Welcome to Week 3. This week we saw Jose Reyes complain of a stiff hamstring. David Ortiz is off to a 3-39 start. People are starting to whisper the word that Ortiz may have a knee issue, and any mention of hamstring and Reyes is not good. Fantasy owners would be wise to use Hanley Ramirez and Carlos Pena in place of Reyes and Ortiz.
Sports Buff Contest
I would recommend these two start pitchers in the Sports Buff contest.
1. Zack Greinke($34) - SEA Away, OAK Away
2. Shaun Marcum($36) - BAL Away, DET Home
3. Ian Kennedy($38) - TB Away, BAL Away
4. Jeremy Bonderman($41) - MIN Home, TOR Away
5. Adam Wainwright($40) - MIL Home, SF Home
6. Randy Wolf($43) - COL Home, ARZ Away
7. Randy Johnson($45) - SF Away, SD Home
8. Kevin Correia($35) - ARZ Home, STL Away
I personally like Greinke, Correia, and Marcum.
CDM Diamond Challenge
I would recommend these two start pitchers in the CDM Challenge.(Dollar amount in Millions)
1. Zack Greinke($620) - SEA Away, OAK Away
2. Shaun Marcum($680) - BAL Away, DET Home
3. Ian Kennedy($730) - TB Away, BAL Away
4. Jeremy Bonderman($910) - MIN Home, TOR Away
5. Adam Wainwright($870) - MIL Home, SF Home
6. Randy Wolf($580) - COL Home, ARZ Away
Team Schedules
Seven Games - All American League Teams play seven games this week. The National League all play six.
Injuries
1. Shane Victorino(OF PHI) - He is on the DL with a strained calf.
2. Rich Harden(SP OAK) - Finally went on the 15 Day DL with a sore back muscle.
3. Ty Wigginton(3B HOU) - He did on the DL with that fractured left thumb.
4. Rafael Soriano(RP ATL) - He is out with right elbow tendinitis.
5. Dave Roberts(OF SF) - Had surgery on his knee and will miss two months.
6. Mike Lowell(3B BOS) - He is on the 15 Day DL with a sprained left thumb.
Players on the Rise
1. Justin Upton(OF ARZ) - He has 5 Dingers and 11 RBI's. He looks like the real deal.
2. Jeff Francoeur(OF ATL) - Had a big 7 RBI day against the Nats.
3. Evan Longoria(3B TB) - Got the call to the show, and could take over permanently for Willy Aybar.
4. Brian Bannister(SP KC) - Off to a good start this season, going 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA.
5. B.J.Ryan(RP TOR) - He is back in the closer role and picked up his first save on Sunday.
Players on the Decline
1. Troy Tulowitzki(SS COL) - He is batting .159 with no RBI's on the season.
2. Eric Bedard(SP SEA) - He missed his second start in 2 weeks with a nagging hip injury.
3. Brad Hawpe(OF COL) - Only hitting .206 with 1 Home Run.
4. Rickie Weeks(2B MIL) - Another slow start batting average wise, as he is hitting only .209
5. Carl Crawford(OF TB) - Batting .208 with 0 HR's.
Got a fantasy question you would like answered in my column? Send it to me via
e-mail at mikek@creativesports.com. Until next week, I wish you the best of
luck.