Some leagues don’t allow such activity by limiting the number of player adds you can make each week. However, if you can find a loophole in your league settings and add/drop pitchers all season long – you’re going to have a great chance to win the whole thing come September!

For the third consecutive season, we will be tracking two start pitchers to make sure you always win your pitching categories. That way, if you’re cutting Wandy Rodriguez because of his 8.30 ERA over the last month – you can add someone who can help you right away.

Below you will find each projected two start pitcher for fantasy baseball week 14 broken down into four categories – must start, would start, could start, and don’t start.

Must Start:

• Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies
• Mike Pelfrey, New York Mets
• Jeff Niemann, Tampa Bay Rays
• Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels
• CC Sabathia, New York Yankees

Would Start:

• Matt Garza, Tampa Bay Rays
• Jonathan Sanchez, San Francisco Giants
• Derek Lowe, Atlanta Braves
• Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
• Jake Peavy, Chicago White Sox
• C.J. Wilson, Texas Rangers
• Clayton Richard, San Diego Padres
• Carlos Silva, Chicago Cubs
• Trevor Cahill, Oakland Athletics

Could Start:

• Armando Galarraga, Detroit Tigers
• Daisuke Matsuzaka, Boston Red Sox
• Scott Kazmir, Los Angeles Angels
• Gavin Floyd, Chicago White Sox
• John Ely, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Tom Gorzelanny, Chicago Cubs
• Aaron Harang, Cincinnati Reds
• Javier Vazquez, New York Yankees
• Ben Sheets, Oakland Athletics
• Brian Bannister, Kansas City Royals
• Jeff Francis, Colorado Rockies
• Chris Volstad, Florida Marlins
• J.D. Martin, Washington Nationals
• Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies
• Kevin Slowey, Minnesota Twins
• Travis Wood, Cincinnati Reds
• Wandy Rodriguez, Houston Astros
• Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants
• Randy Wolf, Milwaukee Brewers
• Barry Enright, Arizona Diamondbacks

Don’t Start:

• Kevin Millwood, Baltimore Orioles
• Aaron Laffey, Cleveland Indians
• Omar Beltre, Texas Rangers
• Nate Robertson, Florida Marlins
• Dave Bush, Milwaukee Brewers
• Dontrelle Willis, Arizona Diamondbacks
• Justin Masterson, Cleveland Indians
• Jeff Suppan, St. Louis Cardinals
• Vicente Padilla, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Jake Arrieta, Baltimore Orioles
• Jesse Litsch, Toronto Blue Jays
• Brad Lincoln, Pittsburgh Pirates
• Ryan Rowland-Smith, Seattle Mariners

Some leagues don’t allow such activity by limiting the number of player adds you can make each week. However, if you can find a loophole in your league settings and add/drop pitchers all season long – you’re going to have a great chance to win the whole thing come September!

For the third consecutive season, we will be tracking two start pitchers to make sure you always win your pitching categories. That way, if you’re cutting Wandy Rodriguez because of his 8.30 ERA over the last month – you can add someone who can help you right away.

Below you will find each projected two start pitcher for fantasy baseball week 13 broken down into four categories – must start, would start, could start, and don’t start.

Must Start:

• Ricky Romero, Toronto Blue Jays
• Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves
• Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati Reds
• Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
• Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies
• Cliff Lee, Seattle Mariners
• Phil Hughes, New York Yankees
• Mike Leake, Cincinnati Reds
• Yovani Gallardo, Milwaukee Brewers
• Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals

Would Start:

• Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
• Mark Buehrle, Chicago White Sox
• R.A. Dickey, New York Mets
• Francisco Liriano, Minnesota Twins
• Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks
• Barry Zito, San Francisco Giants
• Ted Lilly, Chicago Cubs
• Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants

Could Start:

