FanHouse JeffLarish

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

Remember when Rickie Weeks was a hot new prospect whose quick bat drew comparisons to Gary Sheffield? Yeah, turns out that was four years ago.

Following season after season of frustration for hopeful fantasy owners, Weeks is finally coming through. The speed isn't there, but he's homered in three straight games to give him nine total in only 140 at-bats. By comparison, he only hit 14 in 475 at-bats last year. So has our man-crush of yesteryear suddenly transformed into the new Dan Uggla, or is this impressive power display just another tease?

Gary Sheffield has been cut from the Detroit Tigers. You, as a fantasy baseball fanatic, have likely already heard the news. You also probably don't own Sheff, which is a good thing. At his age, lack of positional flexibility, and deteriorated skill set, Sheff wasn't worth owning in fantasy baseball this year. Now that point is hammered even further home. He'll probably catch on somewhere else as a DH, but I can't see him worth a roster spot this season.

The real spin here is what the Tigers will do with their lineup, now, and how that impacts others. Here is a partial list of who this will affect.

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 Detroit Tigers system.

Rick Porcello, SP: There's no denying that Porcello is one of the top pitching prospects in the game, but is the 20-year-old right-hander seriously in contention for a big-league roster spot in just his second year as a professional? That's what GM Dave Dombrowksi is telling folks, putting Porcello on equal footing with the likes of Nate Robertson, Dontrelle Willis and Zach Miner heading into spring training.

In recent winters, the Tigers wouldn't blink at signing an expensive free agent. But these days? The Tigers are in full-fledged cost-cutting mode. Considering much of their sponsorship money comes from (and many of their fans are employed by) the Big 3 automakers, it's not a huge surprise.

So instead of paying $10 million a season for the likes of Kerry Wood, they've apparently decided to part with prospects for a more affordable closer. According to Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press, the Tigers are in talks with the Mariners regarding J.J. Putz, who will make just $5 million this season and comes with an $8.6 million club option for 2010. As an added bonus, Putz is a hometown kid: he grew up in nearby Trenton, MI and pitched for the University of Michigan.

Of course, prying such an affordable asset away from the Mariners won't come cheap, and the M's are reportedly asking for as many as three players back in return. The players being mentioned by both the Free Press and Seattle Times are outfielder Matt Joyce, 24, first baseman Jeff Larish, 26, and possibly righthander Luis Marte, 22.

Joyce and Larish made their big-league debuts last season and are currently slated to fill reserve roles in 2009. If traded to the Mariners, though, they they could compete for starting jobs. Marte split last season between Single-A and Double-A, and while he needs to iron out control problems, he can hit the high 90s on the radar gun.