Speaking of non-hitting first basemen, Troy Glaus has to be next up on the possible cut block. Freddie Freeman has started to heat up in Triple-A for the Atlanta Braves with three home runs in his last two games and six RBI and will be eventually knocking on the door if Glaus continues to struggle. Glaus went 0-for-4 Thursday with three strikeouts and is now hitting .170 on the season.

On the other side of the diamond, it is time for Brandon Wood to also go pretty soon I think. Wood is hitting .087 with zero home runs or RBI and only two runs scored in 46 at bats. Not helping matters is still his lack of plate discipline with two walks and 15 strikeouts. If Maicer Izturis is a free agent in your league and you need middle infield help, I would pick him up in advance of something happening.

Daisuke Matsuzaka is supposed to return from the disabled list and could get the start either Monday or Tuesday in Toronto, making him potentially a two-start starter in week 4 with the second start coming at Baltimore. In three starts in Triple-A, Matsuzaka had a 1.62 ERA and a 0.72 WHIP with 13 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings.

Ubaldo Jimenez picked up a win Thursday night with 7 1/3 innings of shutout ball with five strikeouts. He is now 4-0 with a 0.95 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. While all that is well and nice, he has rang up pitch counts of 115, 128 and 121 in his last three starts. Those are some awfully high numbers and we’re not even into May yet. His trade value is never going to be higher and with his recent pitch count numbers, there is no better time to trade him.

Aroldis Chapman worked 5 1/3 scoreless innings in Triple-A, allowing three hits with five walks and striking out eight. Until he gets his control in order which is going to enable him to pitch past the fifth inning and not blow out the bullpen on days he pitches, he is going to be stuck in Triple-A for awhile.

Hitters:

Jose Guillen hit his 6th home run of the season and drove in three runs giving him 13 RBI on the season. I think there is something to be said for players that hit better when they feel more natural in the field, or in Guillen’s  case as the designated hitter, more comfortable not in the field. Similar story in San Diego with Chase Headley moving back to third base.

Not sure if Guillen’s start is that surprising as he has 25 home run power when healthy, but the hot start of Alex Gonzalez in Toronto continues to amaze as he hit his fifth home run of the season and knocked in two runs giving 11 RBI for the year.

Ryan Braun went 3-for-4 with his fourth home run of the season and he also stole his third base. Braun is hitting .393 with 15 RBI on the season.

Mike Lowell got the start as designated hitter over David Ortiz with a left-hander on the mound and went 2-for-4 with two RBI and his first home run of the season. With the Red Sox below .500 and Ortiz struggling, I think it is much easier to sit him against southpaws and get Lowell some extra at bats.

Looks like the move of Elvis Andrus to the top of the Texas Rangers batting order and sliding Julio Borbon to the ninth spot is benefiting both players. Andrus will see additional runs scored and some extra steals maybe while Borbon can relax more at the plate at the end of the batting order. Andrus stole his 5th base of the season and scored two runs while Borbon went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two stolen bases.

Rafael Furcal is looking like the Furcal of old, going 3-for-5 with four RBI as well as stealing his seventh base of the year.

Sean Rodriguez finally rewarded owners that blew a good portion of their FAAB budget in him in week one, going 3-for-5 with four RBI and his first home run of the season.

Colby Rasmus went 3-for-4 with three RBI and hit two home runs giving him a total of five for the season.

Pitchers:

Zach Greinke allowed two runs in seven innings with eight strikeouts but was handed a no decision when the bullpen lost the lead in the 8th inning.

Yovani Gallardo tossed five scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts to get his first victory of the season. Still is a step below the top tier pitchers until he can get his control in order. Racked up 103 pitches, with only 61 strikes in his five innings of work.

Ho-hum, another complete game for Roy Halladay, hurling a shutout with seven strikeouts. Instead of talking about him winning 20 games, it is quite possible that he picks up 30 wins this year.

Carlos Silva allowed one run in six innings with four strikeouts to up his mark to 2-0 . Silva has a .95 ERA and .63 WHIP through three starts.

Wade Davis worked six shutout innings and struck out six to gain his first win of the season. He had much better control this start, getting nine ground ball outs to two fly outs.