• Kyle Kendrick, Philadelphia Phillies
• Ricky Nolasco, Florida Marlins
• Brett Myers, Houston Astros
• Manny Parra, Milwaukee Brewers
• Jeremy Bonderman, Detroit Tigers
• Kevin Correia, San Diego Padres
• John Ely, Los Angeles Dodgers
• James Shields, Tampa Bay Rays
• Brandon Morrow, Toronto Blue Jays
• Fausto Carmona, Cleveland Indians
• Jeff Karstens, Pittsburgh Pirates
• Dustin Nippert, Texas Rangers
• Joel Pineiro, Los Angeles Angels
• Dallas Braden, Oakland Athletics
• Hisanori Takahashi, New York Mets
• Jason Hammel, Colorado Rockies
• Wade LeBlanc, San Diego Padres

Don’t Start:

• Jake Westbrook, Cleveland Indians
• Anthony Lerew, Kansas City Royals
• Paul Maholm, Pittsburgh Pirates
• Randy Wells, Chicago Cubs
• Brian Matusz, Baltimore Orioles
• Joe Blanton, Philadelphia Phillies
• Wandy Rodriguez, Houston Astros
• Nick Blackburn, Minnesota Twins

Some leagues don’t allow such activity by limiting the number of player adds you can make each week. However, if you can find a loophole in your league settings and add/drop pitchers all season long – you’re going to have a great chance to win the whole thing come September!

For the third consecutive season, we will be tracking two start pitchers to make sure you always win your pitching categories. That way, if you’re cutting Wandy Rodriguez because of his 8.30 ERA over the last month – you can add someone who can help you right away.

Below you will find each projected two start pitcher for fantasy baseball week 12 broken down into four categories – must start, would start, could start, and don’t start.

Must Start:

• Mike Leake, Cincinnati Reds
• Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox
• Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Jaime Garcia, St. Louis Cardinals
• Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

Would Start:

• Livan Hernandez, Washington Nationals
• A.J. Burnett, New York Yankees
• Mat Latos, San Diego Padres
• Tommy Hanson, Atlanta Braves
• John Danks, Chicago White Sox
• Tommy Hunter, Texas Rangers
• Ervin Santana, Los Angeles Angels
• Anibal Sanchez, Florida Marlins
• Brett Cecil, Toronto Blue Jays
• Jonathon Niese, New York Mets
• Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros
• Jason Vargas, Seattle Mariners

Could Start:

• Bruce Chen, Kansas City Royals
• Gio Gonzalez, Oakland Athletics
• Wade Davis, Tampa Bay Rays
• Mitch Talbot, Cleveland Indians
• Jamie Moyer, Philadelphia Phillies
• Scott Baker, Minnesota Twins
• Ryan Dempster, Chicago Cubs

Don’t Start:

• Rodrigo Lopez, Arizona Diamondbacks
• Zach Duke, Pittsburgh Pirates
• Jhoulys Chacin, Colorado Rockies
• Jeremy Guthrie, Baltimore Orioles
• Joe Martinez, San Francisco Giants
• Dave Bush, Milwaukee Brewers

Some leagues don’t allow such activity by limiting the number of player adds you can make each week. However, if you can find a loophole in your league settings and add/drop pitchers all season long – you’re going to have a great chance to win the whole thing come September!

For the third consecutive season, we will be tracking two start pitchers to make sure you always win your pitching categories. That way, if Felix Hernandez continues to winless deep into the month of June – you’re not screwed.

Below you will find each projected two start pitcher for fantasy baseball week 8 broken down into four categories – must start, would start, could start, and don’t start.

Must Start:

• Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
• Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies
• Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
• Matt Garza, Tampa Bay Rays

Would Start:

• Andy Pettitte, New York Yankees
• Tommy Hanson, Atlanta Braves
• Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros
• Chad Billingsley, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Bronson Arroyo, Cincinnati Reds
• Jaime Garcia, St. Louis Cardinals
• Francisco Liriano, Minnesota Twins
• John Lackey, Boston Red Sox
• Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves
• Rich Harden, Texas Rangers
• Joel Pineiro, Los Angeles Angels
• Jeremy Bonderman, Detroit Tigers
• Ricky Nolasco, Florida Marlins
• Nick Blackburn, Minnesota Twins

Could Start:

• Joe Blanton, Philadelphia Phillies
• Ervin Santana, Los Angeles Angels
• Nate Robertson, Florida Marlins
• Brandon Morrow, Toronto Blue Jays
• Hisanori Takahashi, New York Mets
• Kevin Correia, San Diego Padres
• Doug Fister, Seattle Mariners
• Gio Gonzalez, Oakland Athletics
• Brian Matusz, Baltimore Orioles
• Javier Vazquez, New York Yankees
• Mark Buehrle, Chicago White Sox
• Brian Bannister, Kansas City Royals
• John Ely, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Dave Bush, Milwaukee Brewers
• Brett Myers, Houston Astros
• Jason Vargas, Seattle Mariners

Don’t Start:

• Mitch Talbot, Cleveland Indians
• Luke Hochevar, Kansas City Royals
• Trevor Cahill, Oakland Athletics
• Chris Narveson, Milwaukee Brewers
• Russ Olhendorf, Pittsburgh Pirates
• Luis Atilano, Washington Nationals
• Rodrigo Lopez, Arizona Diamondbacks
• Jake Westbrook, Cleveland Indians
• Craig Stammen, Washington Nationals

Should you add them? Should you trade them? Should you keep them? Fantasy Baseball Dugout breaks it down for you.

• Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies: Jimenez leads the Bigs in ERA and is tied with Washington’s Tyler Clippard for the league lead in wins. He threw the first no hitter of the season and has struck out 54 batters in 56.3 innings. He is in the top five of five major NL pitching categories. If you drafted Jimenez around the position 90 in March – then you got him as a steal. In case you need reassurance – Jimenez is for real and a big time keeper. Unless you’re going to get an ace quality pitcher the quality of Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum, or Dan Haren, keep him.

• Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox: Konerko has an MLB-leading 14 home runs. He’s owned in 100% of ESPN fantasy leagues, but he’s only hit three home runs in May after jacking 11 bombs in April. He’s hit 30 or more home runs five times since joining the Show full time in 1999. However, Konerko had an average draft position below 200, there’s a case to be made for trading him if you can. Over the last 24 hours in CBS Sports, he’s been traded straight up for Alex Rios, Johan Santana, Mark Teixeira and Aramis Ramirez. If you can get Tex or Johan for Konerko at this point in the year – take the deal.
• Casey McGehee, Milwaukee Brewers: McGehee is tied with Evan Longoria for second in RBI in MLB with 37 – he’s also got 9 home runs and a .324 average. He’s 100 percent owned in ESPN – but had an average draft position under 200.  Last year, he only hit 16 home runs and drove in 71 RBI. Similar to Konerko, if you can trade McGehee for an established player that will produce similar projected numbers – make the deal.
• Tyler Clippard, Washington Nationals: Clippard is tied with Jimenez for the MLB lead in wins with 7 and has 8 holds. He has a 2.22 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 28.3 innings of work. He’s owned in around 50 percent of ESPN leagues. His talent seems to be legit. That said, Clippard is a middle reliever and the incumbent closer in Washington – Matt Capps – currently leads the Bigs in saves. He should definitely be added in all NL and mixed leagues that have holds as a fantasy baseball statistic. In NL-only leagues, Clippard also has value as a reliever to keep ERA and WHIP down while increasing strikeout total. In most standard mixed leagues, however, he should probably stay on the waiver wire.
• Kelly Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks: Johnson has 12 home runs, and he’s been one of the hottest topics in the fantasy baseball world over the last month. A 2B shows some power production and everyone wants to jump on board. He’s only hit 57 home runs in his career and is four shy of setting his MLB-career best. His trade value seems to have plummeted lately. Over the last 24 hours, he’s been dealt in 1-for-1 trades for the likes of Carlos Beltran, John Danks, Fausto Carmona, Orlando Cabrera, Kevin Slowey, Ryan Dempster and Cole Hamels. It seems that K-Jo is a prime candidate to either trade now or bail on.

