As the MLB season creeps toward the end of April, all 30 teams have now played approximately 20 games each, and while there were certainly some surprises at the start, the expected cream is starting to rise to the top, while the expected bottom feeders, with some exceptions, are trending toward the bottom of the pack.

Just because you’ve slipped behind in the Stolen Base category doesn’t mean you can’t catch up. Here are some reasonably available stolen base options.

Orlando Hudson, San Diego Padres

Through Fausto Carmona’s career, he has pitched a few great games, but he’s pitched a lot more ugly ones. The fact is that his team can’t rely on his inconsistency. Carmona needs to realize he has a strong defense backing him up. If he can’t get the strikeout, he needs to let the batter make contact and know that his defense can make the play. He is only one of nine players on the diamond, yet he plays like he’s the only out there.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have started the 2011 season with the losing record going into the last week of April that most observers expected them to have.

And yet, they are a stronger team than other versions who started previous years with winning records in April. That's because Pirate losses so far this year can largely be attributed to "strength of schedule."

After a thrilling series with the Cleveland Indians, the Kansas City Royals traveled to Arlington to take on the Texas Rangers in a three-game series. This is the beginning of a six-game road trip that will end in Cleveland next week.

Game 1 has Jeff Francis on the mound for the boys in blue taking on Derek Holland for the Rangers.

In his first two years in the Major Leagues, Boston Red Sox OF Jacoby Ellsbury hasn’t been a guy who has flashed much power. In 2008 and 2009, Ellsbury hit a combined 17 home runs and had an ISO (isolated power) of .114 each season.

This is the most interesting article I have written to date. I've been asked to write about one of the most arm demanding pitches there is in baseball, and that is the slider. The slider is a pitch that is a double edge sword. On one hand, the best pitchers in baseball, both starters and relievers, utilize this pitch and to some degree, dictates their fame and fortune. It is one of the four pitches that usually dictates a players ability to play at a higher level.

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

Chicago White Sox @ Detroit Tigers

Austin Jackson went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Brennan Boesch went 2-for-4 to raise his average to .348. A.J. Pierzynski went 2-for-4. It was Max Scherzer’s eight shutout innings that told the story though.

Tampa Bay Rays @ Toronto Blue Jays

In baseball, working your way out of the minors can take anywhere from several months to many years. Only the truly elite prospects enjoy limited time in an organization's farm system. The rest, even those who are very talented, go through the critical and necessary building process in the minor leagues before getting a crack at The Show.

Seeing Jose Contreras getting a day off on Friday was not surprising. He is 39 years old and had appeared in four games in five days. According to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (click here for the article), he had thrown 72 pitches over that stretch.