Baseball

New York Mets (14-10)  at Philadelphia Phillies (13-10), 8:05 pm

For a second week in a row, the Rays are in the top spot in my Power Rankings. I still don’t see a reason to have them lower than that. They have the best offense in the majors by far and their pitching is also very good. If it weren’t for the Mets, I’d say that they were the hottest team in the league right now.

Matt Garza is partly to blame for the number four ranking in pitching. His 4-1 record, 2.06 ERA, and 34 strikeouts puts him in the top four in my AL Cy Young Award, which you can check out at the bottom of the page.

Each month The Nats Blog will announce our Nationals Player of the Month as voted upon by our writers. This award will be determined on quality of performance as well as the impact of that performance.

The past week has been the best that I’ve felt about the Mets since September 2008.

It's time to look at the potential two-start options for the upcoming fantasy week. If I have someone rated as a three, four or five-star option, they are someone I would definitely use. A two-star option is a borderline candidate, but I’d strongly lean against it unless I have no other options. The one-star options are an absolutely-not scenario.

With that said, let’s take a look at the players available this week:

Five-Star Options:

It is no surprise that 2010 is a going to be a struggle for the Jays. It is also no surprise that attendance is at an all-time low.

Alex Anthopolous made changes during the offseason that ultimately set the tone for this year, and more than likely the next two as well; rebuilding.

When fans hear the word rebuild, success is years away, and in a city where attendance has struggled to climb the ranks as results of intermediate play, it gives you an idea about where the club's focus is—rekindling the fan's interest with a young, successful product.

There is no doubt the Royals have better expectations of themselves every single season from their previous year.

It seems the Royals will have a break out year soon.

The Kansas City Royals struck gold when they called Billy Butler up, a .300 hitter with 20HR power, but it is Third Baseman Alex Gordon that is the key for the Royals' future.

Alex Gordon was considered to have "very big" potential when he came up, and the fans in Kansas City had high hopes for him.

This year is his fourth year in Major League Baseball but he is yet to hit above .260.

Here’s a look at the two-start pitchers for week five.

Five Stars
Ubaldo Jimenez: @SD, @LAD (pictured)
James Shields: @SEA, @OAK

Some unfamiliar faces have been spotted around the Los Angeles Dodgers dugout lately, but suddenly the number in the "W" column is going up. Meanwhile, the pitching has stepped it up with the return of some familiar faces and the infusion of some new ones.

It is certainly a matter of when, not if, the Pittsburgh Pirates will bring their top prospects up this year.

The three prospects the Pirates will likely bring up are Pedro Alvarez, Brad Lincoln, and Jose Tabata.

Lincoln will likely be brought up first, as the Pirates are in need of a starting pitcher right now. Charlie Morton has done horrible, and you cannot use spot starters forever. Injuries have also left the Pirates' starting rotation in tatters.