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 7-13. Stats through and including April 4:



Atlanta Braves, SS
Stats:.375 AVG, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3 R, 0 SB
Comment: Escobar's multi-position eligibility in fantasy leagues drives his value up big time.

Pittsburgh Pirates, OF
Stats: .430 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 4 R, 0 SB
Comment: Surprise, surprise. Nady starts the regular season white-hot yet again.

New York Mets, 3B
Stats: .462 AVG, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3 R, 0 SB
Comment: Wright collected four extra-base hits this week, though he has yet to show off the wheels (though he did attempt one stolen base this week).


Cincinnati Reds, SP
Stats:1-0, 1.29 ERA, 0.14 WHIP, 10 SO
Comment: Now THAT'S a big-league debut. We all know how Dusty Baker can just use up young starting pitchers (Mark Prior, Kerry Wood), but while it may be bad for Cueto's overall career, it could pay major dividends to fantasy teams in 2008.

New York Mets, SP
Stats:1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 8 SO
Comment: Perez started off his walk-year with an impressive start against the Braves.

Kansas City Royals, RP
Stats: 0-0, 1 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.33 WHIP, 3 SO
Comment: If Eric Gagne continues on his downward spiral, Riske may get the call from manager Ned Yost to pick up the saves.



New York Yankees, 1B
Stats: .000 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 R, 0 SB
Comment: A contract year, weight loss and everyday at-bats were supposed to be the recipe for a Giambino resurgence.

Colorado Rockies, OF
Stats: .100 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 R, 0 SB
Comment: Holliday couldn't get anything going against Kyle Lohse, Todd Wellemeyer and Brad Thompson. Yikes.

Detroit Tigers, OF
Stats:.250 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 R, 0 SB
Comment: Maggs and the entire Tigers offense did not start the season off the way many in the Motor City had hoped.


Chicago White Sox, SP
Stats:0-1, 37.80 ERA, 4.79 WHIP, 1 SO
Comment: Buehrle was no match for the Indians' offense on Opening Day as the Cleveland Indians blasted him out of the game before the end of the second inning.

Philadelphia Phillies, RP
Stats:0-1, 0 SV, 33.75 ERA, 6.02 WHIP, 1 SO
Comment: I don't think any Brad Lidge owners have to worry about him having to stave off Tom Gordon for the closer's gig.

Arizona Diamondbacks, RP
Stats: 0-1, 1 SV, 27.00 ERA, 3.00 WHIP, 2 SO
Comment: Unlike Lidge, Lyon should be very concerned about his job security with Tony Pena breathing down his neck.


Minnesota Twins, C
Comment: I'll be the first to tell you that I think Mauer is overrated, but his road stats last year (.342 AVG with 41 RBI in 52 games) prove that the face of the Twins franchise is comfortable hitting away from the Metrodome.

Chicago Cubs, C
Comment: Soto hasn't played the Phillies yet, but against the Pirates he hit .421 with two home runs in just 19 at-bats in 2007.

Los Angeles Angels, 1B
Comment: Kotchman should be worth using based on his combined numbers against the Indians and Mariners last season: .316 AVG, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 11 R, 0 SB in 23 games.

Chicago White Sox, 1B
Comment: Thome blasted the ball last season in 31 games against the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins as he had 11 HR and 27 RBI.

Minnesota Twins, 2B
Comment: Harris makes a pretty good start this week since he hit .311 combined against the White Sox and Royals.

Arizona Diamondbacks, 2B
Comment: Don't expect too much help in the power department, but Hudson should be good for batting average and runs this week due to his .300 AVG and 16 R in 27 games versus the Rockies and Dodgers in 2007.

Chicago White Sox, SS
Comment: Cabrera should do just fine against Chicago's division rivals thanks to his 2007 stats versus the Twins (.429 AVG, 7 R in 9 games) and Tigers (.400 AVG, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 7 R in 8 games).

Texas Rangers, SS
Comment: Young's going to be great for your team's batting average this week as he sported a .350 batting average against the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays in 2007.

Colorado Rockies, 3B
Comment: Atkins dominated last season against Atlanta and Arizona: .290 AVG, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 13 R, 0 SB in 21 games.

Kansas City Royals, 3B
Comment: Considering his disappointing 2007, Gordon still managed to produce a pretty good overall line last season versus New York and Minnesota: .290 AVG, 6 HR, 12 RBI, 11 R, 0 SB in 26 games.

