It was hard to focus on baseball with the NFL Draft in full swing, but here is this week's edition of the fearless forecast. It may not seem as exciting as the 20-run, 25-hit whooping the Brewers put on the Pirates on Thursday at PNC Park, but it's much more exciting than Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Ted Lilly's 70-mph floaters that only irritate opposing batters and defy the term "fastball."
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 into your lineup.
Twins starter Kevin Slowey -- Slowey has a combined eight victories and 61 strikeouts in 75.2 innings against the Royals and Indians in his career. Lock him in to your lineup this week.
Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo -- Gallardo struck out 10 batters in five innings Wednesday against the Pirates. He has the Pirates again, this time at home, and will be pitching in pitcher-friendly Petco Park to finish out the week.
Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin -- Franklin and the Cardinals have seven games this week, all at home against two teams who have team batting averages under .250 through the first 15 games.
Blue Jays closer Kevin Gregg -- Gregg should have a productive fourth week as both Boston and Oakland will be coming to town; two teams that have not only struggled to produce runs, but two teams he has owned in the past. Gregg has a 0.00 career earned run average against the Red Sox and a 2.38 ERA against the Athletics.
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.
Phillies starter Roy Halladay -- I know Halladay is perhaps the hottest starting pitcher right now, but he will be on the road across the country against a Giants squad that has touched him for 10 earned runs in 11.2 career innings.
Reds starter Aaron Harang -- Harang has been one of the bigger disappointments to start the season, and it won't get any easier for the Reds starter on the road against an Astros team that is starting to score runs and a Cardinals squad that features plenty of power.
Royals closer Joakim Soria -- Soria has had a decent start, but this week the Royals will face a couple of good offenses, especially at the back half of the week when they visit the Rays, who are 12-4 and lead the American League with 93 runs scored through 16 games.
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.
Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder -- Fielder is finally finding his power swing, and should stay hot this week against Pittsburgh and San Diego; two teams the slugger has a combined 20 homers against in his career.
White sox outfielder Alex Rios -- Rios has been steady, but hasn't broken into a hot streak yet. Last season in just 70 at-bats against the Rangers and Yankees --- the White Sox opponents this week --- Rios batted .286 and .310 with three homers and 16 runs driven in.
Reds outfielder Jay Bruce -- Bruce is finally finding some rhythm, and this week will face two National League Central opponents whom he torched last season for eight combined home runs and 21 RBI in just 85 at-bats.
Calling George Brett
These players will have to pack their lumber with cork if they want any chance of producing solid numbers this week.
Mets outfielder Jason Bay -- Heading into Friday's action, Bay was hitting .224 with a goose egg in the homer column coupled with 23 strikeouts. The Mets have the Dodgers and the Phillies on the schedule, two clubs that have good pitching.
Athletics catcher Kurt Suzuki -- Suzuki has warmed up a bit, but this week against the Blue Jays and Rays he should cool off again. The Blue Jays will start their new ace Ricky Romero in game one and have two additional starting pitchers with earned run averages under four, and three relievers boasting a 1.17 ERA or lower. The Rays have 10 pitchers with ERAs under four, which includes all five starters whom all have the stuff to be lights out pitchers.
Taming "The Beast"
Due to injury, these players will get their shot at proving they're valuable pieces.
Dodgers outfielders Reed Johnson/Garret Anderson -- With Manny Ramirez placed on the disabled with a right calf strain, Johnson and Anderson will see more time in a platoon situation in left field. Anderson started on Friday against the Nationals, but went 0 for 4 and has a .167 batting average, while Johnson sits at .280 on the season.
Colder than the Bad News Bears
Here are a few players who are making Walter Matthau's crew seem like all-stars.
Angels third baseman Brandon Wood -- It's funny, because Wood's lumber has been completely dull thus far in 2010. He has just four hits in 46 at-bats. Maybe this week he can get back on track against Cleveland and Detroit.
Orioles outfielder Nick Markakis - Markakis' .259 batting average isn't bad, but his zero homers and two runs batted in are not good enough numbers for a talented outfielder like him.
Phillies outfielder Raul Ibanez -- Ibanez is coming off a huge 34 homer 2009 season, but has yet to record a long ball this season. As of Saturday, he is batting .200 with seven runs scored and seven batted in.
Twins outfielder/designated hitter Jason Kubel -- Kubel has been ice cold. He has just two hits in his last 26 at-bats heading in to Saturday's action. Like Wood, he will get a chance to get back on track against the Tigers and Indians.
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.
Mets starter Mike Pelfrey -- Pelfrey has allowed no runners to cross home plate in his last two starts, and has struck out 12 batters in his last 14 innings.
Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun -- From April 15th through the 21st Braun went 12 for 24 with two homers and seven runs batted in. He is currently batting .391 with five homeruns and 20 RBI.
Diamondbacks third baseman Mark Reynolds -- In his last four starts Reynolds has hit three home runs, and has driven in nine. This week Arizona has seven games on the schedule, four of which are in daylight. Reynolds is batting .357 during day games this season, but .223 in his career.
Mariners outfielder Franklin Gutierrez -- In his last eight games dating back to April 14, Gutierrez has recorded four multi-hit games, and Seattle as a team has gone 6-2 during that stretch.
Angels starting pitcher Jared Weaver -- In his last two starts (April 16 and 21) Weaver has allowed two earned runs in each and has struck out a total of 14 batters in 14 innings. Weaver leads the American League with 27 strikeouts.
Roger Bomman's Binoculars Say.....
(These 15 players are must starts this week)
Felix Hernandez
Josh Johnson
Chone Figgins
Chase Headley
Elvis Andrus
Roy Halladay
Mark Teixeira
Carlos Lee
Carlos Silva
David Freese
Adam Dunn
Alcides Escobar
Scott Sizemore
Torii Hunter
Ian Stewart
Final Thoughts
Fantasy owners who own either Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier may be in for a bump in the road until Manny Ramirez returns to the lineup. Before Manny found himself on the disabled list, he was hitting fourth in the Dodgers lineup with a .415 average. Both Kemp and Ethier batted directly in front of him. Now, without the protection of one of the best hitters in the game Ethier and Kemp will struggle as opposing pitchers won't be forced to give them the good pitches they can drive.
Through his first 13 games, Ethier was hitting .388 with five long-balls, 16 runs driven in, and nine runs scored. Through his first 15 games Kemp was hitting .333 with seven homers, 20 runs batted in, and 20 home plate crossings. Friday against Washington, both Ethier and Kemp combined to go 1 for 8 with James Loney batting directly behind them. It just goes to show you how important Manny is to the Dodgers lineup, even when he's not at full strength. For the record, the Dodgers were averaging 7.5 runs per game. I suspect that average will go down.
