I’ve been spending all of my FBJ (that’s Fantasy Baseball Journal) time on my 15-team, 5X5 mixed weekly transaction league so far, but I received a trade in the 13-team, 6X6 mixed daily transaction league I need to breakdown and decide what to do with.

The trade offer came from Eno over at Fantasy Lounge and FanGraphs, who from what I can tell lives and breathes fantasy baseball, so although his team is off to a rough start in this league, I need to be on my toes with this one. The offer is:

Eno’s note to me accompanying the trade is, “Facing a roster crunch with Lilly coming back.” Right, but I think I am too since I dropped Aaron Harang to pull Brian Fuentes off of the DL. I still have George Sherrill, who I’d be happy to drop but I still need someone to help me with Holds.

I spoke with Rick before about David Price, in which I indicated I thought he was a good upside pick for this season, and Rick still felt (more or less) he was a year away. His reasoning was that sometimes a pitcher in Price’s position will come in, do well early until hitters figure him out a little. That leads to a downtick adjustment period, after which the guy either has it, or he doesn’t.

I more or less agree with that, not only with pitchers, but young players in lots of sports. It is probably more pronounced in baseball though where the man-vs.-man, pitcher-vs.-hitter battle prevents players from, using a hockey phrase, “being a passenger”, essentially going along for the ride allowing team mates to compensate and cover up the player’s deficiencies.

In baseball, the pitcher and hitter are on an island. Players can adjust facing a particular individual, and performances are more easily identifiable as the individual player is doing well or struggling.

So, while I do agree with Rick that Price could be in line for a correction—a.k.a., he’s currently overvalued for fantasy—is now the time to give him up? It is still early, and because it is early and he hasn’t really proven anything so far in his career to support this production, people can and will target him from you using otherwise middle level veteran players, also known as players without a lot of pizzazz.

How do they justify that? Well, what has he proven to justify more in a trade? What indeed.

It is a tough spot to be in. You can’t sell him for what you think is appropriate value, but at the same time, you think he will probably lose value if you hold him.

Ultimately, after getting Rick’s second opinion, I decided to hang on to Price. He’s been really hot, and unless you are blown away with an offer, I don’t want to sell him and watch him continue down the same path of dominance all the while expecting him to maybe fall off a bit… sometime… maybe.

I guess the old adage applies here too. If you are giving up the best single player in the deal, then you are probably on the wrong end of the deal. It happens a lot that you just can’t get enough in return to justify trading away a player with premium qualities.

Quality over quantity will get you closer to winning a fantasy championship many more times than not.

The NFL rookie draft generally produces a few solid fantasy performers each year but it also has a big impact on veteran players. Dynasty league keepers can lose their value in a hurry if the draft is used to bring competition in at their position.

This year, there were some major surprises in the draft with some teams ignoring major needs and others loading up on certain positions unexpectedly. The Bills chose to ignore the quarterback position while the 49ers loaded up along the offensive line which has to make Frank Gore owners a happy bunch.

There’s one team that is heavily represented here and if you guessed it’s because their general manager ignored his team’s obvious needs, you hit the nail on the head.

Winners

Frank Gore, RB, San Francisco—Not only did the 49ers address the right tackle position with the addition of Anthony Davis, they went one step further and added guard Mike Iupati. Gore’s fantasy prognosis was looking good but now it’s looking even better. Put him down as your fifth rated running back.

Jason Campbell, QB, Oakland—Campbell was going to sit behind Donovan McNabb in Washington and his trade to the Raiders will likely result in him starting in Oakland with JaMarcus Russell likely being released, possibly this week.

While all Raiders offensive players are justifiably viewed with scepticism by fantasy footballers, it’s worth noting that Bruce Gradkowski averaged 21.5 points per game during the three starts that he played the entire game and Charlie Frye had a nice game and a half run before inexplicably getting yanked at halftime of the Ravens game during Week 17. Just saying it’s worth filing away. Campbell could surprise.

Trent Edwards, QB, Buffalo—Edwards lucks out with Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey being the only two people on the face of the earth not agreeing that the Bills need an upgrade at quarterback. Unless, of course, a seventh round pick can be expected to contribute right away. Remarkable.

Pierre Thomas, RB, New Orleans—The Saints never got around to taking a running back like many had thought they would so Thomas is entrenched as the starter with Lynell Hamilton likely spelling him and maybe getting some of the goal-line work.

LenDale White, RB, Seattle—Rather than fight for scraps behind Chris Johnson, White gets reunited with his former college coach Pete Carroll with the Seahawks. He will likely get the early down and goal line work with Justin Forsett handling the receiving role until Leon Washington is healthy.

Mike Wallace, WR, Pittsburgh—The Steelers waited until the third round to take a wide receiver, settling on Emmanuel Sanders who doesn’t have the size to play outside. Translation—Wallace doesn’t have any competition for his starting spot.

David Garrard, QB, Jacksonville—We keep hearing about how Garrard’s not good enough to win with, but the Jaguars would rather draft defensive tackles that most people haven’t heard of. To each their own.

Michael Jenkins, WR, Atlanta—Jenkins hasn’t done much of anything and yet the Falcons never seem too interested in replacing him. Fifth round pick Kerry Meier is a possession receiver who is likely better suited to backup duty.

Mohamed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie, WR, Cleveland—Massaquoi was decent last year while Robiskie was a disaster. However, the Browns failed to acquire any veterans through free agency and then waited until the sixth round to take Carlton Mitchell from South Florida. Of course, they still have Jake Delhomme chucking it in 2010 so even though Massaquoi and Robiskie are “winners” for this article, all Browns receivers should be avoided.

