Friday’s Roto Roundup: Cole Hamels Dominates The Brewers

Phillies starter Cole Hamels threw 7 shutout innings on Friday night, limiting the Brewers to 3 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 7. Hamels, a victim of poor run support all season, Hamels has just 9 wins, but an excellent 3.18 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. He has a 183-53 K/BB ratio. I think the doubts about Hamels are all in the past now.

Mets third baseman David Wright went 3-5 with a HR and 3 RBI on Friday. Wright has posted a .295-.366-.512 triple slash line, with 23 HRs, 90 RBIs and 18 SBs in 27 attempts. Wright is another player who has put all doubts behind him this season after a sub-par 2009 season.

Toronto outfielder Travis Snider went 2-5 with a HR on Friday afternoon. Snider is hitting .242-.305-.449 with 9 HRs, 24 RBIs and 5 SBs in 200+ at bats this season. Will 2011 be Snider's break out season?

Rays second baseman Ben Zobrist went 0-4 with an RBI on Friday. Zobrist has been a big disappointment this season for fantasy owners, as he is hitting just .249-.355-.348 with 7 HRs, 59 RBIs and 23 SBs. The SBs totals are nice, but many fantasy owners expected Zobrist to produce similar to his 2009 totals. I think he performs somewhere in between his 2009 and 2010 season in 2011. Say 16 HRs and 20+ SBs.

Nationals recently promoted second baseman Danny Espinosa to the big club after he hit 22 HR and stole 25 bases at AA and AAA this season. Espinosa has responded by continuing to hit, as he went 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBIs on Friday. Espinosa will get plenty of playing time in September and should be picked up in all NL-only and keeper leagues. Espinosa has the potential to his 15-20 HRs and steal 20 bases in 2011.

Alex Gordon went 1-3 with a HR and 2 runs scored on Friday. Gordon has been a huge disappointment and I wonder if he will ever reach his full potential. Gordon has moved to the outfield this season due to the breakout season from Mike Moustakas in the minors this season. Moustakas should be ready to start at third base for the Royals out of spring training 2011. Will we see a breakout season from Gordon in 2011?

Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley threw 8 solid innings on Friday vs the Giants, giving up just 2 unearned runs while striking out 7 and allowing just 4 baserunners. Billingsley has not given up more than 3 earned runs since mid July, and appears to be ending the season on a much better note than he started. He is not striking out as many this season as his K/9 is down to around 7K/9, but he is inducing more groundballs this season. Is 2011 the year Billingsley puts it all together?

Diamondbacks closer Juan Gutierrez saved his 7th game of the season, and his 3rd save since August 31st. It appears Gutierrez will go into the 2011 season as the Diamondbacks closer. He is a late round sleeper for 2011 fantasy drafts.

Another hitter who has disappointed this season is Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler. Kinsler is hitting .297-.386-.416 with 6 HRs, 38 RBIs and 10 SBs. Kinsler has been slowed by injuries this season, and could produce outproduce his draft position in 2011 fantasy drafts.