Today, I am writing from Peoria, Illinois – the home of the Chicago Cubs Class-A Affiliate Peoria Chiefs. I lived in Peoria for 13 years before settling in Southern California, but I am back helping the family. Those of us that participate in an NL-Only leagues are scrambling for the waiver on a daily basis these days because of injuries and illness.  The National League is beginning to look like a hospital ward shuffle these days. There are a number of National League players either hit the disabled list or are on their way back this week.  And, there are teams that are scrambling to fill wholes because the flu is taking a tour through their locker room. The Chicago Cubs had to call up Travis Wood to fill in for an sick Matt Garza on Sunday. As for the injury bug,  Jayson Werth is the latest casualty last night when he suffered a broken left wrist when he tried to make a sliding catch in the sixth inning. He’ll spend the next three months on the disabled list and Bryce Harper will move to right field. That means Xavier Nady and Roger Bernadina will split time in left until Michael Morse returns from his time on the DL. The good news for the Nats is Ryan Zimmerman (shoulder) appears to be ready to return this week.

In other fantasy news…..

• Matt Kemp didn’t start Sunday due to a tight left hamstring. He was able to pinch-hit and it appears to be nothing more than a day-to-day ailment.
• Jason Bay (rib) is eligible to return from the DL later this week, but Mets manager Terry Collins says he won’t be for awhile.
• Albert Pujols finally belted his first homer as an Angel Sunday. He did it in his 117^th plate appearance with his new club. Everyone that has Pujols on their roster can take a breath and relax.
• Adam Dunn homered for the fourth time in five games Sunday. He now has nine home runs on the year and looks to be on his way to a bounce-back season.
• Yu Darvish had  a career-high 11 strikeouts on Sunday, but he also gave up four runs – three earned. He’s averaged 10 strikeouts over his last three starts but has also walked at least four batters four times this season.
• Desmond Jennings exited Sunday’s game with left knee soreness. At this point, it doesn’t seem like he’ll miss more than a game or two, but we’ll find out more Monday.
• Adrian Beltre (hamstring) didn’t start again on Sunday,  but he is back in the lineup on Monday as the DH.
• Huston Street is out indefinitely with a lat injury. It appears the Padres will use a closer by committee until Street returns.  Andrew Cashner is the favorite for saves while he’s out, but Luke Gregerson and Dale Thayer could also be in the mix.
• Pedro Alvarez has become relevant again for fantasy owners. He has been moved up to the cleanup spot by the Pirates after hitting seven home runs this season.

Guess what $250 million dollars can buy you these days in Major League Baseball? How about a .216 BA, 0 Home Runs, 4 RBI, and last place in the American League West. Its safe to say that Albert Pujols has been the biggest fantasy bust through the first month of the season. As we turn the calendar to May, my guess is Pujols and the Angels will begin to find their way, but the Texas Rangers won for the 17th time in April last night and are showing now signs of slowing down. Pujols went 0-for-April in the  home run department and it leaves fantasy owners shaking their heads. I don’t own Pujols in my AL-Only league, but if I did I would not trade him. The back of the baseball card does not lie and by the end of the season, Pujols should put up the numbers we are accustomed to him providing each year.

In other fantasy news…..

• Matt Kemp continued his incredible start to the season with his 12th home run last night. He is the obvious NL-MVP to this point and should have won the award last year. We can put a bow on this historic month for Kemp.
• Ryan Braun had his first career three-homer game in the Brewers victory last night in San Diego.
• Brad Lidge will undergo surgery to repair a hernia injury on Tuesday. Henry Rodriguez will continue as the primary closer until Drew Storen returns from his injury.
• Allen Craig is scheduled to rejoin the Cardinals for tonight’s game against the Pirates. Craig is such a valuable player for fantasy owners because he has eligibility all around the diamond. Look for Craig to be in the lineup quickly.
• Justin Morneau is on his way back to Minnesota to have a doctor look at his left wrist. He left Monday night’s game. This could be just a scare, but something that definitely warrants monitoring.
• Yu Darvish was dazzling last night against the Blue Jays. He had at least one strikeout in every inning on his way to 9 strikeouts for the game. Darvish improved to 4-0 and continues to prove why the Rangers spent all that money to bring him to Texas.
• Jason McDonald threw a gem against the Braves last night as the Pirates won in Atlanta. McDonald went 7 2/3 innings, allowing  three runs with 10 strikeouts.
• Pedro Alvarez went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer. The home run was Alvarez’s 5th of the year and 3rd in his last six games. Alvarez’s average is now over .200 for the first time this season. If he is available and you can deal with his low batting average, Alvarez could continue to be a decent source of power.

