Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.Fantasy football season is a sprint. Fantasy baseball is a marathon. You might have heard this before, but it bears repeating when we see such headlines as: "Opening-day starter Ricky Nolasco demoted to minors" and "Magglio Ordonez benched indefinitely."
If you take a reactionary approach, there's a good chance you'll make a mistake. Those who tossed Nolasco aside are kicking themselves a bit now.
Nolasco pitched five innings of one-hit ball against the Red Sox in Thursday's rain-shortened matchup. Since he's been brought back, Nolasco has reeled off 18 impressive innings with 18 punch-outs and a 2.50 ERA. Most importantly, he's only given up one homer in that span. It doesn't look like he's going back to the minors any time soon.
Frustrated Ordonez owners will be kicking themselves later, too. There's no way he's a waiver-wire outcast. The 35-year-old outfielder hasn't homered since April 27 and only has 22 RBI, but he's maintained a respectable .273 average, with a hit in 10 of his last 13 games. Advanced stats at The Hardball Times show us he's hitting more infield flies and his home run per fly ball ratio has taken a big dip. I believe we'll see both trends change by the end of the season, whenever Jim Leyland gives his six-time All-Star another crack at being a starter.
Unless you're in a shallow league, I don't see how you can dump Maggs.
Down on the Farm: San Diego, prepare to meet Mt. Banks. The Padres have decided to call up their 285-pound slugging prospect, Kyle Blanks, who had 11 homers, 35 RBI and 34 runs at Triple-A ball.He should get some starts in the outfield, though he's only exciting in NL-only leagues for now. He could have both first base and outfield eligibility in your league.
Bits From the Box Scores:
• Like Nolasco, Alexei Ramirez was another touted star who many fantasy owners gave up on. Not us. Ramirez has homered in back-to-back games and he'll only get better in the second half.
• Four hits -- including two doubles and a triple -- for Arizona's Chris Young. He's batting .276 in June with seven steals. He's available in about 60 percent of leagues. You won't be able to wait much longer.
• Four straight quality starts for rookie Vin Mazzaro. Don't sleep on him, either.
• After stealing 11 bases over 27 games in May, Jacoby Ellsbury has stolen eight over 12 games in June. He's put nagging injuries behind him to hit .349 this month and appears on track to top last year's swipe total.
• Another player who's hitting over .340 this month is Chris Coghlan. Surprised as I was? Coghlan's really done a great job in June as the leadoff hitter (.424 OBP). He could be a very cheap source of runs and steals if he sticks in that spot.
• Where is the ceiling for Adam Lind? The 25-year-old breakout smacked his 14th homer of the season while raising his average to .371 this month. If this trajectory keeps up, we could be looking at a perennial 30-homer, 100-RBI outfielder for years to come.
• Nick Blackburn has been the true ace of the Twins' staff and one of the most underrated pitchers in fantasy leagues. Blackburn hurled a complete game for his sixth win and lowered his ERA to 3.09. He has given up two runs or less in eight of his starts. Have I piqued your interest yet? Good, because he's available in over 60 percent of mixed leagues.
• Carlos Gonzalez hit his first homer for Colorado but still appears to be a little overmatched. He'll continue to be worth playing in NL-only leagues, though.
• Another strong start from Ubaldo Jimenez, whose outstanding turnaround was masked by an ugly first month. Jimenez had a 7.58 ERA in April, but a 2.88 ERA in May and 2.43 ERA in June.
• Gerardo Parra is starting to show some power as part of his hitting display. Parra smacked his third homer as part of a three-RBI day at Kansas City. He could be starter-worthy in deep mixed leagues.
The Afflicted: Toronto placed closer Scott Downs on the 15-day disabled list with a sprain of the big toe on his left foot. Jason Frasor takes over ninth-inning duties in his place. He's worth grabbing in all mixed leagues since Downs could be out up to a month. Alex Rodriguez is being benched for two days due to "fatigue." We'll discuss the A-Rod situation in depth as part of the podcast this weekend. And in a tale of two anxiety disorders, the Tigers placed Dontrelle Willis back on the DL, while the Cardinals activated infielder Khalil Greene. Neither player is fantasy relevant.
Weekend Aces in the Hole: Way under the radar, Jason Hammel (4-3, 4.10) has collected three straight wins with a 2.45 ERA in those starts. He'll face Pittsburgh at home Saturday. In deeper leagues, take a shot with Brett Cecil (2-1, 4.38 ERA) against the Nationals. And guess who I'm going with Sunday? Yep, Ricky Romero (3-3, 3.73 ERA) vs. the Nats. The backup Sunday is Dallas Braden (5-5, 3.31 ERA) at San Diego.
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