Wednesday's Roto Roundup: Aroldis Chapman Wins First

On a day when many teams called up some of their top prospects, Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw was the hardluck loser as he was out-dueled by Phillies starter Roy Oswalt. Kershaw gave up just two runs, on 5 hits, 2 walks and 11 strikeouts. Since the end of June, Kershaw has an 83-28 K/BB rate over 77.2 innings pitched.

Phillies starter Roy Oswalt won his 10th game of the season, and 4th since being traded, shutting out the Dodgers for six innings on 1 hit, 6 walks and 6 strikeouts. Oswalt has lowered his ERA from 3.42 to 3.01 since coming over from the Astros.

White Sox rookie reliever Chris Sale earned his first save of his career, walking two and striking out two. Since his callup, Sale has thrown 10 innings, striking out 16 and walking 7, with a 0.90 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. Is Sale the White Sox closer in 2011?

Diamondbacks outfielder/first baseman Brandon Allen, who was just called up today, went 2-4 with a grand slam home run and 4 RBIs. Allen should see plenty of time in the outfield in September, and should be the DBacks first baseman in 2011. He's a must add in NL-only and keeper leagues.

Padres starter Mat Latos pitched great on Wednesday, giving up just one run on 4 hits, a walk and 10 strikeouts. Latos is stuck on 13 wins, but has an excellent ERA of 2.25 and 0.98 WHIP. Latos is probably a Top 15 starting pitcher for me in 2011.

Marlins outfielder Mike Stanton broke out of a slump going 2-5 with his 15th HR and 2 RBIs on Wednesday. Fantasy owners can only hope Stanton has put the hitting slump behind him.

The Marlins won big on Wednesday night, beating the Nationals 16-10, but closer Leo Nunez pitched the 8th inning, and Brian Sanches pitched the 9th in an obvious non-save situation. Fantasy owners should watch how the bullpen situation is handled over the next few games in Florida.

Giants starter Tim Lincecum broke out of his recent slump by out-dueling Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez. Lincecum gave up just one run on 5 hits, 1 walk and 9 strikeouts in 8 innings of work. Lincecum won his 12th game of the season and lowered his ERA to 3.68.

Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira went 3-4 with 3 RBIs and now has 98 for the season. Back in April and May, Teixeira frustrated many fantasy owners with his slow start. So much for slow starts, as Teixeira is now tied for 4th in RBIs in the AL. 

Reds reliever Aroldis Chapman won his first major league game on Wednesday pitching in relief. He pitched the 7th inning and struck out two. The guys on the MLB Network compared his slider to Randy Johnson's slider. Do the Reds allow him to start in 2011 or keep him in the bullpen?

Red Sox third baseman Adrian Beltre went 1-5 with his 24th HR of the season to go with his 91 RBIs. Beltre is now hitting .321-.360-.552 for the season. Scott Boras will be a happy agent at some point this offseason, as Beltre will command a very nice contract from some team. Could a return to LA be in his future?

Tigers starter Max Scherzer pitched 9 strong innings, but did not earn the win on Wednesday. Scherzer gave up just one run on 4 hits, a walk and 9 strikeouts. Scherzer has given up just 14 runs in his last 10 starts, striking out 63 and walking 25, while lowering his ERA from 4.74 to 3.45.

Who would have thought that Rafael Soriano would have 40 saves at this point in the season for the Rays, or that Neftali Feliz would have 34 saves for the Rangers. Sometimes it pays to wait on closers in fantasy drafts.