Alfonso Soriano Geovany Soto HRs

The Chicago Cubs Pittsburgh Pirates game has just started. And Alfonso Soriano already has 2 home runs in 2 at bats. Rookie stud Geovany Soto also has a home run early in this game.

The difference between these two is that Soto has been mashing since the beginning of the year. This is guy who went at the end of drafts at the Catcher position but has outproduced everyone else by far. Russell Martin? Joe Mauer? Neither can compare. Especially in terms of power. Soto is putting up Mike Piazza in his prime numbers which is something especially when you're talking about a fantasy position which is as weak as Catcher generally is. One of the most encouraging signs is his .415+ obp. He is a patient, selective hitter that will take walks if he does not have a pitch to drive. This is doubly impressive considering his status as a rookie.

Alfonso Soriano has always been known as a free swinger who does not walk much. But when the power is there, no one cares about the walks. Returning from injury at the beginning of May, Soriano started off meagerly but has since regained his mojo and more importantly his power as a leadoff man. 2 Home Runs in the Friday Day game already in 2 at bats. He now has had 2 hits in his last 5 games and the game before that he had 4 hits. Also, the last five games Soriano has 5 home runs. The steals aren't there and with Chicago's powerful lineup, he probably won't be asked to steal much. Like his on base percentage though, if he is hitting 30-40 home runs no one will be complaining.

Gavin Floyd White Sox no hitter fails

Looks like Ozzie Guillen's tirade paid off.

(AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Gavin Floyd looked to match Mark Buehrle's no hitter of last year, but it did not happen. First of all he had given up 1 run with 0 hits, after walking Mauer and then an error bringing him home. A few starts ago against Detroit, Floyd flirted with a no hitter but ended with 1 hit also.

Maybe the most disappointing thing was that Ozzie Guillen pulled Gavin Floyd after he gave up the double to Mauer. It would have been nice to see the chap's first Complete Game of his career. Still, Floyd has impressed this year. He has not pitched spectacularly and his lack of strikeouts will cause for him to be passed over. But I stream started him in a few leagues tonight and was obviously pleased with the results. He can go deep in games and stifle hitters with his myriad of pitches, as he doesn't focus on any one pitch. His problem tonight and in other games are his control. He is always walking 2-4 batters and it would be nice if he could get that down.

Jermaine Dye had been in a slump recently but bopped another HR. Remember, this guy started off as the bust of the year last year hitting below .220. But after the all star break only Carlos Pena and Alex Rodriguez were hitting more home runs than Jermaine Dye. People forget that this guy hit 42 home runs with 120 RBI and a .315 average two years ago. Those are mvp numbers. Certainly he will not be replicating those numbers but he is a solid OF.

Yovani Gallardo tears ACL, on DL

More bad news in the world of fantasy as one of my favorite young stud SP's Yovani Gallardo is back on the DL and may require surgery (meaning out for a long time). This is too bad as Yovani was hurt earlier in the year and then came back and looked great. He wasn't striking batters out like he did the year before but a 1.80 ERA is worth mentioning.

This may mean another cursed year for the Brewers as they have not been in the playoffs since 1982, I believe. It looked like they were turning the corner with their young talent but having to rely on Ben Sheets to stay healthy now that Gallardo is out might be asking a little too much. Dave Bush and Jeff Suppan are not performing like they should so they will also need the younger pitchers at the end of the rotation to step up like Carlos Villanueva and Manny Parra. They have both had really nice outings at times, and really poor at other times. Manny probably has more high end potential but he also hasn't pitched more than 5.1 innings in any game this year.

Well at least Ryan Braun is back to mashing pitchers.

Smoltz back as an RP closer ?

Anyone who had Brett Myers last year knows the horror of a top SP turned closer. In fantasy I am one of the belief that you should not pay for saves, so having a 200 inning 200 K starter turned into a closer is sad, even if they are solid closers. In Smoltz's case he has been one of the true elite closers when he pitched as a closer in the early 2000's. Also what hurts most is the fact that you had to draft these guys somewhat early last year for Myers and this year for Smoltz. You expected them to be key cogs in your rotation.

