On Thursday we wrote about how either Dillon Gee or Jeremy Hefner could lose their rotation spot for the New York Mets once top prospect Zack Wheeler is recalled next week.

Well, perhaps we should have included Shaun Marcum in that list of pitchers that were facing the heat in New York.

Hefner, of course, only got his shot because Marcum was hurt early in the season, but since Marcum has returned in late-April, it’s been a serious struggle for the most part.

The Mets say that when Wheeler gets here, they’re going to go with the Fantasy value draining six-man staff a couple of times through the rotation. But come on. Let’s get real… that can’t last.

With Gee and Hefner both pitching better lately, Marcum could be the one at risk – despite his relatively high salary.

Marcum has been seriously inconsistent with his performance, yet has been consistently losing. And by consistently, we mean constantly. Hell, last Saturday he tossed eight innings of relief (see video below) in that crazy 20-inning marathon against the Fish and he was actually fantastic. Yet he lost.

Marcum followed that up Friday with an ugly outing against the Cubs to suffer another loss and fall to 0-8 on the season. The Mets gave him an extra day of rest before this start, but it sure didn’t help as the Cubbies simply battered him.

Believe it or not, Marcum has actually been improving as the season has progressed, so for our money, he should be given the chance to stay in the rotation and right himself. But in looking at the bigger picture, staying healthy has become an issue for the veteran, and after back-to-back 13-win seasons, he’s only totalled seven victories since the start of the 2012 season. Yuck.

With an 0-8 record, Marcum is in rare company this season. Only Houston’s Philip Humber is also winless with as many losses as that. In fairness, Marcum hasn’t exactly been blessed with great run support. For instance, in half of his losses, he allowed just three runs or less, which should be good enough to bag a win or three, shouldn’t it?

The way things are going, Marcum could soon be carving his name in the Mets’ record book in a rather notorious fashion. The record for consecutive losses at the beginning of a Mets’ career is 12, held by Bob Miller in 1962. and let’s not forget Anthony Young’s epic 0-13 start to the 1993 season for the Mets.

Hey, it’s something for Marcum to shoot for as he tries to justify the contract the Mets gave him.

For Fantasy purposes, before you throw Marcum back onto the scrap head after Friday’s stinker, consider this: His FIP is 3.06 – nearly two and a half runs lower than his actual ERA. Marcum’s .329 BABIP and 57.2 per cent strand rate both paint a picture of an extremely unlucky pitcher. We suggest you hold for now and see how this plays out because if he can survive the rotation cut, Marcum has a chance to be a rather useful asset in the second half.

Now tell us what you think in the comments below. Which Met starter will get the hook from the rotation after Wheeler arrives?

RotoRob’s Fantasy Baseball Weekly Podcast

Crave more in-depth Fantasy analysis? Then join us every Thursday at 9 p.m. EST for RotoRob’s Fantasy Baseball Weekly Podcast on Blogtalkradio. Tim McLeod and RotoRob will entertain and edify you for a half hour or more each week. Tune in here.

On the plus side, after missing the Podcast last week, we were back this week. On the down side, so were the technical issues, causing about 90 seconds of dead air early on (when it starts, skip forward to the 4:00 minute mark) as we got kicked out the system — apparently as a result of a storm system. At any rate, on this week’s episode of RotoRob’s Fantasy Baseball Weekly Podcast (heard every Thursday at 9 p.m. EST on Blogtalkradio), muddled on and were were able to bring you plenty of Fantasy baseball goodness. more

Of course, rain may threaten all the fun, but if you ask Wainwright, he might tell you that missing the Mets wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen to him. After all, he’s inexplicably struggled in his career against them (1-4, 7.29 ERA in seven games, five of them starts). WTF? more

The Giants tried to beef up the offensive side of the organization by taking sticks with three of their first four picks this year, headlined by Florida prep shortstop Arroyo. Picking him surprised some, as Arroyo wasn’t a projected first rounder; in fact, most experts ranked him at the bottom of or even outside any top 100 list. He’s got some power, with potentially more to tap into if he can refine his approach. What cinched it for the Giants was Arroyo’s MVP showing for USA Baseball’s 18-under team. more

For Braun owners, the consensus here at RotoRob.com is that we are very sorry. He is not someone that you can just go to waiver wire and replace. There is hope in knowing that this could take a while and that MLB must be sure before these hefty suspensions are handed out. Also there is no need to scour the Brewers farm system because there isn’t really much there that could really translate on a Major League level.  more