Wednesday's Roto Roundup: Ryan Howard Drives In Six

It's going to be a short one tonight, as I had a fantasy football draft this evening, and it's almost midnight.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard seems to like hitting in September as he went 3-5 with a HR and 6 RBIs on Wednesday. Howard is 11-34 with 4 HRs and 10 RBIs in September. For the season, he has been a bit of a disappointment in the power department, as he has only hit 28 HRs and driven in 95. He has averaged 45-140 the last 4 years.

Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher went 2-4 with a game-winning 2-run HR in the bottom of the 9th inning on Wednesday. Swisher is hitting .292-.363-.523 with 26 HRs and 82 RBIs. 

Yankees SS Derek Jeter certainly isn't helping himself in his walk year, as he becomes a free agent at the end of the season. Jeter was 0-4 on Wednesday and is hitting just .262-.328-.369 for the season with 10 HRs, 60 RBIs and 16 SBs. His OPS is below .700 for the first time in his career.

Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki went 3-4 with 2 HRs and 4 RBIs on Wednesday. Tulo is hitting .322-.387-.539 with 17 HRs and 68 RBIs. Tulo is definitely the second best fantasy SS in the game, but has been a bit injury prone this year.

Red Sox third baseman Adrian Beltre went 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI. Beltre is hitting ..323-.365-.562 with 27 HRs and 95 RBIs. At the beginning of the season, I projected a 25-90 season from Beltre, and he has made my prediction look good. Beltre is setting himself up for another big payday in 2011.

I am beginning to wonder if the Astros pitching coach is the second coming of Dave Duncan as he has turned some mediocre pitchers into solid pitchers this season. One of them is Brett Myers who shutout the Cardinals for 7 innings, giving up just 4 baserunners and striking out 8. Myers is 11-7 with a 2.91 ERA and 1.21 WHIP with a 157-56 K/BB rate.

Diamondbacks starter Daniel Hudson improved to 5-1 on the season by holding the Giants to one run in 7 innings, giving up 7 baserunners and striking out 3. His ERA sits at an excellent 1.91. Hiudson could be a sleeper in 2011 fantasy drafts.

Wednesday brought some injury news as Marlins starter Josh Johnson may be shut down for the rest of the season with shoulder and back issues. This news has to hurt many fantasy teams as JJ has been one of the top 5 starters in all of baseball this season.

Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins appeared to re-injure his hamstring scoring from second base on Wednesday night, and will probably miss a few games. I was watching this game and he was not happy after he scored the run. He slowly walked into the dugout, with his head down, looking very dejected. The Phillies recent turnaround coincided with Rollins returning from the DL, and I wonder how they will perform should he miss a few games, or longer.