None of this is set in stone, and even though John Smoltz said he would be happy as a Closer, it is evident that ultimately he wants to be a starter again. Bobby Cox likes him as a starter too. For the time being Smoltz is on the DL so you will want to stay updated here with this situation.

Also you have to consider what this means for the struggling Manny Acosta and for those people still holding onto Rafael Soriano. If Smoltz closes then these guys lose all of their value of course.

As far as the rotation, this gives a young stud like Jair Jurrjens an opportunity to step up. He has done so up to this point but they need him now more than ever.

Tejada heating up

31, 33, does it matter how old Miguel Tejada is? After another 4 hit night he is batting .370 in this early part of the season, but more importantly he is looking like a key cog in the middle of that Astros lineup that is primed for runs with Berkman hitting behind him. Tejada fell in most of the drafts I was in and in turn I either ended up with him or another person favorite Carlos Guillen. Both look like solid RBI and AVG contributors from the SS position. I'd prefer them over bigger names like Jeter and Tulowitski.

Look for Hunter Pence to eventually heat up. He's batting in the low 200's but hit an HR tonight so maybe that is the start of his season, since he really has not produced much for power #'s or avg for that matter.

A third blown save for Jose Valverde, but he has just as many wins! He may not be as sharp as the Astros expected when they got him but at least he is at least keeping it close enough when he blows it so that he can still win the game.

For the San Diego Fathers, Adrian Gonzalez blew up with a double, triple and home run. He hit a home run the day before also. Surely he was underrated in your draft as there are far sexier names at 1B to draft, and once one of the teams grabs one of them they tend to ignore the rest of them. Gonzalez has proven he can hit for average and underrated power. Petco Park ruins his home run total but as you can see, two games in a hitters park like Minute Maid Park and he hits two home runs. On another team in a more advantageous park, Adrian would hit 30 HR's easily likely. As it is he is a decent spot start or if you have a limping 1B you may wish to play some Adrian depending on who he is playing.

Jake Peavy has a terrible start for his standards, with only 2 strikeouts in 6 innings to go with 4 runs and 9 hits / walks. It is hard to pitch in Minute Maid Park, and as stated above the Astros lineup is meshing nicely with Tejada, Lee and Berkman being monsters in the middle of the lineup.

Another good example of a good pitcher getting screwed by the ballpark is Brett Myers performance in Colorado. Myers is another one of those guys that fell to all of my teams because no one respects his numbers from a few years ago when he was a consistent starter with a good ERA, WHIP, and 200 K's / 200 innings. But he did start off poorly, and then he shut down Houston and the Cubs to the tune of 15 innings, 4 ER's and 13 K's. Great numbers for two solid offenses.

But then tonight he goes into Colorado and gets lit up for 11 hits, 6 runs, 2 walks and just 3 strikeouts in 7 innings. This begs the question, do you bench starters against Colorado or Houston? It is certainly something you have to consider, but a pitcher of Peavy's quality you always start, because you don't want to miss a gem and they can pull those off anywhere. Myers is a little different because he is not quite as trusty but I'd say he's still close enough to the elite / consistent level that you should start him always besides the matchup. Plus he's used to pitching in a hitter's park, and he has the stuff to miss bats which is the key ingredient in more difficult stadiums. So if you are scared of playing SP's at Colorado, etc, you may want to consider that just for the control type pitchers who don't have the best stuff and tend to rely on contact (these are the types that will get lit up more often than not).

2005 Derrek Lee 2008 Derrek Lee ?

Derrek Lee just smashed his seventh HR Saturday April 19th. Remember 2005 when he was hitting over .350 most of the year (finished at .335) and stole 15 bases, hit 46 HR's, 107 RBI, 50 Doubles...well it looks like D Lee might be fully healthy and ready for a similar season. But that's the key like so many other injury prone players; can he sustain this health.

In this same game the decline of Tom Gorzelanny continues. In his first full season in 2007 Gorzelanny was 14-10 with 200 Innings, 130 Strikeouts, 3.88 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. Not the stats of an all star but for a rookie, it looked like Gorzelanny could be a workhorse type, pitching deep into games and being good for certain matchups. Now Gorzelanny is walking 4 guys a game even the two games where he went 6 innings and gave up 1 then 3 runs. His other two stats (today, and then 2 starts ago) he got obliterated, giving up 7 runs in less than 3 innings in both.

