Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.Cole Hamels, Brandon Webb, Tim Lincecum and CC Sabathia owners eat your heart out. Relative unknowns -- and likely undrafted in nearly all mixed fantasy leagues -- Ricky Romero and Glen Perkins are straight dealing right now. And after three outings each, it's time to start wondering if the quick starts are not flukey.
Romero, the 24 year-old rookie who came over from the Mexican League (you know, the place where Jake Taylor couldn't cut it), made the Oakland A's look stupid Sunday. They shouldn't feel bad, though, because Romero's now had three straight quality starts. He's 2-0 with a 1.71 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. In 21 innings, Romero has struck out 13 and walked only 4. The one start where he came away with a no decision happened to be against Glen Perkins.
Perkins isn't an out-of-nowhere case like Romero, as he went 12-4 last season. Still, the 4.41 ERA suggested a lot of lady luck in that beastly record. No more, as Perkins currently sports a 1.50 ERA for the season -- though he's only got a 1-1 record to show for it. Due to his incredible command thus far, Perkins has a ridiculous 0.88 WHIP. The 26 year-old has steadily developed each of the past few seasons, and he's coming off a solid spring. With the mind-boggling efficiency he's bringing -- he threw only 84 pitches in 8 innings Sunday -- you have to love his chances of continuing the surge. The only downside is he's struck out a measly 10 batters in his 24 innings. Still, you can certainly use the help in ERA and WHIP, and he looks as good as anyone right now in the old Greg Maddux pitching-to-contact school of throwing.
You can cry SSS (small sample size) all you want, but at some point there's something to be said for riding the hot hand. Romero and Perkins qualify in all formats until they tell you otherwise.
Bits From the Boxscores:
- After a nightmarish beginning to his Indians career, Mark DeRosa had caught fire for a bit. In a seven game stretch prior to Sunday he had 3 home runs, 15 RBI, and was hitting .353. He reverted to Week 1 form on Sunday, though, as he took the 0-5. Still, that's a truckload of RBI for a guy who has scuffled in his league change. Get him active across the board.
- Chien-Ming Wang is unusable in every format right now (outside of Suckball leagues, where he's obviously a must-own) until he can get out of the second freaking inning. I know it's a long season, but this is flat out embarrassing. Hopefully those who owned him in roto leagues can repair the damage he has done. Erasing 29 baserunners and 23 earned runs in only 6 innings of work isn't easy. Maybe those owners also have Perkins and Romero?
- Now that is the Jon Lester you drafted. The young lefty really needed to restore our preseason confidence in him, and he do so with ease Sunday. In 7 innings, we were treated to 9 punchouts and nary an earned run. You can all breathe a sigh of relief and rest assured that he's back.
- Matt Holliday is now hitting .267 with a bagel in both home runs and steals. On the other hand, at least he has scored 1 run! To be fair, Holliday does have 9 RBI, but did you pay for him to help you only in RBI? Don't say you weren't warned. You drafted/bought Mark Grace at a Carlos Beltran price.
- For those who aren't keeping track, that is now 7 2/3 innings for Scott Downs. He's allowed just two baserunners and no runs. He has struck out 12 and walked none. Meanwhile, B.J. Ryan did convert his second save of the season Sunday. Still, do you really love Ryan to hold down this job over Downs all season, especially if the Jays stay in the race? As things currently stand, Downs is a big help in three roto categories, while a vulture win candidate. You could do much worse.
- Carlos Quentin has 7 home runs. I guess the wrist is okay, huh? That reminds me, this is perfect evidence that Derrek Lee didn't lose his power due to a broken wrist three freaking years ago.
- Matt Garza had a bad outing. It happens. Worrisome, though? The 5 walks. Keep him active but watch that control.
- Rick Porcello made adjustments on the fly like he was a seasoned veteran Sunday, and the kid is only 20. In dynasty leagues he should already be owned, but keep your eyes peeled in all other formats. Another quality start like Sunday's and it might be time to pounce.
