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| Homer Bailey threw 7.1 scoreless innings on Saturday to improve his record to 3-1. He allowed five hits, one walk and struck out three batters. |
Our View: Bailey’s strikeout rate is not great, but his control has significantly improved upon last season when he was pitching for Louisville. He has allowed only four walks in 26.1 innings. With Josh Fogg struggling at the end of the Cincy rotation and Matt Belisle being no guarantee to hold down the fort, Bailey’s next chance in the majors could come soon.
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| Josh Barfield hit a pair of home runs for Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday, his first two home runs of the season. |
Our View: Barfield is only hitting .273-2-6 thus far, hardly showing that he deserves to be back in the majors. He has been a streaky hitter in the past and will surely find his way back at some point, but whether the Indians actually plan on giving him a real opportunity remains to be seen.
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| Jarrod Washburn had his worst game of the year as he allowed four runs in six innings to pick up his third loss. Washburn didn't walk a single Angel on the night, but he did allow 10 hits with only one K. |
Our View: Washburn continues to be a middling starting pitcher who is barely above replacement average in his performance. Honestly, he has no place on a mixed league staff at this point of his career.
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| Vladimir Guerrero had two hits on Saturday night though he failed to produce a run in the loss to the Mariners. |
Our View: Vlad has really started slow hitting just .282 and it certainly doesn't help that he has been bothered by a few bumps and bruises. All along Vlad has said that he doesn't like the DH role, and the numbers back him up as he is hitting just .143 as the DH and .316 as the right fielder.
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| Adrian Beltre hit his third home run of the season on Saturday to provide the Mariners with their only run off Ervin Santana. |
Our View: Beltre is hitting .314 with 10 extra base hits in the early going to help put behind him the thought that his injured wrist would slow him down. It hasn't.
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| Ervin Santana continues to show why he should be a part of the Angels rotation all season as he limited the Mariners to three hits and one run over eight innings to improve to 3-0. |
Our View: Santana walked none and struck out eight on the night as he lowered his ERA to 2.67. Always the possessor of a dynamic arm, Santana has avoided beating himself so far and the results have been spectacular.
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| Chad Qualls extended his scoreless run to start the season to 9.2 innings as he allowed just one hit to pick up his fourth hold. |
Our View: Tony Pena might be second in line for saves behind Brandon Lyon, but no pitcher in the Arizona pen is pithing better than Qualls who has nine K and has allowed just four hits on the season.
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| Chris Young rebounded from his horrible outing last time out to hold the D'backs to just two runs over six innings. Young picked up the no-decision as he allowed three hits and three walks while striking out four. |
Our View: Young's ERA is 4.57, but in three of his four starts he has allowed two or fewer runs. Still, he walked another three batters tonight leaving him with an entirely too high 6.23 BB/9 through 21.2 IP.
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| Brian Giles hit his second home run of the season on Saturday as he knocked in two runs. He also took two walks. |
Our View: Giles continues to get on base at the top of the order for the Padres, but amazingly he has scored only four runs in 15 games as his mates have failed to knock him in.
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| Eric Byrnes extended his hitting streak to 14-games on Saturday as he went 1-for-3 with two RBI and a runs scored for Arizona. |
Our View: Byrnes has always been a strong starter and this year is no different as he is hitting .314 with 15 runs scored. He seems to have found a home in the second spot in the order.
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| Mike Lowell continues to progress well without any setbacks with his injured thumb, this according to MLB.com. "Barring setbacks -- and we're still kind of early into this -- we might be getting into a place where maybe we're a week away from him playing in a game," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "At least we're looking at some timetables." |
Our View: Lowell has been limited to swinging off a tee, but at least it sounds like things are progressing to the point where it's realistic to think that he could return to action by the start of May.
