The Lineup is here to dish out fantasy insight on all things baseball. Here are five storylines you should be following this week:

The New York Yankees are not panicking despite the slow start to the season. That does not mean that they are not working on finding ways to improve the club as The Denver Post revealed, "multiple scouts said Wednesday the Yankees are interested in [Colorado] Rockies first baseman Todd Helton and closer Brian Fuentes." Interestingly, the Boston Red Sox appeared to have a trade for Todd Helton all but wrapped up this off-season before the Rockies broke off talks altogether. But with Colorado struggling mightily this season, a fire-sale may be just around the corner. The Rockies are likely to lose either — if not both — third baseman Garret Atkins and / or outfielder Matt Holiday to free agency this off-season as both will command big dollars. Should the Yankees and Rockies pull off a trade, the fantasy ramifications would be significant. Fuentes would lose almost all value as he would go from closing games to late inning work. Helton, on the other hand, is harder to figure out. One would expect the three-time Golden Glove winner to thrive in that potent Yankees lineup as he has a career .432 OBP that would fit right into the Yankees' style. However, one has to question if his power numbers will suffer greatly if he no longer is playing home games at Coors Field. At any rate, any talks — if they are even occurring — are premature at this time. But keep up on this story throughout the week to see if anything materializes between the two clubs.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez has left fantasy owners scratching their heads by underperforming this season at the plate. He's playing better in May, but he could really start swinging the lumber soon as The Boston Globe reported, "Ramirez had a pregame visitor in the clubhouse: Joe DeLuca, the scout who signed Ramirez to his first professional contract . . . DeLuca expressed surprise at the 'hesitation' he has seen in Ramirez at the plate this season." Ramirez, one of the most prolific sluggers of his era, has had 30-plus homers and 100-plus RBI in 11 of the past 12 seasons. So it was surprising seeing him bat only .202 in April. Hopefully, DeLuca's insight will push Manny to become more aggressive at the plate as more than half of his Ks have come on called third strikes. His batting average has been almost 100 points better this month than in April, but you would like to see more power production from the eccentric Ramirez. Fantasy owners should continue to view Manny as an elite offensive talent, one who could really heat up in the coming weeks if he has more productive at-bats.

Originally thought to be sidelined at least until mid-June after an appendectomy, Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Roy Halladay is gearing up for an early return. According to The Toronto Sun, "[Halladay] is on track to return to the Blue Jays rotation by the end of May." This is great news for fantasy owners and the Blue Jays, who have been besieged by injuries this season. Halladay was great in April, posting a 2.28 ERA in six starts with two complete games. His two May starts went terribly as he allowed 16 runs in just over 10 innings, but do not worry too much about that. While he has never been a master of strikeouts, the man is a fantasy ace, capable of being among the league leaders in ERA and WHIP. It may not be a bad idea to offer a trade for Halladay before his return. His two poor starts prior to his surgery and his injury-risk label may make him ripe for the plucking from a desperate owner. Monitor how Halladay pitches upon his return, but assume that he will be a consistent producer from here on out.

Brace yourselves people, the Kansas City Royals are fantasy-friendly this week as they play host to the Baltimore Orioles before hitting the road against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Starting pitcher Gil Meche looks to continue silencing his critics when he squares off against Baltimore ace Erik Bedard. Look for Meche to thrive as he owns a career 3.07 ERA against the O's. After a slow start to the season, outfielder Mark Teahen has been a productive option in fantasy baseball. Look for Teahen to have a big week as he dominated the Orioles (.444) and the Devil Rays (.389) last season. Similarly, expect catcher John Buck to continue his breakout season as he played very well against Baltimore (.357) and Tampa Bay (.300) in 2006. Third baseman Alex Gordon has been a big disappointment for fantasy owners thus far, but over the past week and a half he has hit over .300 and with the favorable matchups this week, he could very well bust out in a big way. For those of you in need of saves, track the closer situation as recently activated Octavio Dotel is expected to be eased back into the closer's role that Joakim Soria has handled while Dotel has been on the DL; see what transpires as either candidate seems like a decent option for saves. This should be a beneficial week for those of you with Kansas City players on your fantasy squads (now that's something you don't hear . . .ever).

Fantasy owners who drafted Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Chad Billingsley as a sleeper pick were mighty heated at manager Grady Little for relegating him to bullpen duty to start the season despite his strong spring. There may be a dash for the waiver wire soon as The Los Angeles Times reports, "A front-office source said that if [Jason] Schmidt has a setback in his recovery, reliever Chad Billingsley could go to triple A for a short time to become a starter." But wait, that's not all. According to MLB.com, "[Little] said fifth starter Brett Tomko would be skipped in the rotation and was non-committal whether Tomko might be removed entirely." While it is a bit premature to assume that Billingsley is going to be joining the starting rotation ASAP, it is not too early to take a flier on the talented youngster, particularly if he gets demoted to Triple-A, where he would work to extend himself so that he could start games on the mound for the Dodgers. Billingsley was very effective as a starter in the second half of the 2006 season, going 7-2 with a 3.16 ERA. He's got the talent to compete for a Cy Young Award down the road in his career, but he could definitely help fantasy teams this year if he gets his shot. Track this situation closely to see how the pitching staff sorts out this week.