The Braves’ Julio Teheran hurled an absolute gem on Wednesday afternoon. Brandon Inge spoiled his no-hit bid with two outs in the eighth inning, but don’t overlook the fact that he struck out 11 in going eight strong innings. This makes six straight quality starts for the rookie, placing a stamp on what looks to be a breakout season.

All is not golden though, as the return of Brandon Beachy is rapidly approaching. Obviously this means there is going to be an odd man out of the rotation. Based on performance, veteran Tim Hudson should be the guy. The 37-year-old team leader won’t suffer that fate though, so the 22-year-old Teheran is likely to be the man falling on the sword.

Teheran is currently available in just 13.2 percent leagues, climbing 38.4 percent over the last seven days. Expect that number to continue to rise. If you own him, and are in a redraft league, you should probably look to deal him if you can find any takers. The only way I can justify adding him at this stage of the game would be if you either owned Beachy or had another pitcher coming off the DL in the same time frame that you can plug in his place.

** Percentage available taken from ESPN on Sunday June 9th  

  • Tony Cingrani, CIN (73.0%)

    Johnny Cueto was placed on the DL with a right lat injury earlier this week and the club has yet to provide a timetable as to when to expect a return. Cingrani will take the hill in his stead starting Wednesday against the Cubs. In six starts earlier this season he posted a 3.27 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and struck out 41 batters over 33 innings pitched. In Triple-A he has posted a 1.15 ERA, .80 WHIP and struck out 49 over 31.1 innings pitched. Obviously he has been pretty dominant. His best pitch is his fastball, which has great late movement that has given opposing hitters fits thus far. I full expect another strong showing from him in Cueto’s place. He will provide elite strikeout totals for your squad if you pick him up. His only issue is going deep into games. It’s typically a hurdle with most young strikeout artists.

  • Gerrit Cole, SP, PIT (86.6%)

    The Pirates rotation is officially a MASH unit, with Wandy Rodriguez, James McDonald, Charlie Morton, Jeff Karstens and Jeanmar Gomez all currently on the DL. The injury to Rodriguez left the club with no other option than to call up Cole, who is the team’s top prospect. For a little background, he was the first overall selection in the 2011 draft. He has since flown through their minor league system. The 21 year old has made 38 starts, posting a 2.84 ERA, 1.14 WHIP while striking out 183 over 200 innings. With the Super-Two deadline in the rearview mirror, barring an absolutely horrific showing he should be up for the remainder of the season. Cole shouldn’t be viewed as a fantasy savior, as I expect some lumps. He should be added in all leagues though as he has the ability to post above average numbers.

  • Wil Myers, OF, TAM (76.9%)

    The run on prospects continues, as there are reports Myers should be getting his first taste of Major League action within the next week or so. He has been on a tear of late at Triple-A Durham, batting .390 with three homers and 11 RBIs over his last 41 at-bats. His bat will play at the major league level, but his effectiveness will rely on his pitch recognition. If there is one knock on him, it’s that he strikes out a bit too much. Major League pitchers are going to exploit him and force him to be patient and selective. One thing I do know is his power is legit. He can undoubtedly hit 15 homers over the remainder of the season, problem is it will likely come with an average in the .240 range. If available in your league he deserves a pickup now before he gets the call.

  • Nick Franklin, 2B/SS, SEA (82.2%)

    Franklin came up from Triple-A like he was shot out of a cannon, hitting a pair of homers in his fourth game and injecting some spark into the Mariners offense. Since then though he has cooled, driving in just one run over his last 28 at-bats while watching his average dip to .250. Prior to his call-up Franklin had 30 walks to just 20 strikeouts. He has been able to parlay that success over to the Big League level thus far as well, walking seven times while striking out only nine. Guys that get on base have a place on any fantasy squad because they score runs. Franklin adds double digit pop to the mix making him someone worthy of a mixed league add.

