Chris Carpenter - The Cardinals' Chris Carpenter made his season debut on Friday against the Cubs, tossing 5 innings and allowing 2 ER on 5 hits with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. Carpenter had missed the entire season up to this point with a nerve issue in his right shoulder. While Carpenter is getting up there in age (he's 37), he was still a very productive pitcher in 2011, making 34 starts and recording a 3.31 xFIP and 3.45 ERA. He had a decent strikeout rate of 7.24 while allowing just 2 walks per game. One concerning sign from last season was that Carpenter's GB rate dropped under 50% for the first time since 2002. Looking ahead to next season, Carpenter is worth a look as a back end starter as he should still have something left in the tank. He will face Houston next week, so while he's risky, you could do worse in picking up a spot starter.
Jon Niese - Jon Niese had a decent game on Friday against the Marlins, giving up 3 ER over 6 1/3 innings. He also whiffed 7 and walked just 1. Niese has been a very solid SP this season, posting a 7.46 strikeout rate against just a 2.26 walk rate. He owns a 3.49 ERA and 3.60 xFIP, so his success is sustainable. What's most interesting about Niese's season is that he's basically the same pitcher as the past 2 years when he owned 3.80 and 3.28 xFIP marks. The difference between 2012 and 2010/2011 is that Niese owned BABIP marks in the .324-.333 range instead of the .275 mark he's got this season. He also had strand rates of 71% and 67% compared to a 76% strand rate in 2012. Luck has been against Niese until this season so I really like him as an undervalued SP in 2013.
Chase Utley - Chase Utley had another big game on Friday, knocking his 11 HR of the season, driving in 2, scoring 2 and stealing a base for good measure. Utley had also collected 4 hits on Thursday. For the season, he's walking more than striking out, owns a .195 ISO and is dealing with a .268 BABIP. And his overall slash line of .267/.382/462 is still very solid for a second baseman, especially when considering his BABIP is too low for a guy with a 21% LD rate. All told, Utley will probably be a buy low next year. He won't ever be the star fantasy player he once was, but he will provide good value in all leagues in 2013.
Brett Wallace - The Walrus not only homered on Friday against the Pirates, but he also cranked out a triple. Wallace now owns a .265/.329/.449 slash line with 8 HRs in 216 plate appearances. There's no doubt Wallace has made some nice strides in limited action this season, improving his ISO from .110 in 2011 (and .091 in 2010) to a respectable .161 mark. He's still striking out too much (29% whiff rate) and doesn't show much patience (6.5% walk rate), but he's also upped his LD rate by 7% to 28% in 2012. The biggest problem with owning Wallace is his position. He simply doesn't hit well enough to be a decent first baseman in fantasy leagues. He'll likely be worth a roster spot in deeper leagues next year, but probably not much more than that.
Adam LaRoche - Adam LaRoche connected for his 31st HR of the season Friday night and now has 96 RBI in 2012. Earlier this year, I wrote that LaRoche could be in for a big season because he finally started hitting well from the get-go. He's usually a much stronger second half player, so when he hit well early, you had to figure he'd be able to maintain it. The first baseman owns a .236 ISO to go along with a .504 SLG%. Prior to missing almost all of 2011, LaRoche had put together 3 straight seasons with 25 HRs, so this power surge shouldn't be too surprising. Looking to 2013, I don't see any reason not to pencil in another 25+ HRs for the big guy.
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