Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.Remember when Rickie Weeks was a hot new prospect whose quick bat drew comparisons to Gary Sheffield? Yeah, turns out that was four years ago.
Following season after season of frustration for hopeful fantasy owners, Weeks is finally coming through. The speed isn't there, but he's homered in three straight games to give him nine total in only 140 at-bats. By comparison, he only hit 14 in 475 at-bats last year. So has our man-crush of yesteryear suddenly transformed into the new Dan Uggla, or is this impressive power display just another tease?
One stat that immediately jumps out as an outlier is a 19.6 percent home run per fly ball rate (HR/F). Over his past three seasons, Weeks has never topped 13.2 percent and his career average is 12.5 percent. His added power is further evidenced by his .257 Isolated Power (ISO) -- his highest mark yet by far. He's also flexed an ability to take right-handed pitchers the other way. Still, Weeks has gone on tears before (nine in September 2007), so he could come up shy of 30 homers at the end of the line.
All things considered -- added muscle, working with hitting coach Dale Sveum, and healthy wrists for once -- this isn't completely unexpected. He was a great low-risk, high-reward pick this year, just one that's burned us a few times. Sure, his strikeouts are piling up as usual and the batting average will slip here and there. But no one can deny the resurgence of Rickie Weeks. He's a top-10 second baseman and should be valued as such.
Bits From the Box Scores:
• Emilio Bonifacio is coming back to life, coincidentally since Chris Coghlan was added to the lineup. Bonifacio isn't a bad buy-low considering his value took a steep dive, and Coghlan has major speed so he shouldn't be overlooked.
• Cliff Lee has only surrendered seven earned runs over his last six starts. He gave up seven alone in his season opener at Arlington. No matter how brutal one start looks, a great string can quickly make it disappear.
• With Carlos Delgado possibly DL-bound because of an injured right hip, Fernando Tatis is getting some action ... and producing. He hit a grand slam against the Braves and could be a cheap source of temporary power.
• Jordan Schafer is up to 44 strikeouts and only has three RBI. If this continues into June, the Braves will have to figure out a way to give him a break.
• Don't sleep on Nick Johnson. The underrated corner collected another four hits to close out a series with San Fran and has 14 RBI in May. Along the same lines, catcher-eligible Pablo Sandoval remained hot to knock in his ninth run this month.
• I'm very interested to see how long Jimmy Rollins sticks in the fifth spot after Charlie Manuel decided to shake things up. Rollins hit his second homer of the year against the Dodgers.
• Jason Barlett has already matched his career high for homers, hitting his fifth at Baltimore. He also stole a base for the third straight game. With a line of .369-5-14-21-9, he's a surprising must-start middle until he cools off.
• Nice of you to show up for the party, Geovany Soto. It's time for you to bring more from where that two-run homer came from. That thing you're holding is a baseball boomstick.• Chris Young can't be trusted in your rotation. I'd say we've seen enough. If you've got a deep bench, hold on to him until he hopefully remembers how to stop walking batters. If it's a shallow league, dump him.
• Take note of Troy Percival's four-run implosion and the subsequent save from J.P. Howell. It was just one rough game for Percival, but Howell should be on your radar. This is a 39-year-old closer we're talking about.
• You knew good things from someone like Scott Richmond couldn't last forever. April's fantasy hurler darling has given up 10 runs over his last two starts. He lasted 1 2/3 innings against the Yankees on Wednesday.
• Adrian Beltre is finally hitting for power -- two homers in his last four games. The nifty buy-low window may be closing. Same goes for Chris Iannetta, who hit his fourth bomb of the month.
• From the "Ridiculously Under the Radar Files" (yes, such files exist at Fantasy FanHouse), comes Jeff Larish. He's started four straight games and hit jacks in three consecutive games, seeing time at both first base and designated hitter. He's on the verge of becoming more than just a cool AL-only sleeper.
Run to the Wire for ... Nolan Reimold, one of two hot prospects making their way up to the bigs, Mat Gamel being the other. For my money, I think Reimold will have much better fantasy value. He had nine homers, 27 RBI and a .394 average in Triple-A. With Luke Scott seemingly DL-bound and Adam Jones hurting, Reimold should find more at-bats than Gamel. Both are must-own in mono leagues though.
The Afflicted: Carl Crawford is day-to-day after bruising his right shoulder. Ryan Ludwick hit the disabled list with a strained left hamstring. Adam Jones tweaked his hamstring in Wednesday's game. The Angels activated Ervin Santana from the 15-day disabled list. He'll start Thursday against the Red Sox. Rangers closer Frank Francisco is expected to be back Sunday.
Friday's Ace in the Hole: Brett Cecil (1-0, 0.64), who's shown great command for a rookie through two starts, will take on the White Sox at home. If he pitches well again, he should be owned in all deep mixed leagues. Eric Stults (4-1, 3.58 ERA) faces the Marlins on the road. He's only been roughed up in one outing so far.
