CATCHER
Ramon
Castro will get the bulk of playing time after Brian Schneider landed on the
15-day disabled list. Chris Iannetta
has 2 hits and 2 HRs on the young season.
Yorvit Torrealba is the other option, but he doesn't have any of the
upside Iannetta possesses. Rod Barajas
will see some extra ABs with Michael Barrett on the DL. Barajas has pop, but little else. Brian McCann was experiencing eye blurriness
and changed contacts lens in order to correct the problem. That's the likely culprit for his
mini-slump.
FIRST
BASE
Paul Konerko is batting .308-3-12 over 52 ABs. He only has 5 K's and seems to have the
injuries behind him. Carlos Peña leads
all first basemen with 6 HRs and 15 RBI.
Although it's a brief sample, his .283 is a good sign for fantasy
owners. Perennial slow-starter Adam
LaRoche hit .318 with 2 HRs last week.
Posting a strong April would be a major step forward in his fantasy
value.
SECOND
BASE
Alberto
Callaspo is picking up time at second base for the Royals. Callaspo is 11 for 28 (.393), but offers up
little in the other offensive categories.
Alexi Casilla is still struggling with a .196 AVE. Brendan Harris is hitting .389 and is doing
his best to earn a platoon spot.
Casilla should get going, but his value would take a hit if he loses
starts to Harris.
SHORTSTOP
Washington
placed Christian Guzman on 15-day DL.
Other than Milton Bradley, Guzman might be the most injury-prone player
in the Majors. Owners will continue to
be frustrated by his boom or bust performances and they should have a decent
backup available. Jason Bartlett is
batting .429 on the young season. He
has the ability to hit .280 with 20 SBs, but he's deficient in all power categories.
THIRD
BASE
Alex
Gordon will miss 2-3 months with a torn labrum. The Royals plan to move Mark Teahan to the hot corner and mix and
match the rest of the lineup. Teahan
won't qualify for second base anytime soon.
Josh Fields is hitting .286 with 1 HR on the young season. After belting 23 HRs in 2007, he fizzled
last season. Fields is hitting second
in a potent lineup, so he's surrounded by plenty of protection. Although he is vulnerable to a low average,
he has the power stroke that AL-only owners have to recognize. Brian Barden (.391) and Joe Thurston (.306)
are platooning at third base and seemed to have shoved David Freese aside. Both players are for NL-only leagues as long
as there is a time-split.
OUTFIELD
Vladamir
Guerrero is out for at least a month.
The Angels called up Brandon Wood who can serve as a DH and utility infielder. Wood posted monster numbers in the minors,
but hasn't been able to translate the success to the big league club. He's worth a pickup in AL-only leagues;
mixed leaguers need to see how much playing time he is going to get first. After Lastings Milledge was sent to
Triple-A, Elijah Dukes got the nod as the starting centerfielder. Milledge started slow and apparently
displayed some lackluster attitude, but the Nationals also had to bench Dukes
for showing up to pregame workouts late. (he was attending a Little League
parade). Manny Acta is waiving the
discipline hammer at anyone who gets in his way. Xavier Nady might not require surgery, but he'll be a long shot
to return in 2009.
STARTING
PITCHER
Brandon
Webb has begun throwing bullpen sessions.
No word on a return date yet, but there’s an uneasy feeling these arm
issues will surface again. After
allowing seven runs against the Reds, Yovani Gallardo bounced back with a 6 2/3
IP / 1 ER effort against the Mets. A
bit inconsistent, but Gallardo's upside is tremendous. The Yankees brass continues to state that
Chien-Ming Wang is fine mechanically.
However, a 34.50 ERA suggests an injury or some sort of gigantic mental
blockage. Justin Masterson performed
well with Daisuke Matsuzaka on the DL.
Masterson is a nice hedge if you own one of the Red Sox starting
pitchers. A couple of veterans, Kevin
Millwood and Tim Wakefield have been shredding up the opposition in April. Age and career-norms will eventually bring
them back to earth, but they can fill the backend of a fantasy rotation. Josh Beckett’s 5-game suspension won’t cause
him to miss a start.
RELIEF
PITCHER
Joel
Hanrahan bounced back to covert his first save of the season after blowing his
first 2 opportunities. Washington is
shaking up the bullpen, but they don't have better closer options than
Hanrahan. Clint Hurdle demoted Huston
Street from the closer role and will turn to Manny Corpas. Corpas is a must-add in NL only leagues, but
the roles are now reversed and Street will be nipping at his heels. The Padres have been surprising hot to start
the season. Heath Bell has taken
advantage, posting a league-leading 7 saves.
