Fantasy

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

Boston Red Sox at Cleveland Indians

The story here, besides Boston falling to 0-6, was the pitching. Fausto Carmona (seven scoreless innings, two hits) and Jon Lester (seven scoreless innings, three hits, nine strikeouts) tossed gems. Marco Scutaro went 2-for-2 with a walk.

Oakland A’s at Toronto Blue Jays

Only 10 games on the docket today, but that hasn't stopped the fantasy baseball train from rolling along, as we finally see some outstanding pitching performances from a number of aces today and plenty of offensive output as well, albeit from some unlikely sources.

There's also some news about the return of Adam Dunn, an exciting young infielder suffers a broken leg, a potential closer returns from the disabled list and then there's Manny being Manny.

The Colorado Rockies are the overwhelming favorite of baseball writers to win the 2011 NL West crown.  With a collection of young players who possess an excellent combination of speed and power, the Rockies will certainly score a bunch of runs this year. Despite an excellent offense, the club will need a solid performance from their pitching staff to dethrone the defending champion San Francisco Giants. 

The Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim is the first club to ride the closer carousel, promoting Jordan Walden to the close position after veteran Fernando Rodney’s shaky performance against the Royals. 

After three straight six-win seasons, Aaron Harang and the Cincinnati Reds parted ways this offseason. The 6'7", 250-pound hurler signed with his hometown San Diego Padres.

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

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim @ Tampa Bay Rays

Maicer Izturis went two for five with a run. Alberto Callaspo went two for four with a home run. Mark Trumbo went three for four with a run, an RBI and a stolen base.

Pittsburgh Pirates @St. Louis Cardinals

Historically, baseball is not a sport one would call "friendly" to first-year athletes. The most talented of prospects commonly struggle in "the Show" during their initial go-around.

With fantasy baseball season underway, you will be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your team.

If you are worried about offense, you’re in luck.

There are several hitters top hitters you can acquire via trade.

The following list isn’t a list of the top overall hitters in fantasy baseball.  Guys like Pujols, Tulowitzki and Han Ram aren’t likely to be traded.

This is a list of the top hitters that you can acquire in a trade.  These are guys who are poised for a breakout season or guys who are young or underrated.

It’s early, so I will update these as needed throughout the week (injury, hot/cold, etc.). 

Still, let’s take a look at my rankings for the upcoming scoring period and see which catchers I would use and which I may shy away from:

It’s early, so I will update these as needed throughout the week. 

First base is the deepest position in the game and generally ranking the top names is like splitting hair. Let’s take a look at how things shake out for the coming week: