Today's Fantasy Rx

Anaheim: Troy Percival, RH Closer
0-3 and 26 Saves on a 36:13 K:BB in 38.1 IP over 40 G
with 28 H, 6 HR, a .51 G-F, and a 3.52 ERA.

Perhaps Percival is showing his age, but the 34-year-old possesses a career-worst 8.5 K/9 and still hasn't vultured a single win after averaging four wins a season over the past four years. Although both his 3.1 BB/9 and 6.6 H/9 are solid marks, Percival's poor ground-fly rate and a 1.4 HR/9 leave his ERA at least a half run higher than expected given his recent performance. His skills remain rather decent overall, however he won't approach 40 saves after totaling 79 between 2001 and 2002. While Percival still ranks with the best closers in the AL, we only can expect about eight more saves from him this year since we can't trust his qualitative marks due to his gradually slipping skills. Wait if you need saves yet feel free to move him if you can improve your team in multiple categories.

July Underachiever: Kevin Appier, RH Starter
Old stats: 6-6 on a 47:34 K:BB in 86 IP over 17 GS
with 96 H, 15 HR, and a .72 G-F; 5.44 ERA.
Recommendation: wait.
Stats since recommendation: 2-3 on a 7:7 K:BB in 23.2 IP over 5 GS
with 23 H, 5 HR, and a 5.32 ERA.

Previous Underachievers: April: John Lackey; May: Mickey Callaway; June: Francisco Rodriguez.

We'll continue tomorrow with NL underachieving pitchers.

Today's Fantasy Rx: Yesterday I highlighted several players on Anaheim, Colorado, Montreal, and Toronto who could see abrupt changes in playing time in the near future. While the Dodgers possess as good a chance for the Wild Card as anyone in the Central, only Philadelphia, Arizona, and Florida retain reasonable shots of joining Atlanta, San Francisco, and the NL Central winner in the postseason. I expect the Dodgers to stay with their current roster for the most part, and even if Chin-Feng Chen, Koyie Hill, or Wilkin Ruan join the club in September, they shouldn't see much playing time. The one intriguing possibility, which increases whenever a veteran starter experiences another injury problem, is that Los Angeles will promote one of their upper-level pitching prospects. The Dodgers likely will promote Joel Hanrahan, despite his struggles in his first couple AAA starts, if they need a starter rather than jump Edwin Jackson or 18-year-old Greg Miller from AA Jacksonville. Although none of these three top prospects looks ready to contribute this season, rebuilding owners in perpetual leagues should target any young Dodger pitcher as potential low-priced sleeper keepers.