It’s the haves and the have-nots this week, as there isn’t a single pitcher who possesses between a 50 and 20 percent ownership rate in ESPN or Yahoo leagues. That discrepancy doesn’t make selecting a pitcher for a potential two-start week any easier. If you’re shopping in the bargain bins, you may want to start in the National League, as you’re more likely to find some bang for your buck.

He once carried so much fantasy promise. Former first round draft pick—and second overall selection—Alex Gordon was as can’t miss as they come. In his final season at Nebraska before joining the professional ranks, he swept the major collegiate player of the year awards. Upon playing his first full professional season in the Royals organization at Double-A Wichita, he won the Texas League Player of the Year Award and was tabbed the minor league player of the year by Baseball America. In our 2007 BP Annual, we were downright giddy with anticipation:

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Proceed with caution: most of the pitchers who will be available in your leagues (meaning those with less than 20 percent ownership in ESPN or Yahoo leagues, as noted with a ^) for a two-start week aren’t going to be worth your time. There are a couple of starters with potential to help your team, but because of the limited numbers, you better pounce quickly or you’ll be on the outside looking in.

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There’s been a little bit of bandwidth expended on the abilities of left-handed starter Zachary Britton. Allow me to join the chorus lined up to praise his talents.

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We’re just in the second week of the season, but it feels like the fantasy year is in full swing. This week especially, given there is a plethora of two start pitchers for those looking to stock their roster.

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The Erik Bedard Comeback Show got off to a mediocre start on Monday against the Texas Rangers. In his first start since July 25 of 2009, the Bedard went five innings and gave up just four hits—although two of them left the yard. No one expected him to immediately return to the form that made him a top fantasy starting pitcher all those years ago in Baltimore, and even though it’s just the small sample size of one start, it’s not too early to see how far along the Mariners left-hander is on his road to recovery.

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The Weekly Planner will run each Friday during the season, but this week, you’ll get a Monday and a Friday edition.

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Fantasy season opens tomorrow, but it’s not too late to consider a couple of starting pitchers who enjoyed strong springs. This article is a complimentary piece to last week’s look at the hot hitters of spring. Almost all of us have drafted our teams for the year, but these pitchers may warrant either a waiver pickup or a trade offer as we prepare for the season to start.

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With about a week left before the season starts (yes!) now is a good time to check in with a few of the spring leaders in some offensive fantasy categories. While it's foolish to put much stock in spring stats, they can help to sometimes identify players who have altered some part of their approach that can yield positive results. Last year’s look at the spring leaderboards noted Mike Aviles as a candidate for a rebound, but didn’t put much stock in Chase Headley’s March RBI binge. Hopefully, this trip around the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues will yield similar results as we continue to mine for fantasy options.

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Carlos Quentin was enjoying a breakout 2008 campaign before a freak wrist injury that required surgery ended his season prematurely. He played the entire 2009 season with a pin in his wrist and also missed a chunk of the year suffering from plantar fasciitis—understandably, his power numbers suffered. After posting a .283 ISO in ’08, he dropped all the way down to .219 and he lost over 120 points off his slugging percentage.

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Sure we all want Hanley Ramirez. And my admiration for Evan Longoria has been documented on this site.  And while fantasy baseball is all about winning—and dominating—your league, it’s also about fun. While everyone has their own idea of how to play the game for fun, for me it’s about having one or more of my favorite players on my roster. Because what’s better than having one of your favorite real life baseball players piloting your fantasy baseball team to the pennant?

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Tsuyoshi Nishioka enjoyed a career year as a 25-year-old in 2010, leading the Pacific League in runs, base hits and total bases. The switch-hitting shortstop posted career bests across the board with an impressive slash line of .346/.423/.482. The .346 batting average was also tops in the Pacific League and Nishioka paced the Chiba Lotte Marines to the Japan League title.

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