James Hardy and Steve Johnson, WR, Buffalo—Despite the fact these two players have combined for 22 receptions, 208 yards and four touchdowns in two years, the Bills didn’t draft a wide receiver until the fourth round when they took Marcus Easley. Of course, they still have Trent Edwards chucking it in 2010 so all Bills receivers except Lee Evans should be avoided. The Bills-Browns don’t entirely understand the whole NFL is a copycat league concept.

Losers

Fred Jackson, RB, Buffalo—Gailey to Nix: “Let’s check out the offensive depth chart. No quarterback, no left tackle, no second receiver, a veteran retread at right tackle and two solid running backs in Jackson and Marshawn Lynch.” Nix: “Okay, let’s draft C.J. Spiller.” The wheels on the bus go round and round, all the live long day…

Roy Williams, WR, Dallas—The Cowboys give up a first, a third and a sixth to get Williams and then draft Dez Bryant in the first round. So, their number two wide receiver will end up costing two firsts, a third and a sixth. Sound decision-making. Unless Williams is traded, he isn’t worth owning long-term in fantasy leagues.

Steve Slaton, RB, Houston—The Texans were expected to take a running back in the draft but Slaton owners were hoping it was a lower round selection without the pedigree of Ben Tate. No such luck.

Kevin Smith, RB, Detroit—With Smith coming off a late season torn ACL and the Lions not enamored with his big play ability, the pre-draft line was that they would look to acquire a scatback in the mid-rounds. Unfortunately for Smith, they decided to trade into the back end of the first round in order to select Jahvid Best, who would have been taken much higher if he didn’t have injury concerns.

Jerome Harrison, RB, Cleveland—I was never sold on Harrison and the Browns weren’t either, hence the trade up in the second round to acquire Montario Hardesty. Let others take the veteran in your fantasy drafts while you use a late round pick on Hardesty.

Matt Moore, QB, Carolina—The Panthers told anybody who would listen they were comfortable with Moore as their starter. Then they went out and drafted not one, but two quarterbacks in the draft adding Jimmy Clausen and Tony Pike.

Julius Jones, RB, Seattle—With LenDale White and Leon Washington joining the depth chart and Justin Forsett earning a minimum salary, there’s no reason for the Seahawks to keep Jones and his bloated contract on the roster.

Darren Sproles, RB, San Diego—Sure, he’s a loser with the addition of Ryan Mathews but the addition of a running back in the draft came as no surprise.

Jabar Gaffney and Brandon Stokley, WR, Denver—Demaryius Williams and Eric Decker were added in the draft and head coach Josh McDaniels has said Eddie Royal will have an increased role in 2010. One of these guys is likely to be cut with the other relegated to keeping a seat warm for the younger guys.

The NFL Draft is over and it’s time to turn our fantasy football focus to the impact the rookies will have in 2010 and beyond. With dynasty leagues growing in popularity, several leagues have rookie-only drafts.

Let’s mock it up with a three round, 10 team version. In general, rookies don’t have a huge impact in fantasy leagues in their first year, and even considering that, this is a lacklustre rookie draft from a fantasy perspective.

Most of the running backs will enter committees and the wide receivers are raw, have personal issues or are entering bad situations. There are no stud tight ends and the only quarterback guaranteed to start will do so for the St. Louis Rams, the worst team in the league.

Add it all up, and it might be worth moving your picks for veteran fantasy help, other than if you own the first pick, that is.

A future article will focus on veteran winners and losers from the NFL Draft, including Fred Jackson and Roy Williams.

Round 1

1. Ryan Mathews, RB, Chargers—Mathews will start on opening day in the Chargers high powered offense and Darren Sproles will serve as the pass catching, change of pace option. Look for 15-20 touches a game, giving Mathews RB2 status with upside.

2. C.J. Spiller, RB, Buffalo—Topped 200 touches only once in college and Fred Jackson isn’t chopped liver so expect RBBC in Buffalo. He’s going to need touchdowns to hit RB2 status but that’s wishful thinking with Trent Edwards at quarterback. He’s a backup, but admittedly with upside, in 2010.

3. Ben Tate, Houston— Texans get their running back to compliment Steve Slaton but perhaps not to supplant him. The Texans’ offense is loaded and he will be the goal line back. That’s why he’s here.

4. Jahvid Best, RB, Detroit—Either Kevin Smith isn’t ready on opening day or he struggles from his injury recovery so Best will get opportunities early. Unfortunately, Smith is a starting calibre back best suited to early down work and Best seems to fit best as the third down guy.

5. Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas—Has a chance to supplant Roy Williams this year and, barring any issues, will almost certainly be starting in 2011. Huge upside in a solid Cowboys offense.

6. Montario Hardesty, Cleveland—Jerome Harrison did nothing for three years and then put up 150 fantasy points last year with 89 coming in three games against the Chiefs, Raiders and Jaguars. Hardesty’s going to challenge and nobody should be surprised he beats out Harrison.

7. Golden Tate, WR, Seattle—Great situation for Tate with T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Deion Branch aging and Seattle in rebuilding mode. Tate could be starting on opening day.

8. Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver—He’s going to start but might be catching passes from Tim Tebow by midseason and in future years. Sorry—I’m not that excited.

9. Rolando McClain, ILB, Oakland—Tackle machine and the top IDP player in the draft. Road to the starting line-up was cleared with the trade of Kirk Morrison to the Jaguars. Doesn’t have Patrick Willis potential in IDP leagues but he isn’t far off.

