Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday. Every year in fantasy baseball there are a number of players whose hype exceeds reasonable expectations, because so many freaking people have them tagged as a "breakout." Peter Gammons may have been the first to tag Adam Jones with such a label, but it caught on quickly, and he was a popular fantasy draft selection. (Note that this also applies to my homie Chris Davis, who I think might hit 40 taters, but who was wickedly overvalued coming into drafts. More on this in a second.)
And the man that wants no part of being called "Pacman" -- for obvious reasons -- is suddenly flat-out destroying opposing pitching. Jones was always considered a "five-tool" prospect, with power and speed potential, not to mention just being a great baseball player.
There's wasn't ever really a question that the Orioles thrashed the Mariners in the multi-player deal that involved Jones and Erik Bedard a few seasons ago; now that Jones is emerging as a bonafide stud, it's just more egg on the M's collective face. Just for a baseline, PECOTA had Jones tagged for 18 homers and 10 stolen bases this season, and right now, that seems like a pretty good lock. The youngster will have some points where he cools off, but that's just because we all know he's not hitting 39 homers, 125 RBI and batting .362 for the season.
But the difference between his projections (nearly everyone had him pegged for 15-20 homers and ~10-15 steals at worse) and his early season performance shows just what a stud the kid can and will be. Remember, he's only 23 -- as the Orioles continue to cultivate a really, really strong lineup around him (they're working on it) things should only get better.
Lineup Lock Time: 12:05 PM EST. Mark Buehrle! Cliff Lee! It's the underachieving, but-what-did-we-really-expect AL Central!
Bits From the Boxscores:
*Luke Hochevar, the focus of yesterday's Roto Rush, didn't, um, pitch, er, "well." On the bright side, at least his 36.00 ERA is a nice, round even number. In keeper/dynasty type leagues, now might be a pretty good time to take a stab at the youngster; I still think he's going to be fine, and besides, the Royals have already shown a knack for saving young pitchers who struggled in the majors. (See: Greinke, Zach)
*Three straight quality starts -- and two straight wins -- for Manny Parra. The Brewers are streaking and despite what the season-long stats say, so is my boy Manny. Get on the bandwagon while you still can.
*Former teammates Roy Halladay and A.J. Burnett squared off last night and (unsurprisingly) Halladay was better: more importantly, he lowered his ERA to 2.95 on the season and earned his seventh victory as the Blue Jays handled the Yankees. Not mind-blowing, just ironic. Or something.
*Josh Hamilton seems safe to start now -- in his first game back from the DL, he hit a tater as the Rangers cruised over the freefalling Mariners.
*Also homering for the Rangers was my favorite mancrush, Chris Davis. That's two straight games and nine on the season. His average is still "meh" and the strikeouts are high as expected, but now's not the time to be thinking sell high by any means.
*Two jacks for Ian Stewart last night, and that's six on the season. He continues to receive somewhat scattered at-bats and playing time, but there's only so long the Rockies can keep moving him around before his power wins out and he starts every day.
*Joey Votto left yesterday's game because of "dizziness." That's after missing four games with the flu. Which means that someone dropped the ball here. And lieu of knowing any doctor's name that relates to the Reds, I'm just going to go ahead and blame Dusty Baker.
*The Pirates handled the Cardinals easily last night and Zach Duke continues to look "fa' real." I rode Duke in 2005 when he posted a ridiculous second half to the season, and it's crazy to think that a guy this young is already on the comeback trail ... but I guess he is. I think he can keep this up, because there's a track record, but if I own him, I'm still treading cautiously on certain matchups for now.
*Also: Albert Pujols has 13 (!) homers right now. PleasedearGoddon'tlethimgetbustedforroids.
The Afflicted: Kevin Youkilis to the DL, finally -- get him on dat bench. My man Knox had a good point too: Todd Helton is an excellent replacement, particularly if he's somehow unowned in any league that rewards OBP. Ryan Ludwick is likely headed to the disabled list after injuring his hamstring on Tuesday; it's a nightmare situation for the Cardinals, his owners and people who want to see Poo-holes keep hitting homers. As Snyder pointed out, it seems unlikely that Albert will be getting as many grapefruits. Dontrelle Willis returns to the mound tonight! Do. Not. Want.
Thursday's Ace in the Hole: Matt Harrison. Rangers pitching usually = FTF, obvs. (LMAO!) But Harrison's 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA over his last three starts. Sure, he's going against Felix Hernandez, but I'll bank on 3+ runs from the Rangers regardless of the matchup. And sure, Harrison has only 11 K'd in 21 innings over that span, but the Mariners are reeling and nothing says "dagger to your season in May" like getting CGSO'd by a young Rangers pitcher.
