Today's Fantasy Rx

Anaheim: Troy Percival, RH Closer
1-0 and 8 Saves on a 5:6 K:BB in 9.2 IP over 10 G
with 6 H, 1 HR, a .37 G-F, and a 1.86 ERA.

Three saves in the first three games of this month pushed Percival's performance to a surprisingly helpful level. He will not continue to save or win 90% of his appearances, and with his walk and flyball problems, expect his ERA to head upward soon. Of course, his 4.7 K/9 is my biggest concern as his 8.8 strikeout rate a year ago previously ranked as the worst mark of his career. While the 34-year-old should remain effective for a few more seasons, he looks like a risky player to own, particularly in keeper leagues since Francisco Rodriguez should push Percival out of Anaheim this winter. Shop Percival now to see if you can leverage his probable best stretch of the season into a closer on the upswing like Eddie Guardado, Ugueth Urbina, or even Keith Foulke.

We'll continue tomorrow with National League overachieving pitchers.

Today's Fantasy Rx: Toronto's closer situation shifted again last night as Mike Nakamura pitched three outstanding innings of middle relief before Jason Frasor saved the game. However, considering Kerry Ligtenberg remains effective and even Terry Adams' continues pitching decently despite worrisome control problems, gambling significant FAAB on Nakamura or Frasor makes no more sense than dumping Speier now. I expect Carlos Tosca to continue experimenting with different reliever combinations until someone demonstrates obvious dominance. Bidding a few bucks on Frasor and even Nakamura isn't a bad idea if you need saves, but don't expect either pitcher to accumulate more than a half-dozen; treat anything above that level as a pleasant bonus.