Don't Worry It's Still Early

Week one is now over. It’s been a week of ups and downs, and a lot of bad weather. It’s also been a bad week for the first round picks. Only a handful of the top 10 to 12 players taken in drafts have really showed up leaving the other half of the owners in leagues concerned. In the league I am in, of the top 30 hitters, only 4 first round picks made the top 30. Pitching is also interesting to look at as guys like Jason Frasor have outscored some of the top starters in the league as well. My answer to you is not to panic, there is a reason why they are all first round picks, and believe me they will all turn around in week 2. Guys like Jose Reyes, A-Rod, Miguel Cabrera, Johan Santana, and Vladimir Guerrerro all seem to be doing their part as first round picks. However, the teams who took Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Alfonso Soriano, David Ortiz, Albert Pujols, Carlos Beltran and Travis Hafner all seem to be wondering what is going on. Albert Pujols is the best hitter in baseball and all of fantasy, he will turn it up. Travis Hafner only played three games this week and never got a real chance to get rolling. Ryan Howard and Chase Utley will get started together, when the Phillies get hot you know these two are in the thick of it. Beltran and Soriano are five tool players and are struggling a little early, don’t get worried these are 40-40 threats every year. All in all it is always tough to go by what happens in the first week. We would all like to get off to a good start in our leagues, however, we all can’t. Rest assure, it is only week 1 and there is no reason to get worried, all of these first round picks deserve to be there. They are the anchors of fantasy team around the country and they will produce.


Who are the guys you should be looking at? Guys like Casey Kotchman, Akinori Iwamura, and Chris B. Young, are all guys that are currently top 30 hitters. One of these might be this year’s Chris Shelton so it might be a good idea to grab one of these players and ride out this hot streak. A spotlight should also be put on the efforts of Salomon Torres this week. Four saves for the Pirates who have got off to a surprising start in a division that anyone can win.
Curtis Granderson is also not a typical top 30 outfielder in fantasy, but he hit two homeruns this week, including a grand slam. Nick Markakis has also had a breakout week in fantasy, and I wouldn’t expect a sophomore slump. Ian Kinsler also fits the category that Markakis is in.


Looking Ahead: The Rangers play the D-rays this week, so I would expect the slow starts of Teixeira and Young to end right there. Rays’ starting pitching is good, but the bullpen has struggled and there doesn’t seem to be an answer coming soon.
There is also an exciting series between the Diamondbacks and the Reds starting on Monday. Two young teams with something to prove will be great to watch. The Yankees always seem to have the Twins’ number in April, and I would think that this run of starters not getting out of the fifth inning will end on Monday. These two are division contenders which will be interesting to watch as well. Speaking of division contenders, the Phillies and the Mets square off for the first time this year. (If you haven’t started Pat Burrell yet, now would be a good time to put him in. He has dominated the Mets.) As far as international baseball is concerned, Ichiro Suzuki will face Daisuke Matsuzaka for the first time in the Major’s here in America. That’s a wrap up of week one. Don’t feel down if you lost, there’s still a load of baseball left to be played. That’s if the weather doesn’t hurt us again. Good luck everyone!