Top fantasy baseball performances: April 1

You simply cannot start a season better than Clayton Kershaw opened his 2013 season.The Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander pitched a four-hit shutout and hit a home run in a 4-0 victory over the defending World Champion San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium.He out-pitched Matt Cain in a Dodgers-Giants matchup that was reminiscent of Sandy Koufax against Juan Marichal in the 1960s.Kershaw was amazing.He did not walk a hitter and he struck out seven. He faced just three hitters (30) over the minimum. And he did it all while tossing just 94 pitchers (65 for strikes) in nine innings.Only one Giant runner reached second base. All four of the Giant hits were singles. Two of them didn't get out of the infield and another one deflected off Kershaw's glove.He's just 25. He is 62-37 in his career with a 2.77 ERA and 981 strikeouts in 953 innings. What he did on Monday shouldn't be surprising. Jeff Samardzija is the poor man's Stephen Strasburg. And that's only because he plays for the lowly Chicago Cubs.The former Notre Dame wide receiver dominated a pretty good Pittsburgh Pirates club on Monday in Pittsburgh. Samardzija allowed just two hits and a walk in eight innings while striking out nine. That's now how the Pirates expected their home opener to play out.Samardzija was brilliant, throwing 71 of his 110 pitches for strikes. He got 13 groundouts and zero flyouts.Was this a fluke performance? Hardly.The big right-hander is now 28-years-old and he's paid his dues in the big leagues since making his rushed debut in 2008. He's ready for a breakout season.Samardzija was 9-13 last year with a 3.81 earned run average in his first year as a full-time starter. The year before in long relief he had a 2.97 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 88 innings.If he wasn't with the Cubs 15-18 wins would be a lock. As it is he still should win 12-15 games and give you a solid ERA, WHIP and 200-plus strikeouts.Wait until he has a bad game and then try to steal him in a trade. But you might have to wait until next year.Chase Utley is Chase Utley. Again.It wasn't that long ago that Utley was a sure-first first-round pick in every fantasy draft. This year he might have slipped to the middle of your draft because of his recent injury history.Bet you wish you grabbed him now, huh?Utley went 3-for-5 with a triple and a home run in a 7-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves and Tim Hudson. He hit third in the potent Phillies lineup and drove in three runs.Will he get hurt again? Probably. But until he does, it's obvious he's going to be a fantasy force again. You have to love the way he showed his power and his speed is still alive and well.The fact that he's hitting third ahead of Ryan Howard is a bonus. He'll get good pitches to hit and the RBI chances will be there.If he's healthy, he's going to produce. Right now he could be the best fantasy value pick in the National League.Utley is 34-years-old and he;ll likely never return to his 2007-09 form when he hit 86 homers and drove in 300 runs. But he hit 22 homers and drove in 89 runs over the past two years in 600-plus at-bats, so there's still some tread left on the tires.View the list »
Bryce Harper, the Boy Wonder, had an amazing spring. Greatness was predicted for him this season almost on a daily basis.So what does he do in Game 1? He drills two home runs to become the youngest player in major league history to hit two bombs on opening day.If you still don't believe in this kid, well, you must have something against once-a-generation talents. Think Mickey Mantle without the bad knees.Harper hit his two home runs off a pretty decent pitcher in Rickey Nolasco. Nolasco only allowed three hits in his six innings. The two homers were all of the runs in the game in the Nationals' 2-0 victory over the Marlins.Yes, Harper isn't going to hit two homers in every game. But you have to love the way this kid handles pressure.

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A quick look at some of the significant fantasy baseball performances on April 1 . . .

