Line of the Day: April 12th, 2011

SP Dan Haren of the Los Angeles Angels pitched his first career one-hitter in a 2-0 win over the Cleveland Indians. Haren struck out eight, walked two and threw 125 pitches while recording his 12th career complete game and third shutout.

Line: 9 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

Haren is now 3-0 on the season (thanks to a win in relief) with an ERA of 0.73 and a WHIP of 0.53. In 24.2 innings pitched, he's struck out 21 for a 7.7 K/9 ratio with a ridiculous 21/2 K/BB ratio. I know it's early, but it's worth noting that Haren is the number one fantasy pitcher in both ESPN and Yahoo! leagues.

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.

Line of the Day: April 11th, 2011

OF Sam Fuld of the Tampa Bay Rays went 4-for-6 with two doubles, a triple and a 2-run homer while driving in three and scoring three runs in a 16-5 win over the Boston Red Sox on Monday night. He was a single short of hitting for the cycle.

Line: 6 AB, 3 R, 4 H, 3 RBI; 2 2B, 3B, HR

Fuld was a non-factor on draft day but has been the major benefactor since the Manny Ramirez retirement debacle. He's now hitting .387 .321 (9/28) with five stolen bases and should be a staple at the top of the Rays' lineup while he's producing. If you need some speed on your roster, Fuld is only 0.4% owned in ESPN leagues and 4% owned in Yahoo! leagues. Expect a huge spike in his ownership numbers this week.

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.

Line of the Day: April 10th, 2011

SP Jered Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels struck out a career-high 15 batters in a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. In 20.2 innings this season, Weaver has allowed just nine hits while striking out 27 and walking nine. He's 3-0 with a 0.87 ERA, a 0.87 WHIP, an 11.76 K/9 ration and a .130 BAA.

Line: 7.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 15 K

Weaver was the 15th drafted starting pitcher on ESPN with an ADP of 67.7 and taken between Cole Hamels and David Price. So far he's showing all the signs of a fantasy baseball ace and paying off for owners that believed 2010 wasn't a fluke.

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.

Line of the Day: April 9th, 2011

OF Carlos Beltran of the New York Mets showed signs of life by going 2-for-4 with two home runs in an 8-4 win over the Washington Nationals. He also drove in three runs and score three times.

Line: 4 AB, 3 R, 2 H, 3 RBI; 2 HR

Beltran had an ADP of 203.3 (on ESPN) and an ownership rate of 99.4% while his Yahoo! ADP of 178.8 has only translated to a 68% ownership rate. Odd. He looks healthy (at this point) and could be in line for a nice bounce-back season. If he's available in your Yahoo! league, it might be a good time to pick him up.

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.

Ups and Downs: April 9th, 2011

This edition of Ups and Downs looks at a few players being added and dropped the most over the last seven days (according to ESPN leagues) and the possible reasons why.

• SP Kyle Drabek, TOR (+63.9%) is settling in as the Blue Jays #2 starter quite nicely. He's struck out 12 in 13 innings and allowed just seven hits and two earned but has walked seven.
• RP Jordan Walden, LAA (+58.2%) is now the Angels' closer and looks like he could be there for a while. He's 1-for-1 in save opportunities with a total of 7 K's in just 4.1 innings. Only 62.4% owned in ESPN leagues.
• 2B Freddy Sanchez, SF (+47.4%) was just 7% owned before opening the season with a .333 (9/27) BA, 1 HR, 4 RBI and 5 Runs. He definitely deserves to be owned while he's healthy and hitting.
• OF Jose Tabata, PIT (+42.8%) was being touted as a "sleeper" coming into 2011 and has opened the season with an 8-game hitting streak, hitting .344 with 1 HR, 2 RBI, 9 Runs and 3 SB. You're opportunity to get him off waivers has probably passed.
• SP Edwin Jackson, CHW (+41.1%) is 2-0 with 20 K's in just 14 innings pitched. It's no surprise he's being added in so many leagues. It's VERY SURPRISING he's still available in 39.5% of leagues.
• SP John Lackey, BOS (-32.3%) has allowed 17 H and 15 ER in just 8.2 IP. Ouch!
• OF Manny Ramirez, TB (-29.8%) should be dropped in 100% of all leagues. I'll give managers a little time but if he continues to be rostered in your league much longer than you're league probably sucks.
• OF Ryan Raburn, DET (-26.4%) was another preseason "sleeper" that seems to be stuck in a platoon with Brennan Boesch. What a shame.
•  RP Jake McGee, TB (-26.1%) was in the mix to become the Rays' closer this Spring but those dreams seemed to have faded. Not many save opportunities for a 1-6 team.
• RP Fernando Rodney, LAA (-25%) has a 7.71 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP. It's clear to see why Walden is now the closer.

Have you already given up on your "sleepers" or late-round picks? Were you one of those teams in my drafts that was so focused on drafting next year's keepers that you passed on quality players that would help you win THIS YEAR? Feel free to share your early season struggles and/or successes in the comments section of this article.