Ervin Santana has been light's-out in 2008. Icon SMI
	REACT: Send Gary your Fantasy Baseball questions Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Make your case:

The starting pitcher position has me puzzled. I can't decide if I want Reds SP Edinson Volquez ($4,400,000) or Angels SP Ervin Santana ($5,200,000). HELP!
-Justin, Colorado

Deep breathes now Justin. They're both really good choices, two of the finest young pitchers in baseball. Personally, I think Santana gets a slight edge for a few reasons. First, he has been in the big leagues for a longer time, so he's less likely to get rattled if things start going badly. Second, Santana walks fewer batters. And fewer walks means your pitch count stays low. And a low pitch count means you can pitch more innings without getting tired. And more innings means more fantasy points. And finally, Santana's Angels are a better team than Volquez's Reds, so Santana is more likely to rack up wins. I actually think Volquez is the more dominant pitcher. But Santana is the better option for fantasy baseball.

Should I keep Mets SS Jose Reyes ($7,400,000)?
-Josh, New York

Nothing wrong with that, Josh. Even though he isn't off to an amazing start, Reyes has still been one of the 40 or so best hitters at any position so far this season. Sure, maybe Marlins SS Hanley Ramirez ($8,100,000) will put up slightly better numbers. But Reyes should be right there among fantasy baseball's best.

I picked White Sox C A.J. Pierzynski ($3,900,000), but he isn't getting many points. Who else would be a good catcher?
-Mac, Michigan

It's tough, Mac. There aren't a lot of good guys out there for so little cash. But I'd maybe go with A's C Kurt Suzuki ($2,200,000). You might want to just go ahead and free up money somewhere else and get a superstar like Indians C Victor Martinez ($6,600,000), Twins C Joe Mauer ($6,150,000), or maybe even Cubs C Geovany Soto ($5,300,000).

Should I take the Royals RP Zack Greinke ($4,600,000) or Marlins RP Mark Hendrickson ($3,800,000)?
-Cole, Ohio

Go with Greinke, Cole. Greinke, Greinke, Greinke. I know Hendrickson is off to a good start, but I'd be shocked, SHOCKED I TELL YOU, if he kept it up. He had a 5.21 ERA last season. And since he's 33 years old, Hendrickson isn't likely to improve at this point in his career. Meanwhile, Greinke is a young but talented arm who should pitch well throughout the season.

I have Blue Jays SP Roy Halladay ($8,100,000). Is it better to keep him, or get Diamondbacks SP Brandon Webb ($9,600,000)?
-Joshua, Tennessee

You're talking about two of the top 10 pitchers in baseball Joshua, but right now I'd go with Webb. He's not only pitching a little better than Halladay, but the Diamondbacks offense is actually scoring runs, unlike Toronto's lineup. And obviously, it's a lot easier for a pitcher to get wins when his offense is giving him run support.

Is this a good trade: Orioles 2B Brian Roberts ($6,800,000) and Dodgers OF Andruw Jones ($6,000,000) for Rays OF Carl Crawford ($6,400,000) and Rays OF B.J. Upton ($6,750,000)?
-Mitch, Ohio

If you're the one getting Crawford and Upton, then that's a great trade for you, Mitch. Roberts might outproduce Upton by a little bit, but they're probably about even. And because of his stolen base ability and ability to hit for average, Crawford is definitely better than Jones.

I put A's SP Dana Eveland ($4,150,000) on my team last week and I sadly saw that he beat the Orioles (sniff) by going seven innings and allowing three hits and no runs with four strikeouts. But he only got 11 fantasy points. Is it because he did not get the win? How does the scoring work?
-Danny, Maryland

Yeah, that's exactly why, Danny. Unfortunately for Eveland, the bullpen blew the save. Even though Oakland still one, Eveland was out of the game when they scored the winning run, so he doesn't get the win (and therefore doesn't get the 10 fantasy points). It's a tough break, like when a hitter has a home run robbed. If you (or anyone else) wants to see the full scoring rules, check out this link: http://fantasy.sikids.com/baseball/rules.asp.

