Hot Pickups

It seems my advice on Thursday that there was no need to panic on Justin Morneau, among others, was rather prescient. I highlighted Morneau as my prime example of players whom fantasy owners should not worry about; and lo and behold a few days later he has his first home run of the season and is among the major-league leaders in RBI. Let’s see how well I do on the following players who should be getting picked up in fantasy leagues this weekend.

P Micah Owings, Diamondbacks - You know other D-back hurlers like Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, and Randy Johnson, but Micah Owings?! Well, perhaps you should get to know him. The Diamondbacks are my preseason favorite to win the National League pennant in large part because of the Webb-Haren 1-2 punch. However, if the Big Unit can come back strong and Owings can consistently replicate what he did on Friday night when he went 6 2/3 against the defending NL champion Rockies and struck out a career-high nine, they’ll be really tough to beat. Suffice to say Owings is worth taking a flier on.

P Johnny Cueto, Reds – Who’s Johnny? Certainly most fantasy baseball owners must know this 22-year-old flame-thrower by now. Cueto created a buzz during spring training and was my pick for NL Rookie Pitcher of the Year. He lived up to the hype on Thursday against the Diamondbacks, becoming just the third pitcher ever to win while allowing one hit or fewer and striking out at least 10 in his first major-league start. Cueto is still available in a lot of leagues, including most Yahoo! leagues because I had to appeal to the powers-that-be at Yahoo! to include him on the player list a couple weeks ago so I could pick him up. I wanted to draft him back in March, but since he was not on the list, I couldn’t. He was finally made available just this past week and I quickly claimed him.

P Joe Saunders, Angels - Saunders landed a starting assignment in the Angels’ banged-up rotation, but assuring himself of staying there is another matter given his past inconsistencies. He took a big step in cementing his position with his first start of the season—eight shutout innings against the Twins. The Angels are going to score some runs, so if Saunders can bottle what he did in start No. 1, it will take earn him a lot of wins in 2008.

P Nick Blackburn, Twins – The aforementioned Saunders out-dueled Blackburn 1-0 in Wednesday’s game. But holding the Halos without a run for six innings and leaving with a 1-0 deficit in the seventh inning of your first major-league start is nothing about which to be ashamed. Blackburn’s spot in the Twins rotation has been solidified not only by his performance, but by Kevin Slowey’s arm injury and Francisco Liriano’s stint in the minors to start the season.

P Manny Parra, Brewers – Parra won the fifth spot in the Brewers rotation, but it may not take him too long to climb to the ranks of staff ace, especially if his outing on Saturday was any indication. The lefty held the Giants without a hit through five innings and finished with seven strikeouts and his first major-league victory. He’s still available in most non-keeper leagues; in fact, I just picked him up in one.

1B Nick Johnson, Nationals – Apparently the shattered femur that forced Johnson to miss the entire 2007 season has sufficiently healed. Nick “the Stick” easily beat out Dmitri Young for the Nationals’ starting first base job by the end of spring training and was showing off on Opening Night, taking extra bases with his “blazing” wheels. Johnson is better known for his bat and, of course, his notorious eye at the plate, so his .368 batting average, three walks, and .455 on base percentage are even better indicators that he is back to normal.

C Mike Napoli, Angels – Catchers are generally the bane of fantasy owners’ existence when setting their weekly lineups, especially in roto-leagues that use the standard, two-catcher starting lineups. Thus, when you can find a guy like Napoli available in your free agency pool, you might as well grab him. Napoli has already slammed two homers, but then we knew he had power as evidenced by his 26 dingers in fewer than 500 career at-bats entering this season. If he can maintain something close to the .280-something average he currently sports rather than something along the lines of the .238 lifetime mark he owns, he’ll be onto something. He also needs to do something about that beard.

2B Jose Lopez, Mariners – Middle infield depth is always tough to find, so Lopez should be an especially popular pickup in fantasy leagues right now. Lopez made the All-Star team two years ago thanks .280/9/58 first half, and he could be in repeat mode. Entering Sunday, he is batting .333 with two homers and seven ribbies. The power probably won’t last long, but even if he can provide a little pop and keep his average near .300 he’ll be well-worth grabbing.

OF Andre Ethier, Dodgers – I was surprised to see that Ethier is still available in so many fantasy leagues out there. He made news by beating out veteran Juan Pierre for the Dodgers starting left field gig in spring training, and even though he has gotten out of the gates slowly, he can and will hit. He turns 26 this Thursday, so he is just entering his power prime and that .294 career batting average and the 32 doubles and 13 homers he had in 447 at bats last year are indications of a 20-plus homer season.

OF Xavier Nady, Pirates – No, he won’t finish the season among the league leaders in home runs, RBI, and OPS, as he ranks right now, but there is no denying Nady has power. He always has. The Pac-10 career leader in slugging percentage, Xavier has battled injuries and inconsistency throughout his career. He’s never had a 500 at-bat season—heck, last year was his first 400 at-bat season, so the fact that he is playing every day and flourishing for the Pirates makes him a solid fantasy sleeper.