Jeremy Bonderman: Fantasy owners of Bonderman in keeper leagues will have a whole winter to ponder whether his complete second-half collapse, 3-8 record with a 6.19 ERA was the product of a tender elbow or just bad skills. At the...

Rich Hill Hill allowed the only Reds hit of the day on Saturday, with Sean Marshall and Scott Eyre finishing off the team one-hitter. Hill walked one and struck out four and despite allowing 11 flyballs to just three groundouts,...

C.C. Sabathia, of the Cleveland Indians, got the job done on Friday against the Kansas City Royals. Sabathia didn't have his most dominant performance of the year, but he pitched well enough to improve to 19-7 on the year. Sabathia...

Khalil Greene went 2-for-3 last night with a double, a homer, three RBIs, two runs, a walk, and a partridge in a pear tree. He's hitting .254 on the season with a career best 26 homers and 96 RBIs, but...

  Peter Moylan could be Bobby Cox’s first option for saves as Rafael Soriano faces a potential suspension this weekend (work on Soriano’s appeal of his 4-game suspension is due today). In 89 IP this year Moylan is 5-3...

Aaron Hill: It has been an excellent growth season for Hill's power, 17 home runs and 46 doubles vs. 6 home runs and 28 doubles in 2006, fully supported by a rising FB%, 39% vs. 35% in 2006. He has...

I was only a week or two into my Lamaze classes in preparation for the birth of my first child, my now 12-year-old daughter Sarah, in the late winter of 1995. As a first-time-parent-to-be who came from a small...

Scott Kazmir- TB- FYI- Kazmir's arm has not fallen off...yet. Since manager Joe Maddon has seemed to be watching the young pitcher's workload more closely (only 3 starts over 110 pitches in the second half), maybe damage will be dodged....

Miguel Cabrera isn't getting much press these days with the Marlins way out of playoff contention, but he's had another fantastic season for fantasy owners. I like to start off my analysis of Cabrera by reminding readers that he's still...

Felix Hernandez held the Tribe to 3 runs in 7 IP on Tuesday. He gave up 8 hits without a walk while striking out 2. He also threw 12 GBOs and of course, he did not hand out a...

Nyjer Morgan: Over the last 11 games, Morgan has shown nice speed, 7 steals in 9 attempts. He is already 27 years of age and with no power, 1 home run in 86 AB with the Pirates and 0 home...

2007 FPI All Stars and Anti-All Stars   Good morning everybody.  With the MLB season drawing to a close, today we will take a look at our own versions of All Star teams.  As our measure we will use our...

Ouch. The Mets fans cannot be feeling any better than Red Sox fans this morning after watching what the Mets pitching staff coughed up yesterday. Mike Pelfrey continues to struggle, giving up 7 runs, 6 earned over 5.2 IP...

I thought we’d mix up this week’s schedule a bit. If you are still playing fantasy baseball this morning, you are likely playing for a championship and trust me, everything counts (more on that later in the week).  ...

Milton Bradley Thanks to the MLB Extra Innings Package, as I was watching the LAD-ARI game when the immortal Vin Scully began talking about an incident going on in the Padres game involving Milton Bradley. Could he be in the...

A.J. Burnett, of the Toronto Blue Jays, has been very good since returning from the disabled list on August 12th. Burnett has made eight starts in that stretch, he has posted a 4-1 record and he has lowered his earned...

Carlos Pena: Pena just keeps adding to his monster season as he hit another 2 HR's on Saturday night against the Red Sox. Pena knocked out his 41st and 42nd HR's of the season in 2-3 effort that came with...

Steven Pearce We haven't written about Pearce yet this year, but it's time to. I've seen him play a couple times, and without a doubt, this is a kid who is going to hit in the major leagues, period. Where...

Gary Matthews Jr. is expected to be back in the Angels' lineup sometime this weekend after missing the last nine games with a severe ankle sprain. Mathews isn't enjoying the success that he had last year-his OPS is down more...

John Smoltz, of the Atlanta Braves, will take the ball, today, against the Milwaukee Brewers. Smoltz will be in search of his 15th win for the sixth time in his 19 years in the Big Leagues. Smoltz has been very...

This morning's First Pitch marks my last one for the 2007 season. Its been quite a ride. Hopefully some of the information I have included in this column has helped your fantasy team to the playoffs and ultimately, a championship....

Justin Verlander: Verlander's second full-season, 17-6 with a 3.70 ERA in 30 starts, is almost a replica of last year, 17-9 with a 3.63 ERA in 30 starts. However, beneath the surface, Verlander has greatly improved his strike outs, 2006/2007...

As we look to the bullpens for the final week of the regular season, we see one structural change and a lot of static.   Brian Wilson all but assumed the role of primary closer in San Francisco with...

