As of today, with two-and-a-half weeks until draft day, I've ranked 177 players. Here's my top 100... some revising still to do, no doubt, and preseason injuries are inevitable.

1. LaDainian Tomlinson
2. Adrian Peterson
3. Brian Westbrook
4. Marion Barber
5. Joseph Addai
6. Randy Moss
7. Tom Brady
8. Peyton Manning
9. Clinton Portis
10. Jamal Lewis
11. Tony Romo
12. Terrell Owens
13. Thomas Jones
14. Steven Jackson
15. Drew Brees
16. Earnest Graham
17. Braylon Edwards
18. Laurence Maroney
19. Frank Gore
20. Reggie Wayne
21. Ryan Grant
22. Deuce McAllister
23. Brandon Jacobs
24. Larry Fitzgerald
25. T.J. Houshmandzadeh
26. Chad Johnson
27. Carson Palmer
28. LenDale White
29. Ben Roethlisberger
30. Maurice Jones-Drew
31. Willis McGahee
32. Plaxico Burress
33. Laveranues Coles
34. Andre Johnson
35. Torry Holt
36. Marvin Harrison
37. Chris Chambers
38. Derek Anderson
39. Reggie Bush
40. Steve Smith
41. DeAngelo Williams
42. Marshawn Lynch
43. Willie Parker
44. Marques Colston
45. Edgerrin James
46. Santonio Holmes
47. Jason Witten
48. Larry Johnson
49. Brandon Marshall
50. Anquan Boldin
51. Kellen Winslow
52. Donovan McNabb
53. Antonio Gates
54. San Diego
55. Minnesota
56. Dallas Clark
57. Greg Jennings
58. Roddy White
59. Matt Hasselbeck
60. Pittsburgh
61. Calvin Johnson
62. Fred Taylor
63. Wes Welker
64. Roy Williams
65. Jerricho Cotchery
66. Selvin Young
67. Tony Gonzalez
68. Chicago
69. Hines Ward
70. Rudi Johnson
71. Michael Turner
72. Darren McFadden
73. Matt Forte
74. Joey Galloway
75. Donald Driver
76. New England
77. Chris Cooley
78. Bernard Berrian
79. Brett Favre
80. Marc Bulger
81. Anthony Gonzalez
82. Lee Evans
83. Dwayne Bowe
84. Jonathan Stewart
85. Santana Moss
86. Heath Miller
87. Donte' Stallworth
88. Jay Cutler
89. Ronnie Brown
90. Jeremy Shockey
91. Benjamin Watson
92. Jake Delhomme
93. Eli Manning
94. Vernon Davis
95. Julius Jones
96. David Garrard
97. Philip Rivers
98. D.J. Hackett
99. Chris Johnson
100. Dallas

One night after I rip an unnamed sports publication for praising the Texans' running attack, one day after I say Ahman Green's probably gonna get hurt behind a banged-up offensive line, guess what?

Ahman Green gets taken out of Saturday night's Houston preseason game after getting hurt ON THE FIRST PLAY.  Yeah... not just injured during the game, but ON THE FIRST PLAY, he suffers a pulled groin.

On the bright side, looks like Mr. Fantasy was right on Steve Slaton so far.

Here's the deal with the preseason.  It's not a time to check out who really should be drafted in the first two rounds.  Those players are bona-fide superstars.

The preseason's a good time to evaluate possible sleepers, guys who'll be your third wideouts, your third or fourth running backs.

For example, Miami's Derek Hagan has taken Ernest Wilford's starting spot.  Obviously, that means Wilford's solid stock from last year with Jacksonville has all but disappeared.  Meanwhile, Hagan is the top wideout for the Dolphins, and they'll be passing a lot since they'll be losing a lot.  Hagan is now a serious candidate to be a solid fourth wideout in a fantasy league.

Other notes from the preseason... Chris Johnson is showing every critic why the Titans chose him in the first round.  He had a nondescript college career, but then ran a 4.24 40-yard dash.  THAT got scouts' attention, but then again, because of busts like Mike Mamula, workouts aren't everything these days, but Johnson's 66-yard run could be the start to him lowing LenDale White's stock and boosting his own, although not by much.  White still looked good, with a healthy yards-per-carry average, and Johnson's just a change-of-pace back at best.  Plus, this might actually motivate White into getting his fat butt in shape.

Yes... spoken from a disgruntled Titans fan who actually is excited about the Titans because, forget about making Vince Young conventional, the guy wins games.  Combined with a defensive line that has Jevon Kearse on the other side of Kyle VandenBosch with Albert Haynesworth on the inside, this could be a very solid defense indeed.  Of course, past this year, they have to figure out a way to keep Haynesworth, but for this year, the Titans are dangerous.  How can anybody stop their running attack with the Vince Young dimension mixed in?

Over these next few weeks, there'll be plenty of publications that'll have their fantasy picks.  Some are genius.  Some are not.

It's ultimately up to you what's good, and what's not.

Obviously, I think of myself as a giver of good fantasy advice.  Let's face the facts: after every draft, no matter the sport, every owner alive is going to believe his or her team is the best thing since sliced bread.

