Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.In 2005, Tom Gorzelanny pitched in the majors for the first time. He was just 22. Two years later, he went 14-10 with a 3.88 ERA -- logging more than 200 innings in 32 starts for the hapless Pittsburgh Pirates. He did allow too many hits, but he was only 25 years old, so it appeared he would settle in as an anchor for the ever-rebuilding Pirates.
Instead, he had a disastrous past two seasons and had been relegated to the minors. Last week, Gorzelanny was traded to the Cubs, and Tuesday night he passed his Cubs debut with flying colors.
The left-hander took a shutout into the eighth inning. He ended with 7 1/3 innings pitched, just 3 hits, 1 walk and 1 earned run allowed, while striking out 6. He hit his spots with seeming ease, and weaved through the Reds' lineup beautifully. Before we move on, let's give a virtual chest-bump to R.J. White for calling the outing in Stream Team. Good work, man.
Anyway, yes, it was the Reds. There isn't a nice way of putting this. They suck. They have lost 14 of their last 15 games, including 8 straight. We also have to remember that when Ted Lilly returns to the Cubs, Gorzelanny loses his rotation spot.
That being said, Gorzelanny looked very sharp and had been dealing in Triple-A before the trade. He had a 2.48 ERA in 15 starts for Indianapolis, punching out nearly a batter per inning. Also, it's not exactly like the Cubs' rotation has been a legion of Ironmen. Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly and Rich Harden have all made trips to the disabled list this season. Anytime that happens from here on out, or if a spot start is needed, Gorz will get the shot.
He recently turned 27, so it's entirely possible the change of scenery -- from a perennial loser to a two-time defending division champ who is currently tied for first place -- in addition to getting things all figured out on the mound happened simultaneously. He's worth a look in deeper NL-Only leagues for now.
Bits from the Box Scores:
- Johnny Cueto just hasn't been the same since the release of the All-Star rosters. Maybe he felt so slighted he mentally fell apart? Obviously, that's not the case, but it's just uncanny what he's been since then. He's made six starts since that Sunday, and he's 0-5 with a 9.85 ERA. He's walked 13, but the worst part is how much he's getting knocked around. In the 28 1/3 innings he's pitched in those six starts, he's given up 49 hits and 7 jacks. That's just awful. Sit him until he shows any ability to turn it around. You just can't continue taking those lumps in ERA and WHIP.
- Cody Ross is only owned in about a third of the fantasy leagues out there. He's a very cheap source of power. If you only need bombs, he can provide them. He now has 18 on the season, including 4 in the past week. He hit 22 last year in only 461 at-bats, so this display isn't fluky.
- Want some cheap saves in large leagues? Mike MacDougal now has 9. Hey, the Nats win every once in a while. When they do, it's usually close and you know Mac will be well rested each chance he gets.
- Garrett Atkins suffered through an abysmal season through the middle of June. Since then, though, he's picked up the pace. He's hitting .329 with an .875 OPS since June 14.
- Ryan Roberts is off to a hot start in August for Arizona. He's 9-19 (.474) and hit 2 homers Tuesday night -- giving him 4 in the past 10 games. He's going to play everyday now that Felipe Lopez has been traded. With a decent power-speed combo, he's worth a look in deep NL Only leagues.
- A word to the wise: When Albert Pujols enters a game 1 for his last 13, he's about to destroy the baseball with no regard for anything else. He now has 5 grand slams and leads baseball in home runs, RBI, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, total bases ... hell, he's even stolen 10 bases. What an absolute monster. And to think, the Cardinals drafted him in the 13th round.
- Jonathan Sanchez seems to be a good spot start at this point. Since he was put back in the rotation, he's only had one bad outing, and that was in the thin air of Colorado against the surging Rockies. In that time (5 starts and 32 2/3 innings), he's struck out 39 guys and only allowed 10 earned runs (2.75 ERA). He's likely to be inconsistent, but if you see some easy starts on the horizon, take a look. For example, I'd avoid Monday against the Dodgers, but he looks like he'll get the ball in Citi Field against the Mets' banged up offense after that. I'd use him then.