10. Arrelious Benn, WR, Tampa Bay—With Josh Freeman entering his second year, Benn won’t be a starting calibre fantasy starter this year but has upside in 2011.

Round 2

1. Sam Bradford, QB, St. Louis—Don’t expect much in 2010 but he’s the only quarterback in the draft likely to start next year. The Rams’ receivers offer potential but remain raw.

2. Toby Gerhart, RB, Vikings—Tough to slot him in. If Adrian Peterson gets hurt, he’s gold. Otherwise, he’s 4-6 touches a game at most. It’s like the lottery—at $2 a ticket, I’m in. At $10, forget about it. This spot seems about right.

3. James Starks, RB, Green Bay—Measures and collegiate production don’t jump out at you but Ryan Grant’s backups to date have been a bust and it’s not likely Grant is overly talented himself. Plus, the Packers offense is great which makes Starks worth the gamble.

4. Brandon LaFell, WR, Carolina—Steve Smith isn’t getting any younger and Dwayne Jarrett isn’t getting any better.

5. Daryl Washington, ILB, Arizona—Cardinals take Washington to replace Dansby and he will likely start from day one. He could be a tackle machine in the Cardinals defensive scheme.

6. Jermaine Gresham, TE, Cincinnati—A solid prospect who might catch enough touchdowns to be fantasy useful in 2010.

7. Jonathan Dwyer, RB, Pittsburgh—Won’t likely get to play much but does figure to start ahead of Mewelde Moore if Rashard Mendenhall gets hurt.

8. Mike Williams, WR, Tampa Bay—It might seem odd to have two Buccaneers rookie wide receivers in this mock but it’s not like any of the current crop of veterans are sure fire starters. Opportunity trumps character concerns at this point.

9. Marcus Easley, WR, Buffalo—Huge hole opposite Lee Evans with only the disappointing James Hardy and former seventh round pick Steve Johnson to compete with Easley. He has solid size which is what the Bills want opposite Evans.

10. Eric Decker, WR, Denver—Let’s see, Josh McDaniels clearly likes his own guys. Eddie Royal isn’t one of them and he was a bust last season. Jabar Gaffney and Brandon Stokley aren’t the long-term answers so Decker will get a shot at some point and don’t be surprised if it’s this year.

Round 3

1. Jordan Shipley, WR, Cincinnati—Chad Ochocinco isn’t getting any younger, Antonio Bryant and Matt Jones aren’t getting any smarter, Andre Caldwell’s best suited as a backup and Jerome Simpson will be starting his second career soon. Shipley’s got an opportunity, just not this year.

2. Damian Williams, WR, Tennessee—Kenny Britt is locked in at one starting position but Justin Gage and Nate Washington have been marginally disappointing for the Titans.

3. James Graham, TE, New Orleans—Jeremy Shockey is injury prone and David Thomas has played well but has limited upside. Graham’s opportunity could come sooner than many think.

4. Eric Berry, S, Kansas City—Safeties excel in IDP leagues when there’s pass rush help, which the Chiefs lack. However, if Berry is as good as advertised, he’s worth a shot here.

5. Jimmy Clausen, QB, Carolina—Matt Moore’s the incumbent. Do I need to go on?

6. Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England—Alge Crumpler’s the starter but Gronkowski could take over by midseason.

7. Kareem Jackson, CB, Houston—Expect him to get picked on plenty which should provide opportunities for tackles, passes defensed and maybe the odd interception.

8. Colt McCoy, QB, Cleveland—Slotted behind Clausen since the Panthers have a solid running game and Steve Smith. The Browns’ offensive line is above average but the receivers and running backs don’t match up to Carolina’s.

9. Andre Roberts, WR, Arizona—Likely will be used in the slot. If Early Doucet’s late season play was a mirage, Roberts could get a shot earlier than expected.

10. Joe Haden, CB, Cleveland—Rookie cornerbacks get picked on plenty but Haden may be the Browns best corner on opening day. Nonetheless, expect him to rack up solid numbers in IDP leagues.

After taking two days to review the hitters for my fantasy team in the 15-team, 5X5 roto mixed league, it is time to take a look at my pitching staff.

The pitchers have been better than the hitters, that much is clear, but still not stellar. Early on my ERA and WHIP were miniscule, but John Lackey got roughed up in his last start, Dan Haren’s ERA is up over 5.00 and Chris Perez got roughed up by the Tigers back on April 11th.

As of writing this, my overall pitching is 6th in the league, and fairly consistent in the categories across the board—6th in W and WHIP, 7th in Saves and ERA, and 8th in K.

We start 9 pitchers in this league, with no restrictions on starters versus relievers. The first reliever I drafted was Heath Bell in the 8th round, and then I pretty much avoided relievers until late, so I’ve got a bunch of starters, a couple closers and a couple of middle relievers. I’ll comment on the starters first.

Dan Haren—I chuckle at the most recent CBS (where the league is hosted) player note on Haren, saying, “Haren batting better than pitching.” Funny, or… not, for my ace I drafted in the 3rd round. The comment came on the heels of Haren getting 4 hits in a game against the Cardinals. He gave up 7 runs and 9 hits through 6 innings, so the tagline fits.

Haren started the season with a solid 7 inning performance, 1 ER, 3 H and no walks for the win, but only 4 K. His next three starts the K numbers are there—9, 7 and 8—but the ERA and WHIP are notably worse than expectations, including 5 HR allowed in those 3 games.

No doubt he continues to start for me, but he’s raised a eyebrow of concern at this point.

