Welcome, friends, to another season of fantasy baseball. 'Round this time of year, fantasy owners are optimistic about the potential of their rosters, but it's important to stay up on all angles of baseball, giving yourself the best opportunity to garner fantasy gold. Every week, The Lineup will help you figure out who to start, sit and watch. Facts don't lie and The Lineup is full of 'em. Here is your weekly digest of everything fantasy baseball. Projections for the week of March 24-30. Stats through March 21:
BRIAN MCCANN
Atlanta Braves, C
Comment: McCann owns a .301 career-average against the Washington Nationals, making the two-time All Star an obvious start.
KURT SUZUKI
Oakland Athletics, C
Comment: Suzuki has looked awfully impressive in spring training and looks like a strong play this week.
NICK JOHNSON
Washington Nationals, 1B
Comment: Jphnson carries some risk with him — he may not start over Dmitri Young — but Johnson could be a great option.
MARK TEIXEIRA
Atlanta Braves, 1B
Comment: The Lineup loves Teixeira this season. He was terrific after the trade to Atlanta and will look to start hot in his contract year.
KELLY JOHNSON
Atlanta Braves, 2B
Comment: Johnson hit the ground running at the start of the 2007 season, so he makes a favorable start this week.
MARK ELLIS
Oakland Athletics, 2B
Comment: In 34 regular season games against the Red Sox, Ellis has batted a tremendous .323.
BOBBY CROSBY
Oakland Athletics, SS
Comment: Crosby tweaked his swing during the off-season and by all accounts he's looking good at the plate.
YUNEL ESCOBAR
Atlanta Braves, SS
Comment: Escobar has been raking the ball this spring, hitting well over .400. Look for him to pick up where he left off last season.
CHIPPER JONES
Atlanta Braves, 3B
Comment: Chipper absolutely owned the Nationals last season: .419 AVG, 6 HR, 18 RBI, 18 R, 3 SB in 16 games.
RYAN ZIMMERMAN
Washington Nationals, 3B
Comment: The Lineup is a fan of Ryan Zimmerman this season. An improved lineup and new ball park could translate into big stats for the face of Nationals' franchise.
JACOBY ELLSBURY
Boston Red Sox, OF
Comment: While he's getting a little too much hype this season, Ellsbury should be a fine leadoff hitter for Boston.
JEFF FRANCOEUR
Atlanta Braves, OF
Comment: The bulked up Francoeur isn't going to let a baseball to the face slow him down. He'll be ready by Opening Day and is a terrific outfield option.
LASTINGS MILLEDGE
Washington Nationals, OF
Comment: Milledge is enjoying a huge spring and it should carry into the start of the season with his new team.
MANNY RAMIREZ
Boston Red Sox, OF
Comment: Manny punished the Athletics last season to the tune of a .444 average.
JASON BERGMANN
Washington Nationals, SP
Comment: Bergmann started off 2007 in great fashion and had success against Atlanta last season: 3-1, 30.2 IP, 2.64 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 31 SO.
RICH HARDEN
Oakland Athletics, SP
Comment: Yeah, he gets hurt all the time, but when he's healthy, he's dominant. Take advantage while he's on the field.
DAISUKE MATSUZAKA
Boston Red Sox, SP
Comment: Matsuzaka dominated his first start of 2007. He'll be pitching in his home-country on Opening Day in 2008, so expect good things.
Comment: Not only is Lo Duca coming off knee surgery, but he also kicked off last season with a .237 batting average in April.
JASON VARITEK
Boston Red Sox, C
Comment: Varitek started 2007 in horrible fashion (.125 in first five games of season and .239 in April) and he's a career .258 hitter against Oakland.
DARIC BARTON
Oakland Athletics, 1B
Comment: He was terrific at the end of last season, but Barton has hit below the Mendoza line in spring training.
KEVIN YOUKILIS
Boston Red Sox, 1B
Comment: The Lineup is just not that into the Greek God of Walks. He may have great plate discipline, but he hit just .240 against Oakland last season.
RONNIE BELLIARD
Washington Nationals, 2B
Comment: Who knows if he'll even be starting for the Nats at second when the season starts? He's still battling Felipe Lopez for the gig.
DUSTIN PEDROIA
Boston Red Sox, 2B
Comment: Pedroia hit at a .217 clip against the Athletics last year and we all remember how poorly he started off the 2007 season (.182 in April).
CRISTIAN GUZMAN
Washington Nationals, SS
Comment: Guzman may be tearing it up in spring training, but he has a career-.176 average against Atlanta.
JULIO LUGO
Boston Red Sox, SS
Comment: Lugo hit .111 against Oakland last year and sports a mean .197 average for his career against the A's.
JACK HANNAHAN
Oakland Athletics, 3B
Comment: He's filling in for the injured Chavez, but Hannahan is nothing worth getting excited about.
MIKE LOWELL
Boston Red Sox, 3B
Comment: Lowell may have put a hurting on the ball last season, but he managed to hit just .233 against the Athletics in 2007.
TRAVIS BUCK
Oakland Athletics, OF
Comment: He impressed Oakland last season when he was actually healthy and on the field, though he started off very slowly in 2007: .190 average in April.
JACK CUST
Oakland Athletics, OF
Comment: Cust enjoyed a breakout season 2007. Against Boston, though, he had just one RBI and one run scored in six games last year.
ELIJAH DUKES
Washington Nationals, OF
Comment: Dukes is dealing with a tight hamstring that may keep him out of the lineup on Sunday.
MARK KOTSAY
Atlanta Braves, OF
Comment: Kotsay's been swinging a pretty cold bat, but he's more of a defensive presence anyway, leaving him rather useless to fantasy owners.
JOE BLANTON
Oakland Athletics, SP
Comment: In three starts against Boston last season, Blanton earned no wins and walked away with a 4.66 ERA.
JON LESTER
Boston Red Sox, SP
Comment: Oakland handled him last season in his lone start against them, scoring four earned runs in 4.1 innings.
JOHN SMOLTZ
Atlanta Braves, SP
Comment: For the past couple of seasons now, Smoltz has started off rather poorly, could be more of the same this year.
Starbonell is UPDATE! Major League Baseball Editor.
