Fan News

The second full week of the fantasy baseball season is in full swing. You'll want to keep an eye on the prize and finish the weekend strong, but there is nothing wrong with a peek ahead.

Here’s a breakdown of the two-start pitchers for the week of April 14-20. I used ESPN to generate the list. Starts are subject to change due to weather and injuries. Check for updates according to your league settings to avoid any surprises.

Starting the season off with a 4-8 record is probably not what Arizona Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson had in mind.

The team began 1-7, marking it the worst start in franchise history, with one more loss in the first eight games than the club’s inaugural season in 1998. And after finishing the past two seasons with an 81-81 finish, winning one game in eight tries is going to start raising concerns.

New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia was 2-2 with a 7.22 ERA in five outings against the Boston Red Sox last season, which is important to consider when making your MLB picks Friday, as the two teams face off at Yankee Stadium.

Sports bettors will find that the Yankees are plus-110 home underdogs in the pro baseball odds, with the betting total sitting at 8.5 in the market.

In New York it is never too early to over-analyze a player's performance, especially if the player is a new acquisition from this offseason.

Just under two weeks into the regular season, the New York Yankees have played average baseball and sit with a record of 5-5.

However, they have won five of their last seven games and are currently tied for first in the AL East.

Thursday night during the Yankees vs. Red Sox game, Michael Pineda cheated, plain and simple.

There was enough pine tar, Firm Grip, Valvoline or Jell-O pudding on the palm of his throwing hand, and back of his glove hand, that most of the Internet thought he had just watched the movie Naked Gun before taking the mound (skip to the 2:30 mark).

After a stellar 2013 season in which they went 94-68 and won the National League Wild Card Game, the Pittsburgh Pirates appear to be on track for another great season in 2014. 

Backed by the big bats of Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez and Russell Martin, the Pirates have a dangerous lineup that can power their way to the top of the standings throughout the season. 

As a fun way to put each team's early-season records into perspective, I extrapolated their current winning percentage out over a full 162 games in order to see how they would be projected to finish if they kept up their current pace.

From there, I decided if each team's start to the year was fact or fiction, based on whether their projection was plus-or-minus eight wins of where I think they'll finish the year.

Why eight games? Because eight games gave me roughly a five-percent margin of error in either direction, allowing for a clearly defined range with which to work.

What good is talent to a fantasy owner who lacks timing?

Fantasy baseball—just like the real thing—is a game of skill, luck and timing. That last trait, in particular, comes in handy in regards to getting value in the trading game.

Knowing which player(s) to trade away and which to deal for—and knowing just the right time to do so—can make all the difference.

The Cincinnati Reds have a very important series coming up against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Reds are 3-6 on the young season, and the Rays come into the series at 5-5 in a tie for first place in the always-difficult AL East.

The Reds need something to turn their season around, and this series presents them with a golden opportunity to either pull within two games of .500, or even things up at 6-6 by the end of the weekend.

The rivalry between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers is the "new kid on the block" among some of the more notable ones in baseball. But it sure has picked up steam in a hurry over the past few years.