Francisco Liriano spun eight scoreless innings and struck out six to notch his second win of the year. Liriano lowered his ERA to 1.29 and his WHIP to 1.10.

Phil Hughes allowed one hit and one run in 7 1/3 innings and struck out 10 to get his second win of the season.

Felix Hernandez tossed a complete game with six strikeouts, while allowing one unearned run. King Felix improved to 2-0 on the season.

Closers:

Your major league leader in saves…Matt Capps with seven!! Despite that he has a 1.68 WHIP ratio, he has allowed only one earned run in 8 1/3 innings so far. The Washington Nationals have to be happy as it only helps to boost his trade value.

Chad Qualls allowed three runs in 1/3 of an inning in a tie ballgame to take the loss. With an ERA of 10.80 and a WHIP of 2.40, there has to be something wrong with him. If you did not pick up Juan Gutierrez already, now may be the time.

First game back from the disabled list and thrust right back into the closer role, Brian Fuentes took the loss, surrendering a two-run home run to Miguel Cabrera. Fuentes allowed two hits and two runs and had to be pulled from the game. If you own Fernando Rodney, I would hold on to him for awhile.

In other injury news, the Boston Red Sox lost 2/3 of their starting outfield with Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron headed to the disabled list. Ellsbury will be eligible to return on Monday, April 26th while Cameron will miss anywhere from 2-4 weeks.

Darnell McDonald was recalled from Triple-A and was the hero Tuesday night, delivering a pinch-hit two-run home run that tied the game in the 8th innings and then winning the game in the bottom of the ninth with an RBI single. Top prospect Josh Reddick was also recalled from the minors and got the start in center field and hit ninth. Reddick went 1-for-3 with 2 RBI in the contest. The recent disabled list transactions should give Jeremy Hermida some extra time in the outfield. Hermida hit eighth in left field and went 2-for3 with two runs scored and delivered his third home run of the season. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond Tuesday night…

Hitters:

The Texas Rangers ran wild against knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, stealing nine bases in six innings. Nelson Cruz (3), Elvis Andrus (3), Vladimir Guerrero (2) and Julio Borbon (1) all got in the action.

Troy Tulowitzki went 2-for-4 and hit his first home run of the season. Tulowitzki is hitting .286 on the season with seven RBI.

Ryan Zimmerman went 3-for-5 with two RBI and knocked out his second home run of the year. Zimmerman is hitting .316 with 10 men plated this season.

Vernon Wells shows no signs of slowing down still as he went 3-for-4 and hit his seventh home run of the season, although it has only led to 12 RBI this year.

Matt Kemp went 2-for-5 with three RBI and hit his 6th home run of the season. Kemp is hitting .333 with 18 RBI on the season.

Jose Reyes went 4-for-5 with two RBI and stole his second base of the year.

As much as the Houston Astros say that missing Lance Berkman was not impacting their lineup, their actions on Tuesday seemed to the contrary. The lowest scoring offense in all of baseball broke out for seven runs with Berkman going 1-for-4 with two RBI. Michael Bourn walked twice and stole two bases.

Ryan Ludwick hit two home runs as part of his 3-for-4 night with three RBI. Ludwick is hitting .333 on the season with eight RBI.

Chase Headley went 1-for-2 with the lone run scored for the San Diego Padres and also stole three bases, giving him five steals on the season.

Pitchers:

Two-start starter David Bush delivered in his first start of the week, working seven shutout innings with two strikeouts. Bush has a 2.41 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP through three starts this season.

Who knew the New York Mets best starter was going to be Mike Pelfrey in 2010, at least through the first three weeks anyway. Pelfrey tossed seven shutout innings with six strikeouts to move to 3-0 on the season.

John Danks allowed one run in eight innings with nine strikeouts to pick up his second win of the year. Danks allowed only two hits as batters are now hitting just .162 against him this season.

Kevin Slowey hurled eight innings on one-run ball to go along with nine strikeouts to up his mark to 2-1 on the year. Slowey threw 71% of his pitches for strikes, while making it through eight innings on only 98 pitches.

