You could probably make the case that there are two types of fantasy GMs: those that exclusively pay attention to their own players and those that seek to gobble up each and every kernel of fantasy information that is to be had. Here’s hoping that we’re giving ourselves a leg up on the competition each week by falling into the latter category.

This week’s Call to the Pen column alerts you (and me both) to some of the newsworthy and some of the obscure bullpen details to be gobbled up throughout the majors.

After the dust has settled from a very active trade deadline, a few significant names and faces have changed in bullpens throughout MLB. Injuries and inconsistency have also caused a few subtle shifts to closer roles, so let’s update what’s changing for this first week of August.

With the MLB trade deadline just days away, it’s time to take a look at the prospective winners and losers in bullpens throughout MLB as relievers prepare to change teams and, more importantly, roles in the weeks ahead.

With just 4 non-closing relievers being chosen for the All-Star Game (Evan Meek, Arthur Rhodes, and Hong-Chi Kuo from the NL, Matt Thornton from the AL) as compared with 7 closers, it’s a good time to look at a topic fantasy analysts can’t help but debate: the value of high-quality middle-relievers. These players may or may not get a shot a closing games this year, but can useful for fantasy play based on their superior peripherals nonetheless.

I won’t be the first (or last) fantasy sports writer to espouse the virtues of Cincinnati Reds’ middle reliever Arthur Rhodes, but I’m sorry folks, it simply has to be done.  1 ER in 32 IP dating back to his second appearance of 2010?  A tidy 8.44 K/9 and sparkling 0.81 WHIP? It’s no wonder the Reds are in a dead heat for 1^st place with the St. Louis Cardinals.  Between Rhodes and the perennially undervalued Francisco Cordero, the 8^th and 9^th innings are relatively impenetrable over on the winning side of Ohio.