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| Erik Bedard threw a 38-pitch bullpen session on Saturday and reported no issues with his injured hip, this according to MLB.com. "Bedard threw the ball well," manager John McLaren said. "He had good breaking stuff." |
Our View: Bedard will throw another bullpen session on Tuesday and if that also goes well he could be activated to start on Thursday against his former team the Orioles.
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| J.J. Putz threw 41 pitches in a simulated game on Saturday and things went so well that he now hopes to return to the lineup on Tuesday, this according to MLB.com. "I felt good, felt strong and my command was good," he said. "I was able to throw everything for strikes. Now, we'll wait and see how I feel tomorrow and probably make a decision on what to do." |
Our View: This is great news since it was initially feared that he could miss anywhere up to six weeks with the injury. Stay tuned for confirmation of his activation this Tuesday.
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| Felipe Lopez had two hits and a run scored on Saturday night giving him five hits and three runs the past two nights. |
Our View: Lopez has upped his batting average to .275, and given the fact that Ronnie Belliard is only hitting .212 in the early going, Lopez is making a real push to take over the starting job at second base.
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| Mike Jacobs continued his hot start with another three hits and two RBI on Saturday night. |
Our View: Jacobs is now batting .323 with 14 RBI as he has been one of the best #5 hitters in the NL in the early going.
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| Dan Uggla is starting to work his way out of a terrible start to the season as he totaled two hits, a walk and an RBI in four AB. |
Our View: Uggla still is hitting below the Mendoza line at .188, but after back-to-back seasons of at least 27 HR, 88 RBI and 105 runs, you know that the production will eventually show come with Uggla.
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| Making his first start of the season, Shawn Hill threw 85 pitches over five innings as he allowed four runs to the Marlins. Hill permitted eight hits without a single walk on the night as he struck out six. |
Our View: Not a bad first outing at all for a guy who has been dealing with arm issues all year. If reports come back that his arm is no worse for the wear, it would be a good time to add Hill to your staff if you are in a deep mixed league.
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| Kevin Gregg blew the save on Saturday night as he allowed two unearned runs, but the Marlins rebounded to win it in the bottom of the inning to allow Gregg to pick up his second victory. |
Our View: Gregg has already walked five batters in 9.1 innings, and a lot of his struggles can be laid at the feat of that one number. Still, he has a 3.24 ERA and three saves in the early going.
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| Johnny Damon went 0-for-2 on Saturday night and he is now hitting a putrid .197 in 61 AB on the year. |
Our View: Damon does have three SB and nine runs scored which aren't awful totals considering how horrible he has been at the plate, but he needs to get going at the top of the Yankees lineup to help spark the team to some offense.
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| Ramon Hernandez had two hits, two RBI and a run scored from the eight hole on Saturday night. |
Our View: Hernandez has looked lost at the plate in the early going, and even with the hits tonight he is still hitting only .192. He has only four K in 52 AB, so at least he is making contact.
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| Joba Chamberlain returned to the Yankees on Saturday and he needed 19 pitches to strike out two batters in a scoreless inning of work. |
Our View: Chamberlain has eight K and two BB in 6.1 innings on the year, but he hasn't allowed a run as he continues to dominate hitters.
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| Brian Burres held the Yankees scoreless over 5.2 innings to pick up his second victory of the season. Buress permitted five hits and four walks, but he was able to minimize the damage. |
Our View: Buress has acquitted himself fairly well in the early going as he has a 3.63 ERA through four appearances.
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| Ian Kennedy earned his second loss of the season as he allowed five hits, five walks and four runs in just 2.2 innings. |
Our View: Through an eighth of the season, the Yankees don't have a win from either Kennedy or Phil Hughes. Kennedy has thrown 14 innings and allowed 32 baserunners, and that my friends works out to a 2.29 WHIP.
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| Hank Blalock had another three hits on Saturday night to push his average to .339. |
Our View: It's great to see Blalock fight back from his injured back to produce five hits in two nights. Not only will Blalock avoid the DL, he looks to be in mid-season form as well.