Shannon Stewart- OAK- FYI- There was a scoring change in Tuesday's game. Maybe. On mlb.com, there is an item in the A's notes saying that a Jose Guillen error was changed to a Stewart double, giving Stewart 21 doubles for...

Shannon Stewart- OAK- FYI- There was a scoring change in Tuesday's game. Maybe. On mlb.com, there is an item in the A's notes saying that a Jose Guillen error was changed to a Stewart double, giving Stewart 21 doubles for...

Shannon Stewart- OAK- FYI- There was a scoring change in Tuesday's game. Maybe. On mlb.com, there is an item in the A's notes saying that a Jose Guillen error was changed to a Stewart double, giving Stewart 21 doubles for...

Jack Wilson was out of the starting lineup on Wednesday with a hamstring strain, but he's considered day-to-day at this point. Wilson has quietly put together two fantastic months to end the season. Since August 1st, he has hit .415...

Ryan Spilborghs: After a hot stretch, 7 home runs in 108 AB, Spilborghs power has gone MIA, 1 home runs in his last 86 AB. Outside of the mid-season surge, Spilborghs had never shown that kind of power in his...

Garret Anderson - Not only is Anderson hitting as he did at his peak (after 3 1/2 years of visible decline prior to July), but he's walking more than he ever has before to boot. Anderson is hitting 316/376/564 since...

David Wells- LAN- Idea- Does Wells deserve a large guaranteed contract, as he says he does, because he "take[s] the ball every five days"? Probably not, and especially not if you are a fantasy owner. Wells will be turning 45...

Aaron Hill set the Toronto Blue Jays doubles record on Sunday with his 42nd of the season (broke Robert Alomar's record set back in 1991). He's had a nice season with all of these doubles and is hitting .276 with...

Alfonso Soriano, of the Chicago Cubs, looks like he may be starting one of those famous hot streaks in which he can do no wrong. Soriano went two for four with two doubles on Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals....

Daric Barton: Since being called up, Barton is doing his best to show the A's that he deserves to start at first base in 2008, 9 for 26 with a home run and 3 doubles. He had a fine season...

Pedro Martinez: Insert foot into mouth: that's pretty much how I feel after suggesting fantasy owners be wary of Pedro a few weeks back. Pedro looked a little bit more like vintage Pedro on Saturday as he tossed 6 fantastic...

Ben Sheets- MIL- Cold- Sheets' performances have gotten worse each time out since he returned from the DL. From his first time out, when he went 6 IP and allowed 1 run, he has slipped to lasting just 3 IP...

Chien-Ming Wang and Josh Beckett will square off in possibly the biggest match-up between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the 2007 regular season. Beckett has the more Cy Young like statistics of the two Aces with...

It was an interesting pitching matchup in LA last night as Greg Maddux and David Wells hooked up at Chavez Ravine.  Wells got the better of this one as Greg Maddux gave up 6 runs in 3.1 IP on...

Jason Bartlett: Whether it is the strained hamstring that he suffered in late August or the sore knee that has been bothering him recently, something is keeping Bartlett from running, just 2 steals attempts since August 25th, in which both...

Garret Anderson- LAA- Hot- After knocking in at least 1 run in 12 straight games, Anderson went three games without an RBI. He made up for it yesterday, collecting 5 RBI as he went 3-for-6 with a double and homer....

Good morning everyone!   The days are getting shorter and so is the calendar for your fantasy baseball team. There was a little bit of movement at the end of a couple of bullpens since we last spoke in...

It wasn't a quality start (officially), but Brandon Webb hurled 7.0 IP and allowed 4 ER to win his 15th game of the year. Talk about consistency. A look at his last three years shows a slowly improving ERA (3.54,...

It is hard to imagine, given the 19 runs scored in game #1 of yesterday’s doubleheader … and the 25 hits … and the 35 players used … but the Rangers starting pitcher, Vicente Padilla pitched pretty well, tossing...

Orlando Hernandez: Last night's debacle against the Braves, 8 ER in 3 innings, was long overdue for Hernandez. Coming into the game, a ridiculously low .144 BHIP% was depressing his 3.32 ERA, which shot up to 3.75. His 7.8 K/9...

Best Skills 2007 - Pitcher K/BB   Good morning everybody.  Today we are going to take a look at the pitchers who have shown the best K/BB ratios in the majors this season.  Why is this important?  Because past research...

Daric Barton - Barton made his major league debut yesterday against the Mariners, and this isn't going to be your ordinary cup of coffee......Barton may very well be in the lineup to stay. (Incidentally, he went 2-3 with two walks...

Oliver Perez- NYN- Hot- Perez continues to throw the way the Pirates thought he would after what was expected to be a breakout season in 2004. Unfortunately for them, Perez is now a Met and his third quality start in...

The signs of fall are everywhere.   The days are cooler. The leaves here in New England are turning. I am up at 5:30 am to get my kids to school every day. The Patriots are humiliating the Jets....

