Ellsbury

Jacob Ellsbury of the Red Sox is putting together a nice season so far. He's added 14 steals to fantasy stats and with his .380OBP the 14 steals will continue to increase as the season progresses. Fantasy owners should expect Ellsbury to end the year with 30+ steals.

Fuentes

Brian Fuentes recorded his second save of the season against the San Francisco Giants last night. Corpas owners who didn't grab Fuentes should be kicking themselves. Saves in any fantasy league is absolutely cutthroat. Expect Fuentes to continue as the closer unless he has problems, like his 2 week stretch in 2007 which cost him his closer role.

Fantasy Advice...saves and SB's are always the hardest to find in all fantasy leagues so make sure to draft SB's and saves plus watch the wire for injuries and the performance of current closers. Adding someone like Fuentes to your team from the waiver wire can make or break a fantasy championship.

J-Roll

Ouch, another high profile player has landed himself on the DL. First it was Bedard then Soriano now it's Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies. Rollins will be spending the next few weeks healing after spraining his left ankle. Owners...this is a huge blow for now but when he returns you should be fine. But with all injuries just hope it doesn't come back and linger. It could affect his SB totals. This is a first rounder so you can't do a thing but wait until he returns.

OBP and SB dudes

I was just taking a glance over some stats and I noticed a few things my friend was talking about the day before. My friend was talking about how AVG is so important and how it was one of his main items to look at when finding new guys and SB guys. Well, in fact all owners should take time away from AVG and move to On-Base Percentage (OBP).

If you are truly looking for someone who steals bases who cares if he is batting .250 if he has a OBP of .450. Remember, a guy on your roster can only steal if he reaches base, it doesn't matter how he gets on base just as long as he gets there. Remember in little league everyone touted "a walk is as good as a hit" well here is a prime example. People who are base stealers need to be on base. Higher OBP means more chances for them to add to your SB category.

Avg is first, OBP is (second).

Alex Rios - .306 (.457) with 4SB's
W. Taveras - .242 (.324) with 4SB's
L. Berkman - .289 (.341) with 3SB's

Make sure to look at OBP when evaluating guys who steal.

Juan

Juan Pierre of the Dodgers was drafted for one reason and that was for steals. This year under new head coach Joe Torre, he doesn't seem like owners are going to be happy with his production. Pierre is sitting behind Jones, Ethier, and Kemp.

Look at his stolen base totals for the past few years.
2001 - 46
2002 - 47
2003 - 65
2004 - 45
2005 - 57
2006 - 58
2007 - 64
2008 - 0

In fantasy baseball Pierre has one thing that owners want and that's steals. For him to get steals he has to at least get into the batters box.

ADVICE - Keep him on your bench or at least try and trade him. He won't get you top value but all depends on what people in your league want to give up for his services. Going back on keeping him, it would make sense to keep him for a bit and see how the young players pan out and especially the slumping Andruw Jones (.129AVG).

Beltran

Carlos Beltran of the Mets was caught stealing yesterday and you might be wondering why I'm telling you this. He had surgery in both knees and this is a great sign because he's RUNNING. the more he runs the more productive is and the more we can call him a 5-tool guy. So far, he hasn't hit and bombs over the fence but that should come soon enough. He's hitting .300 with 6BB's so far this season.

Owners should just keep trotting him out there.

Patterson

Just a quick note. Owners who draft Corey Patterson of the Reds draft him for SPEED. But early in this season he's been putting the ball into play, into play for the relievers in the bullpen. So far, Patterson has collected 4HR's. He's always been touted as a guy who could hit for power and take 25+ bags. Owners should be extremely happy with the power but hopefully his speed will get some attention soon. As an owner myself, I'm not complaining one bit over the HR's.

Jeter

Mr. Clutch is out with a quad injury and will be watching games from the bench for the next 3 games. Owners should be worried only if he doesn't come back after 3 games. Also, watch his SB attempts. If he isn't even attempting to run then his quad is hurting him.

Owners who drafted him expected him to play 155-162 games a year. This is not a great sign since leg injuries seem to linger throughout the season.

Jay

Jay Bruce of the Reds is working down in the minors right now and might never see the majors this year because of Corey Patterson. Patterson has provided some pop with 3HR's and has produced 1 SB so far this season. Patterson has always been touted as a player who can have a 25HR 35+SB's in a season but has never put everything together, except for 2004.

If Patterson stays healthy, owners who drafted him or picked him off the wire should expect him to swipe 30+ bags this year. Unless Bruce is absolutely tearing up the minors he won't be seeing major league pitching anytime soon. Owners of Bruce should keep him ONLY if you have room on your bench. Bench spots aren't just for sitting players, you need to make sure to use this spot wisely.

Alfonsoooooo

Alfonso Soriano of he Cubs was moved to the leadoff in the line up. This is great news for owners who are looking for Soriano to add more SB's to your stats.

Corey

Corey Patterson of the Reds has started out pretty well with power, 2HR. The reason all owners draft Patterson is for his speed. So far he has 1SB in 1 attempt. Owners, don't be worried yet. Patterson will run if he's healthy and if he gets on base. Which leads me to him getting on base. Patterson at times has trouble reaching base but when he does, he's chalking up a SB for your fantasy team.

Mr. Rios

A quick note, Alex Rios of the Blue Jays has stolen 2 bags. If he keeps this up, look for a 25+ steals this year from this RF. With 25+ HR, 100RBI potential, this OF is a nice addition to anyones roster.

Scutaro

Marco Scutaro of the Blue Jays has taken some lessons from Jose Reyes by stealing everytime he gets on base. In Scutaro's first two games he has attempted 3 steals (2 for 3).