  • Marcell Ozuna, OF, MIA (26.3%)

    The Dodgers Yasiel Puig has been getting a ton of hype since his call-up, and rightfully so, but he has plenty of tools in his own right and has been quite impressive as well. Prior to his call-up following Giancarlo Stanton’s injury Ozuna had played just 10 games above High-A ball. So his .331/.371/.472 triple slash line over his first 153 plate appearances definitely raised my eyebrow. His BABIP of .423 is guaranteed to regress, but his 21.8 percent strikeout rate shows me a guy that isn’t over matched either. The Marlins coaching staff raves over the fact that he is constantly improving, this will be key in his ability to work through tough patches. I am buying here, as he looks fully capable of supplying solid fourth outfielder numbers.

  • Ryan Doumit, C/OF, MIN (41.1%)

    Doumit finished the month of May hitting .194 without a homerun and 16 strikeouts over 67 at-bats. He went from an interesting mixed league options because of his dual eligibility to waiver wire fodder in less than 30 days. Well ladies and gents he is back. Over his last dozen games he has ripped off fiver homers and driven in 14 runs while hitting .295. For his career Doumit has hit .270 over 2,634 at-bats. A slow start from a proven performer shouldn’t land him on the waiver wire, especially at a thin position like catcher. His recent hot streak has his average up to .234, and I fully expect the ride to continue. His extremely low .252 BABIP is due for a correction north, which will bring his batting average with it. His eight homers on the season also have him on pace for a career best 22.

  • Jose Fernandez, SP, MIA (30.7%)

    I would be lying if I said I wasn’t tired of carrying this kids banner. I have mentioned him numerous times in this column and he still doesn’t get the respect he rightfully deserves. Fantasy players put too much emphasis on wins. Pitching for the Marlins all but assures Fernandez won’t touch double digit victories. I say who cares. Wins are fickle. He may rattle off four straight and not win another for the season while pitching lights out. Look at Cliff Lee’s numbers from last season. He won just six of his 30 starts despite posting a 3.16 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. Fernandez has a 3.17 ERA and 1.15 WHIP to go along with a 9.23 K/9. Those are elite totals, and this kid doesn’t turn 21 until the end of July.

  • Rex Brothers, RP, COL (26.4%)

    Brothers, the man currently filling in for injured closer Rafael Betancourt, stands a decent chance at actually keeping the job. Hear me out here for a minute. For starters, Brothers has outpitched him this season. Granted, he has been in a set-up role, but numbers are numbers. The thing that jumps out at me is the fact that the 38 year-old Betancourt has just a $4.5 million dollar mutual option left on his contract. The likelihood he gets picked up is slim at best. With Brothers performing as well as he has, they have nothing to lose by letting him hold the roll with Betancourt as a fallback if he indeed falters. If he happens to be on your waiver wire, go make the pickup.

  • Adam Lind, 1B, TOR (58.7%)

    His .340 average would rank 6th in the league had he qualified for the batting title. Had he not taken a seat nine times over the first six weeks of the season due to poor play he probably would be getting more publicity. Lind has been particularly hot over the last 30 days, posting a .409-16-4-11-0 line over 88 at-bats. His BABIP is all the way up at .393. For his career his BABIP is .299. There is some regression in store here, which will affect his batting average. Not all is bad though, I do love the fact that he has walked in 13.1 percent of his plate appearances. Definitely a sign he is locked in and comfortable at the plate. Lind has proven he can poke 20-plus long balls while posting a solid average in the past and looks to have put a very disappointing ’12 season behind him.

  • Carlos Quentin, OF, SD (81.3%)

    To be honest, Quentin is one of my guilty pleasures. The guy has light tower power, but hasn’t played in more than 131 games in any of his seven seasons in the league. Heading into June he was hitting just .211, but has hit .483 this month, upping his average a respectable .264 on the season. He is totally worthy of a mixed league roster spot, and even starting for that matter when hot. His problem is when battling any type of boo-boo he plays poorly, and often lands on the DL. If you need to fill an outfield or DH spot courtesy of an injury he makes for a great candidate. The fact that he has burned just about every fantasy owner out there at least once means he should always have trouble getting high ownership in mixed leagues.

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