Jeff Locke, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
Similar to his teammate Francisco Liriano's start last week, Locke had a nightmarish outing against Arizona, yielding eight earned on 10 hits in just 2.2 innings of work. It's starts like this that can lose you ERA and WHIP for the week, but owners can't be too upset considering Locke has pretty much been a "lock" to pitch well all season up until yesterday. This start alone ballooned his ERA up to 2.90 (from 2.43), but the bigger story is that his post All-Star ERA is now at a 5.66 (was 3.54 before this outing), making him more of a detriment to a team than anything considering he strikes out less than a batter per inning (103 Ks in 139 IP) and owns a very mediocre WHIP (1.33). But if you are considering benching him next start or dropping him altogether, check this. Locke owns a 1.81 ERA on the road with a BAA of .182, so you may want to wait one more start to see if his trend away from home continues.
Martin Prado, 1B/2B/3B/OF, Arizona Diamondbacks
Prado continues to shine post All-Star, notching another four hits, three RBI, four runs and his 11th HR. He's now batting .378 in the second half with three homers and 22 RBI, and with his eligibility stretching everywhere besides SS and C, he makes for an extremely valuable player, especially when he's hitting like this. Being a .292 career batter, it's wouldn't have been crazy to see this hot streak coming after he batted just .253 the first half. He is a must start everyday at this point.
Yadier Molina, C, St. Louis Cardinals
In just his second game since returning from the disabled list, Molina finished 2-for-4 with two RBI, both coming on his ninth home run of the year. He has always been known as a good hitting catcher, but the fantasy value is at an all-time high because of his ability this year to drive in runs. He now has 56 RBI in 100 games, a very high rate for a catcher, and almost identical to his pace last year (76 RBI in 138 games) where he was easily a top 5 fantasy catcher. He's in his prime and playing the best baseball of his career. Insert him confidently back into your lineup, if that wasn't already obvious enough.
Wilin Rosario, C, Colorado Rockies
Another guy who has crawled his way into the top five fantasy catcher equation, Rosario notched two singles, bumping his average up to .285, the highest it's been May 10th. This month, the 24-year old is enjoying a 9-game hitting streak, a .326 average with two homers and 11 RBI, matching his total production in July already. After jacking 28 HR and a .530 slugging percentage last season, his numbers are quite that herculean, but he is on pace for 22 HR and 82 RBI on the year, making him one of the most valuable catchers in fantasy right now. With catchers coming at a premium, his value continues to rise as he shows his consistency as a hitter and his ability to stay healthy, as so many catchers have problems doing.
Jayson Werth, OF, Washington Nationals
The 34-year old scored two runs, drove in two himself and stole a base last night to continue his abuse of opposing pitching recently. Werth is in straight BEASTMODE right now and has quite possibly been the hottest batter in the National League since the All-Star break, hitting .433 with above a 1.200 OPS! I have never used an exclamation point, but I figured such an unbelievable number deserves one. Werth is slashing .335/.409/.534 with 17 HR and 52 RBI in 91 games this season and has turned into one of the best fantasy players to own in the second half of this season. He should be considered a slightly risky, yet solid option to keep for next season.