Owners and watchers, don't take this to be a sign of him stealing 30+. Since 2002 he has attempted 19 total stolen bases with 14 successful steals. Marco isn't worth a pickup yet...but since Scott Rolen is on the DL he is the full time 3B. Keep him on your radar but he isn't worth owning at this moment in time.

Gomez

A nice little stat jumped out at me. Carlos Gomez, a player in the Santana deal, stole 2 bases in the opener for the Twins. Gomez is going to steal and steal and steal but the only thing you have to worry about is him getting on base. But adding him to your fantasy roster is dependent on how quick your team is on the base paths.

First Day Notes

The first day of full action is finally finished.

Eric Gagne - He blew his first save opportunity (1IP, 3ER, 1BB, 1K, 1HR) but luckily he was on the right end of the stick and came out with a vulture win. Keep an eye on this situation in case this is the start of more blown saves. If you have space, grab Turnbow who might become the new Brewers closer.

Albert Pujols - Does this silence some of his critics? Big Albert hit a HR in his opener, which ended up being deleted due to rain, but shows us the upside he holds especially when he was drafted in the late first round and even into the early second.

Kosuke Fukudome - Had a great day at the plate for his first game in the big leagues (3Hits, 1HR, 3RBI, 1BB). Don't expect him to give huge power numbers but what was a nice sign was his attempt at stealing. He was thrown out but it does show that he will run. Add 15-20SB's this season while hitting 20+HR's. Would you like that on your team?

Erik Bedard - Allowing a HR in the first inning didn't seem like his spring numbers were just that, spring numbers. But after the HR he settled down and finished with 5IP, 3H, 4BB, 5K, 1HR. This was a positive step after a terrible spring.

Chris Young (OF) - Hit a HR in his first game. Taking a quick look at his 2007 stats (32HR in 569AB) shows he has power. But along with the power he has 141K's, 43BB's, and a disgusting .237AVG. Only if he could lower his K's and up his BB's because when he does find the bases he steals, evident by his 27SB's. Young might grow into a mold like Adam Dunn. Not a bad person to have on your fantasy team except for the fact you have to balance the low average with a very high average player like an Ichiro.

Alex Gordon - The highly touted 2007 rookie started his 2008 campaign with a HR and 2RBI's. After starting extremely cold last year fantasy owners hope he can bring the second half of 2007 into this year.

Elijah Duke

Highly touted prospect, Dukes of the Nationals, will be placed on the 15-DL after a hamstring injury in the opening game of the season. For fantasy owners, this isn't a huge injury since most owners don't even have him on their team. I am a big fan of winning now instead of grabbing the next hot prospect. Dukes should only be owned in deep leagues. This kid has the potential for good things but in a pretty pathetic lineup don't expect huge numbers from this kid.

Dukes has shown some signs of steals in his minor league career and this hamstring doesn't help his cause.

Categories

After watching the catcher from Oakland, Kurt Suzuki, steal his first base in his major league career I thought about the two categories that are always in need during the fantasy season...steals and saves.

If you were unable to draft Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez, or Chone Figgins you will need to take a look for base stealers before it's too late. If you don't have a guy on your team that can steal 50+ bags try and get people at every position who steal 5-10 bags a year. What makes a player like Carlos Lee a fantasy stud is the fact he contributes in all categories...10SB's in 2007. A few players in this category that can help with 10-15 steals a year include Russell Martin-C, Alex Rios-RF, Ryan Braun-3B, Alex Gordon-3B, Hunter Pence-OF, and what makes this next person a top 5 pick in any draft Matt Holliday-OF.

After looking over your team, subjectively, make note of how many steals you have and take a look at the waiver wire. Individuals like Juan Pierre, Dave Roberts, and Jerry Owens are one category studs. They do one thing and one thing only, STEAL. So, if you have a deep bench or have absolutely nothing in the steals category, go out and grab one of these individuals.

The second category I mentioned was saves. There is only a limited amount of saves out there and it falls into the hands of one pitcher per game. Take note, EVERY closer in baseball should be drafted because they offer something special and that's saves. Of course, the elite closers, Jonathan Papelbon, Joe Nathan, Trevor Hoffman, and Francisco Rodriguez give you more than saves. Looking at the above and their stats, you will notice they provide a high K's/9 rate. A rate of 9K's/9 and higher is great. The elite closers will help in saves, ERA, K's, WHIP, and the occasional vulture win too. These players, as mentioned in my draft strategy, go for a premium in drafts and you will see these names fall in the first 7 rounds.

As the season progresses make sure to keep an eye on the closer battles throughout the league. Closers come and go so keeping a close eye on all the teams is a great way to pick up a newly crowned closer that might put you over the top for saves. A great example was in the 2006 season where I picked up Jonathan Papelbon straight off the FA list because I kept an eye on the closer situation around the league. This gave me a nice boost in saves and I turned around and traded him for Carlos Lee later in the year.

Which brings me to my next point. As the season progresses and if you were lucky to accumulate tons of saves, make sure to trade and gather players to boost your other categories which you need help in. You want to win your saves category, and every other category by ONE, so if you are leading by 50 at the end of the season but lost the stolen base and HR categories by ONE you just wasted a chance to win your league. EVERY POINT COUNTS.

It is only the second day of the season so don't panic. Remember, it's a long road and there are many storms and bumps along the way, just relax and enjoy the ride. If you need help in a category just look for a value trade or on the FA list. But don't do something stupid just because your players go 0-4 in their first game.