Let’s say that despite some evidence that Yu Darvish is being squeezed at the plate, you don’t have much hope for him to improve his control over the last six weeks of the season. That’s okay — at this point, we’re in the crucible. If you still have some time left before your deadline, it might be time to check the schedule closely. It might just change your mind about him.

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It hasn’t been easy to be a Jeff Samardzija owner all season long. Coming into the year, he’d shown some strikeout promise (8.9 K/9, 22.% K% in 2011) and a lot of bad control (double-digit walk percentages most seasons). So he was on some benches, waiver wires and watch lists as a tweener. After a good first couple of months, his ownership crept upwards. Then June came and reminded everyone of the downside: 23.1 innings, 15 walks, an ERA over ten and a WHIP over two. Ever since, he’s been slowly earning back the trust of many owners. He’s still available in more than half of the Yahoo leagues out there — and he fanned 11 against three walks in his last start.

Maybe it’s time to give the 27-year-old Shark the benefit of the doubt — it is his week, after all, and his day here at FanGraphs. Ben Duronio will focus on his split finger alone, while I’ll talk about his control in particular.

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This Chris Carter was one of the first freedom campaigns that ever got my attention. Before Brandon Allen, there was Vernon Christopher, the twice-traded minor league slugger with power and patience that just needed somebody to believe in him. This year, after a couple tweaks, it looks like he’s finally free to free baseballs in the major leagues.

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Carlos Gomez looks like a different man these days. Gone is the platoon label. Gone is the no-power speedster label. Gone is the defensive replacement label. At least right now, he seems like a new player.

And yet, this new incarnation as the powerful starting center fielder for the Brewers had its roots in the hitter’s history. The organic nature of this surge might make it sustainable, even when measured against the previous 1700+ plate appearances that weren’t nearly as enticing. Unfortunately, Milwaukee only controls their centerfielder for another year, and it took some time for the 26-year-old to morph into his current state. If the Brewers believe, perhaps they should look into locking up him long-term at a reduced price.

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I’ve been slacking on my pimping: It’s been a long time since I’ve tiered my National League outfielders. After a long discussion of rankings every time we produce ranks (our late July ranks are up on the main page), I realized that I think in tiers. Too often a reader would react to one player that was right below another, and I would be surprised. Would I take this player for that player in a trade? Dunno, what does the rest of my team look like. What are my needs.

Instead, I find it more rewarding to think of players in tiers. Is there much sense in wondering if I would trade Carlos Gonzalez for Matt Kemp straight up anyway? Much more interesting to me is the idea that I could trade away Jay Bruce in a trade that netted me Justin Upton, and my outfielder’s tier wouldn’t be affected.

So, your tiers:

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Domonic Brown is back in the bigs. He was once projected by Bill James to go 30/30, so obviously he has the tools to stick in the major leagues. But just as obvious is the fact that he’s not the same prospect he once was. He’s probably the most interesting position player that finds himself with an everyday job after the trade deadline, nonetheless.

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Travis Snider is now a Buc, and in the deepest of leagues, he’s probably gone from your waiver wire already. And in the shallowest of leagues, even the biggest fan would have to admit that he’s no sure thing, and that the strikeouts could keep the batting average too low to take advantage of his nascent power. But in the leagues in between, we are stuck wondering how excited to get.

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