Sleepers

[EugeneStyles]

My enthusiasm for Marrero is slightly dampened, but not enough to give me any second thoughts about starting him. He is the best hitting catcher on the team and can play 3 positions. He is also the Cards' best pinch-runner.

If he starts 1/3rd of their games and averages 1 AB in each other game (not really that ludicrous, all things considered), that's still about 300 AB for the year, along with SB opportunities when he is used as a pinch-runner.

As for the brain trust, it seems that they're just not entirely sure what to do with him. Sometimes they say that they need him as a pinch-hitter/runner late in games, but after his first start (Friday?), I saw the following on CBS.Sportsline:

"I think he should expect to start somewhere tomorrow," La Russa said. "He can do so many things. He's just an exceptional athlete."

If he goes 3 for 4 with a HR, double, and triple everyday (he was taken out of the game before he could hit for the cycle), LaRussa will just have to start him everyday. Regardless, I expect him to play nearly everyday, just not always as a starter.

Komiyama closing is an interesting thought that actually makes a lot of sense. Benitez is the man in Shea, of course, but if he goes down, Komiyama would probably make more sense than Strickland, both in terms of his stuff and Bobby Valentine's confidence in him.

The best thing going for Komiyama is that he could potentially be either a starter or a closer, or else a decent middle reliever with what I believe will be good strikeout numbers. The danger is that he'll end up as a complete dud in long relief (and how many fantasy teams really plan on drafting a middle reliever anyway?), but he was always a starter in Japan, and I think he might work his way into the starting lineup eventually. If not, there's always the outside chance that he'll close.

[uanap]

One more sleeper for you guys. I'd be interested to get your opinions on him too.

Todd Ritchie: Sure, Ritchie went 15-9 with a 3.50 ERA for Pittsburgh in 1999, but fantasy's statute of limitations on success is short, especially for guys who go 9-9, 4.81 and 11-15, 4.47 the subsequent two seasons. But, look no further than Seattle's Paul Abbott (17-4 in 2001) to see what run support can do for an American League pitcher with an ERA around 4.00. The White Sox won't score as many runs as last year's Mariners, but Ritchie still has a shot at 17 wins.

[Arlo]

Good sleeper - Ritchie fell off a lot of people's radar screens. I'd tone down my expectations a little, but an era of around 4.50 and a shot at 15 wins still sounds pretty good if you can pick him up cheap. Plus, there's a chance he'll take a step up (maybe not in his first AL season, though); his k/bb ratio certainly puts him in the category of pitchers with potential.

[cwebb]

Keep your eyes on Brian Lawrence, he had a great game yesterday! If you need starters, try Lawrence, I expect him to have a very solid season!