- Apparently Orlando Cabrera likes hitting for the Twins much more than for the A's. Sure, it's an incredibly small sample, but he's hitting .385 in three games for the Twins and only had a paltry OPS of .683 for Oakland. Of course, hitting in front of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau is a bit nicer than anywhere in the worst offense in the AL. Thus, the change of scenery means he'll put up better post-trade numbers.
- Solid debut for Brian Matusz -- a single earned run in 5 innings, while striking out 5. You'd like to see him work deeper into games, but that will come. The 22-year-old had dominated the minors (11-2, 1.91 ERA, 121 K in 113 IP) and he's got a very promising future. Take a look in the biggest of leagues as a possible stream guy, but expect some lumps along the way a la Clayton Kershaw.
- Jarrod Washburn got his Detroit career off to a pretty terrible start. The Orioles lit him up for 6 earned runs in just 5 1/3 innings. Those who have followed Washburn's last several seasons can't be too surprised. You don't just go from ERAs of 4.67, 4.32 and 4.69 to 2.64 at age 34. A regression was coming and the Tigers paid for it -- fortunately they didn't give up much.
- Bobby Abreu is such an underrated fantasy commodity. The only thing he doesn't do is hit tons of home runs, but you can find bombs. Otherwise, he's hitting .322 with 76 RBI, 22 steals and 63 runs. And he's 35. If you team him with Cody Ross's bombs, you have quite the inexpensive fantasy duo.
- It would appear Gordon Beckham doesn't want to wait long with his label as a future star. After overcoming a slow start, he's already jacked up his OPS to .879 (25 percent better than the league average). He's already driven 7 runs home in three August games. We're getting awfully close to saying he should be starting in every fantasy format. And he's only had 211 career plate appearances.
- Jason Bartlett just won't slow down. As we wait for the dip everyone expects, he just keeps chugging along, as he's 5-8 in the past two games. He's already set career highs in home runs and RBI. Stolen bases, doubles and triples aren't far away, and he's going to shatter all his rate-stat career highs. Once it gets this late in the season, you just sit back and enjoy the career year -- even if you believe it's an outlier.
- It's starting to look like you can count on strikeouts from Luke Hochevar on a relatively consistent basis. In his last five starts, he's struck out 39 hitters in 30 1/3 innings. Along the way, he's compiled a 6-4 record for the Royals. If you can handle the hit in ERA and the slight one in WHIP, take the Ks and possible Ws.
- Is Russell Martin finally coming around? He's still in the midst of the worst offensive season in his career, but he's working his way back slowly and surely. Since the beginning of July, he's hitting .330 with a .407 on-base percentage. Power has been an issue this season, but he did hit 2 of his 3 total homers in July and already has 2 doubles in August. There might be hope to salvage this campaign yet.
- Yovani Gallardo got knocked around big-time by the Dodgers for easily his worst outing of the year. He was coming off a string of three good starts in a row and still struck out 7, though, so stick with him. He'll have the occasional blip on the radar (he is still only 23 and coming off a torn ACL).
- Think Adam LaRoche is happy he's back in Atlanta? He's a streaky second-half hitter anyway, and he's already off to a 8-13 (.615) start for the Braves.
- Gio Gonzalez had his best outing of the year Tuesday night, and it was the third straight time he kept his team in the game. He tied his season high for innings pitched (6 2/3) and has struck out 21 in his last three starts (18 2/3 innings). He's only 23, has a good arm, and pitches in a spacious park. If you don't care about wins (his offensive support will be minimal), he's worth a look in AL-Only leagues.
The Afflicted: Ryan Zimmerman missed Tuesday night's game with a sore shoulder, stemming from a hit-by-pitch on Monday night. He's considered day-to-day and is a tough player. He'll be back in no time. Cubs closer Kevin Gregg is being held out due to a tired arm. He'll likely be available Wednesday, though. Dallas Braden has a rash and may not start Wednesday night.
Lineup Lock Time: The Cards and Mets hook up at 12:10 PM ET. Hope you are prepared.