John Lackey—Lackey started the season better than team mates Josh Beckett and Jon Lester, but took it on the chin in his third start against the Rays, which was the final game of the Sox’ recent five game losing streak. Lackey lasted just 3-1/3 innings, giving up 8 runs on 9 hits and a walk, causing his, and my, ERA and WHIP to skyrocket.

This one also gets chalked up as hopefully a blip, facing a hot Rays team at the time. Based on the projected pitchers, it looks like Lackey will skip the Toronto series giving him a fair bit of rest to face the Orioles in their series opener. That should be a decent matchup for him.

Aaron Harang—Now here is a guy, also invested with a not insignificant pick in the draft, 13th round, but his performance has my patience wearing thin. In fact, he rode the bench this past week for me and it is a good thing considering his last start against Florida resulted in 6 ER, 10 H, 2 BB and only 2 K in 5 -2/3 innings. Yes, he got the loss.

Now reports indicate the Reds might skip Harang’s next start, presumably because they don’t know what to do with him either. Harang is a drop to waivers candidate for me this week unless I have other better candidates (or not enough quality targets), in which case Harang can hang around on my bench for a little bit while he tries to work out his issues.

Tim Hudson—I’ve been pretty happy with Hudson, drafted in the round following Harang, even though his record is just 1-1 so far. His last start he only gave up 2 runs but faced off against Roy Halladay who pitched a shutout. Similarly in his first start, Hudson allowed just 2 R, but Billy Wagner blew the save in the ninth.

Hudson isn’t going to help my K numbers but if he can stay efficient the wins will come along with a healthy ERA and WHIP.

Andy Pettitte—Here is another pitcher where I catch myself on draft day saying, “Really? I’m drafting Andy Pettitte?” Yes I am. Pettitte is 2-0 through 3 starts with 14 K, a 1.35 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. Nothing to argue about there, especially from an 18th round draft pick. He’s older than I am by a few months, so yes, I need to keep in my mind not to expect numbers this good all season. Right now I’ll take it though.

Shaun Marcum—I targeted Marcum in the draft, and yes, most of that had to do with the Blue Jays fan in me rather than an unbiased fantasy view. I thought I hit gold after his first start which was solid even though he got a no decision. My enthusiasm is now tempered a bit as he’s given up more hits in his next three starts, and remains winless. He still looks pretty good though. A little more run support when he is on the mound would be a welcome sight.

Justin Duchscherer—As I go on here it would seem my later drafted starting pitchers are outperforming my earlier drafted pitchers by a fair bit. That is just a little more anecdotal evidence to not draft pitchers early.

Duchscherer (or Duch, since typing his full name feels like my fingers have a stutter), gave up 5 ER in his first start but came back with two consecutive games allowing no ER, earning one win and one no decision. His ERA is 2.41 and WHIP down at 1.18. I’m happy with that. I’m not predicting return to All-Star status for Duch just yet, but I’m happy.

C.J. Wilson—I dropped Jon Garland after the first week to acquire Wilson, based on advice from Razzball.com, a highly recommended website for equal parts baseball insight and entertainment, which is a hard combination to find these days.

Wilson earned me a win with his 6 2/3, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K, shutout performance against the Red Sox. He’s had 3 solid starts on the season. That is the kind of surprise undrafted player why we shouldn’t fall asleep at the wheel early in the season, so we can grab him before another team does. Thanks Razzball.

Heath Bell—Now on to the closers. Bell is doing what is expected of him, earning his 4th save of the year Tuesday in 6 appearances. The Padres don’t have a lot of pop in their bat, giving Bell the opportunities with close games, but not much room for error.

He’s given up 1 ER in two of his appearances, one of them resulting in a blown save. His ERA is an even 3.00 and WHIP 1.67, plus he picked up a W along the way. Considering my lack of depth at closer, I’ve got to keep my fingers crossed Bell is in for the long haul.

Chris Perez—Perez earned the closer spot earlier than expected due to an injury to Kerry Wood. I grabbed Perez in the 15th round of the draft, which was probably a bit early. It was one I was confident in though because I owned Wood last year, and didn’t like what I saw (or remembered?). Given the positive reports on Perez, I felt good even before the injury to Wood that Perez would become the guy.

Now, it may have in fact been more beneficial for Perez’ development if he didn’t have to start closing games so soon this season. He had a rough game to the point reports indicated Perez was on a short leash. Luckily, he bounced back nicely from that and it up to 4 Saves, with a 4.76 ERA and 1.76 WHIP.

There is still no definitive timetable when Wood is coming back, but I need to troll for saves regardless of losing Perez in that role or not.

George Sherrill—Sherrill has been terrible. I would have been better off with an open spot in my starting lineup than having Sherrill in there, and fortunately, Sherrill hasn’t been in the starting lineup for this league. The other league where we value Holds is another story, unfortunately.

Sherrill could be replaced in the setup role by Ramon Troncoso. The only reason to hold Sherrill, or grab Troncoso, would be as a lottery ticket in case the Dodgers’ closer Jonathan Broxton goes down with injury. Put money on the fact Sherrill will be hitting the skids in our next FAAB.

Sergio Romo—Romo was a near last round draft pick who hasn’t been inserted in the starting lineup yet, and probably won’t be anytime soon. Another waiver candidate if I can find a better upside replacement for his roster spot.

Mark Hendrickson—Ditto Romo, except Hendrickson was my final round draft pick. I should have gone with some more hitters in the draft.

