Hot Players

Here are a few players that caught my eye in the past 7 or so days. Remember, these guys are hot right now but don't expect most of them to continue to torch pitchers/hitters for the rest of the season. But at the same time, make sure to take note of these players just in case they do have a career year which will help you win a fantasy championship.

R. Cedeno - SS - Cubs - .429AVG, 6R, 1HR, 10RBI's
C. Blake - 1B/3B/OF - Indians - .421AVG, 4R, 2HR, 10RBI's
F. Lewis - OF - Giants - .333AVG, 6R, 1HR, 5RBI, 2SB

J. Lannan - SP - Nationals - 13IP, 1W, 15K's, 0.69ERA, 0.85WHIP
C. Silva - SP - Mariners - 13IP, 1W, 5K, 2.08ERA, 1.08WHIP

Jon Rauch

J. Rauch of the Nationals just pitched a scoreless 9th and picked up the Save against the Marlins. As I said before, Rauch is needed on ALL rosters. If you are in need of saves, take a look at the wire. You'll most likely be late since this isn't a real rumour.

Cordero/Rauch

Chad Cordero of the Nationals is throwing 82mph fastballs and owners should be worried. As of right now there is no injury to report but with a dip in velocity there might be a problem, just hope it's just a dead arm issue.

Make sure to keep J.Rauch on your team because with such a deep drop in velocity you never know what might happen with the closer job.

Take note

F. Liriano of the Twins is back in the majors and pitched, ummm, not so effectively. 4.2IP, 6H, 4ER, 5BB, and 4K's. Don't expect him to be pitching 8 innings with 10K's right away. Be patient and hopefully he gets back to his old self from two year ago.

E. Bedard was scratched from his latest start, AGAIN, with inflammation in his left hip. This is not good news and even worse news for owners who drafted him or kept (which I did) him, so please be patient and wait until more news comes out on Bedard. Just shows everyone how volatile pitchers can be and why drafting them early just doesn't work out.

J. Reyes of the Mets has a mild strain, that was seen through an MRI. So far, there is no news on him hitting the DL but for owners this is not good news. Reyes is drafted in the first round because he can single handedly take the SB category for any owner. With a leg injury this thing called running might not be in the cards for him. Owners, relax and hope this injury doesn't linger through the season.

B. Bannister of the Royals threw a CG 3 hitter and well he should be on your team.

C. Cordero and J. Rauch of the Nationals seem to be sharing save duties for now. Keep both on your team until a single closer is finally declared. What I just said isn't official but it is good idea to have both...for now.

Cordero

Cordero of the Nationals was placed on the 15-Day DL on Friday with shoulder tendinitis. According to reports, he is not experiencing any pain when throwing after a cortisone shot. Owners shouldn't worry and just keep him on your bench or in the DL spot. Go out and grab Jon Rauch for the time being.

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.

Season Opener...

Ok, it's not the official opener but it is the first game played on North American soil for 2008.

The Washington Nationals opened their new stadium, Nationals Park, by beating the Atlanta Braves 3-2 in dramatic fashion. The first pitch was thrown by President Bush to usher in a new era of baseball to the Nations Capital.

Ryan Zimmerman took matters into his own hands by hitting a home run to put the final touches on the new stadium. Speaking of Zimmerman, make sure to look for him this year in your fantasy leagues, he should provide a nice boost even though 3B is a deep position.

Photo Credits
Bush - AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
Zimmerman - AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais