Here's a list of two start pitchers for the second week of Fantasy Baseball 2009. The list isn't as impressive as last week, but you've still got some solid options:

• A.J. Burnett—New York Yankees: @ TB, vs. Cle
• Jon Lester—Boston Red Sox: @ Oak, vs. Bal
• Scott Kazmir—Tampa Bay Rays: vs. NYY, vs. CWS
• Edinson Volquez—Cincinnati Reds: @ Mil, @ Hou
• Chad Billingsley—Los Angeles Dodgers: vs. SF, vs. Col
• Yovani Gallardo—Milwaukee Brewers: vs. Cin, @ NYM
• Zack Greinke—Kansas City Royals: vs. Cle, @ Tex
• Chien-Ming Wang—New York Yankees: @ TB, vs. Cle
• Chris Carpenter—St. Louis Cardinals: @ Ari, @ CHC
• Javier Vazquez—Atlanta Braves: vs. Fla, @ Pit
• Gavin Floyd—Chicago White Sox: @ Det, @ TB
• John Danks—Chicago White Sox: @ Det, @ TB
• Ted Lilly—Chicago Cubs: vs. Col, vs. Stl
• Matt Garza—Tampa Bay Rays: vs. NYY, vs. CWS
• Kevin Slowey—Minnesota Twins: vs. Tor, vs. LAA
• Randy Johnson—San Francisco Giants: @ LAD, vs. Ari
• Mike Pelfrey—New York Mets: vs. SD, vs. Mil
• Ubaldo Jimenez—Colorado Rockies: @ CHC, @ LAD
• Fausto Carmona—Cleveland Indians: @ KC, @ NYY
• Chris Volstad—Florida Marlins: @ Atl, @ Was
• Koji Uehara—Baltimore Orioles: @ Tex, @ Bos
• Todd Wellemeyer—St. Louis Cardinals: @ Ari, @ CHC
• Jesse Litsch—Toronto Blue Jays: @ Min, vs. Oak
• Glen Perkins—Minnesota Twins: vs. Tor, vs. LAA
• Jamie Moyer—Philadelphia Phillies: @ Was, vs. SD
• Vicente Padilla—Texas Rangers: vs. Bal, vs. KC
• Zach Duke—Pittsburgh Pirates: vs. Hou, vs. Atl
• Dana Eveland—Oakland Athletics: vs. Bos, vs. Tor
• Doug Davis—Arizona Diamondbacks: vs. Stl, @ SF
• Daniel Cabrera—Washington Nationals: vs. Phi, vs. Fla
• Zach Miner—Detroit Tigers: vs. CWS, @ Sea
• Walter Silva—San Diego Padres: @ NYM, @ Phi
• Ricky Romero—Toronto Blue Jays: @ Min, vs. Oak
• Brian Moehler—Houston Astros: @ Pit, vs. Cin
• Dustin Moseley—Los Angeles Angels: @ Sea, @ Min
• Carlos Silva—Seattle Mariners: vs. LAA, vs. Det
• Carl Pavano—Cleveland Indians: @ KC, @ NYY

Thanks to the folks over at Fanhouse.com, we can bring you a list of hurlers that'll be throwing twice this week, so set your rosters accordingly.

For a more detailed breakdown of the list, click on the Fanhouse link:

Brandon Webb
Dan Haren
Jair Jurrjens
Josh Beckett
Carlos Zambrano
Ryan Dempster
Cliff Lee
Ricky Nolasco
Josh Johnson
Roy Oswalt
Francisco Liriano
Johan Santana,
C.C. Sabathia,
Tim Lincecum,
Felix Hernandez
Erik Bedard
Adam Wainwright
James Shields,
Roy Halladay
Mark Buehrle
Aaron Harang
Justin Verlander,
Joe Saunders
Hiroki Kuroda
Randy Wolf
Jake Peavy,
Chris Young
Kyle Lohse
Jeremy Guthrie
Aaron Cook
Wandy Rodriguez,
Gil Meche
Dustin Moseley
Jeff Suppan,
Nick Blackburn,
Dallas Braden
Trevor Cahill,
Paul Maholm
Ian Snell
Kevin Millwood
David Purcey,
John Lannan
Scott Olsen,

We continue or Fantasy Baseball analysis for the 2009 season with newly acquired closer Francisco Rodriguez of the New York Mets.

Fransisco Rodriguez: Rodriguez rewarded fantasy owners last season with an impressive campaign. K-Rod established a new single season saves record, finishing up with sixty two doors slammed.

So that begs the question; "Will K-Rod repeat, come close to, or totally miss last season's production?" Lets examine:


On the Field Factors:

Sixty two saves. That means he appeared in at least sixty two games. In total, however, K-Rod graced the mound seventy six last season. That is a mind boggling number for any reliever, let alone a closer. K-Rod pitched in 68 1/3 innings while also posting his third lowest ERA (2.24) since becoming a big time contributor to the Angels bullpen.

By all accounts, K-Rod will not repeat last season's success, and if the Mets are smart, he won't even come close. Trading for JJ Putz will help lighten K-Rod's workload, and even give him a rest every once and a while. The Mets say they plan on using Putz as a set up guy, but they're not dumb enough to expect Francisco to handle another abnormally large workload in back to back seasons.

