Fantasy baseball report: April 4

Cliff Lee just keeps on going.The Phillies' World Series window has passed but Lee is still pitching like he's the best pitcher in the National League. The veteran lefty gave up just two hits and no runs and didn't walk a hitter in eight innings in a 2-0 win over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday.Lee, who also fanned eight, did it against one of the most powerful lineups in the league on the road in a cold rain. He threw 78 of his 106 pitches for a strike and faced just 26 batters in eight innings.If you undervalued Lee after last year when he went 6-9 with a 3.16 ERA with 207 strikeouts in 211 innings, well, shame on you. He pitched like a 16-game winner last year. The Phillies, though, were a Triple-A team in 2012.Lee, who has been around so long that he was drafted by the Montreal Expos, has never gotten a ton of support. Even Thursday they scored just two runs for him. He's won only 20 games once in his career (2008 with Cleveland). He only has 126 career victories in 12 seasons.But if you pick your fantasy pitchers by victories, well, good luck with that.Think Adam Dunn with shin guards.J.P. Arencibia is not going to help you win your league's batting title. In fact, if you have Arencibia, it's almost guaranteed you won't lead your league in average.But if you want production out of your catcher, Arencibia is your guy.Arencibia drilled two home runs off Brett Myers in a 10-8 win over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday. They were both solo homers and they were both off of, well, Brett Myers, but there are a lot of Brett Myers in major league baseball. And Arencibia can go deep on any of them.Arencibia now has 45 home runs in his career in just 836 at-bats. He also has 38 doubles and four triples and 140 RBI. With those numbers you can live with his .224 career average.Last year he hit 18 homers and drove in 56 runs and the year before he hit 23 homers and drove in 78. And almost nobody noticed.Don't let the average scare you. He's a catcher. He's not going to play everyday so he's not going to get a ton of at bats. But he'll hit the ball out of the park.Ryan Zimmerman is also another fantasy monster that doesn't get the respect he deserves.Zimmerman went 3-for-3 on Thursday in a 6-1 win over the Miami Marlins. He also drove in two runs and hit a double.The three hits against the Marlins lifted his average this year to .500 (5-for-10).The only question about Zimmerman is how long he will stay healthy. But if he's on the field he will produce. He is a .288 career hitter.Zimmerman has ht 20 or more homers five times in his career already and he's still just 28-years-old. Last year the third baseman hit 25 homers, drove in 95 runs on a .282 average.He'll do that again this year. He'll do that every year. View the list »
If you don't know that Adam Jones is an elite fantasy outfielder, well, you are probably not reading this.Jones went 3-for-5 on Thursday in a 6-3 win over Tampa Bay with two runs scored. He also got his first stolen base of the season. The ex-Seattle Mariner is on his way to having a Most Valuable Player season.Still just 27, Jones has 61 steals and 107 homers in his career already on a .279 average. Last year he scored 103 runs, hit 32 homers and drove in 82 and, oh yeah, also stole 16 bases on a .287 average. For some reason, though, he doesn't get his fantasy due.Jones already has two three-hit games this year and is hitting .500 (7-for-14). Odds are he's not going to hit .500 this season but the numbers are going to pile up for him. He hit fourth on Thursday and the Orioles are going to score a lot of runs this year.All of this is nothing new. Jones has hit 19 or more homers in each of the last four years.

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A quick look at some of the significant fantasy baseball performances on Thursday . . .

  • JAYSON WERTH, Washington Nationals: Werth hit his first home run of the season and went 2-for-4 with three RBI in a 6-1 win over Miami. Werth is hitting second in the order so that could limit his RBI chances but expect a nice comeback season from the ex-Phillie.
  • BRETT GARDNER, New York Yankees: Gardner went 2-for-3 with a solo home run off Ryan Dempster in a 4-2 win over Boston. Gardener had an injury-filled year in 2012 and fell off a lot of fantasy radars but he's a nice source of speed, runs and an occasion homer and RBI.
  • MARIANO RIVERA, New York Yankees: Yes, Rivera got the save in a 4-2 win over Boston. But it wasn't vintage Mariano. He gave up a hit and a run and walked a hitter. That's not Mariano Rivera. That's Carlos Marmol.
  • ANDY PETTITTE, New York Yankees: Pettitte was vintage Pettitte. He gave up eight hits and a run in beating Boston. Pettitte tossed 64 of his 94 pitches for strikes. He's a definite fantasy sleeper.
  • JOSE REYES, Toronto Blue Jays: Reyes scored three runs and walked twice in a 10-8 win over Cleveland. He hit leadoff and it will be a huge shocker if he doesn't score 100 runs this year.
  • MARK BUEHRLE, Toronto Blue Jays: Buehrle's return to the American League was a mess. He allowed seven hits and six runs in a win over Cleveland. You don't want Buehrle on your fantasy team unless you are in an American League, left-hander only league.
  • JOHN BUCK, New York Mets: John Buck is probably available in your league if you want him. Buck, though, went 2-for-4 in a 2-1 loss to San Diego and hit a home run off Huston Street in the ninth inning. He now has two homers and five RBI this year.
  • TYLER FLOWERS, Chicago White Sox: Flowers went 1-for-1 in a 3-1 loss to Kansas City and walked twice. He homered in his first two games. He's not this good.
  • JEREMY GUTHRIE, Kansas City Royals: Guthrie fanned nine in six innings against the White Sox. Guthrie has found a home in Kansas City. He was 5-3 with a 3.16 ERA last year after being rescued from Colorado. If he's on your waiver wire, go get him.
  • JED LOWRIE, Oakland A's: Lowrie played shortstop, hit second and went 2-for-4 with two runs. He's hitting .462 this year.
  • MICHAEL MORSE, Seattle Mariners: Morse hit his fourth home run in an 8-2 loss to Oakland. He also has six RBI. It might be time to start the Barry Bonds watch.
  • TRAVIS WOOD, Chicago Cubs: Wood allowed just one hit and no runs in six innings in beating Pittsburgh 3-2. Wood has allowed just 337 hits in 370.2 career innings. Keep an eyeon this 26-year-old lefty.
  • CARLOS MARMOL, Chicago Cubs: Marmol turned in what just might be the ugliest save in the history of baseball. He allowed three hits and a walk and almost blew a 3-0 lead. But he fanned Pedro Alvarez and got Neil Walker to ground into a double play to somehow record the save.
  • JAMES McDONALD, Pittsburgh Pirates: McDonald is a solid fantasy pitcher. The ex-Dodger gave the Cubs just two hits and a run in seven innings while fanning four.

