"My dad was a really good athlete (Kenny Ross, who played safety at New Mexico in the late 1960s)," said Ross, the Marlins' right fielder. "My dad was all right[-handed]. My mom's a lefty, so maybe I got that gene from her."
Ross and St. Louis' Ryan Ludwick are the only two active position players who throw left and bat right. Just 14 such players in baseball history have gotten as many as 1,000 at-bats -- and that list now includes a Hall of Famer, Rickey Henderson.
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.
For about five months of the season, Diamondbacks outfielder Chris Young was a draft disaster. Those who picked him in fantasy leagues suffered through the nausea of a sub-.200 batting average and anemic power numbers. Where was the dude who hit 32 homers in 2007 and 22 in 2008? Absolutely nonexistent ... at least until the last four games.
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.
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.
Aaron Laffey got off to a rough start yesterday but was able to right the ship and deliver us our fifth straight quality start. The Indians pitcher held Seattle to three runs over seven innings, striking out just two along the way. It wasn't good enough for the win, but the quality start is our 15th in 22 August picks. Today, Bud Norris faces the Diamondbacks, who are thankfully trotting out a Mark Reynolds-less lineup today (Chad Tracy starts at 3B, while recently-promoted prospect Brandon Allen gets another start at first).
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.
I had a little trouble choosing between Jeff Niemann and Mat Latos for last night's spot start. Luckily, I took Niemann, who brought us another win (our 12th in August) by pitching 7.1 innings and allowing one run and one walk while striking out five.
On the flip side, Latos was rocked for five earned runs in 3.2 innings. In his last two starts, Latos' ERA has jumped from 2.43 to 4.82. With the imposed inning limit on his arm, I would discard Latos in redraft leagues, unless you play in an NL-only or very deep mixed league.
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.
Yesterday, the Rangers staked Tommy Hunter to a big lead, and while his four earned runs allowed in 5.2 innings weren't great, he did come away with five strikeouts and a win, the Stream Team's 11th win in 17 August games. I gambled on Manny Parra harnessing his wildness tonight against Pittsburgh; we'll see if it pays off.
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.
Through six innings, Jeff Niemann was rolling along to another quality start, having allowed just a solo HR in the first. After giving up another HR in the seventh, Niemann put two runners on base before Tampa Bay went to the bullpen. Both runners ended up coming around to score, giving our pitchers a disappointing four-run outing in 6.1 innings. With five strikeouts and only one walk allowed yesterday, Niemann's final line wasn't indicative of his strong overall performance against the Mariners.
Today, we have Mat Latos taking the mound for our Team against the Mets. Yesterday, Kevin Correia went six innings against those Mets without allowing an earned run.
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.
Well, yesterday was a big bowl of yuck. Chad Gaudin didn't make it out of the fourth inning, giving up six runs in the process. We've still scored some excellent numbers in our six August starts (sub-1.00 WHIP, three wins), so we can afford a bad start here and there. Tommy Hunter is up for the Team today, and since I had a lot of trouble settling on him as my pick yesterday, I'll be crossing my fingers for this one.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
Now that the hands are dealt -- expect for one or two more this month -- we can examine the pennant races to come.
There wasn't much point in assessing the races until after Friday's non-waiver trade deadline, when we know what we're dealing with. Some important pieces will change hands after they clear waivers this month, but they probably won't be difference-makers.
Before we get to the predictions, though, let's talk about one trade that didn't happen.
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.
It's August, which means we have a full month of Stream Team data to analyze. In almost 150 innings, our pitchers notched eight wins and 109 strikeouts, posting a 4.40 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in the process. We've done even better since the All-Star break, as we've put together a 3.41 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 87 innings, with 73 Ks and four wins to our credit. Remember, these numbers come from the castoffs and unwanted in fantasy baseball, pitchers that are widely available in leagues.
Today, we rolled with Jeff Niemann against the Royals. He flourished for the Team, allowing just one run in eight innings while striking out seven en route to the win. Can we capture lightning in a bottle again on Sunday?
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
We're at the point in most 
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the 
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the 
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the 
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the 
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the 
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in 
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the 
