Fantasy

Here’s a look at the unheralded fantasy baseball players who played well yesterday.

Washington Nationals @ St. Louis Cardinals

The big guns (Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday) did the damage offensively, but Kyle Lohse’s two-hit, six-strikeout shutout was the story. He’s now 3-1 with a 2.01 ERA.

Arizona Diamondbacks @ Cincinnati Reds

This year, like every other, will provide us with season-ruining busts and the championship making prospects. To help you out, the following are the top five players you should, and still can target to ensure success in your fantasy league. Note: the following rankings and stats are based off of Yahoo! Fantasy Sports Leagues. For a more complete ranking of fantasy players go to Jackman Sports' Rankings found here.

Prior to the season Brett Gardner was a popular selection for people looking for a pure speed option. There was talk of him hitting in the leadoff spot, making fantasy owners lust for the potential to score a significant number of runs.

Over two weeks into the season, Gardner has been nothing short of a major disappointment.

When drafting a fantasy team, there is one thing that you should be your number one priority—consistency. You need that factor to carry your team from day one.

Slumps are inevitable, but you need the players who post strong enough stretches to smooth out the rocky streaks.

Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols and Ryan Braun to name a few are prime examples of this kind of consistency.

Week 3

April 4th - April 10th 

Pedro Alvarez was given a day off on Monday as he continues to falter in the opening weeks of the 2011 season. At a shallow position, Alvarez was supposed to give owners a little bit of thump. Instead, all he has done is fallen with a resounding thud.

Now, the question is if it is time to give up hope or do we still think he can turn things around?

Clearly, the numbers from his first 15 games have been ugly:

Some reasonably available players to assist you in the strikeouts category. Realize that some of these will come with high ERAs and WHIPs because if a pitcher has low numbers in those categories and a good K total, they’re already spoken for.

Here’s a look at the unheralded fantasy baseball players who played well yesterday:

Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox

Jed Lowrie went 4-for-5 with two runs, a home run and four RBI. J.D. Drew went 2-for-4 with a run. Dice-K gave up one hit in seven scoreless innings for the win as Boston dominated on Patriots’ Day.

Chicago White Sox at Tampa Bay Rays

Here’s a breakdown of the two-start pitchers for the fourth week of the baseball season. 

Five Stars

Roy Halladay: vs. MIL, @SD
Cliff Lee: vs. MIL , @SD 

Four Stars

Brett Anderson: vs. BOS, @SEA
Tim Hudson: @LAD, @SF
Josh Johnson: vs. PIT, vs. COL
Tim Lincecum: @COL, ATL
Ricky Romero: @BOS, vs. TB 

Three Stars

Here’s a look at the unheralded fantasy baseball players who played well yesterday.

Baltimore Orioles @ Cleveland Indians

Travis Hafner went 2-for-3 with a home run. Fausto Carmona gave up one earned run on five hits in seven innings for the win.

Pittsburgh Pirates @ Cincinnati Reds

Miguel Cairo went 3-for-4 with a home run. Paul Janish went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Garrett Jones went 2-for-4 with a home run.