Today, the big time prospect did not disappoint. Clayton Kershaw was as good as advertised on Sunday as he had his way with many of the St. Louis Cardinals. Kershaw went six innings, allowed two runs and struck out seven. There’s not too much else to say, if you were debating on using your waiver priority on him, this should seal the deal. Pick him up in all formats.

It finally looks like Justin Verlander has figured it out again. Verlander threw seven innings of one run baseball and struck out three. Control was still a bit of a problem as he walked four batters, but this is SO much better than the outings he was having in April. Verlander was still a victim of poor run support as the Tigers scored just one run and the bullpen lost the game, but it is a big step in the right direction. Hopefully you bought low on Verlander a couple weeks ago, the opportunity might still be there, but the price tag must have gone up some by now.

Just when you think Danny Cabrera has turned the corner, he goes out and puts up a stinker like he did on Sunday. Cabrera was up to his old tricks again, as he gave up four runs and walked six in just 5.2 innings. I believe that this will be what you get more often than not, and can’t recommend adding him to your roster at any time.

Jon Lester had his first start since his no-hitter and……not so good. You obviously don’t expect him to throw another no-hitter, but it was not even close. Lester gave up three runs over five innings and took the loss. He is still a decent pitcher that belongs towards the back end of your rotation so don’t drop him after this subpar outing, but you can’t expect the kind of brilliance that he showed last week either.

J.J. Putz owners, are you worried? Should you be? Putz was always a so-so reliever before given the opportunity to close when he suddenly became Superman. After a few years of dominance, Putz has struggled mightily in 2008. Is it the result of a nagging injury? It could be. Is it that he has just lost it? That could also be. Putz blew his third save in eight attempts, and his ERA is at 4.50. Some closers just lose it one day and never get it back (Brad Lidge, Eric Gagne, etc.). Is this what is happening with Putz? Too soon to tell, but if I owned him I would be shaking in my boots.

Dustin McGowan was a big disappointment on Sunday. After two consecutive starters threw complete games, McGowan was only able to go seven innings and allow one run. The Blue Jays just simply can’t have this! But seriously, McGowan was great today and struck out seven hitters and raised his record to 3-4, while lowering his ERA under 4.00. After the successful end of the season in 2007, I expect McGowan to continue this type of success and approach 15 wins this year, even after a bad start.

Micah Owings continued his great start to the season with his sixth win of the season. Owings allowed just two earned runs over six innings against the Braves, and although his strikeouts weren’t as high as other starts, he still got the job done. He was probably upset that he took an 0-fer at the plate, as Micah is possibly the best hitting pitcher in baseball. I don’t expect him to win 18 games or anything, but I believe he will be an effective pitcher all season long and win 13 to 15 games.

One of the better surprises of the first two months of the season is Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook. He actually might be the only thing that is going right in Colorado. Cook shut down the Mets today, as he went the distance, allowing just one run. Looking back at his career, Cook has been a .500 pitcher at best. As I have said many times before, guys don’t usually just become stars at 29 years old. Cook is a great sell high candidate, if you own him, shop him heavily this week.

Although the Diamondbacks are still doing very well, a huge disappointment has been Eric Byrnes. After averaging 23 HRs and 35 SBs for the past two season, Byrnes hit just his fifth on Sunday (a grand slam at least), has only four steals, and his average is around .220. Byrnes is one of my favorite players for the way he plays the game, and I believe he will improve from this horrendous start. Don’t give up too much, but I would try to buy low on a guy who can give you some power and steal a bunch of bases.

Baltimore rookie Adam Jones is making small strides towards proving he was worth acquiring in the deal that sent Erik Bedard to Seattle. After an atrocious start to the year, Jones is starting to drive in a few more runs, and has his average above .250. This is not a ringing endorsement to go grab Jones now, but certainly keep your eye on his progress, he has a load of speed/power talent. Plus, (and I am required to write this) he has the funniest picture in history on his Yahoo profile.

Jason Kubel has long been one of the top hitting prospects for the Twins, but he was never able to