Arizona Diamondbacks, OF
Comment: Byrnes collected five homers, 23 RBI and nine stolen bags in 35 games last season against Los Angeles and Colorado.

Colorado Rockies, OF
Comment: Facing both the Braves and Diamondbacks last year, Hawpe posted a .320 AVG with four home runs, 20 RBI and eight runs scored in 22 games.

Los Angeles Angels, OF
Comment: Matthews enjoyed a lot of success in 2007 against Cleveland (.281 AVG, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 5 R, 3 SB in 8 games) and Seattle (.302 AVG, 5 HR, 13 RBI, 10 R, 4 SB in 17 games).

Toronto Blue Jays, OF
Comment: Stairs was tremendous in 2007 against both the Oakland Athletics (.389 AVG, 3 HR, 6 RBI in 8 games) and Texas Rangers (.533 AVG in 7 games).

Los Angeles Dodgers, SP
Comment: Judging by his 2007 numbers against the Arizona Diamondbacks (2-1, 3.10 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 18 SO in 20.1 IP) and San Diego Padres (4-0, 1.05 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 34 SO in 25.2 IP), Billingsley makes a great play this week.

San Francisco Giants, SP
Comment:Lincecum, fresh off a strange relief win on Wednesday, gets two starts this week against sub-par offenses in San Diego (at pitcher-friendly Petco Park) and St. Louis.

Houston Astros, SP
Comment: He looked downright terrible on the road against the Padres, but he gets two cupcake match-ups with Florida and St. Louis at home in Houston, where he went 6-3 with a 2.94 ERA in 2007.

Chicago White Sox, SP
Comment: Vazquez won six games (out of eight contests) versus the Tigers and Twins last season while keeping his ERA under 3.00 and striking out 62 batters in 58.1 innings.

Comment: Against the Yankees and Twins in 2007, Buck hit just .183.

Chicago White Sox, C
Comment: Pierzynski labored through home games last season (.237 AVG in 2007 with just 22 R in 69 games).

Kansas City Royals, 1B
Comment: Love his potential this season, but this coming week he may be in over his head as evident by his .229 AVG and no homers against the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins last year.

Toronto Blue Jays, 1B
Comment: Overbay batted just .230 against the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics last season.

New York Mets, 2B
Comment: Castillo really struggled at the plate in 2007 against the Philadelphia Phillies (.208 AVG) and Milwaukee Brewers (.195 AVG).

Chicago Cubs, 2B
Comment: Last season versus the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies, DeRosa managed to hit just .200 with no home runs.

Arizona Diamondbacks, SS
Comment: Drew could be murder to your team's batting average this week if his 2007 performances against the Dodgers (.179 AVG) and Rockies (.231 AVG) are any indication.

St. Louis Cardinals, SS
Comment: Izturis batted just .210 last season against the Astros and Giants.

Milwaukee Brewers, 3B
Comment: Hall batted just .240 with one home run and no stolen bases in 11 games against the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels last season.

Toronto Blue Jays, 3B
Comment: Scutaro should get to play out the rest of April now that Rolen will be off the field until May, but judging by his batting average in April 2007 (.139), Scutaro probably won't be of much help to fantasy owners.

New York Mets, OF
Comment: In 22 games against the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers, Church had a rather boring fantasy line: .250 AVG, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 7 R, 0 SB.

Los Angeles Dodgers, OF
Comment: Unless Pierre is getting regular at-bats, there is no point to start him even if he saw a 50-50 share of playing time in a platoon.

Arizona Diamondbacks, OF
Comment: He may stroke a home run or two this week, but other than that, Young probably won't be of much help (.200 AVG against Dodgers and Rockies).

San Francisco Giants, OF
Comment: In 22 games, Winn stole a useful five stolen baes against the the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals. He also, however, hit just .240 with just seven runs.

Cincinnati Reds, SP
Comment: For his career, Arroyo has been pretty unimpressive against the Philadelphia Phillies (1-3, 4.34 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 18 SO in 29 IP) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1-3, 4.65 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 20 SO in 31 IP).

Baltimore Orioles, SP
Comment: Did not look sharp at all on Opening Day against the Rays and he'll face Tampa Bay again this week as well as the improved Texas Rangers.

