Fantasy Baseball

It’s been a very bad week for these power players. When their teams counted on them, they left helmets on the field instead of driving in runs. It’s dark in the basement; maybe they can find the light switch.

1. OF Curtis Granderson NYY

In one of the most anticipated roster moves of 2010, the Texas Rangers promoted highly-touted prospect Justin Smoak last Friday. In six games since being called up, the switch-hitting first baseman is 1-for-15 with two runs and one RBI. He does, however, have seven walks.

Despite Smoak’s rough start, fantasy owners should take notice of the 23-year-old’s promotion.

Continuing our 162-game journey, Fantasy Baseball Insiders Tonight got a close look at Nationals’ starter Luis Atilano on Wednesday.

" Who the heck is Luis Atilano," you ask? Let’s find out...

Game No. 19 —Washington Nationals vs. Chicago Cubs

Here’s a look at some unheralded players who played well yesterday.

David Eckstein, San Diego Padres

Eckstein went 1-for-5 with a run and three RBI. He’s hitting .274 but isn’t much of a fantasy factor.

Chris Young, Arizona Diamondbacks (pictured)

Young continued his impressive 2010 campaign by going 2-for-4 with a HR (five) and five RBI. He’s hitting .298 with 21 RBI.

Dexter Fowler, Colorado Rockies

One of the easiest mistakes a fantasy baseball player can make is to overreact to a small sample size.

When an established star has a slow April or a no-name waiver pickup gets off to a fast start, it's tempting to sacrifice long-term talent to play the hot hand now.

In addition to the fact that even the best players go through cold spells, small sample sizes are extremely susceptible to the taint or boost of miserable or incredible luck.

Smart owners don't give in to the temptation; rather, they trade away their fortunate flukes and buy low on slow-starting superstars.

To help you enginee

Robinson Cano still is on fire and is having his best season to date. Cano connected on his sixth home run of the season and is currently batting .390.

Of course he can’t continue at this pace, especially on the batting average front, but Cano has hit well over .300 multiple times in his career, so this is not coming out of nowhere. He might not quite reach the 25 home runs he did in 2009, but I do think he will be close.

We’re putting our 162-game journey on hold Tuesday night, and instead Fantasy Baseball Insiders Tonight  is covering parts of several games. Here’s everything you need to know from last night’s action around the league:

Going from the starting rotation to the bullpen is like going from the penthouse to the outhouse if you are a pitcher—especially when you aren’t even getting a chance to be the closer.

The Chicago Cubs' hotheaded workhorse Carlos Zambrano has made the move from the first inning to the seventh and eighth innings, and while his fantasy value will definitely dip in the short term because of the job change, this might not be the Titanic-like disaster some fantasy owners are making it out to be.

Here are two things to consider about Zambrano’s new role.

1. (↑7) Tampa Bay Rays (14-5): Tampa Bay finishes the week with the best record in the majors and sits atop the FPR (250/300 total points) for the first time. The Rays are first in RBI (112), runs (113), and wins (14). The hottest team in baseball has won 8 of their last 10 and have a 1.5 game lead in the AL East.

Here’s a look at some unheralded players who played well yesterday.

Brandon Inge, Detroit Tigers

Inge went 3-for-5 with two runs, two HRs, and two RBI. He’s hitting .270.

Marco Scutaro, Boston Red Sox

Scutaro went 3-for-5 with four runs and an RBI to raise his average to .276.

Jason Varitek, Boston Red Sox

Tek went 3-for-4 with two runs and four RBI. He’s hitting .357.

Adrian Beltre, Boston Red Sox