Our weekly digest of everything fantasy baseball. 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 April 14-20. Stats through and including April 11:



Chicago White Sox, 3B
Stats:.500 AVG, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 5 R, 0 SB
Comment: Crede has looked awesome at the plate this season. One has to wonder if the White Sox are going to trade Crede if he keeps this up.

Los Angeles Angels, OF
Stats: .391 AVG, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 5 R, 1 SB
Comment: Much of Hunter's production this week came from his game on Monday against Cleveland, where he had two home runs including a walk-off grand slam.

Arizona Diamondbacks, 3B
Stats: .385 AVG, 5 HR, 13 RBI, 7 R, 0 SB
Comment: Reynolds hasn't just hit a ton of home-runs, he has bashed the hell out of the ball. That includes two monster 400-feet plus homers.


Chicago Cubs, SP
Stats: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.43 WHIP, 5 SO
Comment: Dempster, a closer for the Cubs just a season ago, has now made two straight strong starts.

St. Louis Cardinals, RP
Stats: 0-0, 4 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 6 SO
Comment: Despite the age and injury-risk concerns, Izzy has looked good as ever early in 2008.

Arizona Diamondbacks, SP
Stats: 2-0, 2.63 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 13 SO
Comment: Owings looked dominant in his first start against the Colorado Avalanche and sharp in his second one against Los Angeles Dodgers.



New York Yankees, 2B
Stats: .214 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 R, 0 SB
Comment: Cano is off to another slow-start and has not looked selective at the dish at all.

New York Mets, 2B
Stats: .000 AVG, 0 HR, 0 R, 1 RBI, 0 SB
Comment: Now dealing with knee pain, fantasy owners will have to wait-and-see if Castillo can be fantasy relevant in 2008 due to his age and balky knees.

Seattle Mariners, C
Stats: .000 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 R, 0 SB
Comment: Who knows if Johjima is pressing in a walk-year, but something is up. He has not been effective this year.


Toronto Blue Jays, SP
Stats: 0-0, 11.57 ERA, 2.57 WHIP, 1 SO
Comment: Burnett gave up ten (TEN!) hits in less than five innings of work against the Oakland Athletics this past week.

San Francisco Giants, SP
Stats: 0-1, 8.31 ERA, 2.77 WHIP, 5 SO
Comment: It's a little disturbing that Cain walked five batters in the Giants' home opener. We knew the wins wouldn't come rolling in, but outings like this limit his value even more.

Philadelphia Phillies, SP
Stats: 0-1, 7.20 ERA, 2.20 WHIP, 4 SO
Comment: They should have left Myers in the bullpen, where he thrived in 2007.


Texas Rangers, C
Comment: Laird belted two home runs against the Los Angeles Angels last Sunday and has looked good at the plate thus far.

Los Angeles Dodgers, C
Comment: Martin has endured a tough start to the season but expect things to pick up this week based on his 2007 numbers against Pittsburgh (.364 AVG, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 7 R, 0 SB in 7 games) and Atlanta (.348 AVG, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 1 SB in 7 games).

New York Mets, 1B
Comment: Delgado has been surprisingly good at the plate at the start of 2008 and his 2007 numbers versus the Nationals and Phillies are even more encouraging: .310 AVG, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 14 R in 26 games.

San Diego Padres, 1B
Comment: Away games have not killed Gonzalez this season as they did in 2007. Play him while he's hot.

Washington Nationals, 2B
Comment: Belliard compiled a pretty impressive stat line in 2007 against the Mets and Marlins: .318 AVG, 2 HR, 20 RBI, 14 R, 1 SB in 33 games.

Seattle Mariners, 2B
Comment: Lopez looks reborn this season in the two-hole and fantasy owners should ride him out until he cools off.

