Saturday’s Roto Roundup: Carlos Gonzalez Hits For The Cycle

This article was written by Jason Hunt over at Fake Teams

As surprising as it is, what with all the flurry of trades that went down yesterday before the deadline, there were actually games yesterday and quite a few stories to go with them.

Carlos Gonzalez is really, really making my A's look pretty bad for letting him go so quickly. He went 4 for 4 yesterday, hit for the cycle, and hit a walk off homerun to win the game against the Cubs. He's really looking like he's going to be a top 10 outfielder by the end of the season, and I think he could end up as a top 20 player overall.

Rich Harden returned from the disabled list last night, striking out 3 over 7 innings en route to the Rangers' victory. He beat Dan Haren yesterday, who pitched very well for the Angels as well. Haren through a complete game in the loss, striking out 6 and allowing only 2 earned runs. I'm not a believer in Harden until he can put together another couple of starts with 2 or less walks (like last night's) in them.

Ryan Kalish went 2 for 4 in his major league debut for the Red Sox yesterday, playing left field for the Sox. Kalish had 13 homers and 25 stolen bases between 2 levels in the minors so far this season, and could be a very good fantasy player if he gets enough playing time over the remainder of the season. At worst he should definitely be owned in all deep keeper leagues.

Guillermo Mota pitched the 9th inning for the Giants yesterday with Brian Wilson unavailable for the second straight day, and I'm not entirely sure who you pick up to handcuff Wilson. It looks like it could be Mota, but I wouldn't worry too much about it until at least today and see if Wilson is available on Sunday.

Wandy Rodriguez appears to have figured out what was ailing him, as he struck out 9 batters over 8 shutout innings against the Brewers yesterday. It is the Brewers, but this is another good start for Rodriguez in his last few at this point, and really looks like he could be back.

Kevin Slowey had a great start yesterday, going 8 shutout innings and striking out 5 with no walks. The Twins were unable to acquire another starting pitcher before the deadline, but if Slowey continues to pitch like that, they won't need one.

Hisanori Takahashi struck out 10 in his start yesterday against the Diamondbacks, and only allowed 1 earned run in 6 2/3 innings pitched. While it's a very nice start, the Diamondbacks strike out practically before they leave the dugout sometimes, so I'd like to see him do something similar against a team that's not so prone to strikeouts before buying into the k's.

Lance Berkman went 0-4 in his debut with the Yankees, and should see a lot of runs scored opportunities if the Yankees continue to hit him in the 2nd spot in the lineup.

Ricky Nolasco struck out 7 batters over 8 1/3 innings yesterday against the Padres, and continues to provide an excellent #2 punch behind Josh Johnson. He has lowered his ERA to 4.28 on the season, and if you can convince an owner to move him for less than he's worth, definitely do it. He's going to be good for the resto f the season.