The Week Ahead: Week Ahead: Strong Brew

The Brewers are near the bottom of the NL Central, and shipped off several pieces at the deadline earlier this week as they officially turned their focus toward the future.

They have reason to be feeling good about that future with two rookie hurlers excelling their rotation. Both will be starting twice in The Week Ahead.

Junior Guerra has been one of the better stories in baseball this year. At age 31, he isn’t your typical rook, but the late bloomer has been stellar in 17 starts for Milwaukee with a 7-3 record and 2.93 ERA. We keep waiting for him to slow down, and he just keeps on rolling. He figures to continue next week with home dates against the Braves and a Reds lineup with no Jay Bruce.

Guerra definitely gets the Strong Play tag and is out there in 30 percent of Yahoo leagues. If he’s not available to you, his rotation-mate Zach Davies is a perfectly good fallback.

The 23-year-old right-hander scuffled out of the gates a bit this year, and finished May with a 5.40 ERA, but he has come on strong in the past couple of months. Since the start of June, Davies is 7-1 with a 2.47 ERA. He has been especially hot in his last five turns (4-0, 1.97).

Davies is looking ahead to the same soft slate as Guerra, and is owned in only 43 percent of Yahoo leagues.

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* At long last, there is hope for the Rockies rotation. Colorado’s staff is perennially one of baseball’s worst but that shows signs of changing with impressive young arms like Jon Gray (recommended as a streamer below), and the Twin Tylers. Tyler Anderson and Tyler Chatwood have both been very good and they’re both on the two-start list for the coming week with decent match-ups.

* When pitching in his home park this year, Kendall Graveman has a 2.92 ERA in eight starts. He has two turns in Oakland on tap. Teammate Jesse Hahn is a riskier proposition but also goes twice at home.

* It’s been an uneven season for R.A. Dickey, helping explain why he is rostered in less than 20 percent of leagues. He pitched quite well in Houston his last time out, though, and next week gets the Astros and Rays at home. Those clubs rank first and second in the AL in strikeouts. The veteran knuckleballer is a nice two-start sleeper.

* Newly promoted prospect Robert Whalen will get the ball twice for the Braves, facing the Brewers and Nationals on the road. The 22-year-old looked good after a rocky first inning in his MLB debut on Wednesday, and had a 2.42 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A before his call-up.

* Hector Santiago will pitch twice at his new home park in Minnesota, with favorable assignments against Houston and Kansas City. He turned in a so-so first Twins start on Thursday but went 6-0 with the Angels in July.

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Going Twice…

American League

Strong Plays

Rick Porcello: NYY, ARI

Chris Sale: @KC, @MIA

Michael Fulmer: @SEA, @TEX

Cole Hamels: @COL, DET

Decent Plays

Kevin Gausman: @OAK, @SF

Trevor Bauer: @WAS, LAA

Edinson Volquez: CWS, @MIN

Hector Santiago: HOU, KC

Kendall Graveman: BAL, SEA

Wade LeBlanc: DET, @OAK

Jake Odorizzi: @TOR, @NYY

R.A. Dickey: TB, HOU

At Your Own Risk

Yovani Gallardo: @OAK, @SF

Collin McHugh: @MIN, @TOR

Mike Fiers: @MIN, @TOR

Jered Weaver: @CHC, @CLE

Tyler Duffey: HOU, KC

Jesse Hahn: BAL, SEA

A.J. Griffin: @COL, DET

Luis Severino: @BOS, TB

National League

Strong Plays

Kenta Maeda: PHI, PIT

Johnny Cueto: @MIA, BAL

Steven Matz: ARI, SD

Junior Guerra: ATL, CIN

Jose Fernandez: SF, CWS

Jason Hammel: LAA, STL

Zack Greinke: @NYM, @BOS

Decent Plays

Mike Leake: CIN, @CHC

Michael Wacha: CIN, @CHC

Zach Davies: ATL, CIN

Tyler Anderson: TEX, @PHI

Tyler Chatwood: TEX, @PHI

Cody Reed: @STL, @MIL

Robert Whalen: @MIL, @WAS

At Your Own Risk

Luis Perdomo: @PIT, @NYM

Jeff Locke: SD, @LAD

Tyrell Jenkins: @MIL, @WAS

Jake Thompson: @LAD, COL

Streamer City

The following pitchers are generally available in over 50 percent of fantasy leagues and have favorable match-ups this week:

American League

Wednesday, August 10th: Ervin Santana vs. HOU

Despite a 1.96 ERA in his past eight starts, the veteran remains unowned in two out of three leagues. Here he gets the strikeout-prone Astros at home.

Wednesday, August 10th: Wade Miley @ OAK

Miley enjoyed a solid month of July, with four quality starts in five tries, before being shipped to the Orioles. He’ll try to pick up a win with his new club in this favorable match-up.

Friday, August 12th: James Paxton @ OAK

Paxton in his last three starts: 20 innings, 2.25 ERA, 21 strikeouts, two walks.

National League

Wednesday, August 10th: Ryan Vogelsong vs. SD

Finally back from a lengthy rehab from facial fractures, Vogelsong tossed six innings of one-run ball against the Braves on Thursday.

Thursday, August 11th: Matt Garza vs. ATL

He isn’t a very interesting fantasy asset anymore, but Garza should do fine in this home tilt against the worst team in baseball.

Friday, August 12th: Jon Gray @ PHI

Gray continues to rattle off strong outing after strong outing. He’s 3-0 with a 0.69 ERA since the All Star break.

Total Games

American League

6: BOS, CWS, CLE, DET, KC, LAA, NYY, SEA, TB, TOR

7: BAL, HOU, MIN, OAK, TEX

National League

5: WAS

6: ARI, CHC, CIN, LAD, MIA, NYM, PHI, PIT, SD, SF

7: ATL, COL, MIL, STL

The Infirmary

You can get a full listing of injured players at Rotoworld’s Injury Page but here’s the latest on a few prominent players who have been out of action:

Julio Teheran: Out indefinitely (shoulder)

Danny Salazar: Out until late August (elbow)

Trevor Story: Out for the season (thumb)

Charlie Tilson: Out for the season (hamstring)

Mike Pelfrey: Out until late August (back)

Lance McCullers: Out indefinitely (elbow)

Huston Street: Out until mid-August (knee)

Trevor Plouffe: Returning this week (ribs)

Asdrubal Cabrera: Out until September (knee)

Aaron Nola: Out until September (elbow)

Steve Cishek: Out indefinitely (hip)

Nate Karns: Out until mid-August (arm)