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.Love some Cy Young award discussion? Two of the AL's top pitchers were in action yesterday, and both walked away with their 17th wins of the season. This puts the pair of Cy Young contenders two wins ahead of Zack Grienke, who has by most accounts been the best pitcher in baseball this season, yet may be in a bit of a race for the award. On Thursday, Justin Verlander and Felix Hernandez showed why they, along with Grienke and CC Sabathia, are part of a very tight AL Cy Young race.
Verlander's signature this season has been his gaudy strikeout numbers, and he came through again, striking out 11 batters in seven innings while allowing two earned runs. This gives Verlander 256 Ks on the season, a number that will impress anyone. His ERA is now 3.41, which puts him right in the same area as Sabathia (3.31). The Yankees pitcher has a slightly better record, though, and with a better record and better ERA, Verlander is more likely to finish fourth than first in the voting.
Hernandez also struck out 11 batters in his game while holding the Blue Jays to three earned runs in eight innings. He poses the most serious threat to Grienke in terms of the Cy Young award. Not only is Hernandez's 2.49 ERA in the same league as Grienke's 2.08 ERA, but Hernandez now sports a 17-5 record, which looks much better to the voters than Grienke's 15-8 record.
What works against Grienke and Hernandez is the fact that their teams haven't been in playoff contention at all this season, and that's why Sabathia may sneak into the picture and nab the award, even with an ERA over 3.00. When all is said and done, I feel the voters will remember how dominant Grienke was in the first few months, and the once embattled righty will take home his first Cy Young award.
Bits From the Box Scores
• Two Rockies launched milestone HRs last night. First came Troy Tulowitzki, who hit his 30th HR in the first inning of Colorado's game against San Diego. Tulowitzki came into this season with 33 homers over 1,000-plus at-bats in his career, and his 30th homer of 2009 came in his 508th at-bat of the season. Then in the eighth inning, Ian Stewart connected for his 25th HR of the season. Considering Stewart's 2B eligibility, his power has offset the terrible average to a degree and made him a valuable fantasy commodity this season.
• Big props to Knox Bardeen, who gave you Jack Cust as a fantasy fill-in for yesterday's abbreviated schedule. All Cust did was homer, single and walk to finish 2 for 4 with two runs and the one RBI. Knox also suggested Lastings Milledge, who hit his third homer of the season on Thursday. Way to go, Knox, and stay dry!
• You wouldn't have believed this in June, but Jimmy Rollins smacked his 20th homer of the season, which gives him a very nice 20/30 season, if you can avoid looking at the average and remembering he was a first-round pick in most leagues. Anyone that traded for him on July 1st got themselves a pretty useful hitter over the second half of the season.
• Bronson Arroyo came through with yet another great start, holding the Pirates to one earned run in seven innings and picking up the win. Arroyo's ERA for the season is now under 4.00, so do yourself a favor and pick him up for his last start(s). Francisco Cordero picked up his 39th save in the victory.
• Also shining on the mound was Clay Buchholz, who shut out the Royals through 6.2 innings, allowing no walks and striking out eight batters during the win. The young pitcher has seen a massive turnaround, and now has a 4-0 record in five September starts, with a 1.38 ERA for the month.
• Jacoby Ellsbury stole two more bases yesterday, giving him 66 now on the season. The .303 average is nice as well, and I'm very surprised the speedster doesn't have more runs this season (he now has 88). That speaks to the letdown the middle of the Boston lineup has suffered, although David Ortiz did hit his 26th homer of the season in yesterday's game as well.• Ian Kinsler stole his 30th base of the season and sits one HR shy of a 30/30 campaign, but like Rollins, you'd be wise to cover up that average and remember the good times. Adam Kennedy also reached a milestone, stealing his 20th base in the same game. He hasn't had that many SBs since his 2003 year with the then Anaheim Angels.
• Lastly, Michael Brantley had a 2 for 5 day atop the Indians lineup with a stolen base. As the leadoff hitter, he could be a sneaky good source of runs and steals over the last week of the season, and he's been hitting at a very good average to boot. If he wins a starting spot in 2010, I'd use a late-round flier on the guy.
Lineup Lock Time: We're jumping off at 7:05 ET tonight. Have a great weekend!
