Roto Rush: Here Comes Beckham

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

In yesterday's Rush, we mentioned that Gordon Beckham is heating up and that the power would come. As if right on cue, he posted a 4-2-3-2 line in the box score. That is 4 at-bats, 3 hits, 2 runs and 2 RBI, for those box score challenged. One of the hits was a home run. Beckham went through some predictable growing pains when he was first called up the majors, but he's since raised his on-base percentage to .353. His OPS is 1.396 in his last five games. It's time to keep your eyes on him in all fantasy leagues. There's a reason he was in the majors less than a year after he was drafted.

Bits From the Box Scores
- John Smoltz looked to have pretty good stuff before a rain delay killed his chances of a first Beantown victory. Oh, and then the bullpen proceeded to blow a 10-1 lead. Ouch. Still, it was a good sign for Smoltz and his owners.

- Just in case I haven't hammered this home enough: Rich Hill sucks.

- Another quality start for Ted Lilly. Another non-win. What a joke (insert Cubs fan anger).

- What an ugly outing for Cliff Lee. The White Sox just pounded him into submission; by the end of the night, every single White Sox starter had at least 1 hit. It's pretty obvious Lee's 2008 season was an aberration, but he doesn't suck either. His 3.39 ERA has been useful and the 82 strikeouts and 1.38 WHIP are at least slightly serviceable. He's a buy candidate if his owner is overreacting to the outing.

- Looks like Alex Rodriguez really does need the extra rest. In his past 6 games he's hitting .421 with 3 home runs and 11 RBI.

- The honeymoon is over for Marco Scutaro and his fantasy owners. How about 0 for his last 15 ... and counting.

- J.P. Howell should be owned in nearly every fantasy league. If he's not owned in yours, go pick him up now. He's appearing to take over the Rays' closing duties and they are playing great baseball right now. His ERA is minuscule (1.63), he's struck out 46 guys in 38 2/3 innings, the WHIP is 1.09 and he's found a way to garner 4 wins (as many as Cliff Lee).

- Another 0-for-5 night for Jimmy Rollins. I'm starting to lose faith, considering it's July. Still, he has worlds of talent and is a traditional second-half player.

- The Braves can only wait on Kelly Johnson so long while they try to hang in the NL East "race." Meanwhile, Martin Prado is hitting .500 since June 20. Give Prado a look at your middle infielder slot, should you need help there. He appears to be wrestling the job away from the disappointing Johnson.

- Johan Santana looked to have things figured out after two consecutive bad outings, but Tuesday night he took a step backwards. Let us remember, though, that the Brewers have a solid offense and it's a lot tougher to pitch when your own offense has been decimated by injuries. You run out there thinking you have to be perfect and things can unravel pretty easily. I'd buy low if possible, realizing Santana's going to win 20 games and work that ERA back under 3.00.

- Scott Baker labored a bit -- 111 pitches in 5 innings -- but the end result was a victory with a decent WHIP and good ERA. He was a solid pitcher in June. In 6 starts, he went 4-0 with a 3.20 ERA and a 35:8 K:BB ratio. His WHIP was less than 1.00. It's safe to say he's over the early season struggles and can be safely started in every league.

- Brian Bannister is inconsistent, but if you can find a way to stream him when he's on, he's a great option in any league. In three of his past four starts, he's gone at least 7 innings and allowed no more than 2 earned runs. Of course, he also mixed in a 6-inning-5-earned run outing.

- Chris Carpenter is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in his last two starts. His control has been there and he hasn't allowed any home runs, but he's getting hit (15 hits in 12 innings). Assuming he's still completely healthy, we're going to call this a small bump in the road.

- Don't get overly excited about the good outing from Mike Hampton. It was in San Diego. Against the Padres. With Adrian Gonzalez only getting two at-bats.

- Russell Martin's struggles continue, and he's going to get some rest in the upcoming days to clear his head, according to manager Joe Torre. Hopefully it solves things, because he's really been a colossal fantasy disappointment this season.

- I can't explain Jason Marquis. After a shutout -- of the Dodgers, no less -- Marquis is now 10-5 on the season. He went 11-9 on a team that won 97 games last season. The ERA is 3.87, lower than it has been since 2004, his first season working with Dave Duncan. His WHIP is the lowest of his career. He's a 30-year-old with 214 career starts, so it's not like he's just getting the chance to develop or anything like that. This simply can't continue. The track record is there.

The Afflicted: Mark DeRosa has a tweaked wrist, but should be fine. Just monitor his progress in daily leagues. Casey McGehee has some knee soreness, which hopefully won't develop into anything serious. Adrian Gonzalez left Tuesday night's game with a knee injury. We still haven't had an update on the condition since this one. Cross your fingers, Gonzalez owners, but if he's out for an extended time it's worthing giving Kyle Blanks a look. Grady Sizemore will need elbow surgery in the offseason, though he's going to play through it for the time being.

Demoted: So much for that hot start we were teased with. Elijah Dukes was sent down the minors to make room for Nyjer Morgan -- who the Nationals acquired from the Pirates via trade.