Fantasy

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

Texas Rangers @ New York Yankees

Andruw Jones went two-for-three. David Murphy went two-for-four. Freddy Garcia gave up two hits in six scoreless innings to improve to 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA.

Pittsburgh Pirates @ Cincinnati Reds

After Joe Mauer's injury occurred this past week, many fantasy owners were left scrambling to fill their roster with a replacement while they wait for their superstar to heal. It is always hard to replace the production of superstar caliber player like Mauer, but with the right replacement the damage can be limited. Here are the adds you should make if you now have a hole at the catcher position:

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

Baltimore Orioles @ Cleveland Indians

Michael Brantley went two for three with two runs to raise his average to .333. Asdrubal Cabrera is up to 14 RBI on the year after going two for four with four RBI.

Travis Hafner went one for two with a home run and two RBI. Matt LaPorta went two for three with a run. Adan Everett went two for four with two runs.

Normally, I dive right into recommending specific waiver wire pickups, but based on the drastic trends so early in the season, I have to provide some big picture fantasy advice.

With just over two weeks in the books, some unsuspecting players have emerged on to the fantasy radar, while others have already been scooped up, despite a shaky track record.  But before you replace a consistent veteran with the latest fad, please consider a few things.

Off to a slow start in the run category? Here are some reasonably available players that can help you out.

Dexter Fowler, Colorado Rockies

It was another great day around the league, so let’s take a look at all the stories from yesterday’s games.

Gio the Great...

Gio Gonzalez tossed 6.0 shutout innings, allowing just two hits with six K, so it had to be a good start, right? Well, that’s not really accurate, as he walked six batters. Yes, the results have been there with a 0.47 ERA (one ER over 19.0 IP), but he’s already walked 12 batters on the year. Consider these numbers:

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

Colorado Rockies @ New York Mets (Game One)
Dexter Fowler went two for five. Jose Morales went two for three with a run and two RBI. Scott Hairston went two for four with a home run and three RBI. Josh Thole went two for four.

Colorado Rockies @ New York Mets (Game Two)

The Seattle Mariners boast one of the best young arms in the American League. A flame-throwing pitcher who possesses a knee-buckling slider, an excellent changeup and a blazing fastball that has been clocked in the triple digits. No, I am not referring to reigning AL CY Young winner Felix Hernandez, but rather rookie sensation Michael Pineda. 

This spring, were you one of the many who drafted a top flight pitcher like Adam Wainwright or Zack Greinke, only to have him hit the DL before the season even began? Like always, there are a bunch of high quality players who are out of commission at the moment, and because injuries always happen, most fantasy baseball owners at this point should be looking for injury updates and upgrades. Do you have an injured star on your roster? Want to find out the scoop on him?

As a fantasy baseball player, it can be extremely difficult to keep a level head early in the year.

We know guys like Albert Pujols aren’t going to finish the year hitting .200, but what do you make of the players like Arizona Diamondbacks utility man Willie Bloomquist?

If you’re speculating for speed, it would be best to keep an eye on how much playing time the 33-year-old receives.