Roto Rush: Yunel Escobar, New Blue Jays Slugger?

With the Atlanta Braves pushing for a pennant and hoping for a shot at a World Series championship, the team felt they must improve at the shortstop position. After all, Yunel Escobar headed into the All-Star break with a .238 average, a .334 on-base percentage and a .284 slugging percentage. If that last number looks low, it's because Escobar also hadn't hit a home run in 261 first-half at-bats.

You know the next part -- the Braves shipped Escobar to the Blue Jays in a five-player deal that featured Atlanta receiving baseball's leading home-run hitting shortstop, Alex Gonzalez.

Sunday, after going 3-for-9 in his first two games with Toronto, Escobar finally connected for a round-tripper. Better yet, it was a grand slam (pictured at right) and all the offense the Blue Jays would need in a 10-1 victory. Escobar would later add an RBI single and is 6-for-13 as a Blue Jay.

Will Escobar make the Braves rue this deal? It's quite possible, and if you ask most Toronto fans, they're very happy with the swap. Fantasy teams looking for shortstop help should give Escobar another chance -- maybe a change of scenery was all he needed.

Bits From the Box Scores:

• Don't feel too bad for the Braves, as they still hold a five-game lead in the NL East after a 11-6 win against Milwaukee on Sunday. Brian McCann connected for his own grand slam in the win and had a chance for another before drawing a walk with the bases loaded. Rickie Weeks hit his 16th and 17th homers in the loss and is looking like quite the fantasy find.

• Paul Maholm went the distance for a complete-game shutout against the Astros, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out one batter. I wouldn't bother adding Maholm in standard leagues. Roy Oswalt came away with the loss and with a contusion on his ankle from a Pedro Alvarez liner. While he only lasted four innings in the game, he is expected to make his next start.

• The Cubs got to Roy Halladay early in Sunday night's action, as the team scored four runs in the second inning, including one on a double steal of home and second (Tyler Colvin swiped the plate). Jimmy Rollins stole a couple bags in the loss.

• Elvis Andrus and Julio Borbon also accomplished a double steal that involved nabbing home plate in the fifth inning of the Rangers-Red Sox Sunday game. C.J. Wilson outpitched Jon Lester for the win, surrendering three hits and five walks while striking out 10 batters over 6.2 innings.

• Three teams are right in the thick of the pennant race in the AL Central, and the Twins tightened things up by beating the White Sox on Sunday. Bobby Jenks came in to a 6-3 game in the ninth and gave up two hits and two walks without recording an out, which got him yanked and ultimately gave him the loss. With a pennant on the line, could a change be coming? Make sure Matt Thornton and J.J. Putz are owned in your league.

• After struggling through the first two months of the season, Carlos Pena hit eight dingers in June while raising his average a bit. He's worked on raising it even more over the weekend. After a 4-for-5 Saturday performance that featured a homer and three RBIs, Pena went 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs on Sunday. Alex Rodriguez hit his 598th homer in the 9-5 Yankees win, while Andy Pettitte suffered a groin injury and will likely miss over a month of action. Feel free to drop him.

• Jhonny Peralta legged out an inside-the-park home run when Ryan Raburn went through the bullpen door trying to catch a fly ball in the Indians 7-2 win over the Tigers. I'm not sure of much in this crazy world, but I'm 99.9 percent positive that that was Peralta first and last inside-the-park homer. Jeanmar Gomez, who pitched a perfect game last year in Double-A, recorded the win in his first Major-League start, allowing no earned runs in seven innings.

• Aaron Cook outdueled Travis Wood for a 1-0 win in Cincinnati, with Huston Street striking out three batters and allowing two hits for his sixth save. In Florida, the Marlins beat the Nationals 1-0 with Alex Sanabia outdueling Craig Stammen for the win. Feel free to ignore the guys in the latter matchup.

• With the Reds losing, the Cardinals had the opportunity to take possession of first place, and they didn't squander it, scoring five runs in the final two innings of their game against the Dodgers to earn a win. Vicente Padilla pitched six scoress innings in the no decision, allowing one hit and five walks. Even though that performance puts a huge dent in his K:BB ratio, he's a surefire fantasy starter moving forward.

• Johan Santana allowed just one run in eight innings, but Francisco Rodriguez blew the save to deny Santana the W, which K-Rod would ultimately receive in two innings of work. David Wright homered and now he has a 15/15 season in the bag. For those keeping an eye on the outfield situation, Angel Pagan played center field while Carlos Beltran rested. I'd expect Jeff Francoeur to suffer the biggest decline in playing time over the second half.

• You generally only want to start Jason Vargas at home, but he made easy work of the Angels in Los Angeles on Sunday, surrendering just one run in 7.2 innings while striking out nine batters. Vargas is back at home and facing Boston next week. Start him.

• Vin Mazzaro stayed hot by pitching 7.2 innings of one-run ball in Kansas City for a win. It was Mazzaro's fifth straight quality start, and he's a fine play at home or against weaker opponents. Kansas City scored five in the ninth inning before Andrew Bailey came on to secure a one-out save.

• Chris Denorfia has decided to become a power hitter, first hitting homes in back-to-back games in Washington two series ago, then blasting two homers against Arizona on Sunday. Denorfia doesn't play every day, but he's worth a look in NL-only leagues while he's hitting blasts. Kelly Johnson and Justin Upton both hit their 15th homers in the loss.

Locking Your Lineup: Games get started at 7:05 ET Monday evening.

What to Watch on Monday: Ubaldo Jimenez posted a mind-boggling 15-1 record in 18 first-half starts, and he'll look to keep a Cy Young bid going when he faces the Marlins in Florida. Madison Bumgarner is pitching well and squares off against the Dodgers' James McDonald in the latter's first appearance in the majors this year. Dan Hudson should be ignored when he's pitching in U.S. Celluar Field, but he gets the much easier assignment of facing the Mariners in Seattle on Monday.