Atomic RoadRunners | Andrew Flynn’s High-Energy Fantasy Baseball

Reds 2B Brandon Phillips had three hits, including his second double, in five at-bats during Sunday’s game against the Phillies. He now has multi-hit games in three of his first six contests. He has hit safely in five of six for a .375 average.  Phillips is seeing plenty of great pitches to open the season sandwhiched between Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn in the lineup. We felt this might be the season Phillips challenge Chase Utley as the top Fantasy 2B, and he is off to a fine start. Keep him active going into Fantasy Week 2 (April 7-13). (CBS Sports)

Phillies C Carlos Ruiz doubled in four at-bats during Sunday’s game against the Reds. He also scored after hitting his second double of the season. Ruiz has just three hits in his first 16 plate appearances for a .188 average.  Here we go again with Ruiz. His inconsistency at the dish is going to drive Fantasy owners crazy. But since he calls a hitter’s park home and plays in a very potent lineup, he still remains a decent No. 2 Fantasy catcher. (CBS Sports)

MLB.com reports the Cardinals are opting to keep Brian Barton in the leadoff spot for the third straight game Sunday against the Nationals. “It’s just great having the opportunity to play, whether I’m leading off, whether I’m starting, whether I’m pinch-hitting, just for the coach to have confidence in me to contribute — it says a lot and I’m thankful for it,” Barton said. “But at the same time, I have a job to do, and hopefully I continue to do that job so I can stay here.” Manager Tony La Russa said before Sunday’s game that Skip Schumaker is going to be the primary leadoff hitter. “I just see a bunch of right-handers coming up on our road trip, so I’m not worried about him missing a start here or there,” La Russa said. Barton, a Rule-5 pick from Cleveland, got his first MLB start Friday and had two hits. On Saturday, he had a triple. Barton entered Sunday hitting .444. “He’s hit a couple shots and he’s helped us win, so we’ll stay with it,” La Russa said. Barton will have to stay on the Cardinals’ roster all season or be offered back to Cleveland. If he keeps performing, they might just need to find him an everyday spot. For now, he is nothing more than a NL-only Fantasy option.  (CBS Sports)

Brandon Webb limited the Rockies to two runs — one earned — in seven innings in a victory Saturday.  Webb has shaken off a bad spring to open the season 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA. Webb gave up one run, courtesy of a two-out home run by Todd Helton in the bottom of the first, but was never in any real trouble after that. Webb stymied Colorado, giving up just one earned run. He walked one and struck out five in an efficient 98-pitch outing.  Webb is a member of the elite and should be in every lineup, even when he pitches in Coors Field.Including his March 31 start five days ago, he’s now 14-2 in April in his career. He’s 43-43 over the other five months, though his worst ERA in any month is 3.67 (May).  (Rotoworld, Rotowire, CBS Sports)

John Maine was pulled after giving up four runs in four innings Saturday against the Braves. Maine allowed four runs on eight hits and three walks in four innings to get the loss in the Mets’ 11-5 defeat by the Braves Saturday.  A disappointing start for a pitcher who looked about as good as anyone in Florida last month. Maine was hurt by leaving too many pitches up in the zone in his outing. He needed 104 pitches to get through his four innings and will get a chance to rebound from this poor start next Thursday against the Phillies. (Rotoworld)

Jason Marquis gave up five runs — four earned — in 5 1/3 innings Saturday against the Astros.  Lou Piniella isn’t known for his patience, so if Marquis doesn’t impress over his next couple of starts, he could find himself replaced by Jon Lieber. Marquis has the potential to be a 15-game winner, but he is a streaky pitcher you will need to watch from time to time. You may want to see how he fares in his next outing against a tough Phillies lineup in a tough ballpark for pitchers next week before activating him again. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

The Reds expect Javier Valentin to be ready to return to the lineup within a few days. Valentin left Friday’s game with a mild left hamstring strain. “It’s not as bad as we thought,” manager Dusty Baker said. “It’s actually better than we thought. He’s been able to pinch-hit, he’ll catch in an emergency. We just have to watch him run. It’s not like he’s a speed demon anyway.” Paul Bako is catching today. (Rotoworld)