Well, I'll say this much: I've learned over the years that one of the most prominent sports publications in the country, while being probably the best overall and most respected sports magazine around, is HORRIBLE for fantasy picks.  Absolutely horrible.

Not gonna say what magazine... but I get these daily e-mails from this magazine, and it gives fantasy advice once in awhile, and it inspired this e-mail.

It says to take note of the Houston Texans' running game, that they could be good.

Stress the word "could," because I think it's likely they could NOT be good this year.

I do like their signing of Chris Brown to help out Ahman Green.  However, with their offensive line going downhill because of preseason injuries, combined with Green's age and Brown's propensity to get hurt, that's not going to help the Texans' offense at all.  Their defense is good, even though Dunta Robinson is banged up, but the offense will struggle because of the banged-up line, and because of that, the defense will get worn out.

The offensive line is so desperate that Charles Spencer may be brought back, and he's still coming back from injuries suffered years ago.

So ultimately, this is what'll happen:

-Ahman Green's stock goes down.

-Chris Brown's stock goes down.

-Andre Johnson's stock goes down, plus he'll probably get hurt.

-Matt Schaub's stock stays neutral, because he'll be forced to pass more, but he could make more mistakes.

-I still like Steve Slaton as a possible sleeper.  Keep him on your radar, or he might even be worth a late-round pick.

Brett Favre's one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.

He's also a gunslinger, a risk-taker.  In fantasy football, that's damaging to any owner who has him.

However, in light of these new reports of his trade to the Jets, just about everybody else OTHER than Favre will benefit.

New York made good use of the offseason and beefed up its offensive line.  Think about it.  Alan Faneca, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Nick Mangold, Damien Woody?  That's pretty solid.  Thomas Jones in the backfield?  You better believe his stock goes up with a more balanced attack, as it also does, but not as much so, for change-of-pace back Leon  Washington.

Laveurneus Coles and Jerrico Cotchery also rise up on the fantasy charts.  They catch the balls.  Favre's inevitable interceptions don't hurt them INDIVUALLY.

Let's face it.  Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens weren't gonna get the job done.  At the very least, Favre will be able to help the Jets win more, which means more carries for Jones, and he'll be better suited for delivering the ball to the wideouts.

So far, Manny Ramirez has been amazing with LA.  Jason Bay has been solid with the BoSox.  Ray Durham hasn't gotten regular playing time with the Brewers, and Jon Rauch has seen his stock dip dramatically with the D-backs.

People to notice:

-Texas' Chris Davis: for the longest time, he had his batting average in the low .200's.  In about a month, he's raised that to about .300 with some power.  Most owners don't need a first baseman, but in case you do, if he keeps this up for the next few weeks, he might play his way to have more value than either Jason Giambi or Carlos Pena.

-Cleveland's Jhonny Peralta: The shortstop is on a ridiculous tear right now.  Batting average is back up to around .280.  He has 19 home runs.  That's a lot for anybody at this point, much less an infielder.  Mr. Fantasy just dropped Carlos Guillen to pick up Peralta in one of my leagues.  Plus, Peralta's batting cleanup in a lineup without Travis Hafner or Victor Martinez.  At this point, I'd rate Peralta just a notch below J. J. Hardy, and with Hardy slipping, Peralta could overtake Hardy in value.

That said, I've noticed many owners dropping Hardy.  What the heck are you thinking?  He's still in a power lineup, and he's not in THAT bad of a slump.

-St. Louis' Ryan Ludwick.  Ok, he's on a team in just about every league, but this former Mud Hen is SO hot right now, and his name's not Hansel.  (sorry, couldn't resist the Zoolander reference)  As long as Albert Pujols stays healthy, helloooo Ludwick production.

Moving from 1 Cardinal to another, Cris Carpenter is progressing nicely.  He's working his endurance, and doing so flawlessly.

On the other hand, Cleveland's Fausto Carmona will be inconsistent for probably a few more WEEKS.  He had an encouraging 2nd start off the DL, but his start last night suggested he's still not confident in his stuff.  Just doesn't have the command back yet.  Still deserves to be on a roster though.  Owners just need to pray the old Carmona comes back.

Speaking of praying, that's what Mets fans probably do when the gameball is handed over to the bullpen.  You'd think Aaron Heilman would be the natural fit to replace Billy Wagner.  Nope.  Scott Schoenweis, Joe Smith?  Shaky as all heck.  Closer's spot, still to be determined.

See ya, Brendan Morrow, you just got dropped in every league.  Mariners officials obviously weren't concerned about fantasy owners.  However, J. J. Putz might be a nice late-season pick-up if he's available.

I gave up on Texas' C. J. Wilson a few months ago.  He's been shaky all year.  He was shaky again last night, and he FINALLY might lose his job.  Eddie Guardado, anyone?  Only time will tell.

Until next time, tune in to my segment tonight on Fox Toledo News, First at 10.

FoxSports.com is reporting Manny Ramirez has been traded to the Dodgers.

That leaves me to wonder: Red Sox nation, do you seriously think this'll make your team better?

Jason Bay replacing Man Ram?

Well, that's the non-fantasy part of me thinking that.