Judging a hitter or pitcher on Spring Training performance is difficult because both hitters and hurlers tend to face some competition that won’t make an Opening Day roster. Spring Training stats can be useful in discovering, however, in discovering who might breakout in the upcoming season or which rookies can make an impact when they are called up later in the year.

In the case of sluggers like Ryan Howard, Spring Training numbers just reinforce the notion that they are warm weather superstars – guys who dominate during the summer months and are notorious slow starters because they play in a four-season climate.

Any thoughts on how spring training can positively or negatively affect a players fantasy value? We encourage you to drop them in the comments below.

Batting Average (minimum 20 at-bats):

• Ian Davis, New York Mets: .524
• Tony Abreu, Arizona Diamondbacks: .500
• Julio Borbon, Texas Rangers: .500
• Austin Jackson, Detroit Tigers: .450

Runs:

• Abreu, Diamondbacks: 7
• Gary Matthews, New York Mets: 7
• Sean Rodriguez, Tampa Bay Rays: 7
• Mike Stanton, Florida Marlins: 7

Home Runs:

• Seven Players (including Sean Rodriguez, Jose Bautista, and Mike Napoli): 3
  

RBI:

• Reid Brignac, Rays: 13
• Ian Desmond, Washington Nationals: 10
• Justin Upton, Diamondbacks: 9
• Ike Davis, Mets: 9

Stolen Bases:

• Nine Players (including Carlos Gomez, Rickie Weeks, and Angel Pagan): 3
  

Wins:

• Dan Hudson, Chicago White Sox: 2
• Amaury Sanit, New York Yankees: 2

Saves:

• Rommie Lewis, Toronto Blue Jays: 2
• Pete Parise, Cardinals: 2

ERA (minimum 6 innings pitched):

• Nelson Figueroa, Mets: 0.00
• Kris Medlen, Atlanta Braves: 0.00
• 5 other pitchers: 0.00

Strikeouts:

• David Hernandez, Baltimore Orioles: 12
• Brian Matsuz, Orioles: 10
• Nelson Figueroa, Mets: 9

Oh… and he watches ‘My Boys’ and likes it, too. That Jordana Spiro is one sexy talented actress.

There’s also a lot of things to hate about Chicago baseball. BeeZee’s particular brand of hatred for Chicago baseball pretty much starts and ends with Sammy Sosa, his corked bat, and his obvious steroid use. Although Alfonso Soriano was a major letdown in fantasy baseball this season, BeeZee still doesn’t hate him. Just Sosa.

Despite this love/hate relationship, BeeZee still is very interested in catching an afternoon ball game at Wrigley Field. Whether or not the stadium will ever host a winner ever again, its still one of baseball’s cathedrals and one of the best places to see a game.

When the time comes that BeeZee will finally get to make a trip to the City of Wind and catch a game at Wrigley, he’s going to use MyWrigleyVille.com to plan his trip. The site is a one-stop place for everything related to Wrigley. The site has a bar guide for those of you who don’t want to go to Murphy’s Bleachers. The site also has deals and rooftop information for those who can’t get tickets into Wrigley.

They want you to think of them as a Cubs fan with benefits (kinda like we think of Jordana Spiro).

So yeah, the Cubs aren’t in it again this year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be prepared for your next trip to Wrigley. Check out MyWrigleyVille.com the next time you’re thinkin’ about taking a baseball sabbatical to Chicago.

If you’re reading this post – it would seem you have made it to the playoff rounds of your fantasy baseball league. Congrats!

Since we gave you 50 tips to win your league back in March, we thought it would be polite to give you some analysis on how to win your playoffs in September.

Below are 10 tips we have found valuable to winning in fantasy baseball playoffs. Because every good fantasy baseball player knows how you start is irrelevant. Its where you finish.

Good luck in the playoffs.

