Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.When Paul Konerko finished 2008 with a dismal .240 average and only 22 HRs, most fantasy players were quick to write off the 33-year-old Chicago first baseman as finished. A deeper look into the stats revealed two consecutive seasons with poor BABIPs (batting average on balls in play), alerting the shrewd among us that Konerko might have just been the victim of an unlucky two-year streak. Sure enough, his BABIP is back to its normal level in 2009, and it was kind enough to bring along Konerko's batting average.
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On Tuesday night, Konerko took advantage of primo batting conditions to smack three home runs and raise his average up above .300 for the first time in over a month. He's now knocked 16 HRs on the season, which when combined with his 57 RBI and .301 batting average, put Konerko in line for a vintage Paulie season.
Konerko wasn't the only one blasting homers in Tuesday night's Indians-White Sox matchup. Grady Sizemore hit a couple, his third and fourth since returning from the DL on June 23. Grady's Bunch is rejoicing at the seven hits in his last 14 at-bats. The three HRs, six runs and seven RBI have made his owners giddy to have their first-round pick back as well.
Also joining the HR parade were Shin-Soo Choo and Alexei Ramirez. Choo has been a five-category stud this year, stealing 13 bags and hitting 13 HRs while hitting for the kind of average that Sizemore hasn't been able to produce. Ramirez started out very slow but has rewarded those that stuck with him. His .276 average is the highest it's been all season, and the Cuban import looks like he'll blow last year's 13 SB total out of the water.
Bits From the Box Scores:
• Another guy with a multi-homer game was Brandon Phillips, and his two long balls against J.A. Happ mark the first HRs he's hit since June 19. Even with the two from last night, Phillips has only managed to hit four HRs since the beginning of June, leaving his owners scratching their heads as to what's wrong. This big game might be the perfect reason to make a smart deal for your team and sell high on the Cincinnati second baseman.
• After knocking a HR and stealing a couple bags, Jason Bay has 20 HRs and eight steals 83 games into 2009. He'll be making a run at a Ryan Braun-like 40/15 season. Too bad the hits haven't been falling in whenever he's kept the ball in the park, as his .265 average has deflated his overall value. However, it also makes him a great guy to target in trade talks, if you can pry him from his owner.
• In his first ever start facing a Triple-A team, Clayton Kershaw held the Mets to three singles and no runs allowed in six innings, striking out seven batters and improving to 6-5 on the season. In the ultra-competitive NL East, losing nine of their last 11 games could easily wind up costing the Mets a playoff spot. Meanwhile, nothing wrong with the Dodgers, despite Manny Ramirez's temper tantrums ("But I don't wanna go back to the dugout!"). They are the clear favorite to represent the NL in the World Series.
• Juan Rivera is on fire. Seriously, kudos if you added him in June and were able to tally most of his eight HRs last month into your team's totals for the season. Five of his seven July games have been of the multi-hit variety, including Tuesday night's 3-for-5, two-HR affair. Speaking of hot streaks, Marcus Thames is on one of his own, clubbing what was already his third HR of the month while batting cleanup for Detroit. He's still unowned in far too many leagues -- pick him up for HR and RBI help.
• Luke Scott threw seven RBI on the board in a blowout of Seattle. As a baseball writer, I'm obligated to tell you that the Baltimore slugger just missed the cycle, going 3-for-4 with a triple and HR to his credit. Scott's looked to have turned the page on a rough June that saw him compile a .259/.341/.420 line with only three HRs. Seven days into July, he's matched that power output already and surpassed last month's 10 RBI. • With Troy Glaus out indefinitely and now the newly-acquired Mark DeRosa on the DL, do you think the Cardinals would love to reverse the trade that sent Scott Rolen to the Blue Jays? Rolen picked up a hit in his 24th consecutive game Tuesday night, although the 1-for-5 line lowered his average to .325. Marc Rzepczynski (spell that one three times fast) made his major league debut in the game and was very effective, going six innings while allowing only two hits and one earned run. The groundball pitcher also managed a healthy seven Ks, a number that will perk up the ears of speculative fantasy owners everywhere.
• In his first start with the Oakland A's, Scott Hairston played center field and batted third, knocking a solo HR off Josh Beckett in the first inning. AL-only owners shouldn't be afraid to empty their budgets for Hairston -- if you can post a .299 average, 10 HRs and eight steals in under 200 at-bats while calling cavernous Petco Park your home, you can handle McAfee Coliseum.
• Marking another success for the Stream Team, Giants' Barry Zito had his best stuff against the Marlins, allowing just five baserunners in 8 1/3 innings, striking out six in the process of earning his fifth win of the season. While you're really playing with fire every time you send Zito out to the mound for your fantasy team, he's shown that he can be a quality option in his home starts. With Brian Wilson unavailable after consecutive outings the last two days, Sergio Romo fanned a couple guys to pick up the first save of his career.
• In other bullpen news, Tampa Bay's relievers have been great since Troy Percival went down. At that time, most of the key members of the bullpen had ugly 5.00-plus ERAs. Dan Wheeler picked up the win after pitching two innings Tuesday night, bringing his ERA down to 3.23 after his 13th consecutive scoreless outing. Closer J.P. Howell has been even better, going 19 straight appearances without allowing a run. Randy Choate lowered his ERA to 1.26.
The Afflicted: Vladimir Guerrero had to leave the game against Texas with an apparent leg injury, but it didn't seem to be serious. Chipper Jones was out with a sore groin, leading to Garrett Anderson hitting in the three-hole. Hurry back, Chipper! Brian Roberts has the flu -- don't count on him today.
Returning: Seattle only let Erik Bedard pitch four innings in his first game back from the disabled list, but he made it count with eight strikeouts. The two runs allowed spoiled his return, but Bedard looks like a surefire starter from here on out.
Lineup Lock Time: Wednesday gives us several afternoon games, the first of which (Pittsburgh at Houston) begins at 2:05 PM ET.
