Carlos Quentin, OF, San Diego Padres
Quentin was all the talk yesterday when he charged Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke after being hit by a pitch and broke the pitcher's clavicle during the scuffle. Greinke is now looking at surgery and a two month timetable before his return to action and Quentin is left with an eight-game suspension and a ton of media and fan's questions on what Greinke "said" to make him charge and why he felt he was hit intentionally. It's hard to determine who was more "in the wrong" in these situation, but in this case, the score was only 2-1, the count was full and it was the middle of the game (6th inning). There isn't much reason (although Greinke had hit Quentin twice in their careers) to suspect Greinke threw at Quentin and considering the Padre outfielder is batting just .190 early on, frustration at the plate could have factored in Quentin's seemingly salty mood leading up to the incident. If you are in a deep mixed league or an NL Only league, stash Quentin as he is a dangerous hitter and we are still early in the season. If you have in a 10-team or 8-team mixed league, just dump him, he isn't worth the headache and this situation doesn't help.
Zack Greinke, SP, LA Dodgers
Greinke, on the other hand, had been pitching great early this season (1-0, 1.59 ERA, 0.71 WHIP) and was on his way to another victory before this happened, and it's a shame that it had to go down like that. For Greinke owners, this is just one of those "shake your head" moments that can haunt you all season long (I have him in two of my personal leagues). Greinke is looking at a minimum two-month recovery, not including a rehab stint, but the season is a long one, and owners can at least look forward to his return. It should come sometime in late June, early July.
Dexter Fowler, OF, Colorado Rockies
The 27-year old Atlanta native hit his fifth and sixth homeruns of the season last night in San Diego, including a go-ahead solo shot off Padres closer Huston Street in the top of the ninth, helping Colorado to a 7-5 comeback victory. The Rockies leadoff man has a line of .325/.386/.825 with nine RBI and 10 runs scored. His K/BB ratio will probably never be pretty (11K/4BB), but his power numbers are there and considering his speed on the basepaths, the ballpark he plays in and his improvement last year, he is on pace for a career season. He was a hot waiver pickup last week, but he is owned in most leagues (81% of Yahoo! leagues). If he happens to be available in your league, scoop him up immediately.
Starlin Castro, SS, Chicago Cubs
Castro led the Cubbies to a 4-3 victory at home today versus San Francisco. The 23-year old shortstop hit his first homerun of the year in the fifth inning off of Matt Cain, as well as notching the game-winning double off closer Sergio Romo in the bottom of the ninth to give the Cubs the win in walkoff fashion. Castro is now batting .289, but he has yet to draw a walk on the season and his two RBI yesterday afternoon doubled his total on the season. With a weak lineup and his inability to get on base any way other than a base-hit, I just can't see a productive fantasy season out of Castro in 2013, even after his great 2012 (.283 BA, 14HR, 78 RBI, 25 SB).
Bryce Harper, OF, Washington Nationals
This guy may not be of legal drinking age, but boy can he smack a baseball around. The 20-year old prodigy hit another bomb today off Braves starter Julio Teheran to kick off the scoring in the first inning in yesterday's matchup against rival Atlanta. Harper is hitting an even .400 on the season with 10 RBI and five long balls. He now has at least two hits in four of his past five games and has at least one hit in every game but one this year. The kid is maturing faster than anyone could have anticipated and although it is fun to see him putting them out of the park at the rate he is now, don't get too caught up in the numbers so far, Harper is still young and with every hot streak in baseball, there is a cold streak lurking in the shadows. Regardless, he's turning into a top 5 outfielder in all formats and should be a top 20 fantasy producer this season.
