Edinson Volquez

In starting pitcher Edinson Volquez's first four games with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2014, the righty went 1-0 with a 1.71 ERA.  

Suddenly, it looked like the Pirates made a great decision in signing him to a one-year deal during the offseason.  

Over the last few seasons, we have seen the emergence of a number of young pitching prospects in Major League Baseball.  

Unfortunately, 2014 has been the year of torn ulnar collateral ligaments, resulting in season-ending Tommy John surgery for a lot of those young stars.  

I have not had good experiences with fantasy baseball in the past.

First and foremost, I was terrible at it. I would say that I could identify a comfortable 95 percent of current players by name, but that doesn’t mean I know how to fashion them into a successful fantasy franchise.

At the time of this writing the Reds are nine games out of first place, pending what the Milwaukee Brewers do later. They have just lost the series to the upstart Chicago Cubs and try (I hope) to avoid a sweep tomorrow afternoon.

July 14, 2008. A night for the history books.

A night for redemption.

Also known as ODOs.

Well, I call them ODOs and some day, you will too. Until then, see if you noticed what I noticed:

Albert Pujols goes 0-for-5

He also grounded into three double plays—cue the overreaction random radio show sports talk guy.

That's right, Pujols is washed up; can't handle the contract-year pressure; forgot how to hit; only tips 10 percent.

Actually, he'll be fine.

With opening day only three days away, the Cincinnati Reds roster is looking more like the Walking Wounded than a defending champion.

A pitching rotation of Edinson Volquez, Bronson Arroyo, Travis Wood, Mike Leake and probably Sam LeCure will not strike fear into the hearts of the collective sluggers of the Milwaukee Brewers. Their combined ERA is 6.45.

Finding strikeouts late in your draft is not something that is particularly easy to do.  Generally, one of the reasons pitchers fall on draft day is because they lack in one area (most notably, no upside in strikeouts).  However, there are a few pitchers out there who could significantly help you in the category.  Here are five pitchers who are being picked after No. 216, on average, and I have projected to strikeout at least 170 batters in 2011.

Heading into 2011, the Cincinnati Reds have a deep rotation, not necessarily loaded with aces, but with arms who are definitely strong enough to get a team through the 162 game ringer.

Who was last season's surprise team? Some may say the Giants for winning the World Series, and some may say the Rangers for making it to the World Series.

But in my opinion, without question...the Cincinnati Reds were THE biggest surprise in baseball last season.