Bryce Harper will make his major league debut Saturday at Dodger Stadium and fantasy owners that have Harper are running to their computer to get Harper in their lineup. Harper is expected to play left field and bat seventh. The phenom has arrived! The phenom has arrived! I get the excitement for Harper’s arrival, but I don’t think Harper is going to tear up major league pitching and could be back in Triple-A Syracuse in two weeks when Ryan Zimmerman returns from the disabled list. Harper was not tearing it up at Triple-A at the plate. In 72 at-bats, Harper was hitting .250 through 20 games.

In other fantasy news…..

• Ryan Zimmerman was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sore right shoulder. The Nationals and Zimmerman originally hoped to avoid the disabled list, but it was a necessarily move after he received a second cortisone shot Friday in Los Angeles. There’s a chance he will ready when he’s eligible on May 6.
• Brad Lidge will be placed on the 15-day disabled list with an abdominal strain. With Lidge going on the shelf, the Nationals will give all of their save chances to Henry Rodriguez. There’s no timetable for Lidge’s return.
• Mike Trout was recalled by the Angels on Friday night in a effort to shake things up with the team. Trout will play left field and bat leadoff on Saturday. Unlike Bryce Harper, the Angels are not rushing Trout to the major leagues. He is ready to play and should have broke spring training with the Angels. Trout hit .403 from the leadoff spot with Triple-A Salt Lake, so the Angels hope he will be able to provide a similar spark since Albert Pujols is not providing that spark or anything else for that $250 million dollar contract.
• Brian McCann left Friday’s game with an intercostal strain. McCann struggled in the second half last season due to an oblique injury to his left side, so this is something to watch closely.
• Kenley Jason got the save for the Dodgers on Friday night. It was not a smooth inning for Jansen, but he got the job done. Even thought manager Don Mattingly said Javy Guerra was resting a minor foot injury, this situation warrants monitoring.

Since the start of spring training, the Texas Rangers hope was that Yu Darvish would improve a little bit each start. On Tuesday night, Darvish was so dominating against the New York Yankees that the question now is can he pitch any better? Darvish (3-0) was so effective with his array of pitches and he was able to work out of some early jams. Darvish surrendered no runs and struck out a career-high 10 batters over 8 1/3 innings as the Rangers continue their hot start. Darvish has struggled with his command at times this season, but an ERA that sat at 7.94 after his debut on April 9 against the Mariners is now down to 2.42. Darvish sits 3-0 with 24 strikeouts in just 26 innings.

In other fantasy news…..

• Ryan Zimmerman was left out of the lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against the Padres as he continues to deal with a shoulder injury. He had an MRI and could be headed for the disabled list.
• Mat Latos had his best outing as a member of the Reds on Tuesday, holding the Giants scoreless over seven innings. Latos held the Giants to four hits and two walks while striking out three.
• A’s outfielder Coco Crisp is day-to-day due to a recurrence of inner ear issues.
• Albert Pujols is hitless in four straight starts for the Angels, which matches a career-worst hitless streak for him.
• The Orioles Tsuyoshi Wada had an MRI taken Tuesday that revealed ligament damage in his throwing elbow.
• Chris Narveson’s season is over. The Brewers lefty needs season-ending shoulder surgery.
• Jeff Samardzija threw 6 2/3 strong innings as the Cubs defeated the Cardinals in thrilling fashion for the second straight day. The problem is that Carlos Marmol blew another save opportunity and cost Samardzija a win. Despite his good start, Samardzija and any other Cubs pitcher is tough to own this year because the Cubs lack consistent offensive and Marmol is the closer. Getting wins from this pitching staff will be tough all year.
• The Braves optioned Jair Jurrjens to Triple-A Gwinnett and Tim Hudson appears to be heading back to the Braves rotation. Simply, Jurrjens has been terrible all season and the Braves have so much starting pitching depth within the organization. Jurrjens owns a 9.37 ERA, which is the worst in the major leagues. Hudson is scheduled to start for the Braves on Sunday against the Pirates.

Its safe to say that Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse may just be one of the best first half pitchers in baseball after he improved to 3-0 after Sunday’s 5-1 win over the Pirates. Lohse is off to another fast start this year, giving up a run or fewer and lasting at least six innings in each of his first four trips to the mound.  On Sunday, Lohse controlled the Pirates on six hits through seven innings. Last year, Lohse started just as strong and posted similar numbers out of the gate, going 7-2 with a 2.13 ERA through his first 11 starts. Loshe is a strong “sell-high” candidate if he is on your roster.