Oakland Athletics, SS
Comment: Hey he's still healthy! While Crosby has yet to stroke his first homer, he did hit two doubles in Wednesday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Chicago Cubs, SS
Comment: Theriot had great numbers in 2007 versus the Cincinnati Reds (.350 AVG, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 12 R, 6 SB in 17 games) and Pittsburgh Pirates(.377 AVG, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 8 R, 2 SB in 14 games).

San Diego Padres, 3B
Comment: Five of Kouzmanoff's 18 home runs last season came against the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks so this week is as good as any to start him.

Houston Astros, 3B
Comment: Wiggington gets to hit at the launch-pad at Citizens Bank Park against the Philadelphia Phillies this week while also getting a shot versus the Colorado Rockies (whom he hit .538 against last season).

Florida Marlins, OF
Comment: Hermida came off the disabled list and in his first game back he proceeded to smack two doubles while also driving in two. Get him in your lineups.

Washington Nationals, OF
Comment: Kearns, despite a slow start to 2008, should be started in fantasy leagues this week thanks to his 2007 numbers against the New York Mets and Florida Marlins: .318 AVG, 7 HR, 26 RBI, 28 R, 1 SB in 35 games.

Los Angeles Dodgers, OF
Comment: After being benched for three straight, Kemp went 3-for-4 with a triple on Tuesday night. A huge year is a strong possibility if he gets regular at-bats (with Juan Pierre as his main competition, that shouldn't be a problem).

New York Mets, OF
Comment: Fantasy owners looking for short-term outfield help should pick up Pagan, who has been one of the best offenseive players on the Mets to start the season. He'll continue to get regular at-bats as long as the grandfatherly Moises Alou is sidelined.

Kansas City Royals, SP
Comment: Bannister was very effective in 2007 against the Oakland Athletics (1-0, 2.40 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 7 SO in 15 IP).

Detroit Tigers, SP
Comment: While Bonderman hasn't exactly dazzled on the mound, he gets starts against two clubs he threw well against last year in Minnesota (1-0, 1.84 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 13 SO in 14.2 IP) and Toronto (0-0, 2.40 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 7 SO in 15 IP).

Arizona Diamondbacks, SP
Comment: Haren has a nice track record against San Diego from inter-league play prior to this season (0-0, 1.69 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 15 SO in 16 IP).

Atlanta Braves, SP
Comment: Hudson is 11-2 in 20 career starts against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Florida Marlins.

Comment: Napoli batted just .197 against the White Sox, Royals and Mariners in 2007.

San Diego Padres, C
Comment: With Michael Barrett out, Bard handles starters duties. Unfortunately for Bard, he hit just .225 with one home run in 22 games against Arizona and Colorado last season.

New York Yankees, 1B
Comment: Before he was dealing with a sore groin, Giambi was batting under .100 to start the season. Even if he is back at full health, sit Giambi until he starts to hit.

Pittsburgh Pirates, 1B
Comment: LaRoche is off to a terrible start, despite the homer this week, and fantasy owners would be wise to reserve him until his thumb heals up.

Houston Astros, 2B
Comment: Matsui, recovering from surgery on an anal fissure (no joke), may come back this week, but fantasy owners should hold him out until he gets acclimated to his new team and shakes the rust off.

Milwaukee Brewers, 2B
Comment: He's off to a pretty poor start and his batting average last season versus St. Louis (.211) and Cincinnati (.235) warrant a benching from fantasy owners.

Pittsburgh Pirates, SS
Comment: Bixler — filling in for the injured Jack Wilson — is a pretty-good prospect, but between his poor spring training and uncomfortable defense, he does not look ready for the majors at all.

New York Mets, SS
Comment: Slumping early as thoughts of last year's collapse may be dancing in his head. Bench him this week as he mustered just a .245 batting average against the Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies last season.

Cincinnati Reds, 3B
Comment: His fantasy owners should be concerned if Jeff Keppinger is still hitting when Alex Gonzalez comes back. Encarnacion's playing time may be jeopardized due to his awful start to the season.

