As recently as Tuesday, I expressed little confidence in rookie Alex Wood staying in the Braves rotation, so you'd think after his underwhelming start Thursday at the Mets, I'd stick with that stance. But now with Tim Hudson out for the year, it seems a good bit more plausible.
And again, I really like Wood's potential. He doesn't have the pedigree of a Kevin Gausman or Zack Wheeler, but neither did Tony Cingrani. And like Cingrani, Wood's plus fastball and funky left-handed delivery have allowed him to put up some killer numbers in the minors: In 24 career starts, he has a 1.73 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
Of course, the Braves still have room for only three of Wood, Kris Medlen, Brandon Beachy and Paul Maholm in their starting rotation, but right now, Wood is one of those three. And with two starts coming up in Fantasy Week 18 (July 29-14), he deserves the benefit of the doubt in Fantasy, especially if you can slot him at relief pitcher.