1. Every head-to-head league with playoffs has category tiebreakers (most of which use ERA). Check your league settings to be sure (some use batting average).
2. Cut ties with players on your disabled list unless they are big names close to returning. Dice-K, Jake Peavy, Carlos Beltran, and Corey Hart are all likely to return in the next week, so hang on to them if you can.
3. Two-start pitchers are more important than ever during fantasy baseball playoffs. Add at least one each week as your team advances through the playoff rounds.
4. Up against a GM who pitcher streams? Play the player – add probable pitchers to your roster 48 hours ahead.
5. If you only have two closers – add a third. Got three? Consider adding a fourth. Matt Lindstrom is one reliever who might steal some saves down the stretch.
6. Stack your lineup in roto leagues when you reach your pitcher maximum. All pitchers active on the day a maximum is reached accumulate stats.
7. Drop any starting pitcher after they make their final regular season start and replace them with the best probable starter.
8. Championship rounds often last 10 days. Don’t forget to set your championship round roster into the “next week.”
9. Rookie pitchers in the National League are definitely worth a flier because teams have no scouting report and they can contribute one or two dominant performances.
10. Add a player who is multi-position eligible to your bench. They can be beneficial on travel days like Monday and Thursday when you need extra at-bats, or to replace injured hitters like Adam Jones or Grady Sizemore who won’t make it back this season. Players to watch available in around 50% or more of leagues:
    1. Chris Coughlan (2B/OF eligible), Florida Marlins. Hiting .393 with 24 runs in the last 30 days
    2. Clint Barmes (2B/3B/SS), Colorado Rockies. 8 homeruns in the last month.
    3. Garrett Jones (1B/OF), Pittsburgh Pirates. 30-day 5×5 line – .337/6/17/15/4.
    4. Carlos Guillen (1B/3B/OF), Detroit Tigers. 7 homeruns and 18 RBI last 30 days.

PS – Please send any playoff royalties you feel we are due to webmaster [at] fantasybaseballdugout [dot] com. Thanks!

In his career at U.S. Cellular Field (15 games), Rios has hit .273 with 2 homeruns, 8 RBI, 8 runs scored and a steal. He favored the home cooking during his time in Toronto, but he is still on pace for a 20/20 campaign, assuming he can get enough at-bats. This 20/20 potential will always make him attractive to fantasy owners.

While Ozzie Guillen has said he will play him all over the outfield, center field seems the most likely place for him to play everyday. His value over Scott Podsednik is painfully obvious if you take stealing bases out of the equation. That said, with Carlos Quentin’s penchant for the DL this year and Jermaine Dye’s aging, I can see the White Sox using him to spell them as well.

Going into last night’s games, Rios was batting .264 on the year with 14 bombs, 62 RBI, 52 runs and 19 steals. You have to like him for a 20/20 season even if his preseason projection of .288/19/90/100/25 seems unlikely.

Rios’ trade value also seems to be going up since he was acquired by the White Sox. In 1 for 1 trades on CBS Sportsline, he has been dealt straight up for the likes of Curtis Granderson, Nate McLouth, and Bobby Jenks over the last 24 hours. Compare those players to the guys he was dealt for in 1-for-1 deals on August 10 – Johnny Cueto, Wade Davis, Alex Gordon, and Jay Bruce – and it would seem most people think his value is going to go up in his new surroundings.

DJ “Captain Carl” Middleman stumbled across our contest at the beginning of last week and was kind enough to tell KHITS listeners about it on his “BLARRRG.” Give the guy a little “clicky” to show him a little appreciation. Thanks Carl.

Have you voted for your favorite hott wife of 2009 yet? There’s still a little over 3 weeks left to rally votes for your favorite, but DeRosa is off to a commanding lead thanks to the listeners of KHITS. Hottest Wives of New York Karen Burnett and Jordan Schneider are neck in neck for 2nd place, despite being far behind DeRosa. Hott Wife of Chicago Lisa Dergan-Podsednik is next in line.

Remember, to vote for your favorite hott wife of 2009… click her name in the poll booth on the right or find her voting code number and text HOTT(space)(number) to 84444.