Blake DeWitt went 0-for-2 in Saturday’s loss to the Padres and played after getting hit in the back of the right arm with a Jake Peavy fastball. The injury swelled up after the game but he expects to play Sunday, reports the Dodgers’ official website.  Shouldn’t be any worries here. DeWitt is off to a great start and could make the Dodgers think twice about sending him down when Nomar Garciaparra (hand) returns from the DL. (Rotowire)

Brian Barton went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored against the Nationals in his first career start.  Skip Schumaker was supposed to play against lefties as well as righties, but his 0-for-11 start got him the day off versus Odalis Perez tonight. Barton and Ryan Ludwick should be the Cardinals’ corner outfielders versus southpaws anyway. (Rotoworld)

Javier Valentin left Friday’s game in the sixth inning with an apparent hamstring injury. It didn’t seem like there was a serious pull, but Valentin was ailing a bit going down the first-base line on his single in the sixth. Paul Nako replaced him. (Rotoworld)

Friday’s game between the Mets and Braves was postponed due to rain and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on May 20.  The Mets will go with John Maine on Saturday and skip Mike Pelfrey. Johan Santana remains the scheduled starter on Sunday. The Braves will stay with their rotation, meaning Tim Hudson and Tom Glavine will pitch the next two days. John Smoltz’s expected return Sunday will be pushed back. (Rotoworld)

Carlos Villanueva earned a win after allowing two runs in 5 1/3 innings Friday against the Giants.  Villanueva had a shutout going into the sixth, when he allowed four straight hits, including the Giants third and fourth extra-base knocks of the year. He struck out six before that, including the pitcher twice to bail himself out of jams. It was a solid first outing, but it would have been nice to see him show a little more stamina. Getting through six against the Giants isn’t too much to ask.  Villanueva pitched his way into the rotation this spring with a 2.63 ERA in six outings (four starts) spanning 24 innings. He also had 17 strikeouts. The Brewers look like a contender very early on this season and that makes Villanueva worth a flier even in mixed leagues while he can hold a rotation spot. His next start is slated for April 10 against Cincinnati. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Overall Standings

Rank Team                Batting Pitching Total Dif  Behind
---- ------------------- ------- -------- ----- ---- ------
 1   Goodfellas          34.0    41.5     75.5  75.5 0.0
 2   Misogynistic Padres 48.0    23.0     71.0  71.0 4.5
 3   Shoeless Jews       35.0    34.5     69.5  69.5 6.0
 4   X-Men               21.0    37.0     58.0  58.0 17.5
 5   The Pi Train        20.5    35.0     55.5  55.5 20.0
 6   Uncle Lester        18.5    35.0     53.5  53.5 22.0
 7   Cover Zero          26.5    20.0     46.5  46.5 29.0
 8   Atomic Roadrunners  22.0    21.0     43.0  43.0 32.5
 9   Get Off Kong!       23.5    18.0     41.5  41.5 34.0
 10  Stanimals           26.0    10.0     36.0  36.0 39.5

Yesterday's Stats

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (4/6/08) F
Player                        BA HR R RBI   SB
------------------------- ------ -- - --- ----
Davis, Rajai OF SF        0.0000  0 0   0    0
Dewitt, Blake 3B LA       0.0000  0 0   0    0
Fielder, Prince 1B MIL    0.2500  0 1   0    0
Hart, Corey C. RF MIL     0.6667  0 2   0    1
Jones, Andruw CF LA       0.0000  0 0   0    0
Jones, Chipper 3B ATL     0.0000  0 1   0    0
Phillips, Brandon 2B CIN  0.6000  0 0   0    0
Reyes, Jose B. SS NYM     0.0000  0 0   0    0
Ruiz, Carlos C PHI        0.2500  0 1   0    0
Spilborghs, Ryan CF COL   0.0000  0 0   0    0
Teixeira, Mark 1B ATL     0.2500  1 1   2    0
Theriot, Ryan SS CHC      0.2500  0 0   0    0
Valentin, Javier C CIN    0.0000  0 0   0    0
Victorino, Shane CF PHI   0.0000  0 0   0    0

Atomic Roadrunners Players Yesterday (4/6/08) F
Player                       ERA  K S   W WHIP
------------------------- ------ -- - --- ----
Lyon, Brandon RP ARI        9.00  0 0   1 2.00
Myers, Brett SP PHI         7.20  4 0   0 2.20
VandenHurk, Rick SP FLA    15.43  4 0   0 3.43