Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Don't blame yourself if you didn't see a big line coming from Trevor Cahill. Coming off a three-inning, three-run game in Chicago, Cahill had to travel to Texas to take on a pretty good offense. On Wednesday, this offense was without Michael Young and Josh Hamilton, but that still left the hot Julio Borbon (.323 BA coming into the game) and Elvis Andrus (coming off a 16-game hitting streak), starsIan Kinsler and Nelson Cruz, and other players that have been hot over the course of September.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Before we get our heaping of box score browsing, let's look at a related subject: The fantasy baseball stretch run. With the annual ushering in of September baseball, we see roster changes galore. Not only are there call-ups with the legal expansion of rosters, but players with seemingly minor injuries are shut down on teams who have fallen out of the race. You also have younger players being given an audition for 2010, or being shut down so the team doesn't overwork them in their first season of increased workload. If you are in the thick of things in your fantasy baseball race, now is not the time to use a laissez-faire approach.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
The ugly pitching line from Monday night shouldn't have been a huge shock to Jarrod Washburn fantasy owners. He went 5 2/3 innings, giving up 9 hits, 8 earned runs, 3 walks and 2 home runs. He struck out just 2. While it was his worst outing for the Tigers, he's been flat-out awful in Motown since he was acquired at the trade deadline. Sure, there was an 8-inning gem where he didn't allow a run. He also mixed in a quality start last time out for his first win in Detroit. Other than that, it's been horrifying.
We're at the point in most fantasy baseball leagues where the trade deadline has passed, so to make any kind of roster moves you need to rely solely on the waiver wire. But, that's not a bad thing. There's still lots of talent to be had.
In Tuesday night's version of the Fantasy Baseball Cram Session, Tom Herrera and I talked about finding different categories in rotisserie-style scoring where you can gain ground on the teams ahead of you. We focus on saves, stolen bases, wins and home runs and give you a number of players on the waiver wire who could help your team make up some of the difference between you and the guy(s) ahead of you in the standings. Listen to the podcast after the jump.
Two good things happened to the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday. They beat the Pittsburgh Pirates and emerged from their one-day stay in last place in the NL Central. That coincided with Scott Rolen's return from the disabled list. Unfortunately with the Reds, their two pieces of good news were balanced with two more players hitting the disabled list. Aaron Harang will miss the rest of 2009 after an appendectomy on Saturday night and Chris Dickerson badly sprained his ankle during a pick-off attempt during Sunday's game.
The list of Reds' injuries this year is staggering. John Fay at the Cincy Enquirer has a good run down of all of them; every opening day starter except Brandon Phillips has spent time on the DL while Harang joins Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto there, making up 3/5ths of their opening day starting rotation. It's an incredible run of bad luck that's certainly part of the reason the Reds are battling the Pirates for last place. I also think it's creating an easy excuse for a team that has deeper running problems.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
It must be nice being a Phillies pitcher.
The Philly sluggers put 12 runs on the board in yesterday's game against the Diamond- backs, giving them a total of 25 runs scored in the three-game sweep. Joe Blanton went eight innings and allowed three runs, which is going to be enough to earn a W on most nights when you're on the same team as these hitters. The team has now won eight of their last nine games and look to be the favorites to repeat as NL champions.
The Dodgers catcher and Cardinals' shortstop both swatted grand slams for some rare RBI as their division-leading teams won.
Martin's sixth-inning blast broke a tie with the Cubs, and the Dodgers went on to win 7-2. His four RBI on that swing were more than he had in the previous 21 games. It was also Martin's first homer since July 26 and his fourth of the season after hitting 13 a year ago.
"I haven't trotted around the bases too often this year," Martin said. "It was nice just to get a breather."
These Kids Are Alright is FanHouse's look at minor league prospects who could have a fantasy impact in the near future.
With the news that Willy Taveras is heading to the disabled list came some new fantasy blood -- at least if you are looking for a late surge in steals. Taveras will be replaced on the Reds roster by a 24-year-old speedster named Drew Stubbs. Stubbs was the Reds' first round selection (picked eighth overall) in the 2006 major league draft. He's a highly touted prospect in the organization due to his incredible athleticism. In his lanky (6-foot-4, 200 pound) frame, Stubbs is a stellar defensive player with great base-running skills.
You see, when it comes to marquee names like Pedro, the expectations are always a bit unrealistic. It would be nice if legends could harness the same stuff at age 37, but that's just not the way it goes. In fact, the Martinez we saw in his season debut Wednesday wasn't all that impressive from a fantasy perspective.
Wondering which young players could have an impact in the majors this year? Let MLB FanHouse guide the way in Better Know a Prospect. In this edition we look at three players from the underrated Cincinnati system. Chris Valaika, SS: The biggest knock on him is that he doesn't have great plate discipline. Valaika hit .306 in the minors, but he's never drawn more than 35 walks in a season, so if he can't keep hitting for a high average it will be tough for him to be valuable. On the flip side, he has the defensive chops to stick at short and good pop for a middle infielder. Considering incumbent shortstop Alex Gonzalez struggled to stay healthy last year and you can make the same criticisms of his game, Valaika could get a shot at the major league level sometime this year.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
We're at the point in most 
Two good things happened to the 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Starting Five
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Wondering which young players could have an impact in the majors this year? Let MLB FanHouse guide the way in 