Fantasy-wise, Ramirez boosts the stock of EVERYBODY in the Dodgers lineup.  Well, except for Andruw Jones (should be dropped already) and either Andre Ethier or Juan Pierre will see only part-time duty.  Matt Kemp has done enough to solidify a place in the lineup permanently.  The stocks of the pitchers go up too with more run support forthcoming.

Jason Bay's stock goes up because Boston's lineup will do more to help him out, but overall, the stock of Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, and Mike Lowell drops severely.  The Red Sox are still good, but Manny's a big bat to replace, and Jason Bay's not the total answer.

Meanwhile, Ken Griffey Junior's trade to the White Sox is kind of a wait-and-see proposition.  My belief is that Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye will see their stock go up.  Paul Konerko needs to be dropped.  Nick Swisher needs to be dropped.

And... there shall be more trades.

Lots of trades to sort through... with more to come, no doubt.

First off, Mr. Fantasy agrees with the big BF.   If you need a catcher, or a third baseman, or an outfielder, Brandon Inge's stock is up now that Pudge is gone.

Pudge's stock also rises since he goes to the all-powerful Yankees.

That said, Xavier Nady's stock goes down because he's not as important to the Yanks as he was to the Pirates.  How will he fit in exactly?  He won't be as prominent as he was in Pittsburgh, that's for sure.

Mark Teixera's stock rises.  He succeeded with Texas big-time, back in the day, and now that he's slotted right ahead of Vladimir Guerrero in the batting order, mark my words, he'll be seeing some quality pitches.

Not completely sold on Clayton Kershaw yet.  One great start doesn't speak volumes.  Two more consecutively... then we'll be talking pick-up.

How about Alex Gordon walking 5 times in a game?  That's a heck of a way to have 0 at-bats in a game.

By the way, Brad Ziegler and Jose Arredondo are great middle relievers to pick up out of all the middle relievers out there right now.  Ziegler's shutout streak to start his career is just crazy.

And finally, everybody on the Rockies... stock up!  They're streaking right now like they were at the end of last year.  Not yet sold on Troy Tulowitzski, but keep him on your radar.  Aaron Cook, Brian Fuentes will see their values rise.

Any questions?  Holla at Mr. Fantasy.

I was seriously relieved to see Josh Hamilton hit a home run last night.  Had me worried for a little bit.  Not that I  would EVER recommend benching him, but he's been slowing down lately.

His teammate, Milton Bradley, had to leave with a minor injury.  Bench him for a couple of games until you see that he's A) back in the lineup, and B) hitting again.

The 3rd outfielder for the Rangers, David Murphy, after his 2-homer performance last week, has also since slowed down.  He'd love to just have 2 HITS, of any kind, in a game to break out of his slump.

Other cold bats... Florida's Jorge Cantu has one 2-hit game since his 2-homer game last Wednesday night.  Philly's Pat Burrell WAS hot, but not for the last couple of games.  Same with Chase Utley.  We all know Utley will be fantastic again relatively soon.  With Burrell, it's not so certain when his next hot streak will be.  Cincinnati's Jay Bruce is 1-for-his last 16.  Chicago's Carlos Quentin is 1-for-his last 16.  Milwaukee's Corey Hart is in a 1-for-19 slump.  The Cubs' Geovany Soto has also been cold.

Possible sleepers... Atlanta's Brandon Jones is hitting over .400.  KC's Mike Aviles is officially "on the radar," as in he very well might be in next week's Weekly Watch if he can keep his average above .300 for another week.  KC's Kyle Davies is 3-0 for the ROYALS and has pitched extremely well, even though the strikeouts aren't necessarily there.

Major injuries this past week with Alfonso Soriano, Chien-Ming Wang, Victor Martinez...

and of course, Tiger Woods, but that's not fantasy baseball anymore.  I just had to mention Tiger because what he did at the U.S. Open was too incredible not to mention.

My heart definitely skipped a beat when I saw Alfonso Soriano was hit in the hand by a pitch.

Translation: my 1st-round pick in one of my leagues is gonna be out about 6 weeks.

2nd Translation: Uh oh.

This comes right after the same team lost Adam Wainwright and Jerry Hairston, Jr. to recent injuries with Chris Young the pitcher already filling my 1 DL spot and Troy Percival also hurt.

What to do, what to do.

Thank goodness, Jorge Cantu was still available.  I chose him over David Murphy (this is an 8-team league) because Murphy dominates righties, but not lefties, and this league stresses pitching, and so my offense has the bare minimum of players, with no bench.  Basically, I need a guy who can play for me everyday, not a guy I need to bench once in awhile, no offense to Murphy, who has been outstanding, but again, against righties, not lefties.

On the downside, in the same league, I faced a team that had King Felix, Shawn Marcum, Tim Lincecum, Ryan Dempster all on the same night.  They were awesome.

I did have Justin Verlander and Justin Duchscherer, both of whom came away with wins, so I stay close in that category.

Other thoughts from tonight's boxscores...

-Pittsburgh's Ryan Doumit is begging to be picked up.  7 hits, 3 home runs in his last 8 at bats.  This, after slumping his first few games off the DL and getting dropped by yours truly in another league of mine because I opted to keep Tampa's Dioner Navarro.

-Seattle's Brandon Morrow will do well as a Seattle closer in place of J. J. Putz until Putz comes back.  Morrow will also get a good number of K's.

