Roto Rush: Francoeur to Schafer, I Know How You Feel Kid

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

You couldn't have scripted all of the twists and turns the first 20% of the season has taken thus far. And if you could have, would anybody really watch?

Who had Frank Francisco and Ryan Franklin as two of the closers tied for the major league lead with nine saves at this point in the season? And we all knew Zack Greinke had talent and could blow up at any time. But, a 5-1 record with a 0.51 ERA and a league-leading 59 strikeouts. Seriously?

I'm truly surprised that hitters like Hank Blalock and Aaron Hill have tapped into the reserve tanks and reemerged onto the scene this season. Blalock has nine home runs and Hill has eight with a .353 batting average. Congratulations to those of you who drafted those guys or signed them very early in the season.

I can't just focus on the good stuff that has confused me thus far. I never thought Cameron Maybin would lose the Marlins leadoff role, especially from day one. I also didn't expect six weeks ago that Maybin would be sent back to Triple-A (the Marlins sent him packing yesterday). Many (me included) predicted a Rookie of the Year campaign out of him.

Now, let's get on to some more news from Sunday that may or may not be so surprising.

Bits From the Box Scores:
The Braves' Jordan Schafer made it nine of ten May games with at least one strikeout. He's struck out 19 times in 36 at-bats this month and is batting .139 (he's hitting .225 on the season). He should only be on deep NL-only rosters at this point.

Speaking of May splits, Rick Porcello won his second game of the month yesterday and has an ERA of 0.75 in his two May starts. He's still walking too many batters (five in 12 May innings) but he's striking out more batters and giving up fewer hits, a definite recipe for success in the big leagues.

Albert Pujols hit his 12th home runs yesterday and stole his 5th base. Come on... At this pace he'll hit 60 home runs and steal 25 bases.

Michael Bourn stole his tenth base on Sunday and is hitting .287. He's always been a superb source for stolen bases, but now he's not a batting average liability to your fantasy roster.

Joe Mauer collected two more hits on Sunday raising his batting average to .485 over 33 at-bats since returning from injury. He's clearly over what ailed him.

Brett Cecil got his first major league win on Sunday. In two starts he's struck out 12 while only walking 2. His ERA 0.64, his WHIP is 0.93 and batters are only hitting .220 against him. He's starting to look mixed-league worthy.

Juan Pierre went 3-5 yesterday and stole his third base of the season. He looks as if he plans to make the most out of his extra playing time due to the Manny suspension.

The Afflicted: Dustin Pedroia left the Red Sox game last night with a right groin injury. He's only expected to miss one game. The Royal's sent Joakim Soria to the disabled list due to some soreness in his shoulder. He should be back on May 23rd. Aramis Ramirez hit the DL on Saturday after dislocating his shoulder. He won't be doing anything baseball related for at least a month. At that point he will start rehab. May 7th was the last time we saw Lance Berkman on the field. His sore wrist kept him out of weekend action and may cause him to miss further games this week. Luke Scott left the game on Sunday after sliding back into first base and injuring his shoulder. He's due for an MRI today.

Tuesday's Ace in the Hole: Zach Duke (3-3, 2.79 ERA) faces the Cardinals at home on Tuesday and has been surprisingly effective this season. If you'd like a waiver wire starting pitcher who isn't facing Albert Pujols, try Seattle's Jason Vargas (1-0, 0.00 ERA). He was just promoted to the rotation and will face Texas on the road Tuesday night.

Lineup Lock Time: There are only four games on Monday and all are night games. The White Sox head to Cleveland for first pitch at 7:05 PM ET.