There are a number of players who are off to slow starts and their owners may be getting impatient with their performances. This is the right time to make those owners an offer to relieve them of that burdensome player. A few of those players you should look into include Mark Teixeira, Grady Sizemore, Justin Verlander, Victor Martinez and Aramis Ramirez.

Here are the projected 2-start pitchers for this week. For those of you in leagues who require you to set your lineup at the beginning of the week, these are guys you should strongly consider:

Rick’s Picks
Five best bets for double-start pitchers this week

1. Roy Halladay is the best pitcher in baseball and is always the best bet when he gets two starts. To make it better, he’s facing two weak offenses (at SF, vs. NYM).

2. Chris Carpenter gets two home starts (vs. ATL, vs. CIN) and should make your fantasy squad look good this week.

3. Josh Johnson has not been his best in 2010, but two home starts against weak teams (vs. SD, vs. WAS) will help him right the ship.

4. Francisco Liriano has regained his 2006 form. He gets two division foes on the road (at DET, at CLE), but should be good this week if he can stay around the plate.

5. Jered Weaver gets two struggling offenses (vs. CLE, at DET) and has been very good in 2010.

Let’s take a look at how the first round of the NFL draft impacts fantasy leagues in 2010.

1. Sam Bradford, QB St. Louis—With A.J. Feeley and Craig Null at quarterback, there is little doubt Bradford will start on opening day. With the team’s current crop of receivers, there is little doubt Bradford will be a fantasy bust in 2010.

2. Ndamukong Suh, DT, Detroit—Suh will improve the Lions defense and help recently signed Kyle Vanden Bosch in the sack department. However, it’s doubtful he will be useful in IDP leagues or vault the Lions defense into the top 15.

3. Gerald McCoy, DT, Tampa Bay—Ditto for McCoy in Tampa.

4. Trent Williams, Washington—The Redskins get their left tackle for the next 10-12 years. Unfortunately, there are major question marks along the offensive line and at running back and wide receiver. He helps, but Donovan McNabb likely remains the only Redskin to own from a fantasy perspective.

5. Eric Berry, S, Kansas City—Big time playmaker immediately improves the Chiefs defense but they aren’t worth targeting in fantasy leagues. Berry is, however, a great candidate in IDP leagues.

6. Russell Okung, OT, Seattle—Seahawks have to be ecstatic to get Okung. He immediately improves the outlook for Julius Jones, Justin Forsett and whoever they add at the position in the draft.

7. Joe Haden, CB, Cleveland—Rookie corners are targeted early and often, making them great IDP candidates. Browns D could surprise in 2010 if Shaun Rogers can stay out of trouble.

8. Rolando McClain, ILB, Oakland—Top linebacker in the draft goes to the Raiders and will either accompany Kirk Morrison in a 3-4 alignment or supplant him in the 4-3. Top IDP rookie in the draft and in Oakland, where he’ll be on the field a lot trying to stop the run, he could be a top ten LB.

9. C.J. Spiller, RB, Buffalo—Just about anywhere else, Spiller had a shot to be the top player taken in fantasy rookie drafts. Considering the anaemic offense Spiller has to work with, he will likely to slot in as the second rookie taken.

10. Tyson Aluala, DT, Jacksonville—Bit of a shocker with John Henderson and Terrence Knighton on the roster, this pick does nothing for the Jaguars defense in fantasy leagues.

11. Anthony Davis, OT, San Francisco—Davis solidifies the right tackle position for the 49ers and makes the team’s young offensive playmakers all that more attractive, provided Alex Smith is solid at quarterback, of course.

12. Ryan Mathews, RB, San Diego—Meet the top pick in rookie fantasy drafts in 2010. Playing in the Chargers high-powered offense, Mathews is a solid RB2 candidate with upside in redraft leagues.

13. Brandon Graham, DE, Philadelphia—Eagles add to a deep defensive line rotation which likely makes Graham little use in IDP leagues. His presence should result in more fantasy points for the Eagles D, however.

14. Earl Thomas, S, Seattle—Solid pick to revamp a secondary that got burned repeatedly in 2009. Thomas figures to be a great player but with the weak pass rush in Seattle, he isn’t a great candidate in IDP leagues.

15. Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, New York Giants—Pierre-Paul seems to be the consensus boom or bust pick in the draft. Unless Osi Umenyiora is moved, he isn’t useful in IDP leagues but should add to the Giants sack totals in 2010.

16. Derrick Morgan, DE, Tennessee—Morgan figures to replace Vanden Bosch but net result is fewer sacks for the Titans next year.

17. Mike Iupati, OG, San Francisco—49ers are apparently doing everything in their power to help the O in 2010. This could be a solid overall offense for fantasy, especially with six games against the Rams, Seahawks and Cardinals.

18. Maurkice Pouncey, C, Pittsburgh—Pouncey will replace Justin Hartwig and solidify the Steelers offensive line. His presence improves the prospects of Rashard Mendenhall next year.

19. Sean Weatherspoon, OLB, Atlanta—Mike Peterson put up solid numbers playing on the outside last year and Weatherspoon figures to be even better.

20. Kareem Jackson, CB, Houston—Plenty of cornerbacks in Houston, all of them suspect so Jackson will likely start from day one and get picked on plenty. Target him in IDP leagues.

21. Jermaine Gresham, TE, Cincinnati—Gresham improves the offense but it’s hard to imagine him being anything more than a backup TE in fantasy leagues.

22. Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver—Broncos move way back and then surprisingly make Thomas the first wide receiver off the board. If Dez Bryant pans out, the Broncos will look silly for years to come. Thomas, however, does have decent fantasy prospects, especially in dynasty leagues.

