Fantasy Ticker

Two-start pitchers worth starting:

Josh Beckett (4/11 vs. Toronto, 4/16 vs. Seattle)

Freddy Garcia (4/10 @ Detroit, 4/16 vs. Toronto)

John Patterson (4/10 @ Houston, 4/15 @ Florida)

Matt Morris (4/11 vs. Houston, 4/16 @ Los Angeles Dodgers)

John Lackey (4/10 vs. Texas, 4/16 @ Baltimore)

Cliff Lee (4/11 vs. Seattle, 4/16 @ Detroit)

Dan Haren (4/11 @ Minnesota, 4/16 vs. Texas)

You make the call:

Brett Myers (4/10 @ Atlanta, 4/16 @ Colorado)

Brian Bannister (4/11 @ Washington, 4/16 vs. Milwaukee)

Zach Duke (4/10 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, 4/15 vs. Chicago Cubs)

Mark Mulder (4/10 vs. Milwaukee, 4/16 vs. Cincinnati)

Jeremy Bonder man (4/10 vs. Chicago White Sox, 4/16 vs. Cleveland)

Chien-Ming Wang (4/11 vs. Kansas City, 4/16 @ Minnesota)

Erik Bedard (4/10 @ Tampa Bay, 4/15 vs. Los Angeles Angels)

Orlando Hernandez (4/11 vs. Colorado, 4/16 vs. Houston)

Other two-start pitchers:

Mark Hendrickson (4/11 vs. Baltimore, 4/16 vs. Kansas City)

Odalis Perez (4/10 @ Pittsburgh, 4/15 vs. San Francisco)

John Thomson (4/10 vs. Philadelphia, 4/16 vs. San Diego)

Jae Seo (4/11 @ Pittsburgh, 4/16 vs. San Francisco)

Kris Benson (4/11 @ Tampa Bay, 4/16, Los Angeles Angels)

Joe Mays (4/11, @ New York Yankees, 4/16 @ Tampa Bay)

Seth McClung (4/10 vs. Baltimore, 4/15 vs. Kansas City)

Kameron Loe (4/10 @ Los Angeles Angels, 4/16 @ Oakland)

Brad Radke (4/11 vs. Oakland, 4/16 vs. New York Yankees)

Bronson Arroyo (4/11 @ Chicago Cubs, 4/16 @ St. Louis)

Taylor Buchholz (4/11 @ San Francisco, 4/16 @ Arizona)

Aaron Cook (4/11 @ Arizona, 4/16 vs. Philadelphia)

Shawn Estes (4/11 @ Florida, 4/16 @ Atlanta)

Brian Moehler (4/11 vs. San Diego, 4/16 vs. Washington)

Tomo Ohka (4/10 @ St. Louis, 4/16 @ New York Mets)

Ramon Ortiz (4/11 vs. New York Mets, 4/16 @ Florida)

Wandy Rodriguez (4/10 vs. Washington, 4/15 @ Arizona)

Glendon Rusch (4/11 vs. Cincinnati, 4/16 @ Pittsburgh)

Ian Snell (4/11 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, 4/16 vs. Chicago Cubs)

At the hitter's parks this week:

At Coors Field in Colorado: Philadelphia (4/14-16)

At Chase Field in Arizona: Colorado (4/11-13) and Houston (4/14-16)

At U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago (AL): Toronto (4/14-16)

Teams with seven games:

Devil Rays, Pirates, Dodgers, Nationals, Orioles, Astros

Ratchet them up!

Adrian Gonzalez (1B, Padres): He finally gets a shot at a regular starting gig with San Diego. Even with the spacious confines of PETCO, he's an average first baseman at worst.

Craig Wilson (1B/OF, Pirates): He's only got seven at-bats, but he's made the best of them so far with a .429/.500/1.000 line. If or when he gets traded, the playing time he receives will once again make him a solid choice for an outfield spot. It was only two seasons ago he hit 29 home runs.

Juan Rivera (OF, Angels): He was supposed to split time at DH, but after the first week it really seems like he's going to be in the lineup more often than not. He's a worthwhile fourth outfielder and should be available in most leagues.

Chris Shelton (1B, Tigers): He was a bargain on draft day and everyone knows about him now. He's hit five home runs with a .700/.727/1.750 line in the first week. He'll come back down to earth, but if you can grab him for the time being, do so.

Omar Vizquel (SS, Giants): No one expected the ancient Vizquel to be producing this season, but he's already got three stolen bases. While there are other choices at shortstop, you can certainly do worse than the 20 steals Vizquel is likely to give you.

Curt Schilling (SP, Red Sox): Schill has bounced back in a big way from 2005. He's already won two games and is showing form that should give him solid strikeouts, ERA and WHIP the rest of the way. If you were hesitant to draft him, there's no harm in tying to trade for him.

Justin Verlander (SP, Tigers): He struck out seven batters at Texas while giving up no runs. He's a rookie, but he'll continue his success in a no pressure situation like the one he has in Detroit.

David Bush (SP, Brewers): His strong spring translated into his first win with Milwaukee. Mike Maddox has done a great job with the rest of the staff and Bush should thrive out of Toronto.

Ervin Santana (SP, Angels): If you didn't catch his performance against the Yankees this weekend, believe the hype behind Santana. He did a great job of shutting down the most feared lineup in the bigs.

Ratchet them down!

Ken Griffey Jr. (OF, Reds): If he's healthy, he'll produce. Sadly, his success in the World Baseball Classic hasn't translated to the new season as he's hitting under the Mendoza line through the first week. He'll pick it up eventually.

Julio Lugo (SS, Devil Rays): A rough week for Lugo ended early when he hit the DL after Tampa's second game of the season. BJ Upton wasn't called up as the anemic Nick Green was called upon to hold down the six-hole.

Randy Winn (OF, Giants): Yes, he had a good season last year and yes, he came through in the clutch against Los Angeles. But, I'm not sold on this guy. He's been an average outfielder his entire career and just because he had the best stretch of his career in the second half of 2005 doesn't mean you should jump on the bandwagon now.

Jason Giambi (1B, Yankees): With the depth at first base, you can do better than the Giambino's .125/.333/.125 line. Once the Yankees lineup starts hitting he'll probably do the same, but you'll have to be patient with him.

Aubrey Huff (1B/OF, Devil Rays): Huff is a notorious second half hitter and is starting cold in 2006 by hitting .200. Check him out if he gets traded, but not until then.

Kevin Millwood (SP, Rangers): There's no way he's going to repeat the sub-3.00 ERA from 2005 with Texas and he's already been roughed up twice in two losses. His current ERA will drop from 7.36, but don't expect anything less than around 4.00 to 4.50.

Brian Bannister (SP, Mets): He did enough to earn a rotation spot, but I've never been big on rookies who are put in big roles in New York. Like any other rookie, he'll have his ups and downs and I'm not buying yet.

Jamie Moyer (SP, Mariners): He's only getting older, folks. Don't expect anything much from the "anchor" of Seattle's staff.

Shawn Chacon (SP, Yankees): I don't want to hate on the New York teams, but Chacon has never proven that what he showed with the Yanks in 2005 is the real deal. If he pitches on a regular basis with New York he'll be an average pitcher.

Andy Pettitte (SP, Astros): He's already been burned in his first two outings, including a 10-run game in his first start. There may be something wrong with Pettitte, who's been injured often and has been vocal with his plans to possible move on to retirement or another team after this season.