And, now, the top fantasy performances on Thursday . . .

View the list
  • If you don't know that Adam Jones is an elite fantasy outfielder, well, you are probably not reading this.Jones went 3-for-5 on Thursday in a 6-3 win over Tampa Bay with two runs scored. He also got his first stolen base of the season. The ex-Seattle Mariner is on his way to having a Most Valuable Player season.Still just 27, Jones has 61 steals and 107 homers in his career already on a .279 average. Last year he scored 103 runs, hit 32 homers and drove in 82 and, oh yeah, also stole 16 bases on a .287 average. For some reason, though, he doesn't get his fantasy due.Jones already has two three-hit games this year and is hitting .500 (7-for-14). Odds are he's not going to hit .500 this season but the numbers are going to pile up for him. He hit fourth on Thursday and the Orioles are going to score a lot of runs this year.All of this is nothing new. Jones has hit 19 or more homers in each of the last four years.
  • Ryan Zimmerman is also another fantasy monster that doesn't get the respect he deserves.Zimmerman went 3-for-3 on Thursday in a 6-1 win over the Miami Marlins. He also drove in two runs and hit a double.The three hits against the Marlins lifted his average this year to .500 (5-for-10).The only question about Zimmerman is how long he will stay healthy. But if he's on the field he will produce. He is a .288 career hitter.Zimmerman has ht 20 or more homers five times in his career already and he's still just 28-years-old. Last year the third baseman hit 25 homers, drove in 95 runs on a .282 average.He'll do that again this year. He'll do that every year. 
  • Think Adam Dunn with shin guards.J.P. Arencibia is not going to help you win your league's batting title. In fact, if you have Arencibia, it's almost guaranteed you won't lead your league in average.But if you want production out of your catcher, Arencibia is your guy.Arencibia drilled two home runs off Brett Myers in a 10-8 win over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday. They were both solo homers and they were both off of, well, Brett Myers, but there are a lot of Brett Myers in major league baseball. And Arencibia can go deep on any of them.Arencibia now has 45 home runs in his career in just 836 at-bats. He also has 38 doubles and four triples and 140 RBI. With those numbers you can live with his .224 career average.Last year he hit 18 homers and drove in 56 runs and the year before he hit 23 homers and drove in 78. And almost nobody noticed.Don't let the average scare you. He's a catcher. He's not going to play everyday so he's not going to get a ton of at bats. But he'll hit the ball out of the park.
  • Cliff Lee just keeps on going.The Phillies' World Series window has passed but Lee is still pitching like he's the best pitcher in the National League. The veteran lefty gave up just two hits and no runs and didn't walk a hitter in eight innings in a 2-0 win over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday.Lee, who also fanned eight, did it against one of the most powerful lineups in the league on the road in a cold rain. He threw 78 of his 106 pitches for a strike and faced just 26 batters in eight innings.If you undervalued Lee after last year when he went 6-9 with a 3.16 ERA with 207 strikeouts in 211 innings, well, shame on you. He pitched like a 16-game winner last year. The Phillies, though, were a Triple-A team in 2012.Lee, who has been around so long that he was drafted by the Montreal Expos, has never gotten a ton of support. Even Thursday they scored just two runs for him. He's won only 20 games once in his career (2008 with Cleveland). He only has 126 career victories in 12 seasons.But if you pick your fantasy pitchers by victories, well, good luck with that.
View the list

, Fantasy Baseball Examiner

Joe Santoro is an award-winning sportswriter with over three decades of experience. Joe is the dean of Northern Nevada sports reporters and has covered University of Nevada Wolf Pack sports as a beat reporter and columnist for more than two decades. His "Friday Fodder" column is the longest...

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