Chris Owings -- D'Backs beat writer Jack Magruder tweeted yesterday: "Owings to get some time in September. Gibson: 'You want to find out what he can do for sure.'" Owings is a legitimate shortstop prospect, and the team's current shortstop situation (Didi Gregorius, Cliff Pennington, Willie Bloomquist) is far from inspiring. It's hard to tell what this actually means, but it seems likely, at the very least, that Owings will get semi-regular at-bats once Arizona is mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, if not sooner. He has a very appealing power/speed skillset for a middle infielder and needs to be stashed in all NL-only leagues, perhaps even some very deep mixers.
Pedro Strop -- With the Cubs eliminated from the playoffs and incumbent closer Kevin Gregg clearly not the long-term solution at the position, manager Dale Sveum said yesterday that Pedro Strop could be given some save chances this month. Strop has excellent stuff and groundball abilities, but control has always been an issue for him. That led to some ugly performances for the Orioles earlier this year, but he's been excellent since coming to Chicago in the Scott Feldman trade, posting a 2.19 ERA and 2.95 xFIP with a perfectly reasonable 3.3 BB/9. He needs to be owned in all leagues in which there's a team in need of saves. For what it's worth, though, Strop pitched the eighth last night while Gregg took down the save in the ninth.
Ryan Jackson -- Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said yesterday that September call-up Ryan Jackson will "definitely be in the mix" at shortstop this month. The team is currently going with Pete Kozma and Daniel Descalso, neither of which is particularly talented at the plate, though Kozma is a solid defender. Jackson isn't a blue-chip prospect, but he can hit a little bit, particularly lefties, and has a modicum of speed. He should be picked up in NL-only leagues but can be left on the wire in mixers.
Ruben Tejada -- Mets manager Terry Collins said last week that Ruben Tejada would play a lot when he gets recalled in September, but that call-up has yet to happen. Yesterday, GM Sandy Alderson had this to say: "You know, one of the problems with Ruben is, it's like pulling teeth. Extra batting practice, extra this, extra that, doesn't happen unless someone else is insisting on it. And that's what we need to see. We need to see a commitment to improvement." The Mets have decided to leave him at Triple-A for the time being to experience a playoff atmosphere, perhaps in an attempt to spark some fire in him, but he should be owned in NL-only leagues since a call-up won't be too far off. Still, work ethic is a real issue, and Tejada has been merely decent (.288/.337/.379) since his demotion.
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