodgers, but Wang has tossed 17 2/3 innings over his last three starts, walking zero and striking out 12. He's finally starting to resemble the guy that went 46-15 from 2006-2008, and if he looks the same come spring, he'll be a solid sleeper in deeper formats for 2012.
