NL Daily Notes - July 23rd, 2013

Ryan Braun -- In a shocking announcement, Major League Baseball suspended Ryan Braun for the rest of the season yesterday, and Braun elected not to appeal, all but admitting guilt in using PEDs. It seems as though MLB had quite a bit of evidence against Braun and that this was a compromise; Braun could either try to fight it, lose, and face a bigger suspension, or take his medicine. This was not the likely outcome of this, given the information we had previously, so if you've just found your fantasy season sunk, know you're not alone. I own Braun in three experts leagues and am pretty much screwed in two of them now. He's safe to drop in all leagues.

Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick -- The Marlins leaked news yesterday that they would call up top prospects Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick today. Both profile as future five-tool fantasy players with Yelich the better bet of the two. Neither has played much about Double-A yet, so they're high risk, high reward. There haven't been any indication as to where they'll bat yet, but leadoff is a distinct possibility for Yelich. Justin Ruggiano and Marcell Ozuna will lose significant value following these call-ups.

Brad Ziegler -- After converting his third save in a row on Sunday, Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson named Brad Ziegler his closer yesterday. Ziegler strays from the traditional closer mold, but he's an effective reliever, and that's really what matters. His K/9 is just 4.8, but he induces groundballs 76% of the time and holds a 3.32 xFIP. His side-arm, sinker-balling style does leave him open to shellacking by lefties, so this promotion is likely to be temporary. He needs to be owned in all leagues for the time being, though.

Justin Grimm -- Grimm was part of the package that headed to Chicago in exchange for Matt Garza. While Grimm has posted a 6.37 ERA in 17 starts with Texas, his xFIP was 4.25 and the move to the National League generally cuts 0.50 points off of a pitcher's ERA. He'll also move to the pitcher-friendlier Wrigley Field which, while a hitter's park, isn't a hitter's nightmare like Arlington is. Welington Castillo is a step down from A.J. Pierzynski at catcher, but Grimm could still be a nice deep mixed and NL-only play if he gets recalled from Triple-A to fill Chicago's rotation vacancy.

Mark Melancon -- With Jason Grilli leaving last night's game with a sore right forearm that could lead to a DL stint, Mark Melancon is the most likely candidate to replace him as Pittsburgh's closer. After struggling with Boston last year--which looked a lot like bad luck given his 6.20/3.45 ERA/xFIP split--Melancon has been dominant with the Pirates: 9.1 K/9, 1.2 BB/9, 61% GB%, 2.20 xFIP. Melancon has good stuff and would make a good closer if given the opportunity. He needs to be owned in all leagues for the time being.

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