![\"http:\/\/a323.yahoofs.com\/ymg\/ept_sports_fantasy_experts__25\/ept_sports_fantasy_experts-345202355-1268838790.jpg?ymHWo1CD5rhqejqM\"](\"http:\/\/a323.yahoofs.com\/ymg\/ept_sports_fantasy_experts__25\/ept_sports_fantasy_experts-345202355-1268838790.jpg?ymHWo1CD5rhqejqM\")
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IMPORTANT NOTE: You still need to sign up for Tourney Pick’em<\/a><\/strong>, and nothing gives us more pleasure than crushing commenters at fantasy games. To satisfy our mutual interests, we’ve launched The Roto Arcade Invitational. Please head over to the Pick’em sign-up page<\/a>, find league ID 55220, enter password "roymarble," then accept your beating. It’s really that simple. <\/em><\/p>\n Also, please check out Yahoo!’s Fantasy Bracket Live<\/a><\/strong>, Wednesday at 1 PM ET. You’re encouraged to call, email, and participate in chat. We’ll have live experts, eager to serve. Now let’s bullet… <\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n •<\/strong> Under the headline, "No decision on Strasburg regarding Minors,"<\/a> MLB.com reports that Stephen Strasburg<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> will very likely be sent to the minors. It should not surprise anyone if he begins the season away from the Nats, even though he’s pitched five scoreless innings so far this spring (5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K). Here’s Washington general manager Mike Rizzo:<\/p>\n "In all probability, Stephen would benefit from going to the Minor Leagues," Rizzo said via text message. "The official decision has not been made."<\/p>\n […]<\/p>\n "My stringent plan is, we are going to develop the player, to get the most out of him – not only for 2010, but for the long-term," Rizzo said. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Strasburg will be one of the all-time fantasy trade chips when he arrives. Of course he also has the stuff to make a Tommy Hanson<\/a>(notes)<\/a>-style<\/span> impact. He’s certainly draft-worthy in mixed formats, though he’s a better play in head-to-head where September is much more important that April-August. <\/p>\n •<\/strong> In other (much more surprising) Nationals news, the team has unconditionally released outfielder Elijah Dukes<\/a>. That’s awful news for those who’ve already drafted or bought Dukes in NL-only leagues, but it’s good news for…well, dunno. Willie Harris<\/a>(notes)<\/a>?<\/span> Chris Duncan<\/a>(notes)<\/a>?<\/span> Ian Desmond<\/a>(notes)<\/a>?<\/span> We can assume there’s an interesting backstory here. Dukes presumably would have had some<\/em> trade value. <\/p>\n UPDATE<\/strong>: According to Bill Ladson<\/a>, "With Dukes gone, Justin Maxwell<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Roger Bernadina<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> most likely will battle for the starting job in right field." Both players have modest power and useful speed; Maxwell stole 35 bases at Triple-A in ’09, and Bernadina swiped 41 in ’08. <\/a><\/p>\n •<\/strong> In post-hype sleeper news, Cameron Maybin<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> (groin) returns to action on Wednesday<\/a>. He needs to get himself back on the field, because 20-year-old prospect Mike Stanton stubbornly won’t stop hitting<\/a> (.316\/.409\/.842, 3 HR). <\/p>\n •<\/strong> It’s entirely possible that the battle to be the Yankees’ fifth starter<\/a> will continue indefinitely, until Joba Chamberlain<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> does something to win it. But right now, just based on the spring stats and upside, you’d have to say the favorites are Phil Hughes<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Alfredo Aceves<\/a>(notes)<\/a>.<\/span> Chamberlain is expected to pitch on Wednesday against Philadelphia. So far this spring, he’s allowed eight hits, 11 runs and six walks in just 3.2 innings. <\/p>\n •<\/strong> The initial reports that Ian Kinsler<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> would miss only a week due to his ankle sprain are reportedly "too optimistic." Uh-oh. This from the Rangers’ website<\/a>:<\/p>\n Kinsler is still a week away from playing in a Cactus League game and could be out longer than that. <\/p>\n The Rangers are still confident he will be ready for Opening Day, but he is not going to get a lot of playing time in Arizona, unless it is simply getting at-bats in "B" games and Minor League games. <\/p>\n "There is a realistic possibility that he is only going to play a handful of games here," assistant general manager Thad Levine said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Kinsler has been something of a delicate flower thus far in his career. He’s done hard time on the DL in each of his four years. I couldn’t make myself pull the trigger on Kinsler with the 14\/15 picks in the Friends & Family draft on Tuesday, not with both Ryan Howard<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Miguel Cabrera<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> on the board. (For those who like to stare at other men’s drafts, Pianowski<\/a>, Singman<\/a>, Liss<\/a>, Erickson<\/a>, Salfino<\/a> and Del Don<\/a> have all posted F&F recaps already. Because they think only of themselves, and not of you. I’ll be chatting on air with Jeff at 12:30 PM ET today, right here<\/a>. Feel free to join us).<\/p>\n • BONUS NOTE<\/strong>: OK, we’re going 6U today, because the Denver Post is reporting that Colorado closer Huston Street<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> "suffered a setback with his injured right shoulder on Tuesday,"<\/a> and will likely begin the season on the DL. Here’s Huston himself:<\/p>\n "It’s really frustrating – opening day is definitely in jeopardy," Street said this morning. "It would be the first time in six years I would not be ready to go."<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Replacement options include Franklin Morales<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Manuel Corpas<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> both of whom are having rough springs, as well as Rafael Betancourt<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> who’s dealing with shoulder issues. Ideally, you’d be able to stay away from this pileup. But if you’re in a deep league where all the closers and potential closers are owned, I’d go with Morales. (Mostly because I’ve been *torched* by Corpas and Betancourt before). <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Photo via US Presswire<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" IMPORTANT NOTE: You still need to sign up for Tourney Pick’em, and nothing gives us more pleasure than crushing commenters at fantasy games. To satisfy our mutual interests, we’ve launched The Roto Arcade Invitational. Please head over to the Pick’em sign-up page, find league ID 55220, enter password "roymarble," then accept your beating. It’s really […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5466,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-438544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5466"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=438544"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438544\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=438544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=438544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=438544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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