FanHouse John Lannan

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.

The Nationals bottomed out in 2009. Their season began with the ouster of general manager Jim Bowden in the beginning of March after he was implicated in a bonus-skimming scandal in the Dominican Republic that drew the attention of the FBI. And it ended with 103 losses, giving them 205 losses in the last two seasons.

In between, they fired manager Manny Acta and watched attendance fall by more than 6,000 fans a night in the second year of Nationals Park.

So no, it's not all sunshine and roses on the banks of the Anacostia River, but, then, it's not all doom and gloom either. After all, the Nats managed to lock up phenom Stephen Strasburg in August, and with a stable front office and a permanent manager now in place, they can get to the task of building around him.

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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.

The Stream Team is now up to six wins in nine August starts, posting a sub-1.00 WHIP and 47 strikeouts in the process. Furthermore, we have 10 wins and 120 strikeouts in our starts since the break, compiling a 3.35 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 147.2 innings. Essentially, we've taken the 2008 season of Shaun Marcum and compressed it down into 25 days of great stats. Our season stats aren't bad either -- we've come close to matching last year's Gavin Floyd performance in under six weeks. I throw that out there to show you how beneficial streaming can be if your league rules allow for it.

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

Sure, he gave up a home run to Joey Votto on Sunday, but that's about all the Cincinnati Reds got facing the Cubs' Rich Harden.

For Harden this was his third consecutive start where he showed the potential of being a front-line ace. He struck out eight in only six innings and that home run was the only hit and only run he allowed the Reds in route to earning his seventh win.

Over his last three starts Harden has struck out 21 while walking only two batters in 19 innings. His ERA over this time is 0.47 and he has two wins to show for great pitching.

This is the first time in 2009 Harden has put together this kind of run. He's been able, on a number of occasions, to put two good starts together, but never three as he seems to get shelled every time he's about to take that next step towards becoming the solid number one guy the Cubs desperately need him to be.

MLB Power Rankings: Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.

Big ups to Prez for taking the PR reigns over while I was off last week. But we're back in the saddle, fresh out of the All-Star break and ready to incite you with our rankings. Also, I should point out that this is, relatively speaking, the "home stretch." Where even the most minuscule of mini-streaks can change a team's fate. Or something like that. Anyway, let's go to the list, where we'll find out if an attack on Jack Nicholson by the Phanatic and the addition of Petey was enough to vault the Phillies into the top spot of the Week 16 MLB Power Rankings. Cue drumroll.

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

Ryan Ludwick scuffled early this season, which was a sign to many about how much of a fluke his huge 2008 season was. Through June 29, Ludwick was hitting just .227 with a .718 OPS. Last season, he hit .299 with a .966 OPS in his career year, with a whopping 37 home runs and 113 RBI. Many thought it was an outlier, but he had never gotten a chance to play everyday in the majors until then.

In July, he's heating up and showing that he is no fluke.

It's not a pretty week to be trolling the waiver wire for two-start pitchers. Forty-four in all throw twice in fantasy week 16 and 66% of those are risky picks. All 29 of the risky picks won't turn out bad. Guys like John Smoltz and Andy Pettitte could turns things around and excel. But, all in all, stick with the safer one-start pitchers this week and hedge your bets for next week.

First pitch tonight is at 7:05 PM ET. Make sure to get your rosters set prior to that.

Must Start
Tommy Hanson, Braves - Monday vs SF (J. Sanchez) and Saturday at MLW (Y. Gallardo)
Derek Lowe, Braves - Tuesday vs SF (R. Sadowski) and Sunday at MLW (M. Burns)
Ted Lilly, Cubs - Monday at PHI (R. Lopez) and Sunday vs CIN (M. Owings)
Cliff Lee, Indians - Tuesday at TOR (B. Cecil) and Sunday at SEA (G. Olson)
Nick Blackburn, Twins - Monday at OAK (G. Gonzalez) and Saturday at LAA (S. O'Sullivan)
Kevin Millwood, Rangers - Monday vs BOS (J. Smoltz) and Sunday at KC (S. Ponson)

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

Adam LaRoche, he of the longest swing in the majors, is starting to heat up. In the last 9 games, he's hit .387 with 3 home runs, 5 RBI, 4 runs, 2 doubles, a .444 on-base percentage and 1.186 OPS. If his career history is any indicator, we can expect things to continue along this pace.

It's just that he's starting things up a bit early. In LaRoche's career, he's been two different players per season. Just look at his splits. He's a decent hitter with good power in through June. From July on, though, he's a good hitter with great power.

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
The "Silver Boot" will stay in Arlington, Texas.

It ain't the Axe, or the Old Oaken Bucket, but the Silver Boot is an attempt to add college football flavor to interleague play, as it goes to the winner of the Texas-Houston six-game series.

By winning 6-1 on Tuesday, the Rangers went up 4-0 in the series and clinched the boot for the third straight year.

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Maybe I'm being a bit hard on these guys, but almost 59 percent of the 41 pitchers who are starting twice this week are being placed in the "Risky Business" category.

There are a couple of touted rookies who make up the 59 percent like the Rays' David Price and Atlanta's Kris Medlen. There are also some big-named pitchers who should never be placed among the "Risky Business" pitchers who just are throwing well, or their teams aren't winning behind them. Jon Lester and Francisco Liriano come to mind immediately.

Like I said, in all there are 41 two-start pitchers this week. Make sure that you get your lineups locked early today as there are a bunch of afternoon games. The first is 1:10 PM ET when Houston plays Cincinnati.

Remember Chris Shelton's nine home runs in the first 13 games for the Detroit Tigers in 2006? Stud or Shelton examines whether currently hot players are displaying a similar mirage or will continue to play at a high level.

In taking a glance at the Washington Nationals' record right now -- 11-21 -- and you could easily surmise that every starting pitcher has a losing record. I mean, they are 10 games under .500 and it's only May 15. Glance into their starting pitching stats, however, and you see something really odd. 5-0. Yep, someone is 5-0 -- meaning the team is 6-21 when he doesn't factor in the decision. This man is named Shairon Martis. Who the hell is he, and, more importantly, will this dazzling pitching continue?