Slow Starts

David Ortiz - Big Papi needs to spend a little less time admiring his homeruns and a little more time working on hitting breaking balls. I believe that Ortiz has entered the Mo Vaughn Zone. Sure, he'll still hit 30 homers and drive in 100 or so runs, but gone are the days of 54 homers and 137 RBI. Ortiz will still hold plenty of fantasy value, but he will no longer be among the elite first basemen.

Jose Reyes - This is mainly an injury concern. Reyes has hamstring issues which have caused him to miss a little playing and, important for fantasy players, have limited him to only one steal. The question is: will it limit him all year? I'm afraid the answer is probably yes. Does that mean Reyes will only steal 10 bases? No. But I definitely wouldn't expect 78 out of him again. Let's say more like 40-50. Not bad, but if you spent a first round pick on Reyes, expecting 70 steals, this could be very bad for your team. This situation certainly highlights the risks involved in drafting a player on the basis of his contribution in one category. If it works out, you win a category. If it doesn't, you're screwed.

Miguel Cabrera - Almost the entire Tigers' lineup is struggling, but since Miggy is a first-rounder, I decided to pick on him. There were a lot of stories about Cabrera getting into better shape this offseason, so maybe he just needs to start eating junk food and avoiding the gym again. Honestly, though, I think some of this has to do with adjusting to a new (more difficult) league and different pitchers. Cabrera is such a natural hitter, that I'm sure he'll get it figured out. I think this is a buy-low opportunity.

Troy Tulowitzki - I haven't heard any injury concerns here. Tulo is just sucking ass, plain and simple. It is fairly common for second-year players to face some issues as pitchers learn how to get them out. The question is whether Tulowitzki can adjust to the pitchers' adjustments. He has already earned a reputation as an old-school player who works hard to improve. I feel fairly confident that he'll make the necessary adjustments and return to form. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see a small decline in his numbers across the board versus last year.

Robinson Cano - Cano's a .300 hitter who just happens to be going through a rough patch. I would definitely be interested in buying low right now.

Hunter Pence - I'm a little concerned about Pence. Even in his outstanding rookie season last year, he struck out a lot. He's a free-swinger and it's quite possible that opposing pitchers have figured out how to exploit that. I wouldn't buy low here, but I also wouldn't panic too much if I owned him. I still think he'll be about a 20/20 guy, but I think the batting average is going to be ugly.

Andruw Jones - I thought Jones would rebound slightly from his disappointing 2007 season. So far, it's been even worse. He's striking out, he's not hitting line drives, and he doesn't have single homerun yet this year. I have no idea what happened to him, but I'm afraid he may be in store for another awful year. If you own Jones, give him another couple weeks before cutting bait, but I wouldn't be overly optimistic about him turning things around.