Philadelphia Phillies, 3B
Comment: Off to a slow start and it isn't going to get much better this week. Feliz delivered no home runs and a .238 average in 2007 against the New York Mets and Houston Astros.

Texas Rangers, OF
Comment: As if his slumping wasn't bad enough, now Milton Bradley appears poised to take over right field, leaving Byrd's playing time a big question mark going forward.

Boston Red Sox, OF
Comment: Ellsbury's playing time will continue to be compromised in order for Boston to showcase Coco Crisp. He's having trouble at the plate to boot.

Cleveland Indians, OF
Comment: Gutierrez has looked terrible since homering and going 3-for-3 on opening day. Fantasy owners would be better served benching or cutting him for the time being.

Los Angeles Dodgers, OF
Comment: Jones' play this season has not given fantasy owners any reason to believe that last year was an aberration. He returns to Atlanta for the first time this season, where he hit .196 in 2007.

St. Louis Cardinals, SP
Comment: Don't be surprised if Looper gets shelled this week based on last year's stats against Milwaukee (1-2, 7.88 ERA, 1.88 WHIP, 9 SO in 16 IP) and San Francisco (0-1, 5.68 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 2 SO in 6.1 IP).

Toronto Blue Jays, SP
Comment: Marcum struggled last season against the Baltimore Orioles (0-0, 6.57 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 7 SO in 12.1 IP) and Detroit Tigers (0-0, 7.36 ERA, 2.18 WHIP, 5 SO in 3.2 IP).

Florida Marlins, SP
Comment: Olsen really labored through his 2007 starts versus Atlanta (0-2, 7.58 ERA, 2.11 WHIP, 20 SO in 19 IP) and Washington (2-2, 5.54 ERA, 2.08 WHIP, 16 SO in 26 IP).

Los Angeles Angels, SP
Comment: Santana may be starting to put his road woes behind him (finally), but his stats in 2007 against Texas (1-2, 6.56 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 26 SO in 23.1 IP) and Seattle (2-0, 4.40 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 9 SO in 14.1 IP) mean he should probably rest on your bench this week.


Starbonell is UPDATE! Major League Baseball Editor.

574 Days passed between Toronto Blue Jays catcher Gregg Zaun's 21st and 22nd career stolen base. Before stealing second against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday, Zaun's last swiped a bag in Sept. of 2005.

51 Number of major-league at-bats it took for Tampa Bay Rays catcher Shawn Riggans to hit his first career home run.

21 Hits surrendered by Houston Astros starting pitcher Roy Oswalt in 12 innings this season.

8 Runners left on base by Chicago Cubs first basemen Derrek Lee on Wednesday during an 0-for-6 outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates.


Tampa Bay Rays, OF
Comment: This past Wednesday the Rays called up Ruggiano while placing veteran Cliff Floyd on the disabled list with a right knee injury. Ruggiano may not have the cult-following that Evan Longoria has, but he is a player certainly worth watching in Tampa Bay. He had 20 HR and 26 SB while batting .300 in 127 games last season in Triple-A. Tampa's outfield is crowded at the moment and that hurts his chances of getting everyday at-bats. However, once Evan Longoria is called up, if the Rays feel the need to go to a youth movement to get their prospects some experience, Ruggiano should see more playing time.


Tuesday, April 15-17 10:05 p.m ET
These two teams provided an exciting conclusion to the regular season. The Rockies scorching hot finish forced a one-game playoff between the two clubs that resulted in a tough season finale for the Padres. Keep an eye on Padres closer Trevor Hoffman. He recorded just one out and gave up three runs in the thirteenth inning of that final game last season and he has gotten off to a poor start in 2008. It will be interesting to see how he handles the Rockies lineup in a save situation. The scheduled starting pitchers for Colorado are Mark Redman, Jeff Francis and Franklin Morales while Randy Wolf, Justin Germano and Jake Peavy throw for San Diego.

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