23. Bryan Bulaga, OT, Green Bay—Bulaga sinks like a stone to the Packers disbelief. Great pick for the Packers. Bulaga should improve the running game in 2010.

24. Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas—Cowboys get their man and it’s anybody’s guess what’s next for Roy Williams. Bryant doesn’t figure to do much if Williams is around but he’s a great player for dynasty leagues.

25. Tim Tebow, QB, Denver—Check back in a few years to see how this pans out. From a fantasy perspective, the name recognition alone is enough to almost guarantee he’ll be drafted too high, especially considering the uncertainty about what role he will play in the offense out of the gate.

26. Dan Williams, DT, Arizona—Great pick for the Cardinals but their D has likely lost too much to be fantasy relevant in 2010.

27. Devin McCourty, CB, New England—Somehow I don’t see a rookie cornerback playing a big role in the Patriots secondary. Just a hunch.

28. Jared Odrick, DT, Miami—Dolphins add to their defense, as expected, and Odrick will likely move to defensive end. In the Dolphins scheme, he isn’t worth owning in IDP leagues.

29. Kyle Wilson, CB, New York Jets—With Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie on the scene, Wilson won’t have much opportunity. Avoid him in IDP leagues unless Revis or Cromartie gets hurt.

30. Jahvid Best, RB, Detroit—Best figures to have a solid chance to supplant Kevin Smith, with Smith recovering from a torn ACL. However, there are questions about his durability so this could be a RBBC in 2010 and perhaps for years to come.

31. Jerry Hughes, OLB, Indianapolis—Figures to start from day one but don’t expect much from him in IDP leagues in 2010.

32. Patrick Robinson, CB, New Orleans—Saints end the first round by adding to their depth at cornerback. Robinson won’t start in 2010 and may not for a few years.

Last time I started a review of my team in my 15-team 5X5 roto league, with weekly transactions and no trading. The review started with the infielders. Now I’ll tackle the outfielders. Putting them together, we should be able to see why my hitting numbers are so pitiful through the first two weeks of the season.

In fact, before I get to the players in question, let’s look at those numbers. Through the end of the second week, after all games played on Tuesday April 20, I’ve accumulated 47 out of a possible 75 roto points for my pitching staff, but just 30.5 roto points for hitting. 30.5! That is terrible.

The pitching numbers aren’t good either, and I’ll get to that next time, but first we’ll concentrate on hitting.

The gory details include 13th place in BA (.253), tied for 5th in HR (24), 14th in R (74), 5th in RBI (96) and 13th in SB (10).

The infield review showed that with Brian Roberts out, SB have been hard to come by, but more importantly, these guys just aren’t hitting for a good average. Mark Reynolds and Alexei Ramirez have been hitting well under .200 most of the short season so far, plus Mike Napoli when he’s played.

I need some guys hitting closer to the top of the order, who are getting on base and getting driven in by the middle of the order to help in the runs.

Well, let’s take a look at the outfield and see what has worked and what hasn’t. This league starts 5 OF, so by the time the draft hit the latter half and teams were looking to fill their 4th and 5th starter positions, it was getting kind of grim.

Nick Markakis—Another sub-.250 hitter, Markakis is coming around but is just .222 on the season. Our preseason projections indicated he stay pretty much in line with his numbers from the past three years, with a moderate bump in HR, R and RBI over 2009. Right now we’ll take the 2009 numbers with no bump and be happy about it. This is one where we chalk it up as Markakis taking a little time to get going. Stay the course.

Shin-Soo Choo—Choo is one of the hottest bats going right now, winning AL Player of the Week for last week. Hey, between him and Miguel Cabrera my players have won AL Player of the Week both weeks! Who’s next? While I can’t expect Choo and Cabrera to keep up this torrid pace, at least they are helping me through the rough patches by their fantasy team mates.

Hunter Pence—This is where things really take a turn for the worse. Pence was my third drafted OF, taken in the 6th round. He’s still batting under .200 for the season showing just modest improvement from starting the season 0 for 12 before getting a hit in his first at-bat in the Astros’ fourth game. The last seven days he’s hitting .260, and the return of Lance Berkman who started Tuesday, should help. Another hold, wait and see situation.

Corey Hart—Not an everyday player. Ouch. That hurts as your fourth outfielder of five starters, with a small bench and weekly lineups, because it isn’t like I can switch him in and out at a moments notice. Given my other options, he continues to start. He is getting the majority of time in right field but not really making the most of it. The recurring theme of my team continues; Hart is hitting just .242 to date.

Reports indicate after a poor spring training (.172 BA), he’s turned a corner. We’ll see. The “turned a corner” report also seems to be a recurring theme for hitters that are supposed to be in their prime but are starting the season slow.

Jim Edmonds is the guy who surprisingly started in place of Hart for two of three games in the opening series, and Edmonds continues to get regular playing time backing up Hart and CF Carlos Gomez.

Luke Scott—Yet another low average hitter, Scott is under .200. Check the year-to-date BA for my first five OF, from best to worst: .312, .242, .222, .187, .186. Kind of explains my fantasy team’s struggles on this side of the ledger, doesn’t it?

Scott has a couple homers, but hasn’t hit safely twice in a game yet. As a result, he isn’t playing everyday either, switching off with Lou Montanez while Nolan Reimold is the DH. The Orioles are struggling and I’ve got two pieces from their OF. If I can move Scott to the bench while he works out his issues, that would be ideal.