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| Jason Jennings pitched a solid game on Saturday as he allowed just two runs over six innings for the Rangers. Jennings earned a no-decision thanks to a blown save by Joaquin Benoit, but he allowed only three hits and two walks on the night. |
Our View: Jennings has just eight K through 20.1 innings, and he has already allowed a massive five home runs on the year. Even with this solid outing, his ERA still sits at 7.08.
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| Joaquin Benoit picked up the loss and his second blown save of the season by allowing three runs in an inning of work on Saturday. |
Our View: Things have not gone as planned in the Rangers pen in the early going as Benoit has posted a 1.97 WHIP over his first 6.1 innings. Benoit's status is slipping in the bullpen hierarchy, and it could fall further with the impending return of Eddie Guardado.
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| Jon Lester lasted 6.1 innings on Saturday allowing 10 hits, two walks and three runs in a no-decision. Lester also had five K and allowed one home run. |
Our View: Lester owns a 5.06 ERA over five starts, and he just hasn't been the pitcher that anyone hoped he would be in the early going thanks to a boatload of walks (17) in 26.2 innings.
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| Manny Ramirez continued to destroy pitchers in the early going as he hit his sixth home run and knocked in his 19th and 20th runs of the season for the Sox. |
Our View: Manny is hitting .342 with all those RBI, and it appears that all the hoopla surrounding his off-season conditioning program wasn't hyperbole.
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| Brad Hawpe had two hits and an RBI in the Rockies victory over the Astros on Saturday. |
Our View: Hawpe is hitting a terrible .208 on the year though he has as many BB (12) as K (12). Look for the average to climb and the run production to follow.
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| Aaron Cook pitched seven strong innings on Saturday night as he held the Astros to two runs, one earned, in his second victory. |
Our View: Cook now owns a very un-Colorado like 3.12 ERA through four starts, but sooner or later the batters will catch up since he just doesn't possess dominating stuff.
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| Michael Bourn stole two bases for the Astros on Saturday to up his season total to 11. |
Our View: Bourn had a hit on the night but he is batting just .224 with an OBP of barely .300. Unless he finds a way to get on base more frequently, it will be almost impossible for him to keep up this pace on the basepaths.
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| J.R. Towles started and played nine innings on Saturday night going 1-for-3 with a solo HR in the Astros loss. |
Our View: Towles continues to be productive when he is on the field as he now has four HR in just 36 AB, but he needs to stay healthy enough for it to matter moving forward.
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| Paul Konerko went 0-for-3 on Saturday night to drop his average to just .172 on the year. DH Jim Thome is also hitting .172. |
Our View: Konerko is coming off a down season last year of .259-30-90, but he has still hit at least 30 HR with 90 RBI in 4-straight seasons so one would figure that a rebound is in the cards for the Sox first baseman.
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| B.J. Upton had three more hits on Saturday night as he also knocked in a run for the Rays. |
Our View: Upton now has 15 hits in his last nine games after a slow start and is poised to challenge the 30/30 ranks this season.
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| Mark Buehrle was pounded for five runs and 12 hits over seven innings by the Rays as he fell to 1-2 on the year. |
Our View: Buehrle entered the game with a 6-1 record in his career against the Rays, but he just doesn't have the stuff to be successful when his control is off. So far this season, it's been mostly off as he has allowed a whopping 35 hits in 22.2 innings.
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| Andy Sonnanstine threw the first complete game of his career on Saturday night against the White Sox as he also hurled his first shutout by limiting the Sox to just three hits and a walk in a 5-0 victory. |
Our View: Sonnanstine lowered his ERA to 5.55 with this outing and will have a hard time being remotely this good next time out when he is schedule to face the Blue Jays.
