Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Eugenio Velez (pronounce the first name: ay-ooh-HEY-nee-o) is a relative unknown major league baseball player. He's currently gaining playing time for the San Francisco Giants without having an actual starting job. He fights for playing time at second base (against Freddy Sanchez), left field (against Nate Schierholtz and Fred Lewis) and right field (against Randy Winn). Lately, though, Velez has been playing pretty much everyday, and swinging a hot bat. The question is, can it continue?
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Vladimir Guerrero's had a rough 2009, with injury issues and his dwindling power (his .466 slugging percentage would easily be his career low if the season ended today) causing concern the 34-year-old was full-on in the middle of a career decline.
With two cracks of the bat Monday night, "Vlad the Impaler" reminded us that he's been swinging a hot stick of late. In fact, he's been the old Vlad for quite some time. He just needed to shake the Earth a little bit to ensure everyone took notice.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
Everyone knows the No. 1 prospect in Tuesday's draft (and if you don't, read this). But after Washington selects Stephen Strasburg, things get less precise.
"Anybody from [No.] 2 to 15 could be just as good as the other guy," an executive from an NL team with a high pick told FanHouse. "It's really a strange year because it is in the eye of the beholder."
For example, Arizona State right-hander Mike Leake has been discussed as high as No. 3 overall, to the Padres. But he's more likely to go in the middle of the first round, no lower than Arizona's picks at 16 and 17.
Blue Jays outfielder Alex Rios had some harsh words for a fan who chided him as he left a charity gala dinner Thursday night. The exchange, which referenced Rios' dreadful five-strikeout showing at the plate (platinum sombrero!), was predictably caught on video and posted to YouTube.
On Friday, it was Rios' turn to apologize for the embarrassing incident.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.
I think we can all agree that it's far too early to start voting upon who the best 2009 players are when it's only the middle of May. That being said, there are certainly some shining stars at this point who deserve some props. Plus, Major League Baseball recently released their All-Star ballots for our voting pleasure -- we vote on who will start the All-Star Game. If that's not important, I don't know what is. Let's take a gander.
OAKLAND -- You heard all that talk over the winter about how the American League East was going to be a tight three-team race.
The Blue Jays apparently didn't.
"You don't have to believe what you hear," Toronto shortstop Marco Scutaro told FanHouse. "In baseball, anything can happen. Last year if you would have told me in spring training that Tampa Bay would be in the World Series, I'd say you are crazy."
The first-place Blue Jays improved to 22-12, best in the American League, by taking two of three from the A's this weekend. Toronto has lost only one series so far this season.
Facing an Opening Day matchup against Toronto ace Roy Halladay, Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander had to figure it would take a stellar effort to notch his team a road victory.
Verlander delivered -- for a whole two batters.
Detroit's No. 1 starter opened the game by striking out Marco Scutaro looking and inducing a weak Aaron Hill groundout. He then proceeded to walk Alex Rios, setting off a four-run, two-out rally by Toronto that doomed Detroit just moments after the first pitch. Even with Halladay turning in a sub-standard effort, the Blue Jays had more than enough, taking a 12-5 decision.
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.
Meet the ... Team about to lose one of the best pitchers in baseball. Let's face it, with the economy in the tank for the rest of this calendar year, major league teams will be forced to cut costs. Roy Halladay makes a lot of money. The Blue Jays are going to be the worst team in the AL East (yes, they really will). People will stop attending games, and the Jays are going to have to deal him for about 30 cents on the dollar.
From now until the regular season begins, Fantasy Flings is where you'll find interesting story lines about your favorite teams from Spring Training. If there is a position battle, a nagging injury, a comeback story or a youngster making a surge for the "big club" we'll let you know the fantasy implications.
Boston Red Sox What's the strength of this Red Sox club so far in spring? By looking at the numbers, it's their bullpen. The seven projected relievers in the bullpen (Jonathan Papelbon, Takashi Saito, Ramon Ramirez, Justin Masterson, Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima and Javier Lopez) have combined to give up only one run on six hits in 13 innings of work. Last season the Red Sox bullpen produced 34 wins and these seven pitchers struck out 456 batters. What does all of this mean for your fantasy club? It means that Paps is still a solid, lock down closer. It also means that if you're looking for cheap wins, strikeouts, low ERA's and WHIP's you should start by scouring the Red Sox pen. And if your fantasy league uses holds, the value from this list just went up.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Starting Five
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in 
OAKLAND -- You heard all that talk over the winter about how the American League East was going to be a tight three-team race.
Facing an Opening Day matchup against Toronto ace 
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through 
From now until the regular season begins, 