When the Yankees have needed him most, Chien Ming Wang has stepped up in a big way. He has converted W's in his last 5 outings, including another one against the Royals on Sunday. In those 5 starts, Wang is...

Ryan Church Are we allowed to admit man-crushes as an analyst? Not sure, but I have a bit of one for Ryan Church. Church was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer Sunday off Atlanta's Lance Cormier. It's been obvious for at...

(Editors note: This is only a sneek peek at this week's entire Prospect Central sent to our members via e-mail. Not a member yet? Visit Insiderbaseball.com today and see what else  you are missing! ) Have you ever noticed...

Delmon Young: You wouldn't notice it unless you were paying close attention but Delmon Young is making some serious strides in the 2nd half of this season. He went 2-4 with a HR last night, his 12th on the season...

Jeff Suppan After signing his $42 million contract, Suppan has been beyond brutal for a good part of the season, b ut in case you haven't noticed, he's one a bit of a roll lately (for him at least). Suppan...

Apparently, it is a fact that Rick Ankiel, of the St. Louis Cardinals, received enough Human Growth Hormone in 2004 to last a whole year of continuous use. It is also fact that Ankiel made the extremely rare transition from...

It's time to check out of the Dan Haren honeymoon suite. Haren fell to 14-7 last night after suffering through another poor outing and he's now 1-4 in his last seven starts. Haren allowed five runs on 12 hits and...

The month says "September"on my calendar, but for true fantasy players, this is our October. Fantasy playoffs have begun in head-to-head leagues. Fantasy GM's everywhere are making more roster moves than George Steinbrenner. Now is not the time to sleep....

Grady Sizemore: In his third full major league season, Sizemore has taken a step back. His power is down; 28 home runs, 11 triples, and 53 doubles in 2006 vs. 23 home runs, 3 triples, and 29 doubles in 2007,...

Jose Reyes Reyes is mired in a 6-for-38 slump and although you certainly won't be benching him (don't) at this point in the season, you have to wonder if all that running (92 stolen base attempts, 74 successful - 80.4%)...

It is early September and stability reins in major league bullpens … Ok, perhaps “stability” is strong … but there have been no major structural changes this week.   The biggest bullpen news of the week may be the...

Joe Saunders- LAA- Cold- There's no place like home and Saunders would like to be no place like home, based on how he pitches at Angel Stadium. His splits are extreme. After giving up 4 runs on 7 hits and...

I feel like Adrian Gonzalez has quietly lived up to his fantasy expectations, but doesn't quite get the credit he deserves. First, let me give you his preseason projected line: FPI of 0.71, 28 HR, 91 RBI, 88 R, .306...

Jeremy Guthrie held the Rays to 3 runs in 6 IP on 8 hits, 4 walks and 5 K but did not figure in the decision on Tuesday. In the midst of the great season for Jeremy his starts have...

Jason Isringhausen: On paper it has been a fine season for Isringhausen, 1.77 ERA and 26 saves in 28 opportunities. However, there is some trouble lurking beneath the surface. A depressed .164 BHIP% and a ridiculously low HR/FB% of 3.6%...

Alex Gordon - Gordon had three singles for four RBI's yesterday against Texas, but it's his power since the break that intrigues me a bit.....his ISO of .240 is actually quite good, which you'd never believe given the lack of...

Esteban Loaiza- LAN- Hot- Loaiza tossed a quality start in his first outing for the Dodgers, allowing 3 runs on 9 hits and a walk in 7 IP while striking out 3. It was a solid, if not spectacular, start....

Good morning everyone! Today we will continue the recap of players in their contract years in 2007 that we started last week with the hitters. Of the 50 hitters we looked at last week, 13 performed better than we...

Alex Gordon never quite turned out to be the rookie-of-the-year candidate everybody thought, but he has shown some signs of greatness throughout the season. He hit 2 HR against the Twins yesterday, giving him 14 for the season. His 0.54...

(Editors Note: This is a sample sneek peak of Prospect Central this week. Members of Insiderbaseball.com have seen in-depth profiles of over 130 prospects this season and the rest of this week’s report was e-mailed to them this morning....

Alexi Casilla: Given his lack of power, 0 home runs in 148 AB, Casilla will need to make better contact, 86% Ct%, and draw more walks, 5.1 BB%, to be effective. It is surprising that he has swiped 9 bases...

Matt Diaz Diaz is starting to get more at-bats versus right-handers lately and rightfully so. Diaz didn't start on Saturday, but after a .386/.427/.786 August in 70 at-bats, Diaz deserves to start every day over Willie Harris. Eventually (now?) Bobby...

Carlos Villanueva- MIL- Rise Value- With the spate of injuries striking Milwaukee's starters, Villanueva will probably get the start on Tuesday. He performed very well in his recent stint in the minors (3.24 ERA, 0.48 WHIP, 9 Ks in 8-1/3...