Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.
Barry Zito finally turned in an ugly start on Monday, giving up three earned runs in 4.1 innings while walking three guys and allowing six hits. We've still posted great numbers in September, so we shouldn't let the bad spot start get to us. Hiroki Kuroda is on the mound for our purposes today, so be sure to send positive thoughts towards him.
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.
While the majority of the American workforce got a day off on Labor Day, some major league hitters were getting their power stroke on in a big way. With only 11 games on the docket, four players left the yard twice in one game: Derrek Lee, Billy Butler, Mark Teixeira and Juan Uribe. The fantasy fallout isn't huge, save for one; Lee's having a resurgence, Butler a breakout campaign and Teixeira an MVP-caliber season. Uribe, though ... that's news.
With the recent additions to major league ball teams due to the expansion of rosters there aren't that many two-start pitchers next week. And there are still a few situations up in the air. The landscape could change rather quickly as teams decide if they want to run with a six-man rotation or keep things normal with five starters.
Not only has Pedro Martinez looked great in his early starts but he gets to face the Nationals and the Mets next week. He would be a great two-start add, and he's only owned in 33% of fantasy leagues.
There are 35 total two-start pitchers for week 23. Make sure you get your rosters set by 12:35 PM ET as the Cubs and Pirates play first on Monday.
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.
We weren't able to secure a win in yesterday's Mike Pelfrey spot start, but the Mets pitcher turned in a great outing nonetheless, going 7.2 innings while striking out five and allowing two runs. We've now made 31 post-All Star Break starts, picking up 14 wins and posting a 3.64 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 161 Ks in 187.2 innings pitched.
For comparison's sake, Carlos Zambrano also had 14 wins in 2008, throwing 188.2 innings while striking out 130 batters and turning in a 3.91 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. In a month, we've managed to exceed Zambrano's entire 2008 season.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Ervin Santana went 16-7 with a 3.49 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 214 strikeouts last season. The promising 26-year-old has yet to rekindle the success in 2009, though, due mostly to arm injuries. Still, we know the potential he possesses, which is why there's no reason to give up on him halfway through the season. Any sign of a turnaround is sure to give fantasy baseball owners hope.
Thursday night, we got a glimmer. Santana dominated the A's. He worked 8 innings and struck out 4, while only allowing 3 hits, 1 earned run and 2 walks -- garnering the win in the process.
"It's too early to tell," Reds manager Dusty Baker said last week. "It's two starts. But he's at the corner. It's progress."
Sometimes it's easy to forget that David Dewitt Bailey is barely 23 and instead focus on his false starts and yo-yo trips between the majors and Triple-A. The Reds' No. 1 draft pick in 2004, Bailey has had to deal with high expectations ever since. But he had a 5.76 ERA in nine starts in 2007 and a 7.93 mark while going 0-6 last year.
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 Chris Davis safely tucked away in Triple-A Oklahoma City, Andruw Jones feels that he deserves more at-bats for the Texas Rangers. The way he's been hitting over the last month proves his point.
Jones belted three home runs on Wednesday and has 11 RBI and five home runs over his last four games.
Over the course of the past month, Jones has hit nine homers and driven in 19 runs. If his batting average were higher than .224 over that time period Jones would really be forcing the hand of Rangers' management. As it sits right now, Jones will see more playing time at DH, but may not see every-day at-bats, yet.
"He swung the bat well against Tampa Bay," manager Ron Washington said. "He's swinging the bat very well right now. It doesn't mean he'll be in there [Friday]. He may or may not be. But he's productive right now and I'm going to play him as much as I possibly can."
He went so far as to elude that Bailey is rosterable.
...but Bailey bears consideration in nearly all fantasy leagues where you have bench space. Watch that start Saturday -- assuming he gets it -- and see what he's got. He might just be (finally?) ready to take the next step in his career
I'm here, as a voice of reason, to debunk this theory.
I jumped on the "Homer Train" back in 2007. It was a bumpy ride. In nine starts Bailey was 4-2 with a 5.76 ERA. I chalked the poor ERA up to the kid being 21-years-old. I blindly overlooked the fact that he only struck out 28 batters in 45.1 innings. He did all this while walking 28 batters as well. That should have been my first warning sign.
As the Reds linger around in the NL Central race -- a.k.a. The Race No One Seems to Want to Win -- they could really use the services of last year's ace, Edinson Volquez. The right-hander who went 17-6 last season has been on the disabled list since June 2 with elbow tendinitis. Initial plans were to activate Volquez quite soon.
Those plans have now been put on hold because a recent MRI (the second one taken during last homestand) revealed muscle inflammation in Volquez's forearm, and they have completely shut him down until it subsides.
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.
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.
With the recent additions to major league ball teams due to the expansion of rosters there aren't that many two-start pitchers next week. And there are still a few situations up in the air. The landscape could change rather quickly as teams decide if they want to run with a six-man rotation or keep things normal with five starters.
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Maybe Homer Bailey has turned the corner.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
According to my esteemed colleague, Matt Snyder, Homer Bailey is being considered for the vacant 5th spot in the Cincinnati Reds rotation. In fact, he could be called up from Triple-A to pitch for Cincinnati on Saturday. 
As the Reds linger around in the NL Central race -- a.k.a. The Race No One Seems to Want to Win -- they could really use the services of last year's ace, Edinson Volquez. The right-hander who went 17-6 last season has been on the disabled list since June 2 with elbow tendinitis. Initial plans were to activate Volquez quite soon. 