The decline of Gorzelanny is similar to that of Zach Duke. In 2005 he was 8-2 with 1.81 ERA / 1.20 WHIP and then in his sophomore year was 10-15 with a 4.47 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. He has been decent this year, but after the first year he was looked at as a potential ace down the road for the Pirates. Instead it is Ian Snell that is looking like the ace with a nice K rate and ERA.

Beckett, Manny beat Moose and Yankees

Josh Beckett follows up a decent start with an 8 inning 6 hits 3 runs 5 K win at the New York Yankees. Considering the line was against the Yankees fantasy owners must be extremely pleased. Papelbon though had some trouble, giving up 2 runs and not getting the save.

Manny Ramirez continues his resurgence. I had a feeling he would strike back big this year after a subpar 2007. You cannot always say contract year = better year (Andruw Jones last year), but in the case of Manny it makes sense to me. Batting well over .320 with 5 HR's (2 tonight) and is on pace for a shitload of RBI. Despite his poor year last year you still probably had to draft him high though, but be happy with these stats they will probably continue to come.

Especially if David Ortiz continues to hit .100. Another 0-5 night tonight for big DO. With all the word about his injuries he may have to sit for a while on the DL to get his game back. He is doing owners no good now because he forces owners to play him but the power is not there and he is not even getting singles. Still you have to think at some point he breaks out of it, so if you have a DO owner in your league who is getting tired of his ways, try to pounce if you can get him 70 cents on the dollar or better.

For the Yankees, Jeter has been back getting multiple hits in each game until this game (but he still had one, with 2 RBI). While I always think he is overrated in fantasy baseball with his lack of power and steals (lots of runs in that lineup though) the SS position does not have too many consistent cogs after the guys who are drafted in the top 10. Tulowitski is batting below .150 with no power, but remember Garrett Atkins started off similarly last year but with the help of some monster games in Coors Field the stats got back up to normal. Expect a decline for Tulo from last year but not as unreasonable as they are now.

Brave oldies Smoltz and Chipper still have it

The Atlanta Braves may be 6-9 early on in this baseball season, but they must be optimistic about John Smoltz who started the year with health questions. He is now 3-0 after a masterpiece in Florida; 5 Innings, 3 hits, 2 walks, 0 runs, 10 K's! He has a 0.56 ERA in three starts and is averaging over a K an inning. Year in and year out fantasy owners let Smoltz fall faller than his stats should dictate, obviously with the presumption that sooner or later he will fall. While he may be more susceptible to injury with his age, we can assume that his production will continue to be stellar when he pitches healthy.

Speaking of old underrated Braves, there is Chipper Jones and his 4 / 4 night with 2 home runs. He is now batting .443 on the year. Remember this guy hit 29 HR's with a .337 average last year so again we ask the same question as with Smoltz; why are worse players being drafted ahead of them when there is no sign of production slippage? You wouldn't take him ahead of Braun / Wright / Cabrera / Arod, but should he not be right after those four younger keeper-types?

Brian McCann continues his bounce back year. Well he really only had 6 less HR's last year but the .333 2006 average to .270 was a significant dropoff. That said his .333 average was probably a fluke, though he seems to have a good enough eye at the plate to hit around .300. Another HR for McCann tonight and he ties the great Mike Napoli with 4 HR's for a catcher. If you are running crappy catchers out there like John Buck or Kenji Johjima, you could do a lot worse than Napoli. In 487 AB's in 2006-2007 he has 26 HR's and 7 steals. That is about a full year for a catcher, and a good one too.

Mark Teixeira is a guy I have in a million leagues but he has started off relatively slow at .200 average and just a few HR's. He has had poor starts before and then monster summers, so unlike David Ortiz I would not worry about Teixeira. He is in a good offense on a contending team, batting cleanup. And he knocked an HR too tonight (Jones, McCann and Teixeira went back to back to back).