Should I keep Yankees RP Joba Chamberlain ($3,950,000) or drop him for someone else?
-Grant, Nebraska

Sorry Grant, I know this isn't what you want to hear considering Joba is from your hometown. But Chamberlain just isn't valuable in fantasy leagues. He's a great pitcher in real life, but as a set-up reliever he doesn't get wins, doesn't get saves, and doesn't pitch many innings. And those are the three ways pitchers rack up fantasy points.

Should I get Mets 3B David Wright ($8,200,000), Braves 3B Chipper Jones ($7,500,000), or should I stick with Dodgers 3B Blake DeWitt ($4,250,000)?
-Blayke, California

I wouldn't stick with DeWitt, Blayke. He's a decent young player, but he's nowhere near as good as those other two guys. Chipper is hot right now, and is probably the best 3B to have in the short-term. But I think by the end of this season, Wright will be putting up superstar numbers.

I'm having a hard time deciding on my first baseman: Brewers 1B Prince Fielder ($8,300,000) or Red Sox 1B David Ortiz ($8,300,000)?
-Justin, Tennessee

The edge goes to Ortiz, at least for now Justin. After a slow start, Papi is putting up some monster numbers. Meanwhile, Fielder hasn't quite gotten it going yet.

INJURY REPORT

RP Danys Baez, Orioles

SP Scott Baker, Twins

OF Rocco Baldelli, Rays

C Michael Barrett, Cubs

3B Hank Blalock, Rangers

RP Joe Borowski, Indians

OF Travis Buck, A's

OF Marlon Byrd, Rangers

SP Chris Capuano, Brewers

SP Chris Carpenter, Cardinals

C Ramon Castro, Mets

3B Eric Chavez, A's

SP Matt Clement, Cardinals

RP Chad Cordero, Nationals

SP Doug Davis, Diamondbacks

OF Elijah Dukes, Nationals

SS David Eckstein, Blue Jays

OF Juan Encarnacion, Cardinals

SP Kelvim Escobar, Angels

C Johnny Estrada, Nationals

OF Cliff Floyd, Rays

SP Yovani Gallardo, Brewers

1B Nomar Garciaparra, Dodgers

SS Alex Gonzalez, Reds

RP Mike Gonzalez, Braves

SP Mike Hampton, Braves

SP Clay Hensley, Padres

SP Orlando Hernandez, Mets

SP Phil Hughes, Yankees

3B Maicer Izturis, Angels

SP Jason Jennings, Rangers

SP Josh Johnson, Marlins

2B Howie Kendrick, Angels

SP John Lackey, Angels

C Paul Lo Duca, Nationals

SP Adam Loewen, Orioles

SP Noah Lowry, Giants

SP Pedro Martinez, Mets

SP Brandon McCarthy, Rangers

SP Sergio Mitre, Marlins

SP Mark Mulder, Cardinals

SP Carl Pavano, Yankees

C Jorge Posada, Yankees

SP Mark Prior, Padres

RP Chris Ray, Orioles

2B Danny Richar, White Sox

OF Dave Roberts, Giants

RP Fernando Rodney, Tigers

3B Alex Rodriguez, Yankees

SP Wandy Rodriguez, Astros

SS Jimmy Rollins, Phillies

SP Anibal Sanchez, Marlins

SP Curt Schilling, Red Sox

SP Jason Schmidt, Dodgers

SP John Smoltz, Braves

RP Rafael Soriano, Braves

SP Brad Thompson, Cardinals

3B Chad Tracy, Diamondbacks

SS Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies

SS Omar Vizquel, Giants

SP Kip Wells, Rockies

SP Jake Westbrook, Indians

OF Josh Willingham, Marlins

SP Dontrelle Willis, Tigers

SS Jack Wilson, Pirates

1B Dmitri Young, Nationals

RP Joel Zumaya, Tigers