FanHouse MarlonByrd

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

Eugenio Velez (pronounce the first name: ay-ooh-HEY-nee-o) is a relative unknown major league baseball player. He's currently gaining playing time for the San Francisco Giants without having an actual starting job. He fights for playing time at second base (against Freddy Sanchez), left field (against Nate Schierholtz and Fred Lewis) and right field (against Randy Winn). Lately, though, Velez has been playing pretty much everyday, and swinging a hot bat. The question is, can it continue?

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

You Oughta Know ...
That Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler had a pretty good night, rolling all sorts of rare feats into one ballgame. The headline is that he hit for the cycle, the first Rangers player to do that since Gary Matthews Jr. on Sept. 13, 2006.

He also had six hits, the first Rangers player to do that since Alfonso Soriano on May 8, 2004, but that was a 10-inning game. So Kinsler is the first in team history to have six knocks in a nine-inning game.

Now, the big one: Kinsler is the first player in major league history to have six hits in a game in which he hit for the cycle.

Chris Davis was everyone's sweetheart in fantasy baseball draft season, and rightfully so. As a 22 year-old last year, the slugger burst onto the scene with 17 home runs and 55 RBI in only a half season. His power numbers in the minors provided us with plenty of evidence that this wasn't a fluke. Instead, through six games and 25 plate appearances, Davis has reached base only three times. He's only accrued 1 hit in 22 at-bats. So with that paltry .045 batting average, his owners have been rewarded with 0 home runs and 0 RBI.

Is this a bad omen? Does Davis really suck, or is he simply in an early season swoon?

You may have seen our FanHouse preseason MLB predictions for the 2009 season a few days ago. Two of us picked the Texas Rangers to win the AL West. I scoured the internet over the past few days, and, though the search wasn't comprehensive, I couldn't find anyone else who picked the Rangers.

First of all, everyone should realize these picks are for fun. When I see some of the comments under the predictions post, I can't help but scratch my head. When did it become cool to just anonymously tell someone they are stupid without giving your own opinion? That's more cowardly than anything. Regardless, I'll attempt to shed a little light on my personal rationale for the pick.

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...
Best offense in the league. The Rangers are going to score more runs than any other team, and they don't have an over-abundance of star-power. This means their position players are a veritable fantasy goldmine. On the flip-side, though, their pitching staff is atrocious, especially the starters. Needless to say, if you are picking a Texas Ranger on draft day, he'd probably better be on the offensive side of the board.

Poor, poor, Felix Pie. As if having to suffer from a twisted testicle isn't painful enough, and I'm truly grateful I've never had to experience it, now Pie has going to be out for three to five days because he had to undergo surgery on it today.

Pie is suffering from what's called testicular torsion, or, in layman's terms, a twisted testicle. It happened early in camp, but Pie had the problem reduced manually, sources said, and was able to continue playing. He was scheduled to have the corrective surgery on the Cubs off-day next Monday, but when Pie reported to camp with soreness Monday, the Cubs decided to get the procedure done today.

I'm not sure if I want to know what having "the problem reduced manually" consists of or not, but whatever it was, maybe Felix enjoyed it. He deserves a chance to enjoy something, right? The poor kid has had to go through a lot lately. First his ball gets twisted up, and now he's got doctors going at his boys with a scalpel.

I cringe just typing it.

Then to top it all off, he's got to deal with hearing rumors about the Cubs pursuing every center fielder who might be available: Coco Crisp, Marlon Byrd, Reggie Willits, and Ryan Freel have all been mentioned as players the Cubs are looking at.

Needless to say, I don't think this has been the best few weeks of Felix Pie's life.

Previously at FanHouse:
Felix Pie Suffers Tragic Twister Accident

Remember when Freddie Mitchell was a part of America's consciousness? Remember when he hairstyled his way into your heart while a member of the Philadelphia Eagles? Well let's take you back to a time long ago, before FredEx's hair was in full bloom, when Comcast Sports Net Philly sent him to interview a then unknown Scranton Wilkes Barre Red Baron who was Mitchell's baseball teammate at UCLA.

Mitchell, who as you could see made the wise choice in playing football over baseball (although some Eagles fans might disagree), is currently without a job. His unknown interview subject? You might have heard of Chase Utley.

Love the pop-up video aspect of the piece (complete with Freddie's baseball stats which include zero HR's while at UCLA), and look for cameos by Brett Myers and Marlon Byrd.