-I'm on the Moises Alou lookout.  He had a hit in his first game back from the DL, but didn't play tonight.  I suspect that he got hurt... AGAIN.

-Jay Bruce is becoming more and more sporadic with his good performances.  His average is still about .370, but look for his numbers to continue dropping to about .305 or so.

-Carlos Quentin is also coming down to earth a little bit.

I'll admit, Mr. Fantasy peruses some other fantasy literature to see what others are saying, but mark my words...

ALL THIS "NEXT JAY BRUCE" TALK IS FOOLISH.

Seriously.

Before Ryan Braun came along, who came in from the minors with no previous experience and tore it up, not only from the get go, but throughout the year???

I'm seriously trying to go inside my head for someone as well-rounded as a Braun or a Bruce, because both guys are bona-fide top-15 fantasy players and will be for years to come.

Oakland's Carlos Gonzalez?  Still needs to establish himself and hasn't really opened with a bang at the bottom of the A's order.

KC's duo of Billy Butler and Alex Gordon?  Both will be fine major leaguers and terrific hitters, but Gordon needed some time, and will still improve from the solid hitter he is now, and Butler will REALLY tear it up in 2 years, I'm guessing.

Tampa's Evan Longoria?  Great player, but can't compare him to Bruce or Braun, because his average is still mediocre even though his baseball fundamentals are beautiful.

Washington's Ryan Zimmerman?  Still needs to establish himself consistently.

Minnesota's Delmon Young?  Arizona's Justin Upton?  Those guys all went through some inconsistent periods and are still not up to Braun-esque standards.

The list goes on and on.

So, PLEASE, just realize the fact that call-ups like Braun and Bruce are pretty much the exception rather than the rule, and focus on other issues, like who's becoming a good and consistent MAJOR LEAGUE hitter.

Such as...

Philadelphia's Shane Victorino.  I'm falling in love with this guy as a fantasy player.  Need runs?  This guy has plenty of able teammates to drive him in with the presence of Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Pat Burrell.  Will also give stolen bases and just, in general, is super aggressive in going for it all!  He's only been under the radar because he's been hurt for awhile this year, but even still, he's already at 13 stolen bases and a ton of runs.

Florida's Jorge Cantu.  Qualifies for multiple positions in Yahoo leagues.  Cleanup hitter in what I originally thought was going to be an underachieving Marlins lineup.  Boy, was I wrong.  Dan Uggla and Luis Gonzalez and, of course, Hanley Ramirez leading everything off has made that lineup pretty solid.  I like the Marlins' lineup more than the Athletics, for example.

PITCHERS

Justin Masterson, Boston.  Pick him up.  He's 3-0, and not just because he's with Boston.  He has a good ERA, and pretty much had a carbon copy of a good performance of his opponent on the mound on Sunday by a much more proven veteran, Seattle's Erik Bedard.

Jonathan Sanchez, San Francisco.  Only in his 2nd year, so I'm not completely sold, plus has an inconsistent offense behind him, but if you check out his last few starts, you'll see why I'm more than warming up to him.  Strikeout totals are solid, and he hasn't been giving up that many runs.

Disappointed in Randy Johnson today.  Thought he had turned back into his old self, and then he goes out with a mediocre performance against PITTSBURGH.  Keep him for now in deep leagues.

Another note: thanks Yahoo for spoiling any plans I had to trade Rich Harden.  I will say that it's those writer's full-time jobs to find something fantasy-related to write about, so of course they had to point out something that some MAY have forgotten: that Harden hasn't had an injury-free season for YEARS.  The percentage that he'll have some kind of arm problem is EXTREMELY high.  That said, now that you can't trade him, still try to get something good in return, don't settle, and try to ride a healthy Harden (which is an extremely dominant Harden) as long as you can.

Moral of the story?  Hopefully, you have more than just Harden to rely on for pitching.

PICK UP JAY BRUCE.

NOW.

Yes.  He's the real deal.

I usually don't jump on the rookie bandwagon immediately, because for every Ryan Braun, there's several more like Evan Longoria.  Actually, outside of Braun, it's hard to think of another player who made such an immediate fantasy impact in the bigs.

Until Jay Bruce.

Everybody hyped up Alex Gordon last year, and then it was Longoria this season.  Gordon's rounding into form in his second season, but still isn't a must-have just yet in his career.  Longoria is borderline, showing some flashes, but still is inconsistent, and that shows in his average.

Longoria didn't quite dominate minor league pitching when he started the year at Triple A.  Bruce, on the other hand, has dominated the minors, batting over .360 with 10 homers with almost the same amount of stolen bases.  In other words, he hits for average, power, has speed... he's amazing.  I've personally only witnessed one other hitter in all the minor leagues who has dominated minor league pitching with more efficiency, and that was Marcus Thames when he was a Mud Hen.  Let's just say, I'm a firm believer that Thames definitely deserves to be in the big leagues.

Anyway, back to Bruce, Cincinnati's gonna give him every chance to play.  He started off the best way possible, by going 3-3 with a double, stolen base, an RBI, and a run scored in his very first game.  I'd start off by picking him up and starting him against righthanders, seeing that Bruce is left-handed, and the adjustment to big-league pitching would be easier against righties.  If he's destroying lefties as well, he's obviously a must-start every day.

