FanHouse Daniel Cabrera

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

A few weeks ago we discussed the possibility of the Padres promoting 21-year-old phenom Mat Latos. Well, he now has four major league starts under his belt, and, needless to say, he's doing just fine. After a solid outing Monday night, Latos is 3-1 with a 2.66 ERA and a sparkling 0.89 WHIP. He's struck out 16 while only walking 6 in 23 2/3 innings. He's also pitching in one of the best pitcher's parks in baseball.

So, he should be owned in all fantasy leagues, right?

As Ed Price reported Wednesday morning, the Nationals have designated pitcher Daniel Cabrera for assignment.

Cabrera's career 5.09 ERA was just barely good enough to cling to a big-league roster for five seasons, but evidently not good enough to hold on for any longer. His moments of brilliance -- and he had a few -- were easily muted by his failures. I'm referring to his career in the past tense because frankly, I'm not sure whether we'll ever see him in the major leagues again. The worst team in baseball doesn't want him, and he isn't interested in reporting to the minors. Where does a guy like Daniel Cabrera go? What becomes of him?

Mr. Cabrera's Dugout is after the jump.

Mike Rizzo now knows how the Orioles felt for all those years.

Rizzo, the Nationals acting general manager, designated Daniel Cabrera for assignment late Tuesday. Cabrera had been pulled from the rotation and then had one disastrous relief appearance.

It's not a terribly glorious week for two-start pitchers in week six (Monday, May 11th - Sunday May 17th) of the fantasy baseball season. With the light day of action on Monday there are only 34 total this week, and most of this week's pitchers are risky picks.

You won't need to set you lineups until 7:05 PM ET on Monday as the only four games are night starts

Must Start
Johan Santana, Mets - Monday vs ATL (D. Lowe) and Saturday at SF (R. Johnson)
Matt Cain , Giants - Tuesday vs WAS (J. Zimmermann) and Sunday vs NYM (M. Pelfrey)
Jered Weaver , Angels - Tuesday vs BOS (J. Masterson) and Sunday at TEX (S. Feldman)
Roy Halladay, Blue Jays - Tuesday vs NYY (A. Burnett) and Sunday vs CWS (G. Floyd)

To anybody who has had a chance to see San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg, it's pretty clear the kid is the best player available in the amateur draft this summer. With his 99 mph fastball and ability to locate pitches, the only thing that could possibly keep him from being chosen first by the Washington Nationals would be fear of the money Scott Boras is going to want for him.

If you were to ask his manager, Tony Gwynn, what he thinks the Nationals should do about their possible fears, he'd tell you that the Nationals need to get over it. After all, if Strasburg joined the Nationals today, right this very second, Gwynn says he'd already be the ace of their rotation.

There are a plethora of two-start pitchers hurling in week five (Monday, May 4th - Sunday May 10th) of the fantasy baseball season. There are 58 total this week and you late sleepers are luck that all of the Monday games are night games. You won't need to set you lineups until 7:05 PM ET.

[Update: 7:48 AM ET] : Two games were rained out yesterday. The Mets and Phillies did not play and the Angels and Yankees were rained out as well. Here is the fallout from those two postponed games as it relates to two-start pitchers.

Week two (April 13th - April 19th) of the fantasy baseball season features 38 pitchers who are making two starts. There isn't a clear cut lock for easiest schedule amongst them, but Jon Lester looks like a very good start this week against Braden in Oakland and Uehara and the Orioles at home.

Daniel Cabrera doesn't look to have a fun week in store as he has to face Jamie Moyer and the Phillies and then Josh Johnson and the Marlins. At least he gets to pitch at home both times.

Here are the rest of the two-start pitchers.

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.

Life is like a box of chocolates, or so they say. The Washington Nationals opened the box as they have signed Daniel Cabrera to a one year deal, not quite knowing what they'll get from game to game. Cabrera had spent his entire career in the Orioles organization, thus his moving costs are kept to a minimum.

Cabrera's numbers are mind-numbingly mediocre, and that's being nice. This is a guy who will show you the kind of talent he has every once in a while, as he did have two complete games, an five games of six innings or more with no walks. But even with those, Cabrera had 90 walks alongside 95 strikeouts last season, which is an obscene ratio. When he gives out the free passes, he's quite generous. Maybe a switch to the N.L. (and out of the brutal A.L. East) will help him ... or it will help the N.L if he can't find the strike zone.

But as far as a low risk, high reward signing, Cabrera is it. Is it the type of signing that will convince, say, Mark Teixeira to sign with the Nationals? Probably not. But that's what $180 million is for.

From the Windup is FanHouse's extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

While the Yankees throw big-time dollars and long term contracts at CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, and Derek Lowe mulls over lucrative long-term offers, some strapped-for-cash teams may be feeling a bit left out in the cold during this Hot Stove season. The small-market teams have a lower margin of error, and they can't afford to use their entire payroll on a risk like Burnett. If a team like the Brewers has a few holes in the rotation to plug, they should take the bargain route.

Obviously, taking a shot at a pitcher not many other teams want -- for various reasons -- doesn't necessarily mean you'll be successful.

I often think about how the Cubs signed Ryan Dempster a few years back for very little cost. He paid dividends this past season. On the flip side, the Cubs tried the same thing with Scott Williamson, and it didn't work out. With this in mind, here are 10 possible bargain starting pitchers. Obviously, the upsides of each guy vary based upon age, health, and ability.