Remember that guy?

I remember a time when there was a fantasy pitcher who was so hyped that everyone wanted him. Then, that pitcher sucked it up and nobody wanted him. Then, that pitcher came back and threw five straight starts giving up no more than two earned runs in each of those starts. That pitcher is Ricky Nolasco, the guy you all loved to hate for the majority of this season. I held onto Nolasco in every league I owned him in and I picked him up in leagues I didn’t own him in and the patience has paid off so far. There is one concern I have with him so far. He has a BABIP of .378 and his whip is already 1.56 on the season and his LD% is up a bit from his career average while his GB% is down. It is only 4% difference, but with his inflated BABIP, a little bit of correction could be in order. On the positive side, he’s striking out batters at a career high and walking batters at right around his career average. With his line tonight of 8 IP, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, I am officially starting him against all teams.

Scott Olsen- 7 IP, 2 ER, 7 K. Remember in 2006 when he had fantasy relevance? Yeah, this is 2009 and he does not.

Ryan Theriot- The Riot smacked his seventh home run of the season going 1/4 against Zach Duke. He’s not going to overwhelm in any category, but if you’re in need of some average, speed and some runs at a premium position, he’s not a bad option.

Rich Harden- Struck out nine batters while only allowing one earned run. He’s got a monstrous whip right now and gave up nine hits today. No matter how good, he’s one guy I’ve given up on unless he’s not costing me anything to get.

Zach Duke- 7 IP, 3 K. He’s still striking out less batters than Jamie Moyer and in my book, that means you are the suck. Congrats on being completely unexciting and making lots of money doing so.

Shin-Soo Choo- Hit his 10th home run of the season and could very well go 20/20. I am sure I’ve said that before, but yeah. Recognize.

Gavin Floyd- I believe I said I was not a fan but he must’ve read that and decided to prove me wrong. He should be owned in all leagues from here on out.

Jon Lester- 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 8 K. Are we surprised?

Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton- Stole their 40th and 29th bases on the season and are really showing no signs of stopping. Crawford should excel in runs and stolen bases while staying safe in the average department and I wrote about B.J. Upton recently.

Jeff Niemann- Out-dueled Halladay but did it in the least impressive way possible. 7.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 65% strikes. Niemann is really not this good and I would not own him in anything less but AL only and deep leagues.

Roy Halladay- Was out-dueled by a guy with a K/9 in Jamie Moyer territory but still only gave up 5 hits, 2 earned and struck out seven.Welcome back.

Randy Choate- Got the save as J.P. Howell was unavailable due to pitching in the last three games in a row. This means nothing.

J.J. Hardy- Must have read my comments on him as he went 4/4 with one home run. I stand by my comments and this could be the start of a Hardy hot streak.

Sean O’Sullivan- Never been impressive in the minors but got the win tonight and has a season ERA of 3. Yeah, I don’t think there’s a chance it stays there.

Luke Hochevar- 7 IP, 0 ER, 4 BB, 2 K. The lack of K’s and the fact that he had twice as many walks as strikeouts is not a good thing and I don’t think he will be this good. He’s got the potential, but he hasn’t lived up to it yet.

Tim Lincecum- Complete game, 2 hits, 0 walks, 8 Ks. Nasty. he must have seen our rankings.

Rick Porcello- 4.1 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 HR. Winning won’t come easy when you allow 9 hits in just over four innings. Maybe try not to do that anymore?

Roy Oswalt- Trying to out-do Lincecum, but failed. Complete game, one earned, 2 walks and 8 ks. Oswalt had a monster second half last season but has not been very good this season. His BABIP is a little high and his GB/FB are a bit lower and higher than his career averages. I expect Oswalt to be about as good as he’s been for the remainder of the season. He’s surely someone to keep an eye on as he could have a monster second half like last season.

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