I'm kind of curious what the Reds will do with Corey Patterson and Ryan Freel.  That's a combined $6.5 million in salary that is now relegated to part-time status.

Part-time status in reality, means no time worth mentioning in the fantasy world.  See ya Patterson and Freel, hellooooooo Jay Bruce.

True story: Carlos Pena's known for much more than having a starring role in my Fox Toledo video bio.

He hits home runs... a ton of them.  46 last year, and with a decent-enough .282 average, more than blowing away his previous career stats.  That's a red flag right there, although with Pena's penchant for hitting righties combined with his powerful build, I overlooked it on draft day for both my teams.

Right now, I'm worried.

He's now 5 for his last 32 at-bats.  He RAISED his batting average from .194 to .197 by going 1-FOR-4 tonight.  He's struck out 6 times in his last 8 at-bats, something even Adam Dunn probably would need a major slump to pull off.  The worst thing, is that most of these at-bats are coming against right-handers.  Last year, 35 of Pena's home runs came against righties.  This year, for some odd reason, Pena, who hits from the left side, is batting over a hundred points lower versus right-handed tossers as opposed to left-handed ones.

My suggestion: still match Pena up against righthanders, but now more than ever, prior history against a pitcher's an important factor as to whether Pena gets the start.  HE IS NO LONGER A MUST START.  That said, it's not time to drop him.  Heck, C.C. Sabathia snapped out of HIS slump, so in the words of Dumb and Dumber, I'm saying there's a chance!

Other thoughts on the evening that was...

I air a segment about Casey Kotchman has done nothing in the past week, and he responds with two straight games with home runs.  Go figure.  Do notice that he's now hitting out of the 8 spot.

And while Kotchman proved Mr. Fantasy wrong on the short term, thank goodness for Prince Fielder.  I keep on saying that I think he'll finish with 50 bombs.  He finally hit 2 tonight to move his season total to 3.  Hopefully, his flip-flop with Ryan Braun in the batting order helps out his cause.

And how about the job Troy Percival's doing in Tampa, huh?  3 saves now, with still, a perfect ERA.

One more thing: Philly's Pat Burrell now has hits in 8 of his last 9 games, 6 RBI in his last 3, after a home run continued his hot streak.  Chase Utley still is the best fantasy bat in the lineup, but Burrell is leading the team in RBI's, much to the relief of Phillies fans who are waiting for Ryan Howard's bat to start picking it up a little bit.

Actually, come to think of it, even though I'm a fan of Ryan Howard's last name, his numbers are worse than Carlos Pena's.

Maybe I'm a curse for their stats, right?

So about 10 minutes ago, I'm chatting online with a high-school buddy of mine who's the commish for one of my hoops leagues this year, and well, let's start off by saying my team didn't do too well, but his made it all the way to the finals, even with the injuries to Dwayne Wade and Pau Gasol for good portions of the seasons.

Anyway, his team (named Strength 'N Honor) had a shot to win it.  Actually, he needed A shot.  A 3-point shot and a rebound.  One last player.  Brandon Roy.  One more half to play.  Victory's in his grasp.  Then Portland benches him pretty much the entire second half because it's the season's last game and there's no point really putting Roy on the floor, that is, unless you're a fantasy owner.  Such is life in the fantasy world.  Dying a close death probably feels worse than getting whupped.  Actually, I know it does.

Strong season by Strength N Honor reppin' from down south in the Htown burbs...

So... moving on to baseball, and elaborating on my recent posts...

PICK UP MILTON BRADLEY NOW.

Tonight's line... 2-3, 5 walks... batting cleanup behind Josh Hamilton, which is a good spot to be in... he now extends his hitting streak to 11 games.

That said, he hasn't hit a home run all year just yet, so that's a concern, but you know he has the talent and he's always been pretty multi-dimensional.

EVEN BETTER, PICK UP CASEY KOTCHMAN NOW.

He HAS the power.  AND average.  AND batting in a great lineup behind Vlad, Garrett Anderson, and Torii Hunter.  Pretty solid indeed.

HOW ABOUT ALEX GORDON?

Yes, he's also a good pickup.  Considered a first AND third baseman in Yahoo leagues, convincing me there's a spot for him on a fantasy roster after all.  Downside is that the Royals' offense could be inconsistent down the road, Gordon included.

OTHER RADAR DUDE:  EDINSON VOLQUEZ... if his next start is a quality one, pick him up.

OFF-THE-RADAR DUDE: EDWIN JACKSON.  Will have some good starts, but will struggle with his control and have some bad starts mixed in.

BENCH TIME:  C.C. SABATHIA.  Now that his ERA is above 13.00, with none of his starts even remotely close to being quality, it's not time to drop him, but seriously, can he stay this bad all year long?

TRADE: ROY OSWALT.  He pitched well tonight!  Wowzers!  Trust me... won't continue.  Career's spiraling downwards on a very mediocre team, and this comes from an Astros fan.  1 quality start means other owners will disagree with me.  Trade him while you can still get pretty decent value.

By now, Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto is probably no longer available, that is, unless all the other fantasy managers aren't even paying ANY attention at all.

So what's left?

