Fantasy Update looking ahead

PICKUP OF THE WEEK
I don't trust him any farther I can throw him, but for the short term, Kyle Davies has some AL-only value. Since rejoining the Royals' rotation, he has a 1.53 ERA in three starts. He is a two-start pitcher next week against the Albert Pujols-less Cardinals and the offensively challenged Giants. Since May 19, Kansas City starting pitchers have only three wins (hey, didn't you used to be Zack Greinke?). Brian Bannister has one of those wins, and Davies has two. So, don't be so skeptical about Davies' chances. The guy shut down the Rangers' top-ranked offense Wednesday before the bullpen blew the win.

KEEP AN EYE ON
No joke: As a freshman in college, I lived next to a guy named Thor. Thus, I still chuckle every time I hear Matt Thornton's name. However, his AL-only owners are laughing all the way to the bank (or wherever they're headed). Thornton has at least one strikeout in eight of his past nine appearances, and his ERA is back below 3.00 for the first time since mid-April. With the White Sox back on track, that also should add up to more holds. ... Since starting the season 4-0 with a 2.42 ERA, Micah Owings is 2-4 with a 5.90 ERA. He should be prepared for a long overdue and massive free-fall in the rankings next week. Between Owings' failures and Doug Davis' inconsistency, Max Scherzer owners have to be pretty hopeful right now. ... The beauty of fantasy baseball is you can take the good without the bad. In the case of the Mariners, you can take Ryan Rowland-Smith and leave the rest of the garbage untouched. Rowland-Smith is unscored upon in his past 10 appearances (11.1) innings and can provide AL-only ERA help. ... Staying in Seattle: Take away his two starts against the Red Sox (one earned run in 12 innings), and Erik Bedard's ERA jumps from an already unimpressive 4.26 to a sickening 5.10. Boston and Seattle don't meet again until late July.

CLOSER WATCH
Here we go again with J.J. Putz. The guy has been banged up all season and had to leave Wednesday's outing because of a sore elbow. Brandon Morrow shut the door and should be the hot pickup in any Roto league. Now we'll have to wait and see if Morrow will be anything more than a short-term pickup. ... Rafael Soriano is dealing with some elbow discomfort (surprise!), so Manny Acosta should handle the save situations in the short term. Trouble is, Acosta (two blown saves, 15.75 ERA in June) suddenly has turned into Armando Benitez. ... And speaking of soreness, Huston Street's groin is bothering him. As a result, Alan Embree or Keith Foulke -- depending on the matchups -- could get a spot save. ... Dan Wheeler's closer days soon will come to an end because Troy Percival is due back Friday. ... If Billy Wagner needs a break, who will the Mets turn to? Duaner Sanchez and Aaron Heilman have been awful, and Scott Schoeneweis doesn't have closer stuff. That makes Joe Smith (24/8 K/BB ratio) a dark horse. ... It's worth noting that Ryan Franklin has a 6.75 ERA in his past seven appearances. Meanwhile, Chris Perez continues to impress. Call me crazy, but I expect Perez to get closer consideration before Jason Isringhausen returns.

Staff writer Chris Bahr is a fantasy baseball expert for Sporting News.