Didn't seem to work that well for Billy Wagner.

Off the Field Factors:

K-Rod leaves quiet Los Angeles or Anahiem or wherever that team calls home for the Big Apple, the big bright scary New York City. K-Rod's successes and failures will be placed under bright lights and microscopes, every outing critiqued by mindless bloggers like myself. K-Rod will be compared to his cross town rival Mariano Rivera, a much taller order than having to hold a candle against the likes of Huston Street, Takashi Saito, or whoever the closer of the week is in San Francisco.

Final Thoughts:

While we understand that telling people not to select K-Rod as their fantasy closer of choice is just short of a retarded notion, we're urging you not to overspend or pick with, say your second draft slot. K-Rod is quite a talented arm to have on your team, but lets face it, he's on the Mets now.

We continue or Fantasy Baseball analysis for the 2009 season with newly acquired outfielder/DH Pat Burrell of the AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays.

AL Champion Tampa Bay, it's going to take quite some time to get used to saying that.

Burrell represents a unique opportunity for Fantasy Team Owners this year, so without any more digressions, lets begin.

Pat Burrell: Burrell's rocky marriage to the Philadelphia Phillies finally came to an end this offseason, with the World Champs signing Raul Ibanez to take over in left field. Burrell's tenure with the Phils was one of highs and lows, with constant trade rumors swirling over his head. It's tough for a ballplayer to concentrate in that type of environment, so a new home might be a welcome sign for Burrell's career.

On the Field Factors: Burrell is likely to be slated to bat fifth or sixth in the Ray's lineup which will translate into a significant increase in RBI opportunities. Burrell only had 86 RBIs last season, but if you look at the RBI machines hitting in front of him (Utley, Howard) its easy to figure out why his production dropped in '08.

Insert Burrell into the Rays lineup and you've got a right handed power threat to compliment Carlos Pena. Teams will inevitably begin to pitch around Longoria and Pena, resulting in more offensive opportunities for Burrell. Lets not forget that Burrell, in the past three seasons, has put up some serious power numbers:

HR: 29/30/33
2B: 24/26/33
Hits: 119/121/134
SLUG: .502/.502/.507

Notice a trend? As Burrell is getting older, his numbers are getting better. Factor in increased rest due to manning the DH slot in the Rays lineup and we're looking at a potentially solid year.

Off the Field Factors: Burrell is leaving a semi-hostile environment in Philly, were slumps lasting longer than three games call for immediate expulsion from the roster. Rays media and fans are less volitile than Philly and would welcome Burrell's veteran experience to an extremely young roster.

Final Thoughts:

Burrell is likely to be around late in a lot of drafts due to the fact that his strikeout totals are scary to most fantasy owners. In deep leagues, Burrell is a no brainer, and if you can get him later on in the draft, say 10th-12th round, the rewards will significantly outweigh the risks.

With pitchers and catchers reporting a little less than one month from today, its time to start thinking about how this offseason's transactions will ultimately effect your fantasy baseball team.

While there are some major players still on the market (see Ramirez, Manny.) there are enough big names with contracts to warrant further inspection.


Mark Teixeira: Just because he's signed a mega-deal doesn't mean you should necessarily move him up in your draft order. Money doesn't always translate into continued success. One thing that we liked about Teixeira last season was that his numbers did not differ from his average season output.

Usually, we target a handful of ballplayers in their last year before free agency, as their stats tend to improve dramatically in their walk year. Tex's stats remained consistant with his performance over the previous two seasons (06/07/08);

HR: (33/30/33) RBI (110/105/121) BB (89/72/97)
BA (.282/.306/.308) Hits (177/151/177)

On the Field Factors:
Adding Tex to a pretty powerful Yankee lineup, you should expect to see two things happen. The first is a dramatic increase in walks. Teixeira is an already patient hitter, so throwing him in a lineup that's known to take pitches and stresses the importance of wearing out a starting pitcher will only reinforce (and improve) Teixeira's base on balls total.

The second thing you should expect out of Tex is a combination of three things; increase in home runs, decrease in RBI's, and a major increase in runs scored. There is less pressure for Teixeira to drive in runs in his current lineup, especially if he's going to bat in front of Alex Rodriguez. A shorter porch in right field will always help a lefty power hitter and, as mentioned before, Tex's OBP (.410) will not be wasted in this powerful Yankee lineup.

Off the Field Factors:
Teixeira is leaving the West Coast, which means he'll be playing closer to his hometown Severna Park, Maryland. Also, it seems that Tex's wife was happy with his choice to play for the Yankees. And most news reports practicly credit Leigh Teixeira for the deal getting done. A happy wife makes a happy hitter.

Final Thoughts:
Teixeira inevitably will go way too early in most fantasy drafts this year. We're not saying that he's a bad player, but his over exposure to the general public this offseason will bump his value and draft position in the majority of the "casual" fantasy leagues. Try not to get caught in the hype, but grab him if he falls into the third round (We're guessing that'll never happen).