Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.After Tim Lincecum missed a start, fantasy owners still in the championship race had to have been holding their collective breath. Now is not the time to lose your staff ace. His next start would be a test of his health. Last year's NL Cy Young winner took the hill Monday night against the wild card-leading Rockies, and he passed the test with flying colors. While the 4 free passes were a bit disappointing, Lincecum more than made up for that with a win, 11 strikeouts and just 1 earned run in 7 innings of work. He's back, and he'll be a force the rest of the way (now if only someone could convince him to get a freaking haircut).
Bits From the Box Scores:
- I'm actually going to disagree with the premise of Knox Bardeen's ABC from earlier today. He opined that Carlos Marmol winning the 2010 closer job was more a product of Kevin Gregg losing it than Marmol taking it. Let's not focus on the entire season and look at what Marmol's done in the closer role. Since being named the Cubs' closer, Marmol has compiled a 2.92 ERA and struck out 18 guys in 12 1/3 innings. Let's look closer, though. In that time, he's appeared in nine games with a save opportunity. Not only has he successfully closed all nine of those, but he's allowed zero earned runs in 9 1/3 innings, striking out 15 and walking 5. Control has been a big problem this season, but his BB/9 has nearly doubled from where it was last year. I'm betting it's a fluke. It's also entirely possible Marmol mentally whipped himself after not winning the job out of camp -- and openly complaining about it -- after believing the job was rightfully his. He should be more professional than that, but the lack of professionalism doesn't hurt his chances to become an elite closer in 2010. And I believe he will be. We know no one can hit him (.236 slugging percentage allowed all season), so once he gets the command under control, the sky is the limit.
- What a game for Reid Brignac. The 23-year-old shortstop went 4-for-4 with 2 doubles, a home run, 3 RBI and a stolen base. Wow. Still, ignore Brignac for now. He's blocked by Jason Bartlett (it was merely a spot-start for Brignac) and hasn't been a great hitter in the minors (.744 OPS in Triple-A this season).
- Edwin Encarnacion has had a modest little streak. In his last four games, he's had two hits twice, and added a home run Monday night. Still, 2009 seems like a lost cause for him. It's time to look ahead to 2010 for the 27-year-old-to-be.
- Don't look now, but Nick Swisher's current .880 OPS would be a career high. He even decided to hit a home run at home (just his 6th, compared to 21 on the road), giving him a robust 27 on the season. Swisher is actually hitting .306 in September, too, so it's not like he's hurting you in that category. He should be owned in all leagues right now.
- Since the beginning of August, Bronson Arroyo has been flat-out dealing. He's hurled nine consecutive quality starts. His ERA in those nine starts is a sparkling 1.90 and his WHIP is just 1.01. Unfortunately, he's only won 3 games in that span, but he needs to be owned in nearly all leagues while he's going this well. It doesn't appear to be a fluke at all. He's just in a zone.
- Brett Tomko shut out the Rangers. Wait. I want to type that out again and see if it looks any less ridiculous. Brett Tomko shut out the Rangers. Nope, still looks made up. Actually, though, Tomko was 3-1 with a 3.90 ERA in five starts since moving to Oakland prior to the outlandish aforementioned outing Monday night. I can't see the 36-year-old journeyman maintaining any level of success, especially with an incredibly low .226 BABIP allowed in Oaktown.
- Jeremy Sowers doesn't strike anyone out, but he's now put together consecutive quality starts -- allowing just 2 earned runs in his past 13 innings (1.38 ERA).
- Chris Coghlan just keeps hitting. The rookie sensation is hitting .307 and appears to be staving off any slump that comes his way.
- Kevin Correia has a 3.63 ERA and 1.26 WHIP at home. On the road, those numbers jump to 5.09 and 1.48. Streamers, take note.
- Juan Gutierrez wants the Arizona closer job for next season. He's 3-for-3 in save chances since August 31, with a 1.35 ERA during that span.
The Afflicted: Justin Morneau is out for the season, which is a huge blow to fantasy lineups. Hopefully he provided enough offense for your fantasy team to ride out the final few weeks without him. Jeremy Hermida is out until next week. Kevin Millwood is sitting until Sunday at the earliest, and it may be even later. Monitor his progress.
Lineup Lock Time: 7:05 PM ET tonight.