There are some pitchers where you may want to wait 1 or 2 more starts before committing, and there are pitchers you can pick up now.

PICK UP:

Cleveland's Cliff Lee.  So far, he's shown great control, good K's, been untouched, and he has at least some track record of success.  This guy's been through the wars, the highs and lows, and now it looks like the Lee of old is back.  It also helps that the Indians have a good lineup to support him.

Toronto's Shawn Marcum.  He shouldn't be available, but miraculously, he was dropped in one of my leagues, and the only reason I'm not using my 2nd-ranked waiver claim on him is because my pitching is already pretty deep, and there are other candidates to be scooped up if Marcum doesn't make it through waivers.  Young, good K's, 1 earned run given up in each of his starts, solid lineup to back him up, was solid last year, looks even better this time around.

Chicago's Ryan Dempster.  Of the 3 guys listed here, he's the most likely to drop off.  He's NEVER had an amazing fantasy season from beginning to end.  He's had solid years as a reliever, but never as a starter.  Always had the talent for K's, and he's on a good team.  So far, so good, so pick him up now, but get ready for some possible inconsistency.  Could be an outstanding pickup, but could also be dropped by midseason.

GUYS ON THE RADAR:

Chicago's Gavin Floyd.  Former top-5 pick of the Phillies, so he has the goods.  Two straight quality starts, including almost no-hitting the Tigers, which is impressive even with Detroit's horrible start to the season.  Good K's, but he's young, and you've gotta wonder if he can keep this up.  A quality start his next time out would make him a can't miss pitcher to pick up.

Cincinnati's Edinson Volquez.  There's a reason Cincinnati gave up Josh Hamilton to Texas for this stud, and so far he's proven it.  Good K's, virtually unhittable, but the Reds aren't the best team around, and Volquez probably needs 1 more quality start to be worthy of being picked up.

Tampa's Edwin Jackson.  Having an ERA under 1 after two starts is a good sign.  Also was a top-notch Dodger prospect back in the day, so he has the goods.  Control could be a possible issue, but he has good K's.  Can he keep this up?  I'd wait 2 starts on him before committing.

DROP:

Houston's Hunter Pence.  However, if you're in a deep league, then you'd be wise to hang on him, because he'll probably finish with a .275 average, 20 home runs, 15 SB's, and 80 RBI.  Those numbers don't come close to what he did last year if projected over a full season.  Pence has been a disappointment in a struggling Astros lineup.

Toronto's Jeremy Accardo.  BJ Ryan's back.  Until Ryan's hurt again, Accardo has little fantasy value.

RESIST THE URGE:

Tampa's Evan Longoria.  Young prospect, and he'll be good, but wait until he does something.  Even Ryan Braun owners from a year ago probably didn't pick him up before he put together some numbers at the dish.  Longoria may not put up his huge numbers this year, and that would be a wasted roster spot for a fantasy season.  Think Alex Gordon.  Any good fantasy owner did not hang on to Alex Gordon for all of last season in a non-keeper league.  Heck, even this season, Gordon's still only a borderline pickup.

OTHER QUALITY PICKUPS

Philly's Pat Burrell... drafted 1st overall, so has the talent, and this looks like FINALLY his breakout year.  FINALLY.  Could be a hot stretch, but pick him up anyways.  At this moment, he definitely has more value than the aforementioned Pence.

Chicago's Joe Crede... very strong start.  Hit 30 HR's in his last full season, so he has history on his side.  Doing a very good job holding off Josh Fields, even if Fields is struggling in the minors right now.

RESIST THE URGE II

Arizona's Mark Reynolds.  Great start with power.  Last year, he had a great start after his call-up with not as much power.  Wait a bit and see what happens.  My guess he'll cool off quite a bit like he did last year.  Call me a Reynolds hater for now.  I'm not sold yet.  Let other owners make that move.

It's only mere days into the fantasy baseball season, and owners are definitely on the lookout for any quality finds on the free agent market.

Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto just struck out 10 in a Reds win.  He's one of baseball's top young prospects, but notice how I didn't say best young PITCHERS.

Cueto's still an unknown MAJOR LEAGUE commodity.  His teammate and fellow top prospect Homer Bailey looked good too in his first game last year, but was really inconsistent, which kills any fantasy owner in ERA, WHIP, and the Reds usually don't win those bad games.  They're not the Yankees or Red Sox just yet.

So wait one more start by Cueto.  If he puts up another quality start with a good number of strikeouts, pick him up.

Just don't pick him up right now.  Not yet.

Okay... so I'm watching the baseball draft special on ESPN right now, and some viewers might think Mr. Fantasy is absolutely nuts for deviating from the norm, such as the Yahoo default rankings, or the supposed consensus for the second overall pick.

There's no question that Hanley Ramirez is an outstanding talent who will continue to improve.  Yes, he hit for power, and was one of the league's top basestealers last season.  However, his stock dips this season without the services of Miguel Cabrera in the lineup.  Sorry, but without Cabrera in the vicinity behind him in the batting order, the following results happen:

A) Ramirez's runs decrease.

B) Pitchers can try to get Ramirez to chase some pitches, whereas with Cabrera, they'd have to truly challenge him.

C) After A+B, Ramirez's average, runs, stolen bases, and home runs will decrease.

