Hello, friends.

Somehow, some way, it's almost September. For many of us, the season is still technically going, but any realistic expectations of winning have long since passed. For others, though, the chase remains afoot, and these possible champions of the future need to scrounge points wherever they can. Including the bane of many fantasy existences.

That's right, America -- I'm talking about red-hot speed.

Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

BENEFITS

• Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
• Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
• Remove ads and support our writers.
• Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker

Nicklaus Gaut will be talking fantasy baseball with Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers today at 11 am Central time. Get your question in early or participate in the live event at the link below!

Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

BENEFITS

• Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
• Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
• Remove ads and support our writers.
• Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker

Nicklaus Gaut will be talking fantasy baseball with Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers today at 11 am Central time. Get your question in early or participate in the live event at the link below!

Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

BENEFITS

• Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
• Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
• Remove ads and support our writers.
• Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker

Hello, friends.

We're halfway through August, and championship races are getting tight. But unfortunately, there is only so much you can control when coming down the stretch. The team you have is mostly the one you're stuck with, however, the most hay to be made is in your pitching decisions.

Last week, we did our final update on which teams you should be attacking and avoiding with your right-handed pitchers. This week, it's obviously time to switch over to the wronghanders.

Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

BENEFITS

• Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
• Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
• Remove ads and support our writers.
• Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker

Nicklaus Gaut will be talking fantasy baseball with Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers today at 11 am Central time. Get your question in early or participate in the live event at the link below!

Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

BENEFITS

• Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
• Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
• Remove ads and support our writers.
• Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker

Hello, friends.

With the trade deadline behind us and rosters mostly settled, it's time to take one final crack at identifying the teams you should be going out of your way to stream against, and who should be avoided whenever possible.

With waiver-wires long since picked clean, finding valuable streamers is your quickest way to big changes in your standings as we enter the championship run. But as the white-haired lothario, Kenny Rogers, once opined, it's also about knowing when to fold 'em. As the season dwindles, so too must your spectrum of usable starters, at least compared to what it was early in the season, given how much more information you're working with. Obviously, that starts with knowing much more about team offenses now than we did in May, but just as big of a decision driver should be your own individual league circumstances.

We're no longer in the willy-nilly times of spring and early summer; if you're hunting for a championship in the middle of August, you can't just throw out every reasonable start you have available. The closer we get to the end, the more particular you might need to be, honing in on the categories you need to push, or possibly sacrificing any you can afford to. That might mean opening up your spectrum of usability for a team that's sneakily been in the dumps against a certain hand (like the Dodgers vs LHPs), or tightening it almost all the way up to avoid a power-surger (Toronto vs RHPs).

We'll tackle what to do with right-handers first, starting by splitting the season into two (unavoidably) arbitrary samples, using April through June, and post-July as our borders. We'll also use runs scored as a jumping off point, but let's first acknowledge the limitations of using team runs scored versus a particular hand.  IE. It's not as black and white as the numbers suggest, given inherited runners, pitcher switches, etc.

Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

BENEFITS

• Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
• Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
• Remove ads and support our writers.
• Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker

Nicklaus Gaut will be talking fantasy baseball with Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers today at 11 am Central Time. Get your question in early or participate in the live event at the link below!

Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

BENEFITS

• Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
• Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
• Remove ads and support our writers.
• Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker

Hello, friends.

It's dead-liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-nne day...the day after. Trades have been made, with more that we thought would be (*cough-cough..starting pitchers...cough-cough*), not happening. With trades come repercussions, both on the receiving and giving ends, and fantasy players have just one main question.

What now?

Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

BENEFITS

• Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
• Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
• Remove ads and support our writers.
• Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker

Hello, friends.

With the All-Star break behind us, and the inevitable trade deadline shakeup just now crossing the horizon, let's pause to appreciate power. Or, at least, appreciate those who've seemingly leveled up in an area that often portends more round-trippers.

Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

BENEFITS

• Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
• Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
• Remove ads and support our writers.
• Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker