FanHouse Aaron Laffey

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.

Aaron Laffey got off to a rough start yesterday but was able to right the ship and deliver us our fifth straight quality start. The Indians pitcher held Seattle to three runs over seven innings, striking out just two along the way. It wasn't good enough for the win, but the quality start is our 15th in 22 August picks. Today, Bud Norris faces the Diamondbacks, who are thankfully trotting out a Mark Reynolds-less lineup today (Chad Tracy starts at 3B, while recently-promoted prospect Brandon Allen gets another start at first).

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.

For yesterday's spot-starter, I opted for a pitcher that should have been available in almost every league, picking Jason Hammel on the road. He did not disappoint, and with the help of some superb defensive plays by Ian Stewart, the Rockies pitcher threw seven innings of one-run ball en route to another Stream Team win. We're sporting an ERA of 3.69 and a WHIP of 1.21 in August. Hopefully Luke Hochevar, a pick I wasn't too happy making, can keep it going tonight.

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

Mired in the middle of a quite reprehensible offense, Adrian Gonzalez had been struggling at the plate for quite a while. Sure, he was still hitting home runs and drawing walks, but his batting average from May 1 to August 9 was an atrocious .228 in 298 at-bats. He hadn't had a multiple hit game since July 29 and hadn't had more than two hits in a game since June 18.

Tuesday night, Gonzalez went 6-6, giving him more hits in one night than the rest of August combined.

Pickin's are kind of slim this week for two-start pitchers. Only six hurlers are "must start" options and most of the risky pitchers aren't even close to being viable. Be careful when rushing some of the riskier pitchers into your lineup. Week 19 might be a week to bench some of these guys.

First pitch on Monday is at 7:05 PM ET, so you have plenty of time get your rosters set.

Must Start
Rich Harden, Cubs - Tuesday vs PHI (J. Happ) and Sunday vs PIT (R. Ohlendorf)
Tom Gorzelanny, Cubs - Monday at COL (J. De La Rosa) and Saturday vs PIT (Z. Duke)
Gavin Floyd, White Sox - Monday at SEA (L. French) and Saturday at OAK (G. Gonzalez)
Edwin Jackson, Tigers - Monday at BOS (B. Penny) and Saturday vs KC (L. Hochevar)
Rick Porcello, Tigers - Tuesday at BOS (UNK) and Sunday vs KC (K. Davies)
Joba Chamberlain, Yankees - Tuesday vs TOR (S. Richmond) and Sunday at SEA (D. Fister)

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.

Let me put this simply: you want no part of being No. 1 in the FanHouse MLB Power Rankings. It just brings discord, losing and possibly suspensions to your baseball team. Such was the case with the white-hot Dodgers and Manny Ramirez, who now have to deal with a 50 game-ban of their star slugger. Who's doomed this week? Let's just say that no one would be too shocked if they weren't there again next Wednesday.

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

In news that probably means a lot more to fantasy baseball players than real baseball fans -- with all due respect to the Pirates and their true fans -- Ryan Doumit is going to miss the next 8-10 weeks. He'll be undergoing wrist surgery and have some pins inserted. As fantasy owners, we must march on and look at how to replace the production of a very solid offensive catcher.

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

One fantasy baseball question becoming increasingly more prevalent these days is very succinct: Is David Ortiz done? The problem? It's a tough question to answer. What do we actually mean by "done?" Is he ever going to be the guy who hit 54 home runs or the one who drove home 148 runs again? No. Not a chance.

As we head into the third week of the fantasy baseball season we have 34 starting pitchers throwing twice. When setting your lineups, remember that tomorrow is Patriot's Day in Boston, so first pitch is at 11:05 AM Eastern Time.

Must Start
Roy Halladay, Blue Jays - Tuesday vs TEX (B. McCarthy) and Sunday at CWS (J. Contreras)
Derek Lowe, Braves - Monday at WAS (J. Zimmermann)and Saturday at CIN (B. Arroyo)
C.C. Sabathia, Yankees - Tuesday vs OAK (B. Anderson) and Sunday at BOS (J. Beckett)
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers - Tuesday at HOU (R. Ortiz) and Sunday at COL (J. Marquis)

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 that should have more doctors on staff. Lofty expectations turned sour when major keys to the Indians lineup went down with injury in 2008. Victor Martinez, Travis Hafner, Fausto Carmona, and Jake Westbrook all lost significant time to various maladies. The health and or hasty return of these guys, and the continued health of Kerry Wood are crucial to the Indians having any success in 2009.

From now until the regular season begins, Fantasy Flings is where you'll find interesting story lines about your favorite teams from Spring Training. If there is a position battle, a nagging injury, a comeback story or a youngster making a surge for the "big club" we'll let you know the fantasy implications.

Chicago White Sox
The buzz around White Sox camp is position battles. Up for grabs is the third base position, center field and second base. Josh Fields and Dayan Viciedo are fighting for third and Fields has the leg up. Both hitters can mash the ball and both play suspect defense; although Fields is improving. Fields worked extensively this off-season at Camp Cora and Cora mentioned that everyone would be shocked with what they see out of Fields this year. He has three hits in six at-bats with two doubles so far this spring. Jayson Nix and his four hits in six at-bats with two doubles seem to be taking over as front-runner for the second base job thought to belong to Chris Getz. DeWayne Wise is being called the "best player this spring" and may be taking the center field job from injured Jerry Owens.