Dan Uggla (average under .250), Jeremy Hermida (Mr. Inconsistent), and Cameron Maybin (great raw talent, but not polished yet) don't instill the same fears just yet.  I still figure Ramirez is good for 20-25 home runs and 45 stolen bases, along with an average of about .285.  Considering what else is around at shortstop this year, he's not worth the first-round pick.

As for Alfonso Soriano, he strikes out a ton, but Mr. Fantasy has faith that Lou Piniella will find the right spot for him in the lineup.  Think about it.  Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez are hitting behind him.  My guess is that Soriano will eventually slide from the 2nd spot to the 3rd spot in the order.  I also think Soriano is fully capable of hitting 40 home runs with 25-30 stolen bases and a .295 average.  Power is essential with that first pick.  Soriano's in a good lineup.  He'll be scoring plenty of runs.

By the way, since my rankings became public, as I look at them now, I'd probably move Carl Crawford up a bit, just ahead of Jimmy Rollins.

For the rankings that I am referring to, check out one of my old blogs labeled as the cheat sheet.

Any other questions, holla at me.

Here is how Mr. Fantasy drafted in his 2 baseball leagues for 2008 over the weekend.

First, for my 12-team league...

1. (1) Álex Rodríguez 3B 2. (24) B.J. Upton 2B,OF 3. (25) Justin Verlander SP 4. (48) Carlos Peña 1B 5. (49) Travis Hafner 1B 6. (72) Chris Young SP 7. (73) Corey Hart OF 8. (96) Fausto Carmona SP 9. (97) Josh Hamilton OF 10. (120) James Shields SP 11. (121) Jhonny Peralta SS 12. (144) Jason Isringhausen RP 13. (145) Garret Anderson OF 14. (168) Oliver Pérez SP 15. (169) Kenji Johjima C 16. (192) C.J. Wilson RP 17. (193) Jon Garland SP 18. (216) Felipe López 2B,SS 19. (217) Jason Marquis SP 20. (240) Aaron Hill 2B 21. (241) Michael Bourn OF

Next, for my 8-team league...

1. (6) Alfonso Soriano OF 2. (11) Ryan Braun 3B 3. (22) B.J. Upton 2B,OF 4. (27) Justin Verlander SP 5. (38) Travis Hafner 1B 6. (43) Carlos Peña 1B 7. (54) Dan Haren SP 8. (59) Hunter Pence OF 9. (70) Chris Young SP 10. (75) Corey Hart OF 11. (86) James Shields SP 12. (91) Francisco Cordero RP 13. (102) Josh Hamilton OF 14. (107) Yovani Gallardo SP 15. (118) John Maine SP 16. (123) Jhonny Peralta SS 17. (134) Matt Cain SP 18. (139) Rich Harden SP 19. (150) B.J. Ryan RP 20. (155) J.R. Towles C

As you can tell, there are similarities with both teams, and I'm a fan of those players.  There's a lot of depth in starting pitching, but not for elite sluggers, so pick those first.  Closers come out of the woodwork during the regular year due to performance issues, injury issues, whatever.  So basically, closers are to baseball what place-kickers are to football.  Well, maybe a tad more important.  Some gambles toward the end with Bourn, Harden, Ryan, and Towles.  Bankin' on the Astros' new GM knowing what he's doing.  Bourn stole a lot of bases considering the very limited time he got in Philly, and now he'll be starting for Houston.  Towles showed he could just flat out rake it last year, and it's continued in the spring.  Harden's always had the stuff, but he's coming back from a few injury-plagued seasons.  IF he can stay healthy, and that's a big IF, he's a great pitcher.  Same goes for B.J. Ryan.  If he's healthy, count on 35-40 saves with a good number of K's.

Here's Mr. Fantasy Baseball Rankings 2008 as of today...

