Football
Sean Allen, Special to ESPN.com 17y

Sixty Feet, Six Inches: Hurting Hurlers

This is it. Gut-check time. A month and a half remains, and you'll get maybe another seven starts out of any one pitcher. Take that extra time to analyze what qualities you need from your starters and go after those attributes hard. Don't be afraid to sacrifice some ERA and WHIP in the name of a few strikeouts. Those ratios will be hard to change at this point in time. The aggregate stats like K's and wins are much easier to go after.

Healing and Hurting

Bartolo Colon, SP, Angels: I really did not think I would have to discuss Colon again this season, but here he is, tossing bullpen sessions and getting close to a rehab assignment. There is still time for Colon to make it back, and his ownership in ESPN leagues has plummeted to just 6 percent. Whether he can be trusted to contribute is another matter all together. I think he is worth stashing if you think you might need some pitching help for September. Considering that he was pitching hurt for a bulk of the season, the fact he has seven quality starts in 16 starts is pretty good.

Esteban Loaiza, SP, Athletics: Pegged by myself as someone to target for cheap strikeouts, Loaiza won't be returning as planned on Friday. His velocity was down during his last rehab start, and manager Bob Geren reportedly has said he wants to see some more speed before he considers Loaiza. The decision about what to do with Loaiza also depends on what Dan Meyer does in his first major league start. Control has been a bit of an issue for Meyer, but his 93 strikeouts in 103-plus innings is evident of good things to come. His walks per inning have come down every month this season in Triple-A, so he has the potential to be a matchup pitcher for mixed leagues and relevant to AL-only.

Ben Sheets, SP, Brewers: It's not often a top-five pitcher is available for free, but check your league's wire. Sheets is on track to be back from the DL by the last week of August or the first week of September. He's owned right now in only 87 percent of ESPN leagues because some fantasy managers clearly couldn't be patient enough with him.

Kameron Loe, SP, Rangers: Maybe he did just get hot for five starts between June 14 and July 6. Then again, maybe Loe was flashing a bit of potential. He wasn't so hot for his four starts prior to hitting the DL with a back strain, but Loe is expected to rejoin the Texas rotation on Saturday. You may be concerned about his being in that traditional hitter-friendly park in Arlington (often referred to as "Coors Field South") but his career ground ball-to-fly ball rate is 2.09, indicating that he can keep the ball down. Further evidence: Of 113 pitchers to toss at least 100 innings this year, only 23 have allowed fewer home runs. His DIPS ERA brings down his actual from 5.80 to 4.53. I'm not saying he'll save your rotation, but he is available and has some upside.

Aaron Cook, SP, Rockies: While he isn't overly fantasy-relevant himself, Cook's time on the DL virtually assures that Ubaldo Jimenez will stay in the rotation despite the acquisition of Ramon Ortiz. Jimenez is definitely someone to look at for spot starts outside of Coors. Ortiz is definitely someone to forget about. Veteran Elmer Dessens will also get to try his hand with a few starts for the Rockies. He has maintained a solid ground ball-to-fly ball rate of 1.58 for his career and 2.33 in limited action this season. If the Rockies start peeling off wins again, he could become an option even at Coors.

Pedro Martinez, SP, Mets: The Mets' Sept. 7-9 series against the Astros is being widely reported as the expected arrival of Pedro (if everything goes according to plan). Again, I don't like his fastball to be as good as it can be and don't have much interest in him for fantasy this season.

Quick Pitches

Yusmeiro Petit, SP, Diamondbacks: Byung-Hyun Kim has been released by the D-backs, so that means they will have a spot in the rotation to fill. I like Petit as a spot-start option in both mixed and NL-only.

Clay Buchholz, SP, Red Sox: Another taste of the future is coming on Friday. Buchholz has been virtually untouchable in the minors this year, sporting a .187 batting average against. He's going to be up for only one start, but that may be enough to grab him and stash him in keeper leagues.

Eric Stults, SP, Dodgers: Stults has been amazingly hittable in the minor leagues this year, allowing a .351 average. That normally would be enough to stay away from him, but his strikeouts are appealing for NL-only. It's been suggested that he could be called up to fill the void left now thatMark Hendrickson has been demoted to the bullpen. Stults does have good control, and I think he will fool a few lineups before the league starts to get a book on him.

A Pat on the Back

Three players have made me want to take a moment and remind you of a good call I made on them.

Scott Kazmir, SP, Devil Rays: I said in June that Kazmir's adjustment to where he stood on the mound would pay big dividends once things got settled for him. Here we are with Kazmir sporting a 1.01 ERA in 44 2/3 post-All Star break innings.

Shawn Hill, SP, Nationals: I spoke strongly about picking up Hill twice in the last month, and his first start off the DL certainly bodes well for his season -- a six-inning one-hitter with seven strikeouts.

Jon Lester, SP, Red Sox: I also said stick with Lester until he gets a start at home to boost his confidence. His first start at Fenway this season resulted in a seven-inning two-hitter with four strikeouts.

Rich Harden, SP, Athletics: And just to bring me back down to earth, I'll discuss Harden. He is playing catch now but appears to be a complete nonfactor this season even if he works his shoulder back into form again. In the days before he was activated for one start on July 7, I said I was back on board and that he was a good trade target. I trusted that he was healing himself properly, despite being burned in the past by him. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Sean Allen is a fantasy baseball and hockey analyst for ESPN.com and TalentedMrRoto.com. He can be reached at alla_rino@TalentedMrRoto.com.

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