Matt Latos worked seven shutout innings with two strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season. Tough luck loser Jesus Sanchez allowed one hit and one run in seven innings with 10 strikeouts.

Closers:

Ryan Madson allowed three runs in the ninth inning to blow the save and the win for Kyle Kendrick. Madson surrendered back-to-back home runs to Troy Glaus and Jason Heyward in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs.

Hitters:

Shin-Soo Choo is still a one-man force for the Cleveland Indians offense as he went 2-for-3 with his fourth home run of the season and five RBI. Outside of him and Asdrubal Cabrera, there was no other hitter in the Indians line up with an average above .231 on Sunday.

Dan Uggla went 3-for-4 with two RBI and hit his third home run of the season. Uggla is now hitting .346 on the season.

Jay Bruce doubled his RBI output for the season, hitting two solo home runs in a 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Alberto Callaspo went 3-for-5 with two home runs and drove in six runs as the Kansas City Royals celebrated Alex Gordon’s return from the disabled list with a 10-5 win over the Minnesota Twins. Gordon went 1-for-4 hitting eighth in the line up.

Mark Reynolds went 3-for-4 with two RBI and knocked out his 4th home run of the season.

Ty Wigginton, filling in for Miguel Tejada who is day-to-day, went 2-for-5 with three runs scored and four RBI, including his fourth home run of the season. Despite being ninth on the team in number of at bats, Wigginton leads the Baltimore Orioles with 10 RBI.

Pitchers:

As much as the New York Yankees have players considered long in the tooth, they all keep producing. Andy Pettitte allowed two runs in eight innings with four strikeouts to gain his second win of the season.

Ervin Santana picked up a complete game win, allowing one run in nine innings with six strikeouts over the Toronto Blue Jays. His counterpart Ricky Romero coming was stellar once again, working eight innings while allowing one run with six strikeouts.

Matt Garza was dominant again in his third start of the season, tossing eight shutout innings with five strikeouts to move to 3-0 on the season. He now has a 0.75 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP on the season.

Nate Robertson is making a bid to become a mixed league option after holding the explosive Philadelphia Phillies offense scoreless at home for 6 1/3 innings. Robertson struck out four in picking up his second win of the season, while lowering his ERA to 2.20.

Ryan Dempster allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts in a no decision against the Houston Astros. Dempster was in line for the win until Carlos Marmol allowed a run in the ninth inning.

Brian Matusz notched his second win of the season, allowing three runs in 6 1/3 innings while striking out eight. Matusz now has 23 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings on the season.

As I wrote about in the fantasy baseball waiver wire report for week 3, Wade LeBlanc should have some decent value while filling in for Chris Young. LeBlanc got the start on Sunday and allowed one run in five innings with seven strikeouts.

Ian Kennedy had a much better second start this week, working five shutout innings with seven strikeouts. Of course he had the aid of facing the San Diego Padres line up at Petco park, but still it was encouraging.

Barry Zito and Clayton Kershaw were locked in a pitchers duel Sunday, as neither player factored in the decision. Zito allowed one run in seven innings with three strikeouts, while Kershaw allowed one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts.

Closers:

Franklin Morales blew his second save of the season, allowing two hits, two walks and two runs in the ninth inning to the Atlanta Braves. It would not be a surprise to see Rafael Betancourt possibly get a save chance the next time the Colorado Rockies have the lead in the ninth inning.

Hitters:

Shin-Soo Choo seems like he is carrying the offense for the Cleveland Indians, but then I check his RBI count and it is only five. Choo went 2-for-4  with a home run and drove in all three runs for the Indians Thursday.

Ryan Braun went 4-for-5 with three RBI, including his third home run of the season. It could be this season that we see him break the 40 home run barrier.

Chase Utley homered for the third straight game, giving him five home runs on the season and 11 RBI.Teammate Shane Victorino is enjoying his new spot atop the line up with Jimmy Rollins out as he homered for the second straight day.

Robinson Cano hit two home runs and drove in three to lead the New York Yankees to a 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Matt Kemp homered for the third time in four games and drove in two runs giving him 13 RBI on the season. Hitting second in the batting order looks like a good fit so far as he is hitting .341 on the season.