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| John Lackey through a 40-pitch, simulated game on Saturday and the reports were very positive, this according to MLB.com. "John, the way he threw the ball in the sim game, he's ready stuff-wise to go compete in a game," manager Mike Scioscia said. "We've got him penciled in for two innings, 40 pitches, at [Class A] Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday." |
Our View: The team wants him back up to the 80-85 pitch area before they activate him, so look for Lackey to make about four appearances with Rancho Cucamonga a Single-A squad, as the team doesn't want him pitching in Triple-A Salt Lake City where the weather could be an issue.
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| Wandy Rodriguez was forced from his start on Saturday night after four innings because of a sore left groin, according to the AP. Rodriguez allowed two runs on five hits and three walks before being replaced by Oscar Villarreal. |
Our View: We will update you when more information is available.
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| Derrek Lee hit his seventh home run of the season on Saturday though he was removed in the sixth inning due to a sore neck, this according to the AP. |
Our View: Lee said the issue was minor and that he expects to play on Sunday. Let's hope he does play cause he has been hotter than a skillet on the stove thus far.
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| Nate Robertson is still in line to start on Sunday for the Tigers against the Blue Jays despite persistent issues with his left lat, this according to MLB.com. |
Our View: When throwing fastballs he seems to be fine, but he is still experiencing some issues when throwing his slider. Robertson says it won't be a factor on Sunday, though we are less certain and would recommend going in another direction if you have the option.
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| Yovani Gallardo may or may not start on Sunday as the Brewers still haven't announced who will be on the hill to face the Reds, this according to MLB.com. "We're not prepared to say," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "We'll meet and decide what our options are." |
Our View: David Bush should be the starter as he is on normal rest, but he has been brutal this year and Gallardo seems to have overcome his knee issues. We would guess that it's Gallardo who will get the call, but the fact that the team isn't making it official yet is enough for us to pause.
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| Felipe Lopez, who has been in the lineup the past few days, will also be in the lineup again on Sunday as he attempts to recapture a starting role with the Nationals, this according to MLB.com. "It's good to be back in the lineup," Lopez said. "I think I can do a lot of things to help this team -- like I've done in the past." |
Our View: Lopez stole 24 bases and scored 70 runs last season, so it's not as if he is devoid of talent. He can be a very useful bench player even in mixed leagues, especially since he has already dressed for seven games in the outfield.
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| The Astros will switch their batting order on Saturday, this according to MLB.com. Carlos Lee will now bat fifth behind Miguel Tejada in third and Lance Berkman in the cleanup role. "You might even see a different [lineup] tomorrow," manager Cecil Cooper said. "We wasted too much time. We've got to get this thing turned around soon, because we can't continue to go on like we have been." |
Our View: This move doesn't make a lot of sense. Why take the best OBP bat in your lineup in Berkman, and drop him to fourth in the order? All three bats will produce big numbers by the end of the year no matter where they hit, so don't be overly concerned at this switch.
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| Carlos Pena returned from his sore hamstring on Saturday as the DH, this according to MLB.com. "I don't see anything standing in my way of coming back and playing like I always do," Pena said. "I feel pretty good. So I'm kind of excited that I feel this good." |
Our View: Count on Pena to continue to provide the long ball, though he certainly has some work to do at the plate with just a .179 average.
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| In a less than shocking announcement, the Nationals will continue to use Jon Rauch as their close until Chad Cordero proves his shoulder is healthy, this according to MLB.com. Cordero will only be used in certain spot situations as he tries to regain the eight mph he has lost off his fastball. |
Our View: Cordero should be reserved immediately, and hopefully those of you who rostered him also handcuffed him with Rauch who could emerge as the team's closer even when Cordero is healthy.
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| Bob Howry has really struggled in the early going, but he think he is close to returning to his old dominating ways, this according to MLB.com. "If you're throwing 89 or 90 [mph], you can't throw it down the middle of the plate and expect it not to get hit," he said. "If you're feeling good and throwing 95 [mph], you can get away with a few pitches like that." |
Our View: Howry is nothing more than the third option in the pen anyways, but after two great seasons in Chicago his poor start has gotten a lot of people concerned. Howry doesn't need to be owned at this point, but keep an eye on how things play out in that Cubs pen cause Howry could be relevant in a hurry.
