FanHouse ElijahDukes

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

In yesterday's Rush, we mentioned that Gordon Beckham is heating up and that the power would come. As if right on cue, he posted a 4-2-3-2 line in the box score. That is 4 at-bats, 3 hits, 2 runs and 2 RBI, for those box score challenged. One of the hits was a home run. Beckham went through some predictable growing pains when he was first called up the majors, but he's since raised his on-base percentage to .353. His OPS is 1.396 in his last five games. It's time to keep your eyes on him in all fantasy leagues. There's a reason he was in the majors less than a year after he was drafted.

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

With a starting rotation containing Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Matt Harrison, Scott Feldman and Brandon McCarthy, it's pretty safe to say many mixed leagues went through draft or auction day without mentioning a single starting Rangers pitcher -- unless it was in jest.

The joke is on us, because the Rangers starting rotation is pretty damn legit right now. After Sunday, the Rangers now sport the fifth-best starter's ERA (4.25) in the American League.

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.

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

When Luke Hochevar was summoned to the majors last season, he had started only 13 games at the triple-A level. He had compiled a 2-4 record with a 4.54 ERA in those starts. Translation: It appears the former number one overall draft pick had been rushed -- especially when you consider his ensuing major league numbers. In his rookie year, Hochevar went 6-12 with a 5.51 ERA and 1.47 WHIP. His strikeout rate was well below his capabilities as well.

After failing to come through as the Nationals everyday leadoff hitter/center fielder, Lastings Milledge has been mired in the minor leagues. He's been living out of a hotel in Syracuse since the demotion, and he's only hitting .250 with a .602 OPS. He doesn't have a home run, but he does have 4 stolen bases. He's struck out 12 times and only walked 3.

It's true that Milledge does have loads of talent, and he's only 24 years old. He showed signs of that talent with a decent 2008 campaign -- when he hit .268 with 14 home runs, 24 doubles, and 24 steals. This is the selling point for the Washington Nationals, who need to just trade Milledge and move on.

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

Some NL-Only owners last night got a nice little (understatement) boost in steals last night, assuming that's where Dexter Fowler is mostly owned. The fleet-footed 23 year-old rookie stole 5 bases in the first five innings against the Padres -- giving him a National League-best 9 on the season.

Unbelievably, as noted in this morning's Starting Five, Fowler didn't even set a team record and it hasn't even been a full year since a Rockies' player had 5 steals. That doesn't mean it's common, though. Only 17 players have done so since 1954.

After learning Elijah Dukes was disciplined for being five minutes late, the Little League where he was interacting with children that day decided they needed to show their support. In fact, they are paying his fine for him. That's right, Great Falls Little League has paid the $500 fine -- they actually paid $501, saying the extra buck was for administrative costs -- the Washington Nationals levied against Dukes for his showing up five minutes late Sunday.

According to Jim Mraz, president of the league, Dukes stayed late in order to give a high fives to every single little leaguer in attendance (a whopping 54 teams) and to give a few words of advice to the youth.

Nationals center fielder Elijah Dukes does not enjoy a good reputation among baseball fans. There are many (many, many, many) reasons for that, not the least of which is that he has been arrested on multiple occasions and allegedly sent threatening text messages to the mother of his children.

Given that reputation, it should come as no surprise that the Nationals disciplined Dukes on Saturday after he showed up five minutes late for a team workout. What may come as a surprise is that he hardly seems like the bad guy in all of this:

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

The days where boos rained down upon Kosuke Fukudome seem like a distant memory.

Through nine games on the new season, the formerly-embattled center fielder is batting .375 with three homers, eight RBI, six runs and a steal for good measure. Compare that to his rookie campaign, where he only managed 10 big knocks in 501 at-bats. Should we believe in this new and improved Fukudome, or is it only a matter of time before fans are ripping him to shreds again?