Dioner Navarro - Those of you still battling the last few days of the year should definitely take a look at Navarro, who is the starting catcher for the final handful of games with Wellington Castillo going under the knife. Navarro has started the last four days in a row, going 5-14 with a homer (his 13th of the year in just 231 ABs). Navarro has always been a solid lefty-basher as a catcher, and still just 29 despite numerous false starts to his career, he could provide some sneaky value next year if he ends up in the right situation. His LD rate and HR/FB rate have gone off the charts the past two seasons, but no one has seen fit to test them with larger sample sizes to this point....it is eminently possible that he simply became a better hitter around age 27 and no one quite realizes it yet. I would definitely keep an eye on him come spring.
Matt Davidson - Davidson enjoyed his trip to Colorado, picking up a double, two homers, and seven RBIs over the weekend to bring his line (after Monday night's 1-4) up to 250/351/453. The 22 year old has huge swing-and-miss in his game, but he has quite a bit of raw power and will draw a walk, so there's some upside here. At his best he's likely to only be an HR and RBI guy in traditional formats, but OBP-based leaguers should definitely keep an eye on him as he will walk enough to make the OBP better than the AVG relative to league average.
Yusmeiro Petit - Petit has continued to pitch fairly well, offering up 4 of 6 quality starts for the Giants with one remaining this season. Petit may finally have found a home park that suits him, as his extreme flyball tendencies were destined for difficulties in both the PCL and Arizona, but in San Francisco he can allow flyballs with a bit more confidence that they might remain in play. If he can regain a spot in the rotation for 2014, I expect that Petit's combination of solid swing-and-miss offspeed stuff, good control, and favorable environment will allow him to be a solid spot-starter in many formats.
Charlie Morton - After a brief two-start blip in which he actually was allowing flyballs, Morton looks to be back on track now after seven shutout innings against the Cubs Monday. Morton has picked up some velocity this year, his GB rate has gone from excellent to ridiculous, and he's generating more swinging strikes than ever before. I'd feel comfortable treating him as a back-end of the rotation starter for 2014.
Marco Estrada - Estrada was excellent again Monday, shutting out the Braves on 2 hits over 7 innings, walking 3 and fanning 6. Estrada generated a whopping 20 swinging strikes last night, continuing a 2nd-half run that's seen him go 3-0 while allowing just 31 hits and 13 runs in 51 2/3 innings with 11 walks and 48 strikeouts. Estrada could be a solid mid-rotation option, but the fact that he's never pitched more than 152 innings in a season prevents me from having a great deal of confidence that he can be relied upon to anchor a spot in your rotation. He's a solid reserve option in all formats, as he has some upside when healthy, but the constant trips to the DL and the low GB rate are major stumbling blocks.
Nate Eovaldi - Once every three weeks or so, Eovaldi throws up an outing like tonight's: 7 2/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K. He has fantastic stuff, averaging over 96 mph with his fastball, but he generates only an average level of swinging strikes and has spotty control, so his consistency leaves much to be desired. For the time being he only has value in deeper formats, but the raw stuff gives him a bit more upside than the average waiver wire starter in leagues of more average depth, and the paucity of options in Miami right now should give him a decent amount of leash if he struggles a bit as well.