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| Huston Street earned his fifth save on Saturday though he did allow a run on two hits. |
Our View: Stree has appeared in eight games this season, and he has been scored upon in four of those outings leading to a 5.79 ERA. His arm appears sound, and reports are positive, but he just hasn't been making his pitch at some important times.
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| Zack Greinke allowed eight hits and four walks in just five innings on Saturday, but he limited the A's to three runs (two earned) in a no decision. |
Our View: Greinke battled all day and was able to wiggle out of a couple of jams on his way to six strikeouts. The guy owns a 1.24 ERA after four starts, so we can certainly overlook today's bout of wildness.
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| It only took Jose Guillen 18 games to hit his first home run as he went deep in a 2-for-4 effort on Saturday. Guillen also scored two runs and knocked in three. |
Our View: Guillen has really struggled to get going so hopefully today's effort can be used as a spring board to the type of production we have grown accustomed to with Guillen.
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| David DeJesus had two hits on Saturday and is now batting .429 in 14 AB on the year. |
Our View: DeJesus keeps hurting himself, but he has been hitting when he has been in the lineup. Even with the SB speed of Joey Gathright, it is clear that the Royals would prefer DeJesus to be in the lineup every day as the leadoff hitter.
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| Ryan Sweeney had two hits and two RBI for the A's on Saturday and now has five hits, two runs and two RBI in his last two games. |
Our View: Sweeney is hitting .325 and is starting to establish himself as a force on offense. Now all he has to do is to stay healthy to keep himself in the lineup to give himself a lot of value in AL Only leagues.
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| Daric Barton had three hits with two runs scored and an RBI on Saturday for the A's. |
Our View: Barton struck out twice on the day and now has 19 K in 19 games on the year. He is still working the count with 15 BB, but he has struggled to put the bat on the ball more than most assumed he would. Still, he's hitting .271 with an OBP of around .400 so he is doing fine.
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| Pedro Feliz continues to struggle in his first year in Philadelphia as he went 0-for-2 to fall to .203. |
Our View: Feliz did walk twice on Saturday, he now has six on the year, but unless he starts hitting soon he could lose time to Greg Dobbs who did a solid job filling in at third base last season.
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| Chase Utley socked his sixth long ball of the season on Saturday as he upped his average to .324 thanks to two hits. |
Our View: Utley is, simply put, the best hitting second baseman in the game.
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| Jamie Moyer lasted six innings, and though he was saddled with the loss, he didn't pitch badly allowing just two runs on seven hits and a walk. |
Our View: When his control is on Moyer can still put up a lot of zeros, though of course his days as a top-flight hurler are long gone. Moyer has only seven K in 20.2 innings, so his value is limited mostly to W's at this point.
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| Oliver Perez pitched 5.2 up and down innings on Saturday, but he held the Phillies scoreless to pick up his second win of the season. Perez struck out seven, but walked five on the day. |
Our View: Perez can dominate and strike out 10 at any time, but he can also walk half the batters he faces. Today was a little of both, but the fact that he pitched through it against a touch Phillies squad is a great sign that Perez is ready to make some serious noise this year.
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| David Wright had two hits and two RBI to raise his average to .344 on the season. |
Our View: Wright now has 19 RBI in just 16 games, and he appears intent on justifying his top-5 fantasy selection. So far, so good.
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| Jose Reyes had two hits, two runs, two RBI and a SB on Saturday for the Mets. One of the two hits was a double, the other his second home run. |
Our View: So much for Reyes struggling. He looked great today and seemed to have some of the old spring back in his step. He's good to go in all weekly leagues.
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| Mark Teixeira had two hits and two RBI on Saturday for the Braves. |
Our View: Teixeira now has hits in four straight games to raise his average from .204 to .221 which only means that a whole lot of big-time hitting is coming down the pipe for this big-time slugger.
