Projo Fantasy Sports Blog

By David Ferris

It can be difficult to keep focus during the dog days of August (especially with the siren of football singing), but true rotisserie champions know the importance of staying the course for six months. Here's a look at our current playbook - OK, make that scouting notebook - as we look to finish strong over the final quarter of the season.

Batters

BUY

Denard Span, OF, Twins: He's been a nifty fit in the leadoff spot (.297 average, .375 OBP), and he can also run and play defense - ask the Mariners, they'll tell you. Ron Gardenhire took far too long to take Carlos Gomez out of the leadoff spot, but Span has a hammerlock on that role now. Enjoy the ride.

SELL

Carl Crawford, OF, Rays: He's been slogging through a mediocre year, but the name-brand and the feel-good vibe of Tampa hides some of that. Here's what he's given you the last five weeks: .242 average, .344 slugging, no homers, six measly stolen bases. See if someone out there wants to pay superstar prices for ordinary production. Last week's sore hamstring also looms here; I don't expect Crawford to go on a patented SB-run the remainder of the season.

HOLD

Kelly Shoppach, C, Indians: He's been hammering everything in the second half (.377, five homers, 1.250 OPS), and the Tribe plans on keeping Shoppach as the regular catcher even when Victor Martinez comes back. And given the floating timetables attached to Martinez, and Cleveland's place in the standings, we can't be positive that the injured backstop even makes a return of note in 2008. Bottom line: Shoppach is a Top 10 catcher in today value, and that's not going to change for a while.

­Pitchers

BUY

Jeremy Guthrie, SP, Orioles: There's been fantasy value to 21 of his 24 turns this year, but still Guthrie toils in relative anonymity. Anyone who can compile a 3.35 ERA working in the rough-and-tumble AL East, I take my hat off too. Guthrie has nudged his ground-ball rate forward this year and he's keeping the ball in the park more, two signs that his growth in 2008 is real.

Rafael Perez, RP, Indians: He's been Cleveland's best reliever by far this season, against both sides of the plate at that. Eric Wedge realizes Perez's skill set and likes to use the left-hander in the tightest spots, but recent blowups in the ninth inning (we're looking at you, Masa Kobayashi) could be the impetus for a change. Bet on Perez's skills, and have faith that Wedge won't take those gut-wrenching ninth-inning losses forever. Something's likely to give here.

SELL

Erik Bedard, SP, Mariners: I suppose he'll probably make some sort of mound appearance down the stretch, as he's angling for free-agent dollars. But I've seen too many physical breakdowns from him in 2008 to think about investing. If there's still a cash-out price on this stock, take it.

Justin Duchscherer, SP, Athletics: His ERA has crept up to 2.51 over the last couple of starts, and there could be a downright collapse in the offing. Consider that Duchscherer had just five career starts entering this year (against 192 relief appearances), and he never threw more than 96 innings in the majors before 2008. Oakland's supporting cast doesn't inspire a lot of confidence, either; wins could be hard to come by.

Eddie Guardado, RP, Rangers: He's got the ball in the ninth inning for now and possession is the law when it comes to saves. But Guardado's 3.02 ERA is a brilliant disguise: he's not striking anyone out, he's been insanely lucky on balls in play and his velocity doesn't go past the high-80s these days. The AL batters will catch up to Guardado soon enough, but fantasy owners might want to cash out now. Frank Francisco has a shot to be the guy who really comes in and saves the day here, down the stretch.

HOLD

Grant Balfour, RP, Rays: He's third in the pecking order for saves, but the rest of the numbers scream at you: 1.39 ERA, .113 average against, 49 strikeouts in 32.1 innings. Consider the fragility of Troy Percival and it's not hard to envision Balfour as a save-grabber in 2009, or perhaps next month, if the dominoes fall right.

 Tags  AL Stock Watch baseball Carl Crawford David Ferris Denard Span Eddie Guardado Erik Bedard Grant Balfour Jeremy Guthrie Justin Duchscherer Kelly Shoppach Rafael Perez

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