Posted by Rob McQuown on Thursday, August 6, 2009 at 6:42 am

Starting Pitchers:

- Randy Wolf is at home against ATL.  Not a flashy pick, Wolf has nonetheless put up great number.  He’s 29th in IP (140 innings), 27th in ERA, and 20th in WHIP (among MLB qualifiers).  His K/9 ranks 43rd, which isn’t bad, and the one weakness so far has been wins.  The Dodgers have all the things you want, in theory – good defense, good offense, and good park.  We think the low “Wins” total is a complete fluke, and recommend grabbing him now and holding him if you need a SP.

- Less exciting is the tantalizing Joba Chamberlain against Boston.  Where has that 100-MPH heat gone?  Not that 95 is slow, mind you, but it’s not 100.  We still think he’s an okay risk against Boston, and worth consideration to keep.  Over 96% of leagues agree, but he’s available in our 10-team league, so he’s getting a mention today.

- In the abstract, it’s hard to get too excited about Tommy Hunter, as noted in last week’s “Waiver Wire” (sponsored by Heater e-Magazine).  But at Oakland against Cahill, he’s a good matchup, even though the A’s has shown an odd tendency to be able to beat only Boston and Texas this season.

Batters:

- of Franklin Gutierrez is the best play of the day, Sky Kalkman’s WAR-based MVP pick (see beyondtheboxscore.com) on the road against hoping-to-be-a-retread Bruce Chen.

- 1b Billy Butler against yet another lefty.

- 3b/1b/of Carlos Guillen on a short slate against a lesser RHP is a good risk, even though he’s been hurt.  Bonus points for the fact that the O’s pen leans far to the right (Guillen still isn’t playing against LHP).

-  dh Travis Hafner got yesterday off, and should be well-rested to confront Blackburn today.

- c A.J. Pierzynski is quietly (if that’s possible for him) hitting .313, and Ervin Santana hasn’t been himself this year.

- ss/3b Gordon Beckham – almost a must-play at this point.

-  of Scott Podsednik – did we mention Santana hasn’t been himself?  “Pods” is a good SB guy for a waiver-available player.

- c Miguel Montero

- 2b Alberto Callaspo

- 2b/3b/1b Martin Prado continues to put up great numbers.

- 2b/3b Adam Kennedy