Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.Eugenio Velez (pronounce the first name: ay-ooh-HEY-nee-o) is a relative unknown major league baseball player. He's currently gaining playing time for the San Francisco Giants without having an actual starting job. He fights for playing time at second base (against Freddy Sanchez), left field (against Nate Schierholtz and Fred Lewis) and right field (against Randy Winn). Lately, though, Velez has been playing pretty much everyday, and swinging a hot bat. The question is, can it continue?
Since July 27, Velez is hitting .353 (30-85) with 6 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 14 RBI, 16 runs, 1 stolen base and a .942 OPS. Not too bad for a 27-year-old "slap-hitter" who had nary an RBI before the stretch. He started to cool off, but then has gone 4-8 with a double and triple in his past two games.
Of course, this isn't going to continue. He's been getting fed far too many fastballs and his BABIP is insane at this point, even for someone with his speed. Speaking of speed, he's been on base so much recently, that you'd hope for a lot more than 2 stolen bases on the season. Expect a downturn, and leave him on the wire in all formats -- at least until he starts running.
Bits From the Box Scores:
- He didn't actually get the start Monday night, but I had recently noticed how hot Jeff Baker has been. Yes, I know I'm a Cubs fan, but I actually had to give myself a few days off last week for my own sanity. Anyway, when I delved back into the stats, I noticed he's had a really nice hot streak. Over his past seven starts, Baker is 14-28 (.500, math majors) with a 1.289 OPS. Deep NL-Only leaguers, take note. Aaron Miles (abysmal .465 OPS) and Mike Fontenot (.225 average) are awful, so expect Lou Piniella to go with the hot hand more frequently as the Cubs try to remain relevant down the stretch.
- Kyle Blanks came through with a prodigious game-winning home run for the Padres. Granted, I could take Kevin Gregg deep right now, but Blanks is showing us what kind of power he'll bring in the future.
- Mark Reynolds and Albert Pujols look like they are shaping up for quite the home run battle. It's not exactly Sammy Sosa vs. Mark McGwire, but this time around at least it will be clean. Reynolds hit his 38th homer in the afternoon, so Pujols went out and left the yard for the 39th time later in the evening.
- Adam LaRoche is slightly enjoying his return home (he began his career in Atlanta for those with short memories). Since being traded back to the Braves, he's hitting .370 with 4 bombs and 10 RBI in 14 games. He's a streaky hitter who can get scorching hot, so he's a great add for power if available.
- Don't look now, but Ervin Santana has won three straight starts. Monday night he struck out 5 while walking only 1 in 6 innings of work. He's going to be really good down the stretch in all formats.
- Delwyn Young is making what's left of the Pirate fan base forget about Freddy Sanchez. Young, the everyday second baseman since Sanchez was traded to the Giants, is hitting .385 with a .902 OPS and 7 RBI in the past 10 games.
- Felipe Lopez just likes playing in the NL Central. The second baseman had a career year in 2005 for the Reds. Once he was traded away, he was a colossal disappointment for Washington. Last season, though, he finished with the Cardinals and was a very solid pick-up. This time around, he's on the Brewers, and has hit .350 with a .417 on-base percentage in 26 games for Milwaukee. They desperately need table-setters for their muscle, so he's been a perfect addition.
- There's just nothing nice we can say about Francisco Liriano at this point. Unless you play some variation of Suckball, do not use him again in 2009. And I'm not too fired about his prospects for 2010, either.
- Marlon Byrd is a very consistent and unheralded performer in large leagues. He's hitting .282 with 12 homers, 60 RBI, 49 runs and 7 stolen bases. He's been incredibly consistent as well, as he hasn't fallen into an extended slump all season.
- Alex Rios has now started five straight games for the White Sox. Monday night, he went 2-3 with a double. It appears the White Sox are going to rotate who they sit each game. Thus far, the people benched for Rios have been Jermaine Dye (once), Jim Thome (twice), Scott Podsednik (once) and Carlos Quentin (once). Expect Rios to be the one occasionally as well.
- Billy Butler, as Ed Price pointed out Monday, is well on his way to being one of the better hitters in the league. He followed up the story with another good night, going 2-5 with an RBI. Just don't forget who told you, back in early March, his breakout season was coming.
The Afflicted: Matt Holliday fouled a pitch off his lower leg. Details are still sketchy, but it doesn't appear to be more than a day-to-day thing. Mercifully, Chris Young (the pitcher, not the horrible hitter for Arizona) has had season-ending surgery. Nate McLouth has been placed on the disabled list.
Lineup Lock Time: We're waitin' all the way til the brink of 7:05 PM ET.
About that Strasburg kid: It's unbelievable to me that Stephen Strasburg is owned in some fantasy leagues. He's been in CBSSports.com's player pool since before the June draft. People were even making trades for him. Monday, just inside the midnight deadline, Strasburg inked a deal with the Washington Nationals. While he's going to be a must-have dynasty league pick come next season (or must-add right now, in certain circumstances), you can expect his 2009 stat-line to read exactly like it does now: Blank. He's not pitching this season in the bigs. Do not waste a roster spot on him in yearly leagues.
