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 you select Carlos Pena in fantasy baseball, you know you aren't getting batting average help. Still, his career-low .223 mark this year was well below expectations, and up until August 5, the power numbers weren't nearly high enough to console disappointed Pena owners.
Well, that has all changed. Since that date, Pena has slugged 11 home runs and driven home 22. His average has been respectable (.286) and his OPS is ridiculous (1.307). On the season, Pena now has a six home run lead on the rest of the AL with 37. He's also third in RBI (91).
Partying Like It's April: Zack Greinke took the AL by storm at the beginning of the season. He didn't allow an earned run until his fifth start, his ERA didn't rise above 1.00 until May 31, and his ERA didn't rise above 2.00 until July 8. Greinke struck out double-digit hitters in three of his first six starts, but had only done so once since then. Other than a 7-shutout-inning gem August 14, he had been bad in August. Well, Tuesday night, we saw that he still had it. How about 8 innings, 6 base-runners, 2 earned runs and 15 strikeouts? Yeah, that works. Don't ever take him out of your lineup, for fear you'll miss out on an outing like this. He's capable of it at the drop of a hat.
Bits From the Box Scores
- Carlos Zambrano has always been an enigma. He may not be completely healthy, but he's had outings like he did Tuesday night when fully healthy. When you own him on your fantasy team, you know the inherent risks involved. Stick with him, as long as he's OK, because he has enough talent to help your team down the stretch.
- If we can conveniently eliminate the month of April, Josh Willingham has been quite the stud. After obliterating the Cubs Tuesday night with a 4-hit, 5-run, 2-homer, 6-RBI spot, he's got an OPS of .986 on the season. Since April ended, Willingham is hitting .320 with 25 doubles, 20 home runs, 54 RBI, 59 runs and a 1.039 OPS. In 284 at-bats. He actually snapped a 1-for-19 slump Tuesday night, but we've seen enough from him to leave him active in pretty much all leagues as a power hitter with solid average abilities.
- Josh Hamilton is hitting .393 with a .965 OPS and 14 RBI since August 3. Remember, numbers tend to normalize in studs who got off to a bad start. Just ask Jimmy Rollins.
- On the other hand, Brad Lidge's nightmare season doesn't appear to be ending anytime soon. After blowing a save to the Pirates, the bloodbath of a 2009 stat line looks like this: 0-6, 7.33 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 11 home runs allowed (a career high). His rate stats are pathetic. Counting only full seasons, he's never allowed more hits or walks per inning. This is the first time he's ever struck out less than 10 batters per nine innings and it's also the first time his K/BB has dipped blow 2.3 (it is 1.71 now and his career mark is 3.0). I'd take him out of every fantasy lineup. Saves are too easy to find to allow him to continue to decimate your ERA and WHIP.
- Man, it's too bad the Pirates made that Nate McLouth trade to clear room for Andrew McCutchen, huh?
- Joba Chamberlain has an 8.55 ERA and a 2.10 WHIP in August. He's only averaged five innings per start as well, meaning his high strikeout rate has only yielded 17 punch-outs in four outings. He's not worth starting in mixed leagues until he shows signs of turning it around.
- Jacoby Ellsbury stole his 55th base Tuesday night. The 25-year-old speedster is hitting .298. If he can work on his plate discipline (only .343 OBP), he can hit atop a potent Red Sox offense in the future.
- Andy Marte was once an uber-hyped prospect. He's now just 25, but he's been all but forgotten in most circles. All he did in the minors this year was hit .327 with 18 home runs and 66 RBI in 300 at-bats. He got the call to Cleveland late in July, and struggled for a bit. Now, though, he's in the midst of a six-game hitting streak, in which he's hitting .429 with six RBI. Tuesday night, he hit his first major league bomb since July 26, 2008. Keep an eye on how he does the rest of the year, because he could have a breakout 2010.
- Bronson Arroyo got jobbed out of a win by the bullpen. Despite his 1-2 record this month, he's having a very solid August. In five starts, he's worked 38 innings and allowed just 8 earned runs (1.89 ERA). His WHIP in the month is 0.97. Take a look in deep leagues if you need a late push.
- Mat Latos is back to dealing after a two-game bump in the road. His ERA had skyrocketed from 2.43 to 4.82 in just two starts. Tuesday night, he threw 7 scoreless frames against the Braves, allowing 2 hits, 0 walks and striking out 4. Remember, though, he's in the red as far as the workload the Padres wanted him to have this year. It wouldn't surprise me to see him shut down soon, as they are going nowhere in 2009. - Wandy Rodriguez and Adam Wainwright had an old school pitcher's duel, lowering their respective ERAs to 2.82 and 2.50 on the season. Both are similar in that the last few seasons have been progressively better and everything came together this year.
- Not to be outdone, Matt Cain and Dan Haren staged a bloody (not really) battle. Their ERAs are 2.39 and 2.73 and have also been progressively growing.
- Michael Aubrey has replaced Aubrey Huff in Baltimore with a bit of name continuity. He's also outdoing his production thus far. Aubrey is 5-for-12 (.417) with 2 doubles and 3 RBI. He's a former first-rounder who just never developed into a stud in the minors. This early success is likely the product of a small sample size. Avoid him for now.
- Are we going to fall in love with Delmon Young again next spring? The former No. 1 overall pick is still only 23. He's had hits in 14 of 19 games in August, including five multi-hit games. On the season, he has just 8 home runs and 42 RBI, but his totals this month in those categories are 5 and 15.
- Could I nominate Troy Tulowitzki for second-half fantasy MVP?
The Afflicted: If the Mets and Reds combined their players who have visited the disabled list this season, it would be one of the best teams in the league. Seriously. Johan Santana and J.J. Putz are now out for the season. The Reds aren't getting near the national attention of the Mets in the injury department, but we've tried to do our part here at FanHouse.
Lineup Lock Time: 2:10 PM ET.
