Well, it's been ten days of baseball, and things couldn't be more exciting. No name players are being added to fantasy teams, big boppers are slumping, and the fantasy baseball world is in general chaos. Don't worry, this is just how things go at the beginning of the season.
Every day you look at the player rater, and someone else you've never heard of is ranked number one. Vladimir Guerrero is about the 500th best fantasy player in the league right now, while a guy named "Runelvys" (that's "Run Elvis") is dominating. Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson have combined for zero wins in four games. The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Kansas City Royals are leading their respective divisions. This is messed up.
So, for now, I'm going to give you a quick run down of the "Who The Heck Are These Guys" list, and you can decide whether you want to add them or not.
Let's start with the San Diego Padres' Jake Peavy, one of the hotter commodities in fantasy baseball right now. Peavy pitched on April 3 against the Dodgers, went five innings and allowed one hit, a solo home run to Brian Jordan. But what raised some eyebrows was that in those five innings, Peavy struck out eleven Dodgers. At 21, this kid is San Diego's number two starter. Still, as a rookie last season, Peavy started 17 games and won six, and accumulated 90 strikeouts in 97 innings. This is a good sign. Pick him up if you can.
Another one of the bigger surprises has been the aforementioned Runelvys Hernandez of the Kansas City Royals. In two starts he's given up one run, four hits, and only four walks. Also a second year pitcher, Hernandez's strikeout to walk ratio last year was over 2:1. While that is decent by major league standards, he still has much to prove. I wouldn't jump on him without some more convincing. All that glitters, is not gold.
Also on the fantasy radar this past week has been Alex Gonzalez. That's not Alex S. Gonzalez, the bum shortstop on the Chicago Cubs, but we're talking about another guy. This guy is also a bum, but is a shortstop on the Florida Marlins, who happens to have ripped four homers in the first seven games of the season. Gonzalez has been around for five seasons now and has done nothing impressive, so don't expect him to break out now.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays' Carl Crawford is also a popular pick-up, having tallied 13 hits and four steals in the first week of play. You can add this guy and see if he keeps hitting, but I doubt he will ever do more than steal bases for you. Still, his speed is a fine reason to have him. If you're looking for just steals, also check out Doug Glanville, Dave Roberts, or veteran Tony Womack.
Lastly, there are two guys whom I know nothing about, but have great names and show some powerful potential. They are Carlos Zambrano and Xavier Nady. Or just forget I ever mentioned them.
In other fantasy news, the stars who are showing their potential so far are Reggie Sanders, Jeff Bagwell, Alfonso Soriano, and Jim Thome. Also, don't look past Shea Hillenbrand, who is currently leading the AL with 15 RBI and is always good through May. Juan Encarnacion, Jose Cruz, and Mike Lowell are also hot, but it won't last. Some key players that are very cold are Magglio Ordonez, Mike Piazza, Lance Berkman, and Larry Walker. Don't fret about these guys, because they'll surely be sweet again soon.
Almost all starting pitchers are cold, but that's just because it's cooler weather and guys like Greg Maddux are having trouble gripping the ball. Don't sell out on any of your starters yet.
Who are the budding stars? Kris Benson is certainly one, so try to get him before his value goes way up. Kevin Millar, too, will be solid in Boston -- I'm calling a trip to the All-Star game for him right now. Injuries? Well, Griffey, Jr., of course, went down with a shoulder injury, dampening the hearts of so many fantasy owners who put their hopes and dreams into him. Just stick him on your injured list and hope that he won't have surgery. Other guys to go down are Mo Vaughn, Kevin Millwood, and C.C. Sabathia.
Well, that's it for now. Send me your fantasy questions at Elliott.Freeman@tufts.edu and watch as much baseball as you can.
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