Former Reds and Tigers manager Sparky Anderson once said, "I only had a high school education and believe me, I had to cheat to get that." Now it's time for you to cheat to get your fantasy baseball education for the upcoming week. Don't worry, all of your league mates have just as much access to articles like this one, so you're not alone.
The fearless forecast is here, and you're on the verge of having a winning week. You'll just have to deal with your cheating conscious later.
Henry Rowengartner's Encore
These flame-throwers won't need to break their arms to post solid fantasy numbers this week. Make sure you lock them in to your lineup.
Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright -- Wainwright has two starts this week. The first will be against the New York Mets at home, where he posted a 2.05 earned run average in 2009. The second is against the San Francisco Giants, against whom he averaged eight innings per start against last season.
Blue Jays starter Ricky Romero -- Romero flirted with a no-no earlier this week, is perhaps the hottest American League pitcher at the moment and will start two games -- including one against a Rays lineup that has a tendency to strikeout a lot.
Padres closer Heath Bell -- Bell has been lights out against all three teams the Padres will play this week, including the Giants (six saves, 1.57 career ERA).
Rick Vaughn -- The Wild Thing
Look out for these pitchers, as they have the potential to be good starts, but will ultimately be a little too erratic for proper fantasy etiquette.
White Sox starter Gavin Floyd -- Floyd allowed a combined 20 runs in 34 innings pitched against his two opponents this week -- Cleveland and Seattle -- last season. Plus, in his first two starts Floyd has allowed opposing batters to hit .292 against him.
Twins starter Carl Pavano -- Yes, Pavano has been red hot to start the season, but he'll start two games against a Royals team for which he went 4-3 with a 6.59 earned run average last season.
Marlins closer Leo Nunez -- Florida will be on the road the entire week, and Nunez has a career 5.55 earned run average on the road. Plus, with games against the Phillies and Rockies scheduled he may not get too many opportunities to close out games anyways.
The Boppin' Bambinos
Here are a few fantasy players who by Italian standards are not little, and will be swinging for the fences like the great one this week.
Royals outfielder Jose Guillen -- The Royals will be road trippin' to start the week, and Guillen has a slugging average of 1.308 and an on-base percentage of .600 while playing on the road this season. He's also one of hottest tickets in fantasy right now, as he has reached base in all but one game thus far.
Giants third/first baseman Pablo Sandoval -- Sandoval has hit safely in all but one game, but yet has to find his power stroke. In his career against the Dodgers and Padres -- the Giants two opponents to start the week -- Sandoval is a .300+ hitter, and has a combined six homers.
Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore -- Sizemore has had a lot of success against the likes of Minnesota and Oakland in his career and is due for a power surge, as his fantasy owners currently haven't seen one go over the fence yet this season.
Cardinals outfielder Ryan Ludwick -- Week 3 will be a great week to have Ludwick in your lineup. The Cardinals will be out west matched up against the Diamondbacks and Giants; two teams Ludwick has a combined six homers and 24 runs batted in against in 111 at-bats. Don't be surprised if he has at least one multi-homer game.
Calling George Brett
These players will have to pack their lumber with cork if they want any chance of producing solid numbers this week.
Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira -- With a .091 batting average, and no homers you would think that this could be his week to finally break out. However, the Yankees will be traveling across the United States this week to play Oakland and Los Angeles (Angels). homers Teixeira is 0 for 9 against the Angels this season and was 9 for 40 in 2009. He also batted .272 with 15 homers while on the road last season, compared to his .312 average and 24 homers at home.
Mets outfielder Jeff Francoeur -- Yes, I do realize that the Mets have seven games scheduled next week, but just one will be against a left-handed pitcher. Why is this important? For the season, Francoeur has 14 hits in 32 at-bats, but has seven in 11 at-bats against lefties. You do the math. Plus, it's time for him to cool down a bit anyways.
Taming "The Beast"
Due to injury these players will get their shot at proving they're valuable pieces.
Phillies shortstop Juan Castro -- With Jimmy Rollins possibly out for a month, Castro assumes the starting spot in the middle of the infield. He's a lifetime .230 hitter, but does have some pop in his swing.
Colder than the Bad News Bears
Here are a few players who are making Walter Matthau's crew seem like all-stars.
Nationals first baseman Adam Dunn -- Dunn did finally hit his first homer on Thursday, but his .185 batting average and two RBI are not exactly what fantasy owners probably had in mind to start the season.
Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder -- Yes, the big man is batting .300, but most fantasy owners didn't draft him as an average first hitter. Fielder has yet to dazzle with a longball and has driven in just two runs.
Astros outfielder Carlos Lee -- Lee has yet to homer or drive in a run, and is batting a horrid .086. With no Lance Berkman in the lineup, it's no wonder the Astros are 1-8.
White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez -- Ugh. Ramirez is batting .138 and has no homers, no RBI, and no walks. Clearly he needs to become a more patient hitter if he wants to get back on track.
Hotter than Dottie Hinson
Here are a few players that are making Dottie look more like Courtney Love, Donatella Versace, and maybe even teammate Doris Murphy (Rosie O'Donnell) all wrapped in one.
Rangers starting pitcher Colby Lewis -- Lewis is 2-0 with an earned run average of 2.19 to start the season, and against his next opponent -- the Boston Red Sox -- he has a lifetime 1.93 ERA.
Marlins third baseman Jorge Cantu -- He doesn't exactly have a great batting average (.297), but Cantu has recorded at least one hit in every game and is tied with Albert Pujols in the National League RBI race with 15.
Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco -- Matt Vasgersian calls this guy "The Famous Tenor." Heading in to Friday, Polanco has 19 hits in 40 at-bats, and has scored a league high 13 runs.
Royals outfielder Scott Podsednik -- Podsednik is having a monstrous start to his season, as he's currently batting .457, and has stolen six bases in nine games.
Roger Bomman's Binoculars Say.....
These 15 players are must starts this week:
- Ryan Braun
- Garrett Jones
- Roy Halladay
- Matt Cain
- Mike Fontenot
- Billy Butler
- Francisco Liriano
- Brad Penny
- Chris Coghlan
- Placido Polanco
- Troy Tulowitzki
- Daric Barton
- Brandon Phillips
- Matt Garza
- Albert Pujols
Final Thoughts
The Oakland Athletics amaze me. They're 7-4, their top power is coming from shortstop Cliff Pennington, who has a team high two homers, and their ace starting pitcher is the oft-injured Ben Sheets, who is also the only player on the team who was actually bought at a high price. The best part is Sheets isn't even their best pitcher. The worst part is that I don't know who is.
They have two young tossers directly behind Sheets who have unbelievable stuff and have allowed a combined four earned runs in four games. Brett Anderson leads the way with a 0.00 earned run average, as he has yet to allow an opposing runner to cross home plate yet this season. And southpaw Dallas Braden leads the charge with 12 strikeouts. Beyond those two and Sheets are Justin Duchscherer and Gio Gonzalez who have the potential to be just as good as the A's top three if they can stay injury free and keep their walk numbers down.
The bottom line here is that Oakland is going to live and die with pitching, especially their starting rotation. And if all the pieces, especially Sheets and Duchscherer, can stay healthy, they will be a force and possibly the best team in the American League West this season, even without a good hitting and power-filled lineup.
