Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.The Nationals of all teams are the hottest club in baseball. They've won five straight games, scoring no fewer than five runs in each of their six games in August. Mike MacDougal recorded saves in four of those five wins, but the real hero in Washington is Ryan Zimmerman.
The Nationals third baseman went 4-for-4 in yesterday's contest against the Marlins, raising his average to .300, the highest it's been since the end of June. He's in the middle of a ten-game hitting streak, but more impressive was the home run he hit, as that makes it three consecutive games with a HR for Zimmerman.
In fact, Zimmerman has homered in an incredible eight of his last 13 games. David Wright has eight HRs all season.
The question fantasy owners always ask is whether or not a hot hitter can keep raking. In Zimmerman's case, he absolutely can. The average will come down a bit, but he hits in the middle of a dangerous lineup and should keep getting a bunch of RBI opportunities. Still, I would shop the fantasy stud around and see if you can use him to fill a couple of holes in your lineup as you make a late-season push.
Bits From the Box Scores
• With the trade of Nick Johnson, Elijah Dukes comes back into fantasy relevance. The embattled OF homered as part of a 3-for-4 day yesterday. He's started all six games in August, and he's a great add for fantasy owners looking for a good power/speed combination in one guy.
• Oeltjen! Oeltjen! In his first major-league outing, Trent Oeltjen stole two bases and hit a home run as the Diamondbacks won a back-and-forth game in Pittsburgh last night. The 26-year-old rookie had 10 HRs and 18 SBs in 400-plus Triple-A at-bats this year, but a terrible K/BB ratio will keep him from hitting for average if he sees extended time in the majors.
• Oh, and some guy named Mark Reynolds hit a homer. Not that that's news anymore.
• Fausto Carmona took another step forward, pitching one-run ball for six innings against the Twins. While I wouldn't touch the Indians pitcher in normal-sized leagues, he's starting to look like a decent AL-only option. Of course, that means he's due for an implosion. Kerry Wood added a 1-2-3 inning for a save, a rarity from the former Cub pitcher.
• In the same game, Orlando Cabrera went 2-for-3 in the two-hole to extend his hitting streak to 16 games. Since coming over from Oakland, Cabrera has gone 10-for-20. After hitting .373 with nine steals in July, it's amazing to see him unowned in so many leagues. Even if he doesn't run as much in Minnesota, he's a great help to a team's average and run total.
• Brandon Inge hit a homer -- trade him, quickly! Try and sell a leaguemate on a power resurgence just around the corner.
• Johnny Damon has now homered in three consecutive games. While the speed hasn't been there for Damon this season, he's going to easily set a new high in HRs in 2009. He could give owners a 25/15 season. John Smoltz and I are finished after his eight-run outing in New York.
• After a 3-for-4 night in San Diego on Wednesday, Chipper Jones gave Atlanta a repeat 3-for-4 performance. This time, he added a home run and stolen base for good measure. Jones' stats are going to fall short of last year's great numbers, but the fact that he's remained healthy has to be a pleasant surprise for his owners. The Dodgers came from behind to win the game on yet another walk-off HR from Andre Ethier.
• Cliff Lee posted his second strong start since joining the Phillies, allowing just one run in seven innings while striking out nine. Many Phillie fans have bemoaned the club's failure to trade for Roy Halladay, but Lee is making GM Ruben Amaro Jr. look mighty smart so far. A playoff 1-2-3 rotation of Cole Hamels, Lee and Joe Blanton could bring another championship to Philadelphia. Jimmy Rollins hasn't slowed down, coming just a HR short of a cycle yesterday.
• Adrian Beltre did his best Ichiro Suzuki impression yesterday, smacking four singles in four at-bats. It's disconcerting to see no power in Beltre's game, as he's not going to have many multi-hit games along the way. On the contrary, Ichiro picked up another two hits last night, giving him five straight multi-hit games.• Quite a fantasy night for the Angels, as the club knocked four HRs out of the park and stole four bases in a 9-5 win at Chicago. Bobby Abreu and Erick Aybar both contributed a HR and SB each, while Chone Figgins had the other two steals. Jeff Mathis also homered, as did Vladimir Guerrero, who has hit safely in each of his three games since returning from the DL.
Trade Winds: Chad Gaudin was shipped to the Yankees for the ever-popular player-to-be-named-later. This likely ends any chance at more appearances on the Stream Team for Gaudin, leaving the major's most pitcher-friendly parks for a hitter's paradise.
The Afflicted: Justin Upton lands on the DL with an oblique strain -- if last year's similar injury is any indication, he could be out for a month. Andrew McCutchen was back on the field, going 2-for-4 with two walks atop the Pittsburgh lineup. Nelson Cruz isn't getting any better and will likely wind up on the disabled list. Jason Bay's hamstring injury kept him out today and will keep him out tomorrow as well, if not the entire weekend. Jarrod Saltalamacchia has a sore shoulder and might miss a game or two.
Lineup Lock Time: After having the pleasure of plenty of day games this week, we're looking at a 7:05 ET lock time for your lineups today.
Craving more fantasy baseball? Even this late, you can still play at Fleaflicker.