Pitchers:

Francisco Liriano tossed seven shutout innings with eight strike outs to pick up the win. His control was much better in his second start, throwing 64 strikes versus 32 balls.

Bud Norris was much better in his second start, although he could only get through five innings because of a high pitch count. Norris earned his first win of the year without allowing an earned run and striking out nine. Still tough to play him every week with his up and down tendencies although it was nice to see this outing against the St. Louis Cardinals instead of someone like the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Mike Pelfrey hurled seven shutout innings with six strikeouts to move to 2-0 on the year. Pelfrey got ahead in counts by throwing first-pitch strikes to 16 of the 25 hitters he faced and cruised through the Colorado Rockies line up with little problem.

Phil Hughes was successful in his first start of the season, allowing two runs in five innings with six strikeouts to get the win. The downside to owning him as a 5th starter is the chance that he will get skipped in the rotation on some weeks.

Josh Johnson claimed his first win of the season, allowing one run in six innings while fanning 10. He is averaging 3.3 more pitches per inning in 2010, thanks to an increase in his walks per nine innings.

Ben Sheets picked up his first win with the Oakland A’s, working six scoreless innings with four strikeouts. The lack of strikeouts is a concern if you own him going forward with eight strikeouts and 10 walks in 17 innings.

Hiroki Kuroda allowed two runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision. He had upped his strikeout rate the second half of last season and looks to be carrying it over so far in 2010 through his first two starts.

Closers:

Chad Qualls picked up a blown save on back-to-back nights, allowing two runs in the ninth inning and five base runners. The inability to throw strikes did him in, missing the strike zone on 13 of his 25 pitches. With the way closers have been going down this season, if you own Qualls, you might want to grab Juan Gutierrez as insurance just in case.

Injuries:

Miguel Montero is only expected to miss 4-6 weeks of action which puts his return at the end of May. That makes him worth holding on to still in all fantasy baseball league formats.

Jimmy Rollins will be on the shelf for the next 2-4 weeks with a calf strain. Juan Castro will assume shortstop duties in his absence.

Closer news:

Kevin Gregg was named new closer in Toronto by manager Cito Gaston. If you own Jason Frasor, I would still hold on to him. This could be a role that flip-flops several times during the course of the season.

Mike Gonzalez of the Baltimore Orioles was placed on the disabled list with a strained shoulder. That would account for the drop in velocity we were seeing from Gonzalez this year. Jim Johnson will take over as closer until Gonzalez returns to action.

Fernando Rodney picked up his first save of the season as the fill-in closer for Brian Fuentes who was placed on the disabled list Wednesday with a strained back

Hitters:

Jose Guillen went 3-for-4 and hit his fifth home of the season giving him five home runs in his last four games.

It looks like Dustin Pedroia can talk the talk and walk the walk. After spinning tales in spring training of hitting 20 home runs in 2010, Pedroia is well on his way after banging out his 4th home run of the season Wednesday night.

B.J. Upton drove four runs on his first two home runs of the season.

Nelson Cruz hit his 6th home run of the season giving him 12 RBI on the year. If the first two hitters in the order were hitting over .200, he might have 20 RBI by now.

Chase Utley went 2-for-4 with four RBI and hit two home runs giving four overall on the season.

Carlos Quentin went 2-for-5 and drove in six runs, four of them coming on a grand slam.

Jorge Cantu hit his third home run of the season and became the first player in the history of the major leagues to chalk up at least one hit and RBI in the team’s first nine games of the season.

Pitchers:

Joel Pineiro allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season.

David Price allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts to notch his second win of the season.

Jonathan Sanchez worked eight shutout innings with 11 strikeouts to gain his first win of the season.

Colby Lewis struck out 10 in 5 1/3 innings of work while allowing two runs. The downside was it took him 117 pitches to record those outs.

John Danks allowed one run in seven innings while recording six strikeouts to get his first victory of the season.

Brad Penny tossed seven shutout innings with four strikeouts to claim his first win of the year.

Tommy Hanson evened his record at 1-1, hurling six innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts.