- Forgotten as part of the Rockies' bloodied corpse Sunday was Chris Iannetta's home run. He's only hitting a paltry .083 right now, but they'll stick with him. You should, too. He's far too talented a hitter to be mired in this slump for long.
- Randy Johnson needed only 73 pitches to get through 7 spotless innings against the Diamondbacks. He garnered the win against his former team -- meaning he's now beaten every franchise in baseball. He struck out 7 and allowed only 1 hit. There's still some gas in that tank.
- On the other side of that diamond, Max Scherzer is just too wild at this point to be a beneficial fantasy starter in most formats. Sunday he only allowed 1 earned run in 5 innings, but he needed 104 pitches to get through those 5 frames. He walked 4. If he wasn't facing such a futile offense, the damage would have been much worse. He's got the talent, but we need to see more command.
- So much for Zach Duke. He followed up last Monday's shutout with a clunker Sunday at home against the Braves. The lefty allowed 12 hits and 6 earned runs in 6 innings. He only struck out 2, so he pretty much killed you in all categories. This is an illustration as to why we just can't consistently trust Duke. He may flash brilliance every once in a while, but it's too unpredictable to trust him in mixed formats.
- Jeff Francoeur continues to show his growth as a hitter. Seriously, if you look at his box score and see: 5-2-2-3, what do you actually see? I thought I saw 2 home runs and 3 strikeouts. I was wrong. Instead, he didn't strike out at all, and had a double and a single. He's becoming a more complete hitter, and that trumps the disappointment in his not hitting a home run during the blowout. You could probably still trade for Frenchy on the cheap, so it's worth exploring. I mean, he's only 26.
- A dude named Josh Geer shut the Phillies down for 7 innings, coughing up only a Chase Utley homer. Hey, he pitches in Petco Park now and the Padres have some kind of early season magic going. Deep NL-Only leaguers might as well give the kid a look.
- Chan Ho Park is not worth using. Period.
- Jeff Suppan had a good outing Sunday against the Mets. That's a positive sign, but it doesn't mean you should be rushing to the wire to pick him up. He's not worth the headaches.
The Afflicted: Brandon Webb threw off flat ground and reported he's ready for a bullpen session. Patience is a virtue, my friends, but I'm still worried about this entire season. Both Adam Jones and B.J. Upton left their respective games Sunday with leg injuries. Neither seems serious, but it's worth watching with those young speedsters. Jay Bruce has been out, but will likely be ready to go Tuesday in a big early season series for the Reds (at Chicago). Stephen Drew is making like his brother right now, as a bum hammy is hampering him. Jeff Keppinger is dealing with a bad back.
Lineup Lock Time: It's freaking Patriot Day. Translation: I hope you are reading this early in the morning or else remembered to set your lineup last night. That's because the Red Sox host the Orioles Monday, and the first pitch is set for 11:05 AM ET. Get those lineups set.
Playing the Splits: Derek Lowe's numbers against most of the Nationals' hitters are very solid. Plus, the Nats suck, so he's an easy two-starter this week. Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Kouzmanoff have both had great success against Jamie Moyer, and Citizen's Bank Park isn't exactly pitcher-friendly. Gonzalez actually has 3 homers in 15 at-bats against Moyer, so don't be surprised to see him tack on a fourth Monday night. Carlos Lee owns Bronson Arroyo, so Monday is the perfect time for the slugger to break out of his early season swoon. Actually, most of the Astros have hit Arroyo well over the course of their careers, so avoiding the mulleted righty would be advisable. Conor Jackson and Chris Young both show favorable power numbers against Jason Marquis, while Chad Tracy has never figured him out.
Monday's Ace in the Hole: Andrew Miller. The Marlins are firing on all cylinders right now, and the Pirates offense is ripe for the picking. Look for the lanky lefty to go about 6 innings, allowing 2-3 earned runs and striking out 5-6. This will be enough to accrue the W.