  • JON LESTER, Boston Red Sox: Lester is back. The Red Sox lefty fanned seven and allowed just five hits and two runs in five innings in an 8-2 win over the New York Yankees. Don't get too excited, though. The Yankees lineup included Eduardo Nunez, Ben Francisco and Jayson Nix. But it was a nice start.
  • C.C. SABATHIA, New York Yankees: Be afraid. Be very afraid. Sabathia was awful against the Red Sox, allowing eight hits, four walks and four runs. He had to throw 102 pitches in his five innings. All of the innings Sabathia has had to work in his career might be catching up to him.
  • JACKIE BRADLEY, Boston Red Sox: The rookie was quite impressive in his debut without getting a hit. He walked three times, scored two runs and drove in a run. He hit eighth in the order so he's not going to be a fantasy monster. But keep an eye on this kid.
  • COLLIN COWGILL, New York Mets: Cowgill is also someone to keep close tabs on. He hit leadoff for the Mets in an 11-2 win over the San Diego Padres and drilled a grand slam and a double. He's not going to hit 20 homers but he swings hard. If he's in the lineup everyday, he's someone to grab if he's on your waiver wire.
  • STEPHEN STRASBURG, Washington Nationals: What did you expect? Strasburg allowed three hits and no runs in seven innings in a 2-0 win over the Miami Marlins. He only fanned three and it was against the pitiful Marlins, so that is something to watch.
  • DEXTER FOWLER, Colorado Rockies: Fowler might be one of the most underrated fantasy players in the big leagues. He hit leadoff for the Rockies in a 5-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers and went 3-for-5 with a home run in the ninth inning to tie the game against Milwaukee closer John Axford. Fowler is a nice source of power and speed.
  • MIKE TROUT, Los Angeles Angels: Trout went an ugly 1-for-6 as the Angels' leadoff hitter in a 3-1 win over Cincinnati. Is he going to fall victim to the sophomore jinx? Relax. It's just one game.
  • NORICHIKA AOKI, Milwaukee Brewers: If Aoki is on your waiver wire, go get him. The Brewers' leadoff hitter is probably never going to be an All Star but he went 1-for-4, scored two runs and hit a solo home runoff the Colorado Rockies' Jhoulys Chacin in a 5-4 win. Aoki is legit.
  • RICKEY WEEKS, Milwaukee Brewers: Weeks is going to kill your batting average but he'll help you win a championship in the other four categories. Weeks went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base against the Rockies. Just be patient during the 1-for-15 stretches.
  • CARLOS MARMOL, Chicago Cubs: Drop him. Now. Marmol has lost it. He threw 19 pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates and only nine were in the strike zone. Marmol got just one out in the ninth inning of a 3-1 win and walked a hitter and allowed a walk. He can't be relied on and it's only a matter of time before he is either relegated to long relief or traded.
  • CHRIS SALE, Chicago White Sox: Sale made his first Opening Day start and stuffed the Kansas City Royals. The lefty allowed just seven hits and walked just one while striking out seven in a 1-0 victory. Yes, the Royals have a ton of left-handed hitters but Sale tossed 72 of his 104 pitches for a strike.

And, now, a look at the top four fantasy performances on April 1 . . .

View the list
  • Bryce Harper, the Boy Wonder, had an amazing spring. Greatness was predicted for him this season almost on a daily basis.So what does he do in Game 1? He drills two home runs to become the youngest player in major league history to hit two bombs on opening day.If you still don't believe in this kid, well, you must have something against once-a-generation talents. Think Mickey Mantle without the bad knees.Harper hit his two home runs off a pretty decent pitcher in Rickey Nolasco. Nolasco only allowed three hits in his six innings. The two homers were all of the runs in the game in the Nationals' 2-0 victory over the Marlins.Yes, Harper isn't going to hit two homers in every game. But you have to love the way this kid handles pressure.
  • Chase Utley is Chase Utley. Again.It wasn't that long ago that Utley was a sure-first first-round pick in every fantasy draft. This year he might have slipped to the middle of your draft because of his recent injury history.Bet you wish you grabbed him now, huh?Utley went 3-for-5 with a triple and a home run in a 7-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves and Tim Hudson. He hit third in the potent Phillies lineup and drove in three runs.Will he get hurt again? Probably. But until he does, it's obvious he's going to be a fantasy force again. You have to love the way he showed his power and his speed is still alive and well.The fact that he's hitting third ahead of Ryan Howard is a bonus. He'll get good pitches to hit and the RBI chances will be there.If he's healthy, he's going to produce. Right now he could be the best fantasy value pick in the National League.Utley is 34-years-old and he;ll likely never return to his 2007-09 form when he hit 86 homers and drove in 300 runs. But he hit 22 homers and drove in 89 runs over the past two years in 600-plus at-bats, so there's still some tread left on the tires.
  • Jeff Samardzija is the poor man's Stephen Strasburg. And that's only because he plays for the lowly Chicago Cubs.The former Notre Dame wide receiver dominated a pretty good Pittsburgh Pirates club on Monday in Pittsburgh. Samardzija allowed just two hits and a walk in eight innings while striking out nine. That's now how the Pirates expected their home opener to play out.Samardzija was brilliant, throwing 71 of his 110 pitches for strikes. He got 13 groundouts and zero flyouts.Was this a fluke performance? Hardly.The big right-hander is now 28-years-old and he's paid his dues in the big leagues since making his rushed debut in 2008. He's ready for a breakout season.Samardzija was 9-13 last year with a 3.81 earned run average in his first year as a full-time starter. The year before in long relief he had a 2.97 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 88 innings.If he wasn't with the Cubs 15-18 wins would be a lock. As it is he still should win 12-15 games and give you a solid ERA, WHIP and 200-plus strikeouts.Wait until he has a bad game and then try to steal him in a trade. But you might have to wait until next year.
  • You simply cannot start a season better than Clayton Kershaw opened his 2013 season.The Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander pitched a four-hit shutout and hit a home run in a 4-0 victory over the defending World Champion San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium.He out-pitched Matt Cain in a Dodgers-Giants matchup that was reminiscent of Sandy Koufax against Juan Marichal in the 1960s.Kershaw was amazing.He did not walk a hitter and he struck out seven. He faced just three hitters (30) over the minimum. And he did it all while tossing just 94 pitchers (65 for strikes) in nine innings.Only one Giant runner reached second base. All four of the Giant hits were singles. Two of them didn't get out of the infield and another one deflected off Kershaw's glove.He's just 25. He is 62-37 in his career with a 2.77 ERA and 981 strikeouts in 953 innings. What he did on Monday shouldn't be surprising. 
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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