FanHouse Nate Schierholtz

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

Heading into 2009, here's what we thought we knew about Rich Harden: Absolutely lights out stuff, but can't be counted on to stay healthy consistently. In 2008, he went 10-2 with a 2.07 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP and 181 strikeouts in 148 innings. Those are elite numbers on a per-start basis. The problem, of course, is that he only made 25 starts. In 2007, he had a 2.45 ERA, but only pitched 25 2/3 innings.

Until Monday night, 2009 had been quite surprising from the 27-year-old right-hander.

SAN FRANCISCO -- You don't have to hang around the Rockies for very long to get the feeling that Dexter Fowler is just about to blow up. In a good way.

By all accounts, Fowler just needs to meet his offensive potential and get the right publicity, and he could one day be one of those players who attain "face of the game" status.

Before you dismiss that as hyperbole, listen to Todd Helton.

We've long known that Brian Sabean subscribes to the theory that you can't trust anyone under 30 but it's a bit disheartening to see that his views are coloring the local scribes as well. The San Francisco Giants, scuffling along at 20-31 today, refuse to play anyone with a future that might include the next decent team by the bay. That should be something they catch hell for but, alas, it's not to be.

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle thinks that he's discovered a conundrum at play with the Giants roster. It centers on the continued existence of Randy Winn, Ray Durham and Rich Aurilla in the everyday lineup.
I'll bite. Because they aren't playing all that well.

Schulman uses their May numbers to "prove" his point but when you take both months of the season into account, it's not looking quite so smart. Winn has the highest OPS at 773 and gets on base at a good clip which is okay unless you're a corner outfielder who should provide power as well. He'd be a much more defensible choice if the Giants didn't have Nate Schierholtz slugging .503 in AAA.