Lastings Milledge—Milledge is a guy about running out of chances with fantasy owners. I took a flier on him late in the draft, but with the Roberts injury and a thin bench, he’s currently manning my UT starting spot. Fortunately, he’s been pretty decent, hitting .270 with 6 RBI and a SB. Nothing earth shattering but if he can up his SB numbers, and I’m not expecting much in the power department, he’ll be worth the small price I paid for him.

Okay, so that is a rundown on the outfield. Unless Hart and Scott turn things around soon, I need to make some moves here. I’m not worried about Markakis, only slightly worried about Pence, but Hart and Scott are better upside bench options at this point. That is, if I can find a suitable replacement, keeping in mind this is a deep league.

I’ll look at the pitchers next, but my early take is I need to drop a catcher, thin out the pitchers a bit to make room for more bench spots for the hitters. Perhaps a shotgun approach grabbing a couple upside options and hope one of them pans out.

The NFL announced that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will receive a six game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

The suspension comes as a result of Roethlisberger being involved in two separate police investigations alleging sexual assaults within a nine month period. The league ordered Roethlisberger to undergo a comprehensive behavioural evaluation and the outcome of that evaluation as well as his conduct prior to the season will determine whether to reduce the suspension to four games.

The suspension is a huge blow to a Steelers team that was expected to compete with the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North. Without Roethlisberger available for at least four games, a Steelers squad that came within a game of a playoff berth in 2009 faces tougher odds of qualifying for a 2010 post-season berth.

In addition, reports indicate that the Steelers are willing to listen to trade offers for Roethlisberger provided they receive a top ten pick in the upcoming rookie draft. Of the teams that possess those picks, only the Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars might consider pursuing a trade with the Steelers. The Cleveland Browns would likely have interest but a trade between the AFC North foes is a remote possibility.

Fantasy Impact

Roethlisberger is coming off his best season as a pro and finished as the eighth-ranked fantasy quarterback in 2009. The Steelers moved to a more pass-based offense last year with three solid wide receivers in Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes and second year speedster Mike Wallace.

However, Holmes was traded to the Jets and the team is expected to move to more of ground based attack in 2010.

Nonetheless, his fantasy prospects for 2010 were still solid but are now clearly diminished with the suspension. Assuming a four game suspension, drafting Roethlisberger becomes costly considering he offers zero in return to start the season, and risky unless you plan on having three quarterbacks on your roster during the suspension.

The biggest winner from a fantasy perspective is running back Rashard Mendenhall, who figures to see an increased workload early in the season. He moves up a few spots and into the top ten at running back, ranked ninth.

The biggest fantasy loser from the suspension is obviously Roethlisberger but Ward, Wallace and tight end Heath Miller also move down in the rankings with backup quarterback Dennis Dixon the likely replacement.

Dixon doesn’t have Roethlisberger’s accuracy or touch on deep balls. Expect teams to play the Steelers wide receivers tight on short and intermediate routes, at least until Dixon proves capable of hitting his wideouts deep.

Wallace was considered a breakout candidate and still should be but he moves to WR4 status given his bread and butter is big plays. Ward isn’t expected to see much of a drop but fantasy owners should be leery of drafting him as a WR2. With concerns about his age and now the quarterback play for at least four games, he looks much more attractive as a WR3.

Miller is coming off a career year in which he finished with 789 yards and six touchdowns, good enough to be the ninth ranked fantasy tight end. He moves from being a borderline starter to a solid backup for fantasy purposes.

I’m managing two fantasy baseball teams this year, and neither has started the season very well. I know, I know, it’s still early, no need to panic, and yada, yada, yada.

I agree, and I’m not panicking, but… I am fairly certain just sitting on my hands waiting for things to turn around is not going to work. I want to be proactive getting these teams to start moving up the standings. So far, I haven’t been very proactive.

See, I’ve kind of checked out on my teams a little since the season started. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve still stayed on top of things setting the lineups, and moving guys out who are injured and checking the matchups for my pitchers.

What I haven’t done is stay on top of the hot start free agents. I haven’t tracked every at-bat or inning pitched by my players to see who or why they are performing up, down or right at expectations. I haven’t gone over the standings with a fine tooth comb to know what stat categories I’m doing well in, and which I need someone to pass me the Pepto.

I did go on a family vacation for week though, which helped contribute to the checking out. We had a great time. Thanks for asking.

Now it is back to business though—time to be proactive.

Since I admittedly have been a bit out of touch with what is going on, my only choice is to essentially start at ground zero. I need to review my team performance so far, and work out from there which players need to hit the bricks and who I should be replacing them with.

As I mentioned, I have two teams going. One is a 15-team 5X5 roto mixed league, and the other a 12-team 6X6 roto mixed (traditional 5X5 plus OPS and Holds). The 15-teamer I’m the commish, with weekly starting lineup and transactions, while the other league has daily transactions. I’ll look at the weekly one first giving a position-by-position review, starting with the infield.

C Russell Martin, Mike Napoli, Chris Snyder, Jason Varitek—Note this is a start-two catcher league, so this position is fairly important. Martin was the injury risk coming into the season, but he’s been fine and head-and-shoulders above the other three.

Jeff Mathis has been hot with the bat, and Napoli has not, so Napoli is getting limited AB and not doing much with the ones he has. Snyder isn’t great, but with D-backs Miguel Montero to the DL and out 4-6 weeks, Snyder gets more time in the short-term. I can’t argue with Varitek’s numbers, except it is only happening once a week. Maybe he’ll play more since David Ortiz is struggling big-time.

Thought: Probably shouldn’t hold four catchers. Hate to dump Varitek but it is hard to justify holding him given the extremely limited playing time.

