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.
Doumit hit .318 with 15 home runs and 69 RBI last season in only 116 games, so the promise was there for good power without doing any harm to average. He also seemed to be playing much more frequently this season, so, yeah, his owners are probably quite disappointed.
Depending upon league size, John Baker is a great option and could end up giving similar production. In many leagues, though, he's likely already been snatched up. You might take a look and see if Chris Iannetta has been prematurely dropped by his owners. John Buck is a time-share with Miguel Olivo for the Royals, but he's swinging the bat really well right now and could gain some at-bats if he keeps it up. Gerald Laird is another possibility. If you need further specific help with your team, just leave a comment and we'll reply with advice.
Other Afflicted: Franklin Morales -- a promising starting pitcher for the Rockies -- had to leave the game with an injured shoulder. It appeared he hurt it hitting, which makes this the second consecutive week an opposing pitcher has hurt himself with the lumber in Arizona. Better watch out, or Hank Steinbrenner will be placing a phone call to the Snakes' front office telling them to "grow up" and use a designated hitter. Rickie Weeks left the game with dizziness, though there was no word on if it was related to his getting hit in the face with a pitch last week. Milton Bradley sat again due to his tweaked groin in a precautionary measure. That's probably going to happen a lot this season, especially if the Cubs -- specifically Micah Hoffpauir -- keep swinging the bat so well.
Bits from the Box Scores:
- I mentioned Hoffpauir directly above, so I'll go ahead with him now. He's a very intriguing proposition in fantasy leagues. Barring a season-ending injury to someone, he's never going to be the Cubs named starter at any position. However, he'll play right field pretty much everyday if Bradley is out, first base if Derrek Lee gets hurt or needs a rest, and left field if Alfonso Soriano is hurt or needs a breather. He'll also be the Cubs' top pinch-hitting option, so you can figure at least one at-bat every game. The dude can flat out mash. He's hitting .375 (6-16) this year with a home run and 5 RBI. Last year he hit .342 in 73 at-bats with a .934 OPS. In triple-A last season, he was insane (.362, 25 jacks, 100 RBI in only 71 games). Take a look in NL-Only leagues right now, and if anyone I mentioned above gets hurt, add Hoff-POWER in all formats.
- Ryan Franklin now has 3 saves and he hasn't allowed an earned run. As fickle as Tony LaRussa can be, I'd be pretty confident that Franklin is the lone closer moving forward in St. Louis.
- Oliver Perez, sigh, we hardly knew thee. More walks than innings pitched Tuesday night. A 7.80 ERA on the season. I'll bet he's enjoying that $12 million per season, though, right? There are a few more years on that contract, so what does he care if he doesn't pitch well. I'd honestly drop him in every format. No room on my team for guys like this.
- Adam Dunn hit his 4th home run of the season. He's only struck out 9 times in 13 games, but he's walked a league-high 17 times. He's hitting .310. He's still only 29 years-old and he's already had five consecutive 40-homer seasons. Seriously, considering value and stigma (mostly from misguided Reds fans), there aren't many guys more underrated in fantasy than Dunn.
- Jordan Schafer had 2 doubles and a walk in 3 at-bats. I'd use this as the opportunity to move him quickly if that's even possible. Prior to Tuesday night, the 22 year-old had only 4 hits in the previous 8 games, and 3 of them were in one game. During that stretch, he had struck out 15 times in only 28 at-bats. He's just not ready yet. Games like Tuesday night are more indicative of his potential down the road, not his current readiness.
- Ryan Braun: 5-5, 2 home runs, 4 RBI, 2 runs scored. His average is already at .300. After one big game. Repeat after me: the baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. Never, ever sit your studs. If someone tried to get cute Tuesday night with Braun, they paid dearly.
- Why does Raul Ibanez have 2 stolen bases already? That's how many he had all year in '08, which was preceded by a bagel in '07.
- Anibal Sanchez had a really suspect first three innings, but after that he settled down. His end line was very solid, but he took the hard luck loss. No worries. He's a good option moving forward in most leagues.
- Freddy Sanchez is on fire right now. He's now hitting .476 in his last five games. He currently has 8 doubles and 2 home runs. Ride him while he's hot. We don't necessarily know that this isn't real, considering he's led the league in hitting before.
- Sorry to be all Pirates-heavy, but there isn't a more reliable closer in baseball than Matt Capps. He's now 4-4 on save chances with a 0.00 ERA and 0.64 WHIP. He doesn't miss his spots, and he never gets hit hard.
- Big step back for Clayton Kershaw after his sparkling outing last time out. The thing is, that's bound to happen from time to time with a pitcher of his age. It's not a reason for huge concern, but -- by the same token -- you shouldn't be counting on him as more than your SP3 anyway. With those, you just have to take the bad with the good.
