Line of the Day: April 30th, 2011

SP James Shields of the Tampa Bay Rays pitched into the ninth inning, allowing one run, six hits, a walk and tied a career-high with 12 strikeouts in the Rays' 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Shields, perfect through one out in the fifth inning, was saddled with a no-decision when closer Kyle Farnsworth couldn't lock down the save.

Line: 8+ IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 12 K; ND, QS

My fantasy perspective: Shields continues to prove he's the real deal in 2011. He's thrown five of six quality starts this season, allowing just 35 hits and 11 earned runs over 46.1 innings with a 39:9 K:BB ratio, a 2.14 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. For a pitcher with an ADP of 203.9, he's putting up similar numbers to Roy Halladay (46.1 IP, 39 H, 11 ER, 47:7 K:BB) at a fraction of of the draft day cost.

How is it that he's 100% owned in ESPN leagues but just 78% owned in Yahoo! leagues? Check your Y! waivers in case you are unfortunate enough to be in a league that's already been busted just one month into the season.

Agree? Disagree? Check out ESPN's formula for determining the best daily performances and nominate your own Line of the Day player using the comments section or hitting me up on Twitter.