Seattle Mariners, SP
Comment: The King wasn't very regal last season against the Baltimore Orioles (1-1, 5.40 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 12 SO in 18.1 IP) or Los Angeles Angels (0-2, 7.30 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 20 SO in 24.2 IP).

New York Yankees, SP
Comment: Anyone who saw Mussina's start this past Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays knows that he just doesn't have it anymore and he will have a tough time against division rivals Boston and Tampa Bay this week.


Starbonell is UPDATE! Major League Baseball Editor.

434 Consecutive games played by Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Juan Pierre before being benched on Opening Day in favor of Andre Ethier in left field.

359 Consecutive games played by Cleveland Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore after Cleveland's Opening Day game. It is the longest streak among all active players.

5 Times Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jason Kendall reached base on Wednesday afternoon against the Chicago Cubs. Kendall had an on-base percentage of .301 last season.

0 Innings pitched and games played by the no. 3 overall amateur draft pick in 2003, Kyle Sleeth. Sleeth announced his retirement from baseball this week after an injury-filled career.


San Francisco Giants, 2B
Comment: Velez, the Giants' speed-demon who stole a league leading 16 bases during spring training, should be starting on a San Francisco team desperate for a spark. Velez could be an electric player with elite steals potential, but the Giants have a log-jam in their middle-infield. With geezers like Omar Vizquel (41 in April) and Ray Durham (36), it seems only a matter of time before injury and / or ineffective play clear the way for Velez to earn a spot on the everyday lineup. Be sure to keep tabs on this guy if you need help in the steals department.


Tuesday, April 8-10 7:10 p.m ET
Philadelphia pulled off the impossible last season, besting the Mets for the National League East division thanks to New York's historic collapse in the final weeks of the season. Philadelphia has stumbled out of the gate a bit this season, while the Mets have also endured their own pains (namely, Pedro Martinez's hamstring) to start 2008. These two teams figure to be in the mix all season long for the NL East division crown, so each squad will look to set the tone for the remainder of this season with a strong series. Oliver Perez, John Maine and a pitcher to be announced are the scheduled starters for the Mets and will be opposed by Jamie Moyer, Kyle Kendrick and Adam Eaton.

• The Lineup: March 31-April 6, 2008
• The Lineup: March 24-30, 2008
• The Lineup: Oct. 20-26, 2007
• The Lineup: Oct. 13-19, 2007
• The Lineup: Oct. 6-12, 2007
• The Lineup: Sept. 29-Oct 5, 2007
• The Lineup: Sept. 22-28, 2007
• The Lineup: Sept. 15-21, 2007
• The Lineup: Sept. 8-14, 2007
• The Lineup: Sept. 1-7, 2007
• The Lineup: Aug. 25-31, 2007
The Lineup: Aug. 18-24, 2007
• The Lineup: Aug. 11-17, 2007
• The Lineup: Aug. 4-10, 2007
• The Lineup: July 28-Aug. 3, 2007
• The Lineup: July 21-27, 2007
• The Lineup: July 14-20, 2007
• The Lineup: July 7-14, 2007
• The Lineup: June 30-July 6, 2007
• The Lineup: June 24-30, 2007
• The Lineup: June 17-23, 2007
• The Lineup: June 10-16, 2007
• The Lineup: June 3-9, 2007
• The Lineup: May 27-June 2, 2007
• The Lineup: May 21-27, 2007
• The Lineup: May 14-20, 2007
• The Lineup: May 7-13, 2007
• The Lineup: April 30-May 6, 2007
• The Lineup: April 23-29, 2007
• The Lineup: April 16-22, 2007
• The Lineup: April 9-15, 2007
• The Lineup: April 2-8, 2007
• The Lineup: March 26-April 1, 2007
• The Lineup: March 19-25, 2007
• The Lineup: March 12-18, 2007
• The Lineup: March 5-11, 2007
• The Lineup: Feb. 26-March 4, 2007
• The Lineup: Feb. 19-25, 2007
• The Lineup: Feb. 12-18, 2007
• The Lineup: Feb. 5-11, 2007
• The Lineup: Jan. 29-Feb. 4, 2007
• The Lineup: Jan. 22-28, 2007
• The Lineup: Jan. 15-21, 2007
• The Lineup: Jan. 8-14, 2007
• The Lineup: Jan. 1-7, 2007