- Carlos Lee, to a much lesser extent, can be lumped in with Ryan Braun. It was only a matter of time before he got hot. Never. Sit. Studs.
- Kurt Suzuki went 4-4. I don't care about him not hitting for much power or stealing any bases. This is a catcher. Just don't kill my average and we're good. Nice night, and it shows that he's a great lower-tier option at the position. You know he's never going to be Victor Martinez, but at least you aren't saddled with a Chris Snyder (no relation).
- That's 4 steals for Brett Gardner now. As long as he doesn't embarrass himself in the field or the 9-hole, he's going to end up being a very cheap speed source. Plus, when he does get on, there's a whole lotta Jeter/Damon/Teixeira/ARod there to drive him in. Take a look in all leagues where you need speed.
- Aaron Laffey came through with a huge outing for the Indians. They desperately need the lower half of the rotation -- well, really anyone in the rotation -- to step up and give them a chance to win the game. He threw 7 strong innings and only allowed a first-inning run. He's not gonna strikeout a boatload, but the kid has real potential to garner wins this season while keeping the ERA respectable.
- Alexei Ramirez went 2-4 with a double and a stolen base. Do not give up on the Cuban Missile. He'll start getting things going, and it's very possible Tuesday night was the beginning.
- Aaron Hill just keeps chugging along. He now has 5 home runs, 15 RBI, and is hitting .368. Second base isn't exactly the deepest position, so it's worth just riding him presently. It's not like Mike Aviles or Rickie Weeks are setting the world on fire.
- Howie Kendrick left 6 men on base. He's hitting .196, and that's after his stellar opening day. I'm not saying to give up on the guy completely, but at some point we have to see some real, sustained success at the big league level before heaping all this name recognition on him. For now, I'm seeing a guy with no power and no speed who might not hit for a high average. How does that help me, even at second base?
- Armando Galarraga now has a 1.96 ERA, but I'm not exactly bullish in his prospects moving forward. By all accounts, he's been incredibly lucky in the bigs with peripherals. His BABIP just can't continue. It was freaking .237 last year. He doesn't have overpowering enough stuff to stay on top of the hitters he sees routinely, either. I'd be selling him right now if you can.
- Jered Weaver looks really solid so far this year. He did allow the two taters to Curtis Granderson, but he was due for those. Other than that, the outing from Weaver was incredible. His command is back, his confidence is back, and the bullpen actually closed one down. I like his prospects moving forward.
- I can't believe I'm going to say this, but you have to consider Jarrod Washburn in all leagues. He's dealing, and he's striking guys out while he's at it. We're looking at a 1.71 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 21 innings for a team who is playing in a horrifyingly bad division. He could win 15 games again.
- I'll admit that I'm officially worried about Carl Crawford. You have to stick with your studs, as I said above, but he's been in a bit of a tailspin for quite some time now. He declined to a below average OPS last season, and his steals rate has been going down for a few years.
- The Rockies had to use their entire bullpen because their starting pitcher fell injured. The Diamondbacks didn't have to use Tony Pena (setup) or Chad Qualls (closer). This really bodes well for Dan Haren finally getting some help Wednesday. He's sitting with an 0-3 record despite an ERA of 1.89. I'm expecting 7-8 innings of only 1 run while striking out close to double-digits and his first win of the season.
- In case you were wondering, Edgar Renteria (3-4, home run, 5 RBI) had a flukey game. Don't bother with him unless your league is really large.
- Jake Peavy's ERA is now over 5.00. While everyone else tries to find out why and speculates a bunch of stuff about the WBC, I'll be trying to buy low on him. I suggest you do the same. Remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint.
Wednesday's Ace(s) in the Hole: Alright, we got back on track with Laffey, so we'll give it another go. Funny thing, track records for most of the starters on Wednesday look like we're going to see a lot of offense. I do like one guy, though. Jair Jurrjens, come on down. First of all, the Nationals are not a good baseball team. Secondly, Jurrjens has only allowed a .188 batting average from the current Nats in their previous attempts at him. I'm counting on this to continue, and for the Braves to start hitting the baseball again.
Down on the Farm: Chien-Ming Wang is scheduled to pitch in extended spring training later this week. That is usually reserved for players who have been hurt, but Wang is supposedly healthy. Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes have been dealing in triple-A. The Yankees don't have a lot of tolerance for sucktitude. Do the math: Wang's job is in jeopardy. It actually couldn't hurt to take an anticipatory flier on Kennedy or Hughes in very large AL-Only leagues.
Lineup Lock Time: The Marlins and Pirates are going off at 12:35 PM ET, so you better have those lineups set by lunch time.