Not much to say about Florida. They had 3 hits this game against Atlanta, and Nolasco got lit. They do have Mike Jacobs, a cheap power hitter batting cleanup for them. He will hit HR's, probably won't continue to bat over .300 though. No Jeremy Hermida tonight unfortunately. And remember Jorge Cantu? He is eligible at 1B and 3B in Yahoo! leagues but remember the days of him being a 2B in like 2005 for Tampa Bay, knocking in 115+ RBI? He has been batting 5th or 6th, a favorable spot in the lineup, and with some of the quality hitters in front of him he could gather up some good numbers (but of course if he was 2B eligible he would be much more valuable).

Colorado San Diego 17+ innings

It is 2:00 AM Central time and Colorado and San Diego are still playing baseball in the 17th inning. I can only imagine the fun Brian Giles owners are having with his 0-7 output.

A few things to note from this game though, one being Matt Holliday stealing 2 bases. He already has 4 on the year and if he reaches 20 steals to go with his 30-40 HR's, 120+ RBI and .320 Batting average...he might be the most valuable hitter unless Arod repeats his power numbers from last year.

Jake Peavy's continued dominance on display with 8 innings 11 K's 0 runs 7 Hits / walks. So Peavy has 4 ER in 30 innings pitched this year. For all the hoopla surrounding Johan, Peavy with Petco Park could easily take the NL Cy Young again or will at least have the ERA / WHIP / K numbers to put his name up there.

After two putrid starts, Jeff Francis gives up 4 Hits / walks in 7 innings along with 7 K's and no runs for a terrific outing. Remember he won 17 games last year and while he probably will not match that, he is the type of pitcher that might not have the best ERA or K rate but will pitch deep into games and in turn gather wins.

Pujols, Ankiel, Cardinals dominating

It was hard to predict how the Cardinals were going to do this year. Pujols wasn't healthy heading in and their pitching staff was full of questions, along with an injured ace.

Now they are 7-2 with dominating SP work. Isringhausen has been solid at the backend with 5 saves in the 7 wins. Coming into the game Pujols was hitting over .320 but had nary an HR and only 1 RBI. Against Houston tonight he hit a few HR's with 3 RBI. Still the power outage is a little worrisome but maybe this is a sign of things to come for Albert.

Rick Ankiel in the cleanup position is going to put up some ridiculous stats this year if he stays healthy. Last year he hit 11 in 172 AB's so with a little progression 30-35 HR's is not out of the question. In turn you'd see at least 100 RBI and the best part is his average is staying up, which was his real issue coming back to the team as a hitter. We'll see if he can maintain that but the power is certainly real.

Then you look at the Cardinal SP's. Wainwright came into the season with not much attention around him despite a solid first season as a starter. His 3.70 ERA was decent and in the middle part of the year until the end he was an extremely valuable pickup, until falling off a bit at the very end. He pitched well against Washington and had his other game washed out so his performance this year remains to be seen, but considering where you probably drafted him he'll surely be good value.

The other starters don't strike anyone out really but Brad Thompson, Braden Looper and Kyle Lohse are decent spot starts especially if the Cardinals continue to win. Those are the types of starters that become valuable throughout the year on darkhorse winning teams.

Don't forget about Carpenter, he'll be back in July.

San Francisco Giants score a run, win a game

The San Francisco Giants got their third win (3-6) with a 1-0 victory against the San Diego Padres. Dan Ortmeier drove in the lone run.

Noteworthy from this game is the performance of Jonathan Sanchez. The last two years he has only thrown 92 innings but has struck out 95 batters in that span. So his 10 K's in 6 innings of work is not that hard to believe, but considering he has a 6.00 career ERA almost, it's impressive he dominated the game (albeit against a weaker Padres team). He plays in a pitcher's park so that helps, but he also has one of the most inept offenses supporting him (ask Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum). So proceed with caution if you pick him up. You are probably best looking for a stream start from him when the matchup is right, though you must keep an eye on him and any other SP that shows that kind of strikeout potential because those are the types that flourish in fantasy once / if they mature and don't have erratic outings.

We would be remiss to not mention Justin Germano who after 2 starts still has a 0.00 ERA yet no wins! Two no decisions but he has pitched efficiently, though as usual he is not striking out too many batters. That said he performed well last year (7-10 + 4.50 ERA isn't that great but he had some nice starts in the 2nd half) and has the ultimate pitcher's park so he's another starter you want to watch for home stream starts or matchups against the likes of San Francisco.