Justin Upton Is Snakebitten No More

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

He's only 21 years old. He's only 21 years old. Whenever you get frustrated that your future fantasy stud is struggling, it's important to take a breather and repeat those words. When I was 21, I think I spent my Wednesday nights playing Counter-Strike and eating bad pizza. Justin Upton, on the other hand, has to deal with expectations that he's the next Willie Mays. Whatever happened to the 27-year-old "breakout" rule? Suddenly it's six years younger?

All good things come in time, and that time is different for each player in baseball. After only knocking in eight runs and striking out 16 times in April, Upton is quickly turning on the power during a 13-game hitting streak. He homered twice on Wednesday night -- at Petco Park of all places -- including once off Jake Peavy, who's kinda good last time I checked. He's already doubled his homer output from last month, and while his tremendous talent will keep coming through in bursts, there's no doubt he's worth waiting for.

Bits From the Box Scores:
• Speaking of stars worth waiting for, take a look at Brandon Phillips. One of our readers was concerned about Phillips in the chat last Friday, and now Phillips is already on his way to a very big month. His home run against the Brewers gives him three for May to go along with 11 RBI. In that same game, Ryan Braun put lingering back injury concerns aside with three hits and six RBI. Yeah, it could flare up again, but you can't ever sit this guy.

• In a surprising move, but one not completely unexpected, Ozzie Guillen replaced the struggling Alexei Ramirez at shortstop with Jayson Nix. When asked whether the move is temporary or permanent, Guillen didn't provide an answer. We were expecting big things from Ramirez, so I wouldn't advise cutting bait unless you really need the roster space. Someone like Yunel Escobar or Asdrubal Cabrera are worth playing while we wait and see how long Ramirez will be on the pine.

• Albert Pujols is on a tear with four homers in his last five games. Ho-hum, right? But look who's right behind him in the RBI department: Jorge Cantu (30), Nick Markakis (29) and Adam Lind (29) -- all of whom stayed red hot on Wednesday. Never forget about the position to succeed factor, which includes where you hit in a potent lineup.

• Twenty steals for Carl Crawford already in 20 attempts. Nine consecutive games with a swipe. He had 25 in all of 2008. Yeah, it's safe to say he's back to 2007 form.

• At this point, we're going to have to limit man-crushing over Adam Jones, since multi-hit games are becoming so commonplace for him. Still amazed he got this good this fast. He's up to 30 runs now.

• Rickie Weeks will likely stick you with a bad batting average, but you can't deny his bat speed is back in a big way. Weeks collected two more hits and already has totals of six homers, 19 RBI and 21 runs at the top of the lineup.

• Don't read too much into back-to-back quality starts from Manny Parra. As long as he's walking four per game, you need to exercise caution each week.

• Finally took my first trip to Citi Field and came away convinced it's very pitcher-friendly. The early statistical results from ESPN Park Factors back it up, too. Keep that in mind when looking for future spot-starters to play, especially with the Mets struggling offensively. Oh, and if you plan on heading out, note there are a lot of blind spots. Take a look at how your view of home plate is obscured by guardrails from the promenade's first row.

• Justin Masterson is quickly losing all of his fantasy value after getting roughed up in two consecutive starts. Daisuke Matsuzaka is close to returning to Boston's rotation.

• Kevin Gregg has successfully converted his last four save chances. It's going to be tough to justify using a fantasy bench spot for Carlos Marmol unless you're in a deep league.

• It looks like the Royals are starting to remember how to hit. They tallied 17 total against the Mariners, highlighted by a three-RBI game from Mark Teahen. He's eligible at three positions, ya know.

• Eight saves and none blown for Ryan Franklin. He's got the job on lockdown. Remember that Jason Motte fellow?

• Nelson Cruz stole his fourth base against Oakland. If he keeps this up, we could be looking at top-15 outfielder stats when the season is through. And the speed isn't fluky; Cruz swiped 27 total bags between the minors and the bigs last year.

Story of Interest: According to the Star-Telegram, Texas first baseman Chris Davis -- yes, the one who leads the league in strikeouts -- noticed a mechanical flaw in his swing after looking over some video. He's working on correcting it with hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, so we may start to see improvement in the batting average department. A nice buy-low candidate.

The Afflicted: Jorge Posada was placed on the disabled list with a hamstring strain. John Baker and Jesus Flores are two fill-in candidates you can find on the wire. Jacoby Ellsbury is day-to-day with a sore hamstring; Jon Van Every started in center field Wednesday. X-rays on Roy Oswalt's right index finger showed no structural damage. The Cardinals will place Rick Ankiel on the DL as a precaution due to a bruised shoulder. Colby Rasmus will benefit with more playing time. Oliver Perez puts Mets fans out of their misery by hitting the DL.

Lineup Lock Time: The Braves play the Marlins at 12:10 PM ET and there are five other afternoon games.

Friday's Ace in the Hole: The top option is Toronto's Scott Richmond (4-0, 2.67 ERA) at Oakland. Scott Baker (0-4, 9.15) should improve vs. Seattle at home. If the options are scarce, Jon Niese will face the Pirates at Citi Field.

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