There were a bunch of eye-opening performances scattered throughout Thursday's games, but none bigger than the seven one-hit innings hurled by Chris Carpenter. The 33-year-old hadn't won a game for the Cardinals since the 2006 World Series, yet there he was, striking out seven Pirates and needing just 92 pitches to get through his day of work. Is Carpenter already back to fantasy ace status, or was this just the stinkin' Bucs making him look good?
Yes and no. Carpenter worked around 92 mph on his fastball, had good sink on his curveball and was very efficient on the hill. He showed exactly why fantasy owners were cranking up the hype machine over spring training. But let's not go nuts here. Would I rather have him than Randy Johnson? Surely. Would I rather have him than CC Sabathia? Get real. Actually, if you've got Carpenter, now is the perfect time to package him with someone else off to a hot start that might be on your bench (i.e. Jorge Cantu) to see if you can pull a star from the high-strung type in your league.
Bits From the Box Scores
• Your chance to jump aboard the VottoMobile will soon be over. After another homer and four RBI, first baseman Joey Votto now has two jacks and seven ribbies on the young season. I can already smell the smoke from the other 28+ bombs he's going to hit this year.
• You want no part of Oliver Perez right now, even if you're aching for strikeouts. It's just not worth the gamble. His ERA sits at 16.62 with a 2.31 WHIP after his Great American Shellacking. Johan Santana is the only must-start pitcher on the Mets, followed by the occasional doses of John Maine and Mike Pelfrey.
• In a duel of impressive rookie pitchers named Rick between Rick Porcello and Ricky Romero, it was Romero who came away with the tidy ERA and the win, but both are bound to give you a rocky ride this season. Porcello is the one you want long-term, but the lefty Romero may wind up with the more favorable spot starts this year.
• That was homer No. 2 for young Adam Lind out of the five-hole against the Tigers. He'll surpass the 20-mark this season. Surprisingly, Lind is still out there in about 40 percent of leagues if you need a power injection in your outfield.• I don't care how nice their lines looked, you want no part of Glen Perkins or Jarrod Washburn in mixed leagues other than as spot-starters. Washburn will be quite useful in AL-only leagues though. That stellar defensive outfield combo of Chavez-Gutierrez-Ichiro (soon) certainly helps a fly-ball pitcher like Washburn.
• Five runs and two swipes already on the season for Akinori Iwamura. You're gonna get zero pop out of the guy, but if you're needy for a middle infielder, I think he'll touch 90 runs and 15 steals. He's out there in about 70 percent of leagues.
• Here's your latest on the Yanks' lineup shuffle. Nick Swisher started in right field, Xavier Nady took DH ... and Hideki Matsui presumably rubbed Aspercreme on Jorge Posada on the pine. Swisher smacked a homer and drove in five out of the 6-spot in the lineup. He's actually owned in 50 percent less leagues than Nady. Playing time is still iffy, but by the end of the season, Swisher is going to be the one you want.
• Orioles reliever Chris Ray has given up four earned runs over his first 1 1/3 innings. Yes it's early, but if you're prospecting for saves, the Cardinals' Ryan Franklin is more worthy of a bench spot on your roster.
• Keep a close eye on Pirates outfielder Nyjer Morgan as everyone else is out buying "I <3 Bonifacio" T-shirts (watch, they'll make them soon enough). He has a .316 average, four RBI, three runs and a steal through his first four games. We're talking about a leadoff hitter who has 40-steal speed and is available in pretty much every mixed league. Not even Captain Jolly Roger knows how long a player sticks in the Pirates lineup, so plug and play while it lasts.
• Gotta love that Rangers lineup. Andruw Jones was the surprise cleanup hitter and went 3-for-5 for an offense that put 12 runs on the board against Cleveland. Grab him in all AL-only leagues he's still available in. Have patience with Chris Davis; he'll get his soon enough (just hacking too much right now).
• The walks were scary (four), but the strikeouts (six) and hits allowed (two) were just dandy in Clayton Kershaw's first start against the Padres. I'd rather own Kershaw than Manny Parra, another young hurler who received some pre-draft fantasy hype, but who got roughed up for five runs by the punchless Giants. Both their WHIPs will likely hurt you a bit this season.• Somewhere, an AL-only leaguer is weeping because of you, Carl Pavano. All the Alyssa Milano posters in the world aren't going to cure the pain of an 81.00 ERA.
Run to the Wires For: The aforementioned Adam Lind. Nobody else is worth running for right now. And if you're looking for closers in waiting, keep Franklin and Chicago's Octavio Dotel on the radar.
Down on the Farm: Braves prospect Tommy Hanson struck out 10 over 4 1/3 scoreless innings in his Triple-A debut. D'backs hurler Max Scherzer walked four and also hit a batter in his rehab start for Single-A Visalia (yikes). Scherzer will be activated soon and start Tuesday against the Cardinals, but keep him stashed until he works out the kinks.
Lineup Lock Time: Early game today is at 1:05PM EST - Texas at Detroit ... the rest of Friday's action is at 4:05 EST and later.
Playing the Splits: Derek Jeter is hitting .377 in 77 at-bats against Sidney Ponson. Carlos Lee is batting .391 in 23 career at-bats vs. St. Louis starter Joel Pineiro. Miguel Tejada is hitting .353 in 34 at-bats against Pineiro. Kevin Kouzmanoff is batting .238 in 21 at-bats against Barry Zito. Torii Hunter is at .378 in 37 at-bats vs. Tim Wakefield.
Gut Feeling: Texas-Detroit will be the most fantasy-friendly game of the day. And Andy Pettitte will shut down the Royals.
Saturday's Ace in the Hole: Jonathan Sanchez, San Francisco at San Diego. He had a 16:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings against the Padres last year. If you're looking for a Saturday spot-starter, I think he's your upside bet. My second choice would be Kenshin Kawakami at home vs. the Nationals. Yusmeiro Petit against the Dodgers at home isn't too bad for those in deeper leagues.