In other fantasy news:

• Daniel Hudson (shoulder) was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Diamondbacks over the weekend. The removal of Hudson from the Arizona rotation is of particular interest to Fantasy owners, since it could mean the arrival of top prospect Trevor Bauer.
• Staying with the Diamondbacks theme – Justin Upton (thumb) returned to the Diamondbacks lineup against the Braves on Saturday night. Upton went 1-for-4 with a double and a pair of strikeouts. Team doctors have said Upton cannot further damage his thumb by playing, but on Sunday he was hit by a pitch on the hand with the injured thumb, so I’ll politely disagree with the D’Backs doctors on this one.
• Top A’s prospect Jarrod Parker will replace Graham Godfrey in the A’s rotation and get the start on Wednesday.
• Freddy Sanchez (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment with High-A San Jose Monday and could be ready for activation in early May.
• Sergio Santos (shoulder) was placed on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his pitching shoulder. Francisco Cordero will pitch the ninth inning for the Blue Jays while Santos is on the disabled list.
• Carl Crawford will have his left elbow checked and could be cleared to start a throwing program soon. Crawford went on the disabled list after surgery on his wrist, but the elbow has been more of an issue lately.
• Francisco Liriano was blasted again Sunday, pushing his ERA to 11.02 and WHIP to 2.33 for the year. He is not an option for fantasy owners in any format.
• The Red Sox are desperate for bullpen help so Daniel Bard is moving back to the bullpen starting today. That’s fine, but who will the Red Sox replace Bard with in the rotation? The Red Sox pitching staff is a total disaster right now.
• Marlon Byrd was traded to the Red Sox over the weekend from the Cubs. In addition to the pitching staff being a disaster right now, the Red Sox were desperate for centerfield help after Jacob Ellsbury landed on the disabled list. They must be desperate to take Byrd and his .070 batting average.

Matt Kemp has picked up right where he left off last year and is the early front runner for National League MVP award – which he should have won last year. Kemp slugged his seventh home run — most in the big leagues —- in the fifth inning against starter Randy Wolf. Kemp’s home run gave him 18 runs batted in, which ties him for the big league lead with Andre Ethier, who collected his 18th RBI with a single that scored Kemp in the third inning. Over his last seven games, Kemp has gone on an unreal 16-for-29 with nine runs scored, three doubles, five homers and nine RBIs. Fantasy owners who didn’t take Kemp with the No. 1 overall pick have to be kicking themselves right now.

In other fantasy news……

• Michael Cuddyer (toe) expects to be back in the Rockies’ lineup Friday. He left Wednesday’s game with a toe injury, but it appears to be a non-issue
• Justin Upton (thumb) was not in Thursday’s lineup for the third straight day. But, the D’Backs outfielder thinks he’ll be ready to return to action soon.
• BJ Upton (back) will rejoin the Rays lineup on Friday against the Twins.
• Curtis Granderson went 5-for-5 with three home runs. He now has six home runs on the season and remains so dangerous with his pull swing at Yankee Stadium.
• Adam Wainwright struggled again Thursday, giving up four runs over five innings against the Reds. He’s now 0-3 over his first three starts and has a 9.88 ERA.
• Lance Berkman is headed to the disabled list. It’s not clear at this point how long Berkman will be out, but even if it’s the minimum amount of time, he’ll be out until May 4 and will have missed 19 games by then. Berkman’s replacement – Matt Carpenter- is off to a strong start with a homer and 11 RBI in the early going. And, despite his lack of big league experience, he’s also a career .300 hitter in the minors, so the Cardinals can probably get by without Berkman for a couple weeks.
• Brandon League clearly did not have his best stuff on Tuesday, and as a result he wound up blowing a phenomenal start from Felix Hernandez and the game for the Mariners
• Chris Young is expected to miss two-to-three weeks due to slightly torn AC joint in his right shoulder.

Barely a week into the season, the Giants and Fantasy Owners have to deal with an injury that could keep Brian Wilson out for the season. An MRI on Wilson’s elbow showed structural damage and he is in the process of getting a second opinion, but the outlook is bleak.  If he undergoes Tommy John surgery, the likely outcome, he’ll miss the remainder of the 2012 season.  Who will take over closing duties in San Francisco? When Wilson went on the disabled list in mid-August, Manager Bruce Bochy employed a closer-by-committee approach. For the short term, it sounds as if Bochy will use his bullpen the same way. Santiago Casilla went 6-for-6 in save opportunities last year and could emerge as the main guy.

In other fantasy news:

• Devin Mesoraco may be the Reds’ catcher of the future, but veteran-loving manager Dusty Baker seems to prefer a weak hitting Ryan Hanigan in the present. That’s not necessarily a surprise to Fantasy owners, but Hanigan’s four starts in the team’s first seven games confirms it. Mesoraco is just a low-end No. 2 catcher in mixed leagues, despite his upside.
• The Red Sox received the worst possible news regarding Jacoby Ellsbury and he was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday. Ellsbury is expect to miss 6-to-8 weeks.
• It was a tough night for a couple top tier closers on Saturday in the National League. Heath Bell and J.J. Putz blew a saves. For Bell, it was his second blown save.
• David Freese was a last minute scratch on Saturday and is going to miss a couple days with a finger injury. Its a wait and see situation.
• Yu Darvish much better on Saturday in his second outing at Minnesota, but walked away with a no-decision. Darvish still threw too many pitches as he threw 102 pitches over just 5 2/3 innings. Still, he allowed just one earned run on nine hits and four walks, striking out four.
• Henderson Alvarez, one of my favorite sleepers, made his second start of the season on Saturday against the Orioles. He allowed three runs on six hits over seven innings of work. Alvarez also struck out two and walked one in the no-decision.