Hitters:

Jose Guillen cracked his 4th home run of the season giving him four home runs in his last three games. Despite being 3-5, the six of the seven top hitters for the Kansas City Royals are all hitting over .300.

Carlos Pena went 3-for-5 with four RBI and delivered his second home run of the season.

Ty Wigginton went 2-for-5 with three RBI and hit his first two home runs of the season.

Brandon Phillips of the Cincinnati Reds went 4-for-6 with two runs scored and two RBI. Jonny Gomes added four RBI and his second home run of the season.

Bad boy Milton Bradley hit his second home run of the year, a three-run shot in the 8th inning to give the Seattle Mariners a 3-0 win over the Oakland A’s.

Pitchers:

Andy Pettitte worked six scoreless innings with six strikeouts to pick up his first win of the year.

Clayton Kershaw notched his first win of the season but is still having command issues, lasting only through 5 1/3 innings before hitting 110 pitches. Kershaw allowed two runs and struck out seven.

Greg Smith of the Colorado Rockies allowed two runs in seven innings with eight strikeouts to earn his first win of the season.

Brett Anderson of the Oakland A’s tossed six scoreless innings with six strikeouts but did not factor in the decision.

Closers:

Kevin Gregg picked up his third save of the season working a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts. While I don’t think there is a closer controversy yet, I thought it was interesting that Jays manager Cito Gaston did not give Jason Frasor a chance to close the game after he blew the save the previous night in which he threw only 19 pitches.

Hitters:

Scott Podsednik went 4-for-5 with three RBI and stole his 5th base of the season.

Ryan Braun went 2-for-4 and knocked in four runs, three coming on his second home run of the year.

Shin-Soo Choo went 3-for-3 with two runs scored as he hit his second home run of the season and stole his third base of the year.

Kyle Blanks went 3-for-5 with five RBI as he blasted his second home run of the year to lead the San Diego Padres to a 17-2 win over the Atlanta Braves. Will Venable chipped in by going 3-for-5 with four runs scored. Venable hit his second home run of the year and also stole his first base of the season.

Carl Crawford went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and hit his first home run of the year.

Scott Rolen went 3-for-5 with three RBI and two home runs, giving him three long balls on the season.

Andruw Jones went 3-for-4 with four RBI and knocked out his first two home runs of the season.

Bengie Molina went 4-for-4 with four RBI and hit his first home run of the season for the San Francisco Giants.

Not a good day for Brian Roberts of the Baltimore Orioles as he was placed on the disabled list and also received an epidural injection in his back. Julio Lugo should see the majority of time at second base while Roberts is out.

Pitchers:

Carl Pavano picked up his second win of the year, allowing one run in six innings with four strikeouts.

Adam Wainwright tossed eight shutout innings with seven strikeouts to pick up victory number two on the year.

Justin Duchscherer worked 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing only two hits with four strikeouts.

Matt Garza allowed one run in eight innings with five strikeouts to earn his second win of the season.

Closers:

Neftali Feliz picked up his first save of the season for the Texas Rangers, working a scoreless inning with one strikeout.

Chris Perez was pulled from a tie game in the ninth inning after allowing a double, committing an error on a bunt and then surrendering a walk to load the bases without recording an out

Hitters:

Josh Willingham went 2-for-3 and drove in five RBI, four coming on his first inning grand slam off losing pitcher Johan Santana.

Jorge Cantu went 2-for-4 with five RBI, giving him 10 RBI for the first week of the year. Cantu also doubled and hit his second home run of the year.

Alex Gonzalez hit two home runs for the Toronto Blue Jays, giving him four solo home runs for the first week of the season. He has moved up to second in the line up with Aaron Hill out of action.

Dustin Pedroia went 4-for-5 and launched his 3rd home run of the season for the Boston Red Sox.

Scott Podsednik went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two stolen bases giving him four steals for the first week and a .364 average.

Rajai Davis swiped two bases also giving him four steals for the Oakland A’s.

Kelly Johnson and Chris Young each hit their third home run of the season for the Arizona Diamondbacks. New starting catcher Chris Snyder, filling in for the injured Miguel Montero, went 2-for-4 with a home run and five RBI.

