Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.Dare we say it? He's back. The man who won the 2005 Cy Young and finished third the following season is officially back in the Cardinals rotation. He made the Brewers -- one of the best hitting teams in the league -- look stupid for eight innings Monday, which means he's now thrown 23 innings of shutout ball this season. His staggering numbers thus far: 23 innings, 0 earned runs, 23 strikeouts, 10 hits, 4 walks.
With his next outing being Sunday in San Francisco, it's a pretty good bet Carpenter continues his mastery of the opposition. You still have to be a bit worried about his health -- due to age and the issues of the past few seasons -- but there's no reason to trade him now. He's not a sell-high guy. He's a cling to me for dear life guy when he's at his best, and he's at his best.
Bits from the Box Scores
- Not to be outdone by his counterpart, Yovani Gallardo also hurled a gem Monday. The four walks were a bit much, but other than that he was masterful as well. In 8 shutout innings he allowed only two hits and struck out six. His ERA is now down to 3.32 and he's emerging as a bonafide staff ace.
- Just in case SportsCenter didn't hammer it into your brain enough, Freddy Sanchez went 6-for-6 with a double, a bomb, 4 runs and 3 RBI. He even stole a base for good measure. You couldn't have asked for a more potent fantasy day. He's definitely useful in larger mixed leagues at this point.
- Milton Bradley is probably a bit touched in the head. We know that. We also know that he's always hit in the past, which makes his slow start this year a bit frustrating. Usually when he's on the field he hits. Well, he's been hitting the ball pretty hard recently and Monday is a sign he's ready to bust out. A double, a no-doubt home run, and 4 RBI were all very encouraging.
- Jeremy Guthrie stymied the Blue Jays' bats for 7 innings, but it appears to be more a product of how poorly the Jays are playing right now. Guthrie is never going to be an overly helpful fantasy pitcher, especially since his strikeout rate is so low and most of his opponents (AL East) can rake.
- Adam Lind is now 3 for his last 30 with nary an RBI. It might be wise to sit him down for a few days until he breaks out of his funk. I have confidence, however, that he will break out of it.
- Nelson Cruz, on the other hand, is going bonkers right now. In the past six games, Cruz is hitting .458 with five home runs and 10 RBI. Add in the two doubles and you have a 1.667 OPS since May 20. Let this be a lesson that he's too streaky to sit. He'll go through dry spells, but the second you give up he'll hurt you.
- Phil Hughes came through with possibly the best outing of his major league career. Not only did he hurl 8 scoreless innings, but he did so against the awesome Rangers' offense in one of the best hitter's parks in baseball. The Yankees have a difficult decision in front of them regarding Hughes, because Chien-Ming Wang is sitting around in the bullpen and Hughes looks like he's ready to stay at the big league level permanently. In fact, if you remove his disastrous outing against Baltimore, you're looking at a 3-1 record with a 2.89 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 28 innings. If the Yanks decide to leave him in the bigs, take a look in all leagues.
- Does everyone believe in Justin Verlander as a fantasy ace yet? In five years we'll be looking back at his 2008 season as an inexplicable aberration.
- Michael Cuddyer's past eight games have yielded the following numbers: .424 average, 5 home runs, 13 RBI, 11 runs, 1.503 OPS. Ride him while he's hot.
- I guess there was a reason David Price was in triple-A for so long. He was spotted a 10-run lead and still couldn't command the strike zone enough to get through the fourth inning. He threw 3 1/3 inning and was removed after his 100th pitch. The 6 strikeouts were good, but you can't walk 5 guys with that huge a lead. You have to hold him in larger leagues because of his potential, but he should be on the bench until we see noticable changes in his ability to throw strikes.
- Fausto Carmona is awful. Just dreadful. I would drop him in every league. Seriously.
- Alexei Ramirez is starting to hit the ball as the weather turns. In his last 12 games, the Cuban Missile is hitting .341 with a .906 OPS. He's really starting to get hot now, though. In his last 4 games, he's hitting .471 with 2 home runs and 6 RBI. He's even stolen 2 bases in that span as well.
- What an encouraging outing for John Maine and the Mets. It's easy to see the record of the Nationals and dismiss the start, but the Nats are actually one of the best hitting teams in the league. He still needs to get the walks under control, which would enable him to work deeper into the game, but only allowing 1 earned run is a great start.
The Afflicted: Matt Capps got lit up in the pitching arm by a line drive off the bat of Geovany Soto. No real word on what happened to him, but you can bet he's not taking the ball for the next couple days at the very least. John Grabow will probably get the save chances in his absence. Akinori Iwamura is done after tearing his ACL. It's now worth taking a look at Ben Zobrist (.286, 8 homers, 24 RBI in only 105 at-bats) in all leagues, as he looks to get at-bats almost everyday now. Carlos Quentin just can't shake his foot injury. This looks like something that wil linger at least until the All-Star break. Brian Roberts has a bruised shin, which seems like something that could keep him on a shelf for a day or so. He could also play through it.
Lineup Lock Time: You have all the way until 7:05 PM ET, so baseball won't be a distraction during return-to-work-after-a-long-weekend day.
Wednesday's Ace in the Hole: Manny Parra has the talent, but he just can't stay consistent. He actually had a five start stretch with a 2.79 ERA and a 3-1 record, although it came to a screeching halt last time out when he couldn't complete the fourth inning. Still, he held down St. Louis last time out. As long as he avoid Albert Pujols (meaning he should walk him every time) he's a good bet for a solid start.
