Finally baseball is here and the fantasy baseball season is underway. Here is a recap of all the games from Monday from a fantasy baseball perspective.

National League:

I like Hiroki Kuroda of the Los Angeles Dodgers this year. I think with a year under his belt in the United States and being more comfortable with his surroundings leads to an even better year in 2009, albeit one with lower strikeout numbers than I usually like to have from a starting pitcher. His opponent Jake Peavy is going to struggle to win many games with the San Diego Padres with their anemic offense even though his other key numbers, ERA, Whip and strikeouts will be good to great. I expect a big year from Matt Kemp, Dodger outfielder as well, although his rbi total will be limited batting seventh…..Carlos Zambrano was a good pick heading into this season because of how far he was sliding in drafts. It always amazes me how much fantasy owners discount proven performance from year to year when a player has a season below expectations the previous year. In the Cubs closer watch, Carlos Marmol was perfect and Kevin Gregg gave up a run with two hits. Keep an eye on this battle as manager Lou Pinella has two options in the bullpen so if Gregg falters early, Pinella could be quick to change up the roles…..Jason Motte, first game as closer for the St. Louis Cardinals, err, not so good. Owners of Chris Perez should stick with their guy. The pressure of closing in a regular season game compared to spring training is a little different story. It looks like Tony LaRussa will be alternating Brendan Ryan and Skip Schumaker at 2b and Brian Barden and David Freese at 3b, affecting the fantasy value of all four players…..Emilio Bonifacio had three stolen bases for the Florida Marlins out of the lead-off spot. Austin Kearns got the opening day start for the Washington Nationals putting Josh Willingham and Elijah Dukes on the bench…..Interesting things happened in the Arizona – Colorado game. For the Rockies, Seth Smith hit second, pushing Troy Tulowitzki and Chris Ianetta down to the 7th and 8th spots in the batting order. Ian Stewart got the start at second base ahead of Clint Barmes. For the D-Backs, they benched 3B Mark Reynolds and Justin Upton, instead opting for Eric Byrnes and Tony Clark, who hit two home runs…..Johan Santana had a decent start but did not make it through a full six innings due to a high pitch count. Aaron Harang looking to bounce back from a down year in 2008 was okay, but not digging that 2.0 whip ratio. Darnell McDonald got the start for the Cincinnati Reds over Chris Dickerson with the Mets starting the left-handed Santana.

American League:

Cesar Izturis, a sleeper in AL only leagues, hit a home run and stole a base from the ninth spot in the Baltimore Orioles lineup. For the New York Yankees, Xavier Nady started in the outfield over Nick Swisher…..Travis Sinder hit a home run for the Toronto Blue Jays. Really, is there a reason that he is hitting ninth in the batting order??? That needs to get corrected soon if the Toronto Blue Jays are serious about trying to win this season. Newly acquired Josh Anderson started in left field for the Detroit Tigers with Carlos Guillen moving to designated hitter which put Marcus Thames on the bench. Bradon Inge hit a home run for the Tigers. He has always seemed to hit better playing in the infield than as a catcher so he could see some improvement this year if your fantasy baseball team can absorb the low batting average…..Good opening day start for Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners. This could be the season he finally delivers on the hype from two years ago and contends for the Cy Young award. Mike Redmond got the start at catcher for Minnesota with Joe Mauer out of action….How far has the Oakland Atheltics pitching staff fallen that Dallas Braden was their first game starter this year? Nomar Garciappara got the start at 1B with Travis Buck sitting against the left-handed starter. Joe Saunders continues to just win games for the Los Angeles Angels.