What are the San Francisco Giants doing with Brandon Belt? At 23-years old, Belt is rated among the elite prospects in baseball, however the Giants are not giving him the opportunity to play everyday. Through the first six games, he has just 11 at-bats and is the owner of a .091 batting average. I’m not going to point fingers at any one person, but the Giants organizational philosophy is failing Belt. If he is not going to play everyday, he should be at Triple-A to get playing time. Keeping him on the bench in San Francisco is not helping his development. I just don’t get it – the Giants are offensively challenged and Belt can hit. In 2010, Belt hit 23 home runs, 112 RBI, and finished the minor league season with a .352 BA. I have heard a few “experts” say that Nate Schierholtz is off to a hot start. Really? Schierholtz had one great game this year going 2-4 with 2 HR. Those are his only two hits of the season and his batting average is well below .200. Aubrey Huff has just three hits as well this year and he is receiving more playing time than Belt. The only thing that makes sense to me is there must be something about Belt that the organization does not feel comfortable with at this time. If the Giants keep Belt at the major league level, he must play and have the opportunity to get comfortable at the major league level.

In other fantasy news…..

• In 6 games, Josh Willingham has 4 HR’s, is batting .409 and has a hit in every game. The best part about his early season home run binge is that three of his HR’s have all been at Target Field.
• Matt Garza was dominant on Thursday. He struck out nine and gave up three hits over 8 2/3 shutout innings against the Brewers on Thursday.
• Brad Lidge blew a save opportunity on Thursday as he gave up two runs on two hits and he also issued a pair of walks. Fortunately for Lidge, the Nationals came back to win the game. With Drew Storen on the DL for at least the next six weeks, don’t be surprised if Henry Rodriguez emerges as the main guy.
• Tim Hudson continues to rehab from spinal fusion surgery and is encouraged with the rehab starts. Hudson is still a few weeks away from returning to the Braves rotation.
• Drew Stubbs is off to a horrendous start to the season at the plate. Stubbs was 0-5 on Thursday in the leadoff spot for the Reds and has just 4 hits in 25 AB. Following a disaster of a second half last year, I am really beginning to worry about Stubbs. I have him in my NL-Only league and was hoping to see him start quick, but nothing looks different to me. So for now, Stubbs is on my bench until he figures things out.
• Jacob Ellsbury left the game today with a shoulder injury. This is the worst news the Red Sox could have received. Lets hope Ellsbury is back sooner than later.

The Mets are off to a strong start at  4-1, but not everyone is smiling after Tuesday’s game. X-rays taken Tuesday evening on the right pinkie finger of Mets third baseman David Wright revealed a small fracture. Wright was off  to a 7-for-12 start and appeared poised to re-emerge as a major power threat this season courtesy of the reconfigured walls at Citi Field. Maybe he’ll only miss a couple of weeks and be able pick up right where he left off. If Wright is out for an extended period of time, the Mets could move Daniel Murphy to third base and hand the starting second base duties over to either Jordany Valdespin or Justin Turner.

In other fantasy news:

• Justin Upton missed Tuesday’s game with a jammed thumb. Fantasy Owners should consider Upton day-to-day.
• Danny Duffy threw six shutout innings to defeat the A’s on Tuesday. He gave up just one hit while striking out eight. Fantasy owners that own Duffy should feel good after last night, but by no means is he a definite start each time he walks to the mound. He’ll face the potent Tigers lineup in his next start and that is one that I would keep Duffy on the bench.
• Chipper Jones returned from the DL on Tuesday night and hit his first home run of 2012 to lead the Braves to a victory. Jones If Jones (39 years old) can remain healthy, his is still a  productive player.
• Carl Crawford was sent to the doctor with a sore elbow. He is already on the DL after having surgery on his left wrist. Since signing that mega deal with the Red Sox last year, it has been one disappointment after the other for Crawford and fantasy owners. I want no part of him in 2012.
• Vernon Wells is off to a slow start this season. The Angels think he could be pressing, but the reality is that he is just not any good. If he can’t produce in this lineup, where can he be successful? Avoid Wells in all formats.
• Jeremy Hellickson was taken to the hospital today after getting hit in the head with a baseball during the Tigers batting practice. We should hear more later today.