After a one-week hiatus, RotoRob Fantasy Baseball Weekly Podcast, heard every Thursday at 9 p.m. EST on Blogtalkradio, was back in action this week and we had a blast as we were joined by Jake Watroba, former RotoRob.com writer and head man at TheNorthCast.com.

Among the issues we covered:

• Jake celebrates his 10th article with the site!
• Justin Verlander doesn’t look like the pitcher he once was. What up with that?
• Joe Nathan has not been a dependable ninth inning option this year.
• We’ve seen the Cardinals turn lemons into lemonade.
• Yan Gomes had to leave early Thursday with an illness.
• David Price tossed an absolute gem in his return to Tampa Bay.
• Matt Stites has enjoyed nice hit rates, but about those walks…
• Washington is looking primed to make a deep run into the playoffs this year.
• Seattle has been playing extremely well lately.
• While every other AL West team has improved this year, Texas has headed in a slightly different direction.
• Even Miami is not out of the NL Wild Card race.

To hear our Fantasy baseball goodness ooze from your speakers, simply press the play button below.

[podcast]https://rotorob.com/podcasts/RR_Fantasy_Baseball_Aug2114.mp3[/podcast]

Now it’s your turn. Let us know in the comments below what you thought of our baseball banter.

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While it’s true that he is human and will occasionally turn a situation sticky, he remains perfect in save chances early on this year. Okay, so if you want to call his ERA rising two-tenths of a run last year alarming, go ahead. You’re probably also a germaphobe. There aren’t many hurlers that can blow hitters away with such ease as Kimbrel can. Let’s see… 900 hitters have now faced him since he arrived in the majors and he’s struck out 392 of them (44 per cent). What do you think? Kimbrel has been the clear No. 1 on this list for a couple of years now and considering how tough it is to take him yard, we don’t see him going anywhere as long as he’s healthy. more

If not for injuries, CarGo looked to be on pace for year similar to 2010 when he finished third in the NL MVP race. Injuries have always seemed to plague Gonzalez since being traded to the Rockies in 2008. During his tenure with Colorado, he has only managed to play in over 140 games once (2010) which isn’t very good when you consider you’ll likely have to use a first or second round pick on him. Gonzalez possesses all the talent in the world. He has the ability to hit for a high average, hit for power, steal a fair amount of bases, and drive in a ton of runs. Gonzalez is entering the prime of his career. He’s a 30-30 candidate… if he’s able to stay healthy. more

Still, the normally injury prone player was able to set a career high by playing in 160 games. That’s the good news. The bad news is his overall work at the plate regressed. Longoria’s walk rate dipped for the second straight season and he never runs anymore. This former college star has enjoyed a fine career to date, but you can’t shake the feeling that he hasn’t had that true breakthrough yet. Is a 40-homer season coming one of these years? Well, he’ll need to stop the two-year trend of regressing extra-base pop first. Longoria is a no-nonsense player that will do whatever he can to be the best. Is 2014 the season he finally puts it all together? more

Tulowitzki is easily the most dangerous hitting shortstop in the game today. Despite the Coors Field stigma (which is somewhat true) Tulo is better than the field. His major issue is health. If you have owned him in the past, you know what we are saying. If Tulowitzki can actually stay on the field, 30 homers and 100 RBI are easily within his grasp. (Take a look at his mechanics in the video below to get an idea of his power.) His career OPS of 877 should be higher but health issues over the years has likely put a dent in it. While we don’t have the foresight to see that he will appear in 150+ games, we do know that if he does you will be a proud and contending owner. Tulowitzki is annually a slow starter but don’t lose faith because remember you drafted him high. After all, this dude’s career BABIP and OBP numbers would be great for a first baseman — never mind a middle infielder. Gamblers roll the dice and they don’t fear what hasn’t already happened. more