Jonathan Lee - AccuScore Analyst

What you do have to worry about is the injury to shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.  He appeared to strain his quad on Monday, but it may actually be a groin issue.  Either way, he appears headed to the DL.  The sad thing is he wasn’t even supposed to be playing.  Manager Clint Hurdle had planned to give him a day off, but back-up infielder Jeff Baker had a hand injury and couldn’t go.  Baker has also gone on the DL.  Jonathan Herrera was called up and will take over at second with Clint Barmes sliding over to short.  Barmes is a quality pick-up in NL-only and deep mixed leagues, and looks recovered from his miserable ’07 season.  Herrera is not much of a prospect so don’t worry about picking him up either.  Tulowitzki wasn’t helping any fantasy teams with his bat, but he started slowly last season as well.  If other owners panic and drop him, he’d be great to stash away on a roster and wait for his bat to come around.

All the moves didn’t help the Rockies on Tuesday as they lost 3-2 to the Giants.  Jonathan Sanchez gave up just two runs in 5.2 innings, but walked 5 batters.  Ubaldo Jimenez was better than he has been, but still not great giving up two runs as well in 5.1 innings.  (In case you were curious, Colorado made eight roster moves in all) 

• Carlos Gomez stole his 11^th bag of the year.  He’s on pace for 73 for the season.  Rookie pitcher Nick Blackburn got his second win for the Twins going seven solid innings.  He is a name to watch as he was Minnesota’s top pitching prospect.

• The Pirates busted out the bats scoring 13 runs chasing Oliver Perez after just 1.2 innings.  It was Perez’s third poor outing in his last four starts, and is cause for concern for the Mets and fantasy owners with his history of wildness.  Both Nate McLouth and Xavier Nady had three hits for Pittsburgh. 

• The Cardinals won yet again, and Rick Ankiel is scorching hot.  He went 8-13 in the series against the Reds with a home run and five RBI.  He’s hitting plenty to stay in the lineup, and his power is legit.  Ankiel continues to be a great story.

• Ankiel’s feel-good story can probably only be topped by that of Josh Hamilton.  The former no.1 pick capped off a huge April for the Rangers by hitting a three-run homer in the second inning in an 11-9 win against the Royals.  Hamilton is hitting .330 with 6 home runs and 32 RBI, and has yet to miss a game.  Fantasy stud.  Brian Bannister got shelled for the Royals giving up 7 runs in 3 innings.  I don’t trust his stuff, and he’s been overrated in fantasy. 

• It’s too bad you can’t add Micah Owings as a batter.  He’s a solid option as a pitcher, but he’s terrific with the stick.  Owings was called on to pinch-hit in the sixth inning and promptly launched an opposite field shot on the first pitch he saw.  He is a .356 career hitter with 6 home runs in 80 at-bats.

• Nationals beat the Braves in 12 innings, but the news here is that John Smoltz expects to be in the bullpen when he returns from his shoulder injury.  If that happens, there’s no chance he’s just some run-of-the-mill reliever.  He’ll be closing games which would greatly bolster the pen, but leave a huge hole in the rotation.  Either way Smoltz retains high value.  Jair Jurrjens is doing all he can to hold together the Atlanta rotation pitching another seven terrific innings giving up just two hits and one run.  Mostly importantly he walked zero batters.  Control has been this youngsters issues, but he’s been very good and has value even in mixed leagues.  Pick him up. 

• Dustin McGowan finally flashed the potential that had many calling him a breakout candidate.  He went 7.1 strong innings striking out 5 and giving up just 1 run.  It was not enough to get the win however against Dice-K and the Red Sox.  Matsuzaka was not bothered by a flu-induced layoff and one-upped McGowan throwing seven shutout innings.  Interestingly, Hideki Okajima has blown saves in three eighth inning appearances, but has been charged with just one run.

• Chase Utley smashed his major league leading 11^th home run of the year.  He also leads the majors in slugging (.766).  And I saw this guy drop in several drafts this season.  Every fantasy owner would love to have the best power hitter in baseball at a middle infield position.  Can you say M-V-P? 

• Tigers are creeping closer to the .500 mark with a 6-2 win over the Yankees.  Every Detroit starter got at least one hit except Ivan Rodriguez.  Jeremy Bonderman was solid getting the win, but struck out just one batter.  His K/9 rate has dropped significantly this season to just 4.63 down from his career average of 7.38.  He needs to miss more bats to restore his fantasy value to its high two seasons ago.

• The Mariners recognized it had some sunk costs by cutting outfielders Brad Wilkerson and Greg Norton, and called up Wladimir Balentien and Jeff Clement.  Tim Williams covered Balentein’s impact , but Clement could be an even bigger fantasy star.  He was batting nearly .400 this season in the minors, and could hit 20+ dingers annually.  Clement will probably start stealing at-bats from the corpse of Jose Vidro and fill in at catcher and possibly at first. 

• Indians pitcher Cliff Lee won yet again to improve to 5-0.  He did give up a three-run homer to Balentien, but that was it for six innings.  His ERA is still under one at 0.96, and I am prepare to go with him for the entire season.  I think he’s in for a career season.

• Break up the Rays! They beat the Orioles, and now both teams are tied for second in the AL East at 15-12.  I think Tampa Bay is legit and can be a .500 team, but Baltimore will fade again into obscurity towards the bottom of the standings as they have for the past decade.  I hope nobody for some reason had Bob McCrory in their fantasy lineups.  I know it’s unlikely but lines that read 0.1 IP, 2 BB, 2 H, 4 ER don’t look pretty.

• Rafael Furcal had five hits for the Dodgers in their 13-1 beatdown of the Marlins.  Matt Kemp had three hits, three RBI, two stolen bases, and was robbed of another hit.  Kemp is starting to show off his multiple talents, and is adjusting to breaking balls much better.  Expect him to produce all season.

• Chad Billingsley won his first start in five tries by avoiding the big inning.  Florida loaded the bases in the fifth, but managed to score just once.  Billingsley has pitched better than his record or ERA would indicate because he has always allowed one big inning in most of his starts.  Runners on base would lead him to leave pitches over the plate because he was forced to throw strikes.  His K/9 is a ridiculous 13.01 after another 8 punchouts Wednesday, and is a terrific buy-low candidate.

• Rookie catcher Geovany Soto hit two three-run home runs against the Brewers to top a 19 run onslaught by Chicago against the Brewers.  The lesson here people is this: never have Jeff Suppan on your fantasy team (3.2 IP, 11 H, 8 ER).  

• Ervin Santana continues to live up to his potential winning yet again by limiting Oakland to just four hits and one run in 6.2 innings.  He and teammate Joe Saunders close out April with identical 5-0 records.  Both have pitched tremendously in the absence of aces John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar.

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