Fantasy Baseball Thoughts: Week 1

Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Rule No. 7 of fantasy: Do not panic after week one. Hot starts usually do not last, ask John Buck. Every person you add should be considered a flier and not a stud; there was a reason they were not drafted.

Here are some fantasy baseball thoughts to consider while managing your team in week two.

Batters

• Who would have guessed Mark Trumbo would be raking this year?
• Charlie Blackmon. Hey, chances are Carlos Gonzalez gets hurt at some point this year which will help Blackmon stay in the lineup despite an inevitable crash back to reality. But if you are going to take a flier on someone for organizational depth, a 27 year old playing at Coors 50% of the time seems like a good choice.
• Ryan Braun had over 60 games and an off-season to fix his thumb, apparently he had more important things to do.
• Do not give up on Billy Hamilton yet. In all fairness he faced two pitchers, Adam Wainwright and Michael Wacha, that could both end up in the Top-5 of NL Cy Young voting.
• Seattle Mariners are off to a hot start and their best fantasy players that offer the most value throughout the season all happen to be middle infielders Robinson Cano, Brad Miller and Dustin Ackley.
• Before boarding the Brandon Belt bandwagon, beware Buster’s bent to burglarize Belt’s at-bats.
• Emilio Bonifacio is relevant. Multiple position eligibility with league leading stolen base potential. Manager Rick Renteria came from the Padres, who were Top-5 in the league for stole base attempts every year Renteria was there. Bonifacio will get lots of green lights.
• Please welcome back Josh Hamilton…again.
• Mark Teixeira beat Brian Roberts, Brian McCann, and Derek Jeter to the DL.
• Jose Reyes and Wilson Ramos both ended up on the DL, Ryan Zimmerman is hurt, and in other shocking news, the sun still comes up in the East.
• Yasiel Puig is a walking reality TV show, too much drama for my team.
• Giancarlo Stanton will have a huge year if he stays healthy. The Fish will not be able to keep pace but they are taking steps in the right direction, which Stanton will and all ready has benefited from.
• Chris Colabello is off to a hot start. If you have roster flexibility and did not get a 1B that you liked in the draft, Colabello, which roughly translated in Italian means “oozes good looks”, could be a handsome flier as he is batting cleanup. Target Field will suffocate his power eventually though.

Pitchers

• Too early to give Jose Fernandez the NL Cy Young?
• CC Sabathia of 2014 looks like the Roy Halladay of 2013
• Masahiro Tanaka overcame some early struggles and was as advertised.
• Erasmo Ramirez and James Paxton are worth a look in the great northwest as well, but if you buy now, be prepared to sell by the break.
• Andrew Cashner is the real deal, but playing with the Padres will mean little run support, plan accordingly.
• Alex Wood is stepping up big for the Braves so far.
• Tyler Skaggs is throwing harder than he used to.
• Jonathan Papelbon cannot throw as hard as he used to.
• Bobby Parnell is done and Jose Valverde will step in his place.
• Jose Veras looks awful while Pedro Strop looks solid.
• Jim Johnson is off to a horrendous start.
• Jim Henderson lost his job before the season started. Thanks for the heads up, Roenicke!
• Neftali Feliz is regaining his velocity in the minors and should be up soon, but will have to settle for set up work until Joakim Soria falters.