Albert Pujols went 3-for-5 with two home runs and four RBI to lead a St. Louis rally against the Milwaukee Brewers that ultimately came up short.

Pitchers:

Tom Gorzelanny looked good for the Chicago Cubs, allowing no earned runs in 6 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts.

Charlie Haeger had his knuckle ball dancing Sunday afternoon en route to 12 strikeouts. Haeger allowed three hits, four walks and three earned runs through six innings.

Roy Halladay tossed a complete game shutout, allowing seven hits with no walks and eight strikeouts against the hapless Houston Astros.

Roy Oswalt pitched good, allowing two runs in six innings with eight strikeouts, but it was not enough to win with Halladay as the opposing pitcher.

Scott Feldman allowed one run in seven innings with four strikeouts to pick up his first win of the year for the Texas Rangers.

Ubaldo Jimenez picked up his second win of the year, allowing two runs in six innings with seven strikeouts.

Tim Lincecum also notched his second win, allowing two runs in seven innings with 10 strikeouts, while throwing 108 pitches.

Closers:

Chris Perez blew his first save of the season, done in by walking three hitters and allowing the game-winning run on a wild pitch.

Kevin Gregg picked up his second save of the season as Jason Frasor was given the night off. It was quite a week for the Toronto Blue Jays as they went 5-1 and recorded saves in each of the wins.

Trevor Hoffman allowed back-to-back home runs to Pujols and Matt Holliday in the ninth inning to blow the save, although he got the win after Casey McGehee hit a home run off Kyle McClellan in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Hitters:

Jose Reyes returned from the disabled list for the New York Mets and went 1-for-4 hitting lead off. It is safe to get him active in all formats for next week.

Not the way you want your first start in the major leagues to go, Juan Francisco went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts for the Cincinnati Reds.

Jason Varitek played for the first time this season and delivered two solo home runs to power the Boston Red Sox offense.

Ryan Howard went 2-for-4 with three RBI and is well on his way to another 40+ home run season with his third dinger of the year.

Nelson Cruz slugged his 4th home of the season and looks ready to duplicate his 30+ home runs from last year.

I have caught two of the Atlanta Braves games this season and in each one I have seen Troy Glaus made a terrible play at first base. I know the Braves have him there for offense and not his defense, but if he is not slugging home runs by May and still playing that type of defense and if the team is in the race for the playoffs, I have to think they make a move at that position.

Pitchers:

Scott Baker was much better in his second start, allowing one run in seven innings with three strikeouts.

Jeremy Bonderman picked up his first win in almost two years, allowing one hit in five innings with five strikeouts.

Carlos Zambrano allowed three runs in seven innings with nine strikeouts to notch his first win of the season.

Rookie Jaime Garcia worked six solid innings, allowing one run with five strikeouts to pick up the win. Garcia struggled with his control throughout the game, pitching first-pitch strikes to only 9 of 25 hitters, but helped his cause by recording 10 ground ball outs.

CC Sabathia lost a no-hitter in the 8th inning and finished with 7 2/3 scoreless innings of one-hit ball with five strikeouts. It would have been interesting to see if he had made it through the eighth without allowing a hit if the Yankees would have send him back out for the ninth as he threw 111 pitches.

Dana Eveland tossed 7 1/3 shutout innings with two strikeouts to pick up the win for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Jered Weaver allowed one run in six innings with seven strikeouts but received a no decision.

Closers:

Ryan Perry picked up a save for the Detroit Tigers with Jose Valverde getting the night off after already working in four games this week.

Matt Capps sure does like to make hings interesting as he loaded the bases in the ninth innings before getting Rod Barajas to line out to save his second game of the season.

It looks like Neftali Feliz might have some value after all this year after Frank Francisco blew his second save of the season. Francisco has given up three runs in each of his last two appearances, leaving him with a 27 ERA.

George Sherrill got the chance to close out the Los Angeles Dodgers win after Jonathan Broxton pitched the previous two days, but he was not up to the task, has the Florida Marlins rallied for the win with three runs in the ninth inning