Fantasy Baseball Tonight 5/3

For the second straight start, Justin Verlander has been dominating! 

After seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts last time out, Verlander was almost as good.  Sunday against the Indians, Verlander allowed just one run over seven innings and struck out a whopping eleven hitters. 

Is this the turnaround that we have been waiting for with this guy? 

After two great seasons to start his career, Verlander took a huge step back in 2008. 

And after a slow start to 2009, Verlander was on trading blocks all over the fantasy world. 

I think it is safe to say his owners feel more comfortable now.

Johnny Cueto shined again on Sunday, as he really looks like it might be a breakout year for him. 

Cueto threw eight shutout innings and struck out nine guys.  In his last four starts, Cueto has now allowed only two runs, and his ERA sits at 1.65. 

There will obviously be some regression upcoming; he won’t pitch THIS well all year, but there were some signs last season that he could be something special, and at least through the first month he is looking really good.

You think Carl Crawford’s legs feel okay? 

The Rays speedy leftfielder stole six bases today against the Red Sox, bringing his season total to 17, obviously leading the league. 

Crawford put fantasy owners on their heels last year when he said that his legs felt ten years older last year. 

I guess he feels better, huh?

All of a sudden Justin Upton is hitting the ball all over the lot. 

In the last ten games, Upton has 13 hits, four homers, 11 RBI, and raised his batting average 80 points.  The popular thought might be that now he is ready to be the mega star we all want him to be. 

That definitely could be the case, but I also want you to think back to the way Upton started the 2008 season. 

He started the season with five homers in the first 11 games, and finished it with four more in the last 14 games.  So, needless to say he is a streaky hitter. 

I wouldn’t go out and trade the farm for him, but if for some reason he was dropped during his early season slump, I would pick him up.

Joakim Soria got his first save since coming back from injury.  This comes one day after getting the win on Saturday. 

In case you haven’t already, get him back into your lineup right away.

Chad Billingsley was his usual amazing self yet again.  In seven innings, Billingsley allowed just two runs, walked four, and struck out eight. 

What else can I possibly say about Billingsley? 

If he isn’t going to be the Cy Young award winner, he will certainly be in the discussion.

Is this for real? 

Is Barry Zito going to have a good season? 

Zito threw seven shutout innings, and has now allowed just three runs in his last three starts.  His strikeout numbers aren’t great (19 in 29 innings), but the fact that he isn’t a laughing stock already is news. 

I still  hesitate to advise picking him up, but perhaps as a spot starter against a bad team, he might be worth it. 

But I will deny suggesting that if he gets torched.

Carlos Zambrano left his start after five innings with a strained hamstring after RUNNING THE BASES trying to beat out a bunt attempt. 

I know Zambrano prides himself on being a good hitting pitcher, but he has to be able to keep himself under control.  He had an MRI today and they are hoping to have the results on Monday, but Lou Pinella called his next start “in jeopardy.” 

Hopefully, I will have an update tomorrow on his condition.  Oh, and he was pitching pretty good, allowing just two runs over five innings, and striking out three.  He did hang around long enough to collect his third win of the season.

Have I not been paying attention? 

Who does this Scott Richmond think he is? 

The Toronto starter ran his record to 4-0 after allowing just two earned runs over seven innings and striking out six.  He’s not a young guy (29), and he didn’t have a great minor league career, but so far in the majors he has made an impact. 

Between his five starts in 2008, and the five he has made this season, he is still yet to allow more than three earned runs in a game. 

But he is off to a good start, striking out a pretty good number (26 in 30 innings), and hasn’t lost yet.  Ride him while he’s hot, but just know that the carousel could stop at any time.

And the last player to talk about tonight is Mike Fontenot of the Cubs. 

In his last ten games he has 13 hits, hit four home runs, and ten RBI.  He was a popular sleeper heading into the season, but got off to a bad start.  

He made a good impression in Spring Training and is getting regular playing time while Aramis Ramirez is out.  He still was playing most days before that, so perhaps Ramirez's return won’t affect him, especially the way he has been swinging the bat. 

He never showed much power or speed previously in the majors or the minors, so I’m not sure how long this will last.  Others have gone on to success in the majors, so anything is possible, just don’t pin your hopes and dreams on him.

Finally, I would like to take this time to post a link to one of the newest baseball blogs, The Fantasy Windup. 

Steve Gardner, who has been with USA Today for over 15 years, has recently started his own blog about everything baseball that is updated multiple times a day. 

I especially liked the post from early in the week in which he was good enough to mention my site and link to my article from 4/26. 

Thanks Steve! 

I invite all of you to check out the Fantasy Windup and to get involved in the comments and forums with some of his great readers.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at [e-mail].

I guarantee a response within 18 hours.

Also, don’t miss “The Fantasy Baseball Gurus Show” every Wednesday night at 10pm EST on Blog Talk Radio.

The show is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. 

To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. 

The Fantasy Baseball Scouting Report is also back! 

Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the news, free agent pickups, minor leaguers, and injuries.  A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league. 

I also just met the people over at Baseball Trade Rumors and I invite you to visit their site.   They have a page for rumors for every major league team, constant updates on the latest rumors, interactive polls, and overall some great content.