1. Álex Rodríguez
2. Alfonso Soriano
3. Chase Utley
4. Matt Holliday
5. Ryan Braun
6. David Wright
7. Prince Fielder
8. Ryan Howard
9. Johan Santana
10. David Ortiz
11. Albert Pujols
12. B.J. Upton
13. Miguel Cabrera
14. Jimmy Rollins
15. José Reyes
16. Vladimir Guerrero
17. Jake Peavy
18. Justin Verlander
19. Magglio Ordóñez
20. Curtis Granderson
21. Carlos Lee
22. Carl Crawford
23. Víctor Martínez
24. Carlos Beltrán
25. Brandon Phillips
26. Carlos Peña
27. Travis Hafner
28. Dan Haren
29. Hanley Ramírez
30. Derrek Lee
31. Grady Sizemore
32. Ichiro Suzuki
33. Brandon Webb
34. C.C. Sabathia
35. Cole Hamels
36. Erik Bedard
37. Carlos Zambrano
38. Mark Teixeira
39. Lance Berkman
40. Fausto Carmona
41. Chris Young
42. Hunter Pence
43. Corey Hart
44. Josh Hamilton
45. Scott Kazmir
46. Russell Martin
47. Aramis Ramírez
48. James Shields
49. Garrett Atkins
50. Derek Jeter
51. Manny Ramírez
52. Rich Hill
53. Javier Vázquez
54. John Smoltz
55. John Maine
56. Roy Oswalt
57. Tim Lincecum
58. Francisco Liriano
59. Brett Myers
60. Aaron Harang
61. Félix Hernández
62. Brian McCann
63. Joe Mauer
64. Brad Penny
65. Josh Beckett
66. Matt Cain
67. Álex Ríos
68. Justin Morneau
69. Pedro Martínez
70. Troy Tulowitzki
71. Eric Byrnes
72. Phil Hughes
73. Adam Dunn
74. Gary Sheffield
75. Chipper Jones
76. Torii Hunter
77. Vernon Wells
78. Jorge Posada
79. Daisuke Matsuzaka
80. Yovani Gallardo
81. Nick Markakis
82. Adrián González
83. Ian Kinsler
84. Hideki Matsui
85. Brian Roberts
86. Mike Lowell
87. Jhonny Peralta
88. Jonathan Papelbon
89. John Lackey
90. Kelvim Escobar
91. Carlos Guillén
92. Robinson Canó
93. Ted Lilly
94. Billy Wagner
95. Francisco Rodríguez
96. Joe Nathan
97. J.J. Putz
98. Mariano Rivera
99. Takashi Saito
100. Francisco Cordero
101. Jim Thome
102. Aaron Rowand
103. Delmon Young
104. Paul Konerko
105. Bobby Jenks
106. Roy Halladay
107. Trevor Hoffman
108. A.J. Burnett
109. Garret Anderson
110. Chad Billingsley
111. Jered Weaver
112. Tim Hudson
113. José Valverde
114. Brad Hawpe
115. Jeff Francoeur
116. Andruw Jones
117. Oliver Pérez
118. Huston Street
119. James Loney
120. Todd Helton
121. Ben Sheets
122. Jermaine Dye
123. Jason Isringhausen
124. Kenji Johjima
125. Michael Young
126. Chad Cordero
127. Manny Corpas
128. Jeff Francis
129. J.J. Hardy
130. Chien-Ming Wang
131. Chris Young
132. Dustin McGowan
133. Rich Harden
134. Orlando Cabrera
135. Dan Uggla
136. Bobby Abreu
137. Johnny Damon
138. Willy Taveras
139. Ken Griffey Jr.
140. Jarrod Saltalamacchia
141. Adrián Béltre
142. Rafael Soriano
143. Nick Swisher
144. Ryan Zimmerman
145. Jon Garland
146. Matt Garza
147. Kevin Youkilis
148. Todd Jones
149. Édgar Rentería
150. Jacoby Ellsbury
151. Raúl Ibañez
152. Carlos Delgado
153. Dustin Pedroia
154. Kosuke Fukudome
155. Matt Kemp
156. Casey Kotchman
157. Jason Bay
158. Pat Burrell
159. Aaron Hill
160. Michael Cuddyer
161. Juan Pierre
162. Felipe López
163. Matt Capps
164. Ian Snell
165. Rick Ankiel
166. Chris Duncan
167. Evan Longoria
168. Plácido Polanco
169. Iván Rodríguez
170. Derek Lowe
171. Joe Borowski
172. Edwin Encarnación
173. Ryan Garko
174. Ty Wigginton
175. Khalil Greene
176. Kelly Johnson
177. Jeremy Hermida
178. B.J. Ryan
179. Jeremy Bonderman
180. Corey Patterson
181. Frank Thomas
182. Jeff Kent
183. Yunel Escobar
184. Brian Wilson
185. Joakim Soria
186. Gary Matthews Jr.
187. Rickie Weeks
188. J.R. Towles
189. Kazuo Matsui
190. Rafael Furcal
191. Jason Marquis
192. Geovany Soto
193. Orlando Hernández
194. Chone Figgins
195. Shane Victorino
196. José Guillén
197. Adam LaRoche
198. Luis Castillo
199. Jeremy Guthrie
200. Tom Gorzelanny
201. Dontrelle Willis
202. Howie Kendrick
203. Randy Johnson
204. Alex Gordon
205. Ian Kennedy
206. Joe Blanton
207. Kevin Kouzmanoff
208. Michael Bourn
209. Ryan Theriot
210. Troy Glaus
211. Josh Willingham
212. Orlando Hudson
213. Julio Lugo
214. Scott Rolen
215. Aubrey Huff
216. Dmitri Young
217. Conor Jackson
218. Kyle Kendrick
219. Jason Giambi
220. Casey Blake
221. Adam Wainwright
222. Jason Bartlett
223. Esteban Loaiza
224. Josh Fields
225. Stephen Drew
226. Bronson Arroyo
227. C.J. Wilson
228. Andy Pettitte
229. Anibal Sánchez
230. Mark Reynolds
231. Tom Glavine
232. Hank Blalock
233. Jason Varitek
234. A.J. Pierzynski
235. J.D. Drew
236. Mike Cameron
237. Justin Upton
238. Mark Teahen
239. Akinori Iwamura
240. Nate McLouth
241. Barry Zito
242. Eric Chávez
243. Melky Cabrera
244. Brad Lidge
245. Eric Gagne
246. Tony Peña
247. Bengie Molina
248. Joba Chamberlain
249. Kevin Gregg
250. Carlos Mármol