1B Miguel Cabrera—Hitting .350 with a couple homers and 11 RBI, doing everything expected of him. If not for my first round pick I’d probably be wallowing towards the bottom of the standings instead of treading around the middle.

2B Brian Roberts, Akinori Iwamura—Took a shot on Mr. Glass Roberts who was seemingly over his spring training back problems, but then promptly injured himself sliding into second base, now out until late April. Good thing I had Iwamura as a backup who has been okay with a couple dingers but the .250 AVG is a little tough to swallow.

3B Mark Reynolds, Casey Blake—Reynolds is all or nothing early, hitting under .200 but with 3 HR. Yikes, 15 strikeouts on 40 AB. Blake is manning my CI spot. He’s hitting well but getting regular days off given he’s older than I am. Okay, not quite, but it’s close, and that isn’t a good thing.

Thought: I feel I’m going to need an upgrade for Blake this season. He’s hitting well now, but he’s old, he’s consistent but consistently average, so if an upside option is available I’d better make room for him.

SS Alexei Ramirez, J.J. Hardy—Ramirez is on a four game hit streak bringing his AVG up over .200, finally. Prior to that of course Ramirez’s performance is a lot more dismal—a complete dead weight on the roster. Hardy has been a pleasant surprise. Hardy currently occupies the MI position. I need Ramirez to turn it around and Hardy to at least keep it up, which could be a tall order for these two.

Thought: With Roberts out I have no speed in my infield. Iwamura has a single stolen base, and then goose eggs for the rest of the infield except Roberts with two.

Okay, that is it for the infielders. The overall review seems to fit well into where I’m sitting in the standings—it is a very middling group. Some pieces are really good, and more are rather bad.

At this point I am left hoping Roberts can come back and play some significant time without injury, and see what I can track down on waivers to at a minimum give me some options at corner and middle infield positions instead of carrying an extra catcher.

I failed to mention but this league has no trading, so duping a fellow owner to help turn my trash into treasure is not an option.

Next I’ll cover the outfielders, pitchers and see what I can figure out to be more proactive with this team, and get it going like The Jeffersons—moving on up. Now if that doesn’t show my age, then I don’t know what will.

After posting my initial wide receiver rankings for the 2010 fantasy football season, there was a lot of feedback from fellow owners in my fantasy leagues that Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald was ranked far too low at 11th.

Subsequently, my one-man mock draft came out and it had Fitzgerald being selected with the 12th pick in the third round. Since it was only a three round mock, he was the last player chosen.

More negative feedback followed although some of it did admit that at least my reasoning made a little sense, a backhanded compliment to be sure.

Let’s examine the case that was made for moving Fitzgerald down the wide receiver rankings.

The wide receiver ranking article commented that:

Talent wise, he is definitely higher. Rankings wise, you have to move him down based on the departures of Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin.

The mock draft article commented that:

He’s a bargain at this spot but hard to move up given the doubts about Matt Leinart’s ability to produce at quarterback. [Fitz] had the 15th most receiving yards in the league in 2009 but was the fourth ranked fantasy wide receiver courtesy of his 13 touchdowns.

Here are Fitzgerald’s statistics over the last three years with Warner largely at the helm of a potent Cardinals offense:

In examining Fitzgerald’s performance in 2009, it’s clear that his fantasy production was largely based on the number of touchdowns he scored. His average yards per reception suffered because defenses played a lot of cover two against the Cardinals. Opponents feared the team’s passing attack, not its ability to run the ball.

Looking forward to 2010, with Boldin now in Baltimore, defenses will likely commit more to stopping the running back tandem of the emerging Chris Wells and Tim Hightower. However, with Steve Breaston not worthy of as much attention as Boldin, Fitzgerald will likely be double covered on almost every play.

Talented wide receivers are able to beat coverage but it is more difficult for them to get open and they need an accurate passer to get them the ball. With Warner at the controls, Fitzgerald had an accurate passer, but Leinart has not yet proven able to match Warner’s accuracy and is unlikely to develop to that level in 2010.

In his four years in the league, Leinart compiled a completion rate of 57.1%. Last year, in 77 attempts, he completed 66.2% of his passes but his yards per attempt was a lowly 5.6, indicating that he was throwing a high number of short and intermediate passes.

Warner’s career completion percentage was 65.7% and his yards per attempt was 7.8.

Although some fantasy enthusiasts may have taken solace in Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt recently proclaiming that Leinart was the team’s starting quarterback, it’s worth noting that a week prior to this proclamation he had remarked that Leinart would be anointed the starter once he goes to three Pro Bowls and wins the Super Bowl.

More likely than not, Whisenhunt was sending a statement to Leinart, the recently signed Derek Anderson and the team about the anticipated depth chart. Still, the earlier comment by the head coach does give us a lot of confidence in Leinart as the projected starter.

Over the last three years, the Cardinals offense scored 41, 45 and 43 touchdowns. With Leinart at the controls, it’s easy to predict that the Cardinals will score less. With the team now likely to shift to more of a ground based attack, it’s also easy to predict that a higher percentage of their offensive touchdowns will come on the ground.

Fantasy football success is based on drafting for value and the value equation includes a risk component. With Warner at the controls leading a passing based attack, Fitzgerald was a high reward, low risk option.

With Leinart at the controls of a more ground based attack, Fitzgerald will still produce but his upside is less and he is a far riskier option in 2010. For that reason, he’s currently my 11th ranked wide receiver for fantasy purposes, behind receivers with much more established quarterbacks, such as Greg Jennings (ranked 9th) and Marques Colston (10th).