FanHouse JesusFlores

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.

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

He's only 21 years old. He's only 21 years old. Whenever you get frustrated that your future fantasy stud is struggling, it's important to take a breather and repeat those words. When I was 21, I think I spent my Wednesday nights playing Counter-Strike and eating bad pizza. Justin Upton, on the other hand, has to deal with expectations that he's the next Willie Mays. Whatever happened to the 27-year-old "breakout" rule? Suddenly it's six years younger?

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.

Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.

Meet the ...
Team full of question marks and limited fantasy options. Some nights you might find yourself wondering what packs more punch: the first six batters in the Nationals lineup or a six-pack of Natty Lites. Right before Spring Training, the Nationals secured a legitimate power hitter in Adam Dunn, acquired Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham from the Marlins and took a shot on the ever-enigmatic Daniel Cabrera. But even with the arrivals, this is a ragtag group when it comes to fantasy value, but at least it all comes at a very cheap price.

Jeff Clement's first stint at the big league level did not pan out quite so well. To say that he struggled -- batting .167 with 0HR, seven walks and 20 strikeouts in 48 at bats -- would be an understatement. But as soon as he got demoted to the minors, he started ripping the cover off the ball. Again.

Hence, the Mariners have decided to call Clement back to the bigs. He hasn't played in the majors since returning yet, but he should strap back on the padding and/or take a trip to the outfield soon.

He has been playing at AAA-Tacoma though, absolutely raking the ball -- nine homers, another nine doubles, getting on base at a .375+ club and only 17 strikeouts in May and June combined -- since returning. Which would explain why the M's didn't mind bringing him back up (well, that and their MLB worst record).

Now, Clement is going to be catcher eligible for fantasy purposes, but he might not always play there, giving him the potential to be a half-season/poor man's Josh Willingham from 2006.

Is he a must add in every fantasy league? Um, no. Smaller leagues don't want to burn waiver claims or take the risk that he will do what he did last time. But if you have a 12 team league (or bigger) or use two catchers, I think I'm grabbing him for the upside. Right now, the internet related buzz says to hold off on grabbing him, but if you don't beat the buzz, you end up continuing to play Jesus Flores.

The downside is there (see his first promotion) but the power from that spot, especially if you're in a keeper league, is too strong to ignore.

Could Jim Bowden's master plan be falling apart before the beginning of February? One of his Washington National acquisitions for the 2008 season was the fiery leader, steroid implicated, aging ... whatever you'd like to call him, Paul Lo Duca. Lo Duca couldn't even get to spring training without an injury.

Washington Nationals catcher Paul Lo Duca injured his left knee during a workout and will travel to Washington next week to be examined by a team doctor.

Lo Duca, who signed a $5 million, one-year deal as a free agent this offseason, was hurt this week and had an MRI exam Friday.

Asked if he could comment on the severity of Lo Duca's injury, Nationals general manager Jim Bowden wrote in an e-mail, "We won't know until test results are back."

Lo Duca, most likely, was not going to set the world on fire behind the dish in Washington. But what he was going to do was provide a bridge to Nats catching prospect Jesus Flores. Now? I guess we really won't know until test results are back, so Jesus should get ready to grow up fast. At least Lo Duca can delay facing the media about that pesky Mitchell Report if he misses significant time.

Paul Lo Duca's long quest to find a new home has finally ended: today he chose the Nationals over the Blue Jays and signed a one year deal pending a physical sometime this week. This takes place just a couple weeks after the Nats swapped Brian Schneider to the Mets to take Lo Duca's job. If you're keeping track at home, that means that for the Nationals, the trade now essentially boils down to Lo Duca for Schneider and Ryan Church for Lastings Milledge. That's Jim Bowden 2, Omar Minaya 0.

Lo Duca certainly isn't the player he used to be and his .272/.311/.378 line from last year paired with the fact that he's going to be 36 shortly after opening day really hammers that home and it's not hard to see why teams were shying away from him. What this move will do is let them keep prospect Jesus Flores (minor league stats here) in the minors for another year without having to rush him to the bigs.

What the move also does is add the fiery Lo Duca into a clubhouse with Elijah Dukes, Lastings Milledge, and Dmitri Young. I assume that the Nats will be better in 2008 than they were in 2007, though even if they don't contend for the
NL East championship, they're going to be the most fun team in the league to blog about.