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| Manny Acosta picked up the first save of his young career in the Braves 4-1 victory over the Dodgers. |
Our View: Blaine Boyer worked the 8th without incident, and Acosta came in to shut the door for the Braves. If he hasn't already been grabbed in your league, now is the time to pounce on Acosta, and Boyer makes a nice pickup in NL Only leagues as he appears to be second in line for saves in the depleted Braves pen.
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| Chad Billingsley dominated the Braves for four innings before falling apart in the fifth inning when he allowed four runs to pick up the loss. All told, Billingsley allowed six hits and five walks, though he did strikeout nine batters. |
Our View: As if often the case with Billingsley, he cruises along for a while and then just loses all control of the strike zone. He continues to have a very high ceiling, but he also comes with some risk as can bee seen by his 0-3 record and 6.14 ERA on the season.
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| Chuck James had a much more successful outing in his second start as he held the Dodgers to just one run over five innings to pick up the win. James allowed four hits and a walk, while striking out two, in the victory. |
Our View: James has had a rough start to the year dealing with injury, and he has also continued to be plagued by the longball (two in two starts this season). If he doesn't cut down on the home runs, there isn't much reason to expect an improvement on last seasons numbers (4.24 ERA, 1.38 WHIP).
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| Andruw Jones, following in the footsteps of Prince Fielder, broke a long homerless drought on Saturday as Jones hit his first home run in a Dodgers uniform in his 55th AB. |
Our View: Jones also walked twice on the day but he is still hitting a sickly .182 with just three RBI, hardly the type of production the Braves thought they would get when they signed him this off-season.
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| Curtis Granderson will not join the Tigers on Monday for their final game in Toronto, this according to the Detroit News. "I would expect to see him playing for the Tigers next week at some point. How early in the week? I don't know," manager Jim Leyland said. |
Our View: Granderson is clearly closing in on a return to the top of the Tigers order, but the team wants to give him a few more games to allow him to regain his timing.
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| Ryan Garko went 2-for-3 on Saturday to lift his average to .317. |
Our View: Garko has 11 RBI on the year and has a hit in 10 of his last 11 games this season for the Tribe.
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| Justin Morneau hit his fifth home run of the season on Saturday as he had two hits and two RBI for the Twins. |
Our View: Morneau upped his average to .258 on the year and he has done a solid job of controlling the strike zone with 10 K and nine BB on the year, so there is a solid reason to hope for continued growth in the batting average category.
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| Joe Nathan just keeps right on keeping on as he picked up his sixth save of the season on Saturday thanks to a perfect ninth inning. |
Our View: Nathan has five K and zero BB in seven innings this season during which time he has allowed no runs for the Twins. Still a top-5 option at the closers spot, Nathan is off to another hot start.
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| Jake Westbrook had another solid outing on Saturday allowing three runs in seven innings, but he fell to 1-2 thanks to continued poor offensive support. |
Our View: Through four starts Westbrook has four quality starts with a 2.73 ERA, yet he has only one win to show for it thanks to less than timely hitting by his mates when he is on the hill.
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| Nick Blackburn dominated the Twins for 7.2 innings on Sunday as he allowed eight hits and no runs to pickup his first major league victory. |
Our View: Blackburn now has a 2.49 ERA through four starts for the Twins in a simply superb start to the season. How has he been succeeding? He is throwing strikes as he has only three walks in 25.1 IP on the year.
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| Travis Hafner went 0-for-4 on Saturday, and due to his sore shoulder he will likely be out of the lineup on Sunday, this according to the AP. |
Our View: The Indians also have Monday off, so sitting out Sunday will give him two days to rest his ailing wing, something he could use considering he is hitting only .227 in the early going.
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| Shawn Camp is expected to join the Blue Jays bullpen on Saturday after being recalled to the majors from Triple-A Syracuse, this according to | |
