Fantasy Baseball: Monday News and Notes

A lot happened this weekend, and we have some pieces to cover for those of you that need to submit weekly lineups as of today. No time for idle chat, so let's get right to it and breakdown what happened over the weekend. 

Weekend Roundup

• Brandon Webb was placed on the DL with tightness in his shoulder. The move is retroactive back to Tuesday, but that won't help many owners at this point. Yusmeiro Petit will keep the spot in the rotation in the short term. Need help getting by? Vicente Padilla gets two nice starts at home, for those of you in mixed leagues (Bal, KC). Otherwise, look at Jamie Moyer today against Washington. He loves pitching on the road.
• Hiroki Kuroda also gets to grab a stint on the DL with a strained rib cage muscle. This one is painful and, worse, it's the type of injury that can linger. The rotation needed on this part of the body for pitchers makes it hard to just ignore. The slightest pull can cause delivery mechanic issues. Look to the same pitchers as above in the short-term.
• B.J. Ryan is having some major issues in the Blue Jays bullpen. I'm not one to always overreact, but in this case I think securing the situation is warranted. Scott Downs, Jason Frasor, and Brandon League are the next likely candidates. If I own Ryan, I'm grabbing one of these guys quickly.
• For those of you in weekly leagues, there are some intriguing two-start options. Beyond Padilla and Moyer (who has a second start at home), Jesse Litsch will get two cracks at wins at Minnesota and home against Oakland. Mike Pelfrey is available in at least 50 percent of leagues (depending on the site), and he gets San Diego and Milwaukee.
• There were some ugly opening week numbers, but owners can't panic on players where they spent a high draft pick. Yes, Jimmy Rollins was awful, but he's not going to go 3-for-28 every week. It just won't happen. Sure, borderline players can be added and dropped. Don't go selling low on a great player because of one bad week. To that same degree, don't over-buy on a player that has had the same one decent week.
• Good news for owners. Scott Baker and Max Scherzer will be back and active this week. Weekly owners should get these two ready to go in their lineups this week. I'm higher on baker, but mainly because Scherzer draws Chris Carpenter, even if it is at home.
• Another player that will make his debut this week is B.J. Upton. Upton is being placed on the roster at the expense of Matt Joyce, who was optioned to AAA. Upton is coming off shoulder surgery, but the repair seems to have gone well. With the health should return some power to go with the speed.
• Ichiro will also be activated on Wednesday. Keep him in mind as you go through and set your weekly lineups. Daily leagues should get him active in the middle of the week.
• Tim Lincecum continues to struggle, adding a second rough start. I'm not sure I'm jumping off the bandwagon yet, but consider the innings he threw in 2008. Lincecum put up major numbers in that regard, and it's possible that this season may see a setback based on the percentage increase. He's young, but slight and uses a lot of torque to get the ball to the plate.
• A wrist injury is never good news for a power hitter, regardless of how severe. Mark Teixeira being out of the lineup this weekend with one isn't a good thing. Positive, though, in that Nick Swisher swung the bat very well. Watch this one, but Swisher should be a solid pickup if this one lingers.
• Weekend Summary: Wins-Hamels, Sonnanstine, Galarraga, Rodrigiez, Maine, Jurrjens; Losses-McDonald, Guthrie, Buehrle, Sanchez, Maholm, Millwood (Season: 16-11).

Notes for Monday

• Jon Lester has pitched well in two outings at McAfee Coliseum. The A's have struggled against left-handed pitching, and there should be no concerns here. The Red Sox, for there part, tend to make young pitchers look like All-Stars. Especially where Dallas Braden is left-handed, he could be a sneaky play in AL-only formats.
• Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee rake against Zach Duke, and Duke is just 1-3 in his last six starts against the Astros with a .283 BAA. Get your Astros in the lineup for this early matchup, as the numbers against Duke are solid.
• Jorge Posada and Melky Cabrera likely get starts against Scott Kazmir today. Kazmir is lights-out against most of the Yankees, but these two have good numbers in limited at-bats against the Rays lefty. If you have other options for Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, and Johnny Damon, not one is over .200 against Kazmir.
• Jamie Moyer gets two starts this week, and the first is against the light-hitting Nationals. Moyer was 10-3 last season away from Philadelphia with a 2.92 ERA. Grab him for this start for certain, as the matchup is very favorable.
• I'm starting Randy Winn and Aaron Rowand in all formats against Chad Billingsley. Winn is 7-for-14, and leads the way for the Giants against the Dodgers starter. These two both hit the ball well against Billingsley, and could sneak in a couple hits for you early in the week.
• Jesse Litsch had two very good starts against the Twins last season, going 2-0 with a WHIP well under 1.00 in nearly 15 innings of work. With two starts this week, and the next one coming at home, I'd grab him for this one and hang on to him for the next.
• Khalil Greene saw a lot of Doug Davis during his days with the Padres, and none of it was good. Greene is a .172 hitter lifetime against Davis. He's the only hitter with a major drawback and track record that would keep him down. I'm not a fan of Davis, and Cardinals owners should get their players active.
• Might come as a surprise to you, but Gavin Floyd has been hit hard by nearly every regular the Tigers could throw against him today. AL-only owners should note that Ryan Raburn (8-for-17) has been strong against Floyd and could get the start today. Floyd did pitch well against the Tigers in 2008, but had two of his more challenging outings at Comerica Park.
• Spot Starts: Mike Pelfrey, Jamie Moyer, Jesse Litsch, and Ubaldo Jimenez
• Keep on the Bench: Gavin Floyd, Doug Davis, Fausto Carmona

Notes for Tuesday

• As tough as Daisuke Matsuzaka was at home last season, he was even tougher on the road. Matsuzaka held batters under .200 to go with a 2.37 ERA outside of Fenway Park. In a pitcher's park in Oakland tomorrow, I'd be keeping as many A's as I could reserved.
• Matt Garza was nearly untouchable at home last season, and there is no reason to not start him in his debut at home against the Yankees. The Yankees don't have much history against him, and Garza's home splits and peripherals were very good in 2008.
• Look for options outside Carlos Pena (2-for-19) and Dioner Navarro (4-for-20) against A.J. Burnett tomorrow. Just ugly numbers.
• I'd take a shot with Kyle Davies tomorrow at home, especially given how Cleveland is currently struggling swinging the bat. Davies is a deeper play, but against Carl Pavano, could get a cheap win even without pitching well.
• Carlos Silva should never be started by anyone, and his work against the Angels only serves to underscore that. All your Angels need to be in the lineup. Howie Kendrick and Bobby Abreu are the best plays, but there really are no bad plays based on the historic numbers and Silva's work on the road.
• Glen Perkins pitched very well against the White Sox in his first start, and now gets to pitch at home. His numbers in the dome are much better than on the road, and he does draw a rookie starter as opposition. I'll take him against the Jays in this one if I have a start to use.
• Perkins' opponent, Ricky Romero, looked good in his first outing as well. Watch this one. Romero could quickly earn status to be owned with another good showing against the Twins.
• NL-only players, want a reach for tomorrow? Grab Ross Gload. Gload is 10-for-23 against Javier Vazquez, and likely will get the start in that ballgame.
• Spot Starts: Early, I like Perkins, Davies, and Manny Parra.

Collin Hager writes The Elmhurst Pubfantasy blog. You can get your fantasy questions answered by sending an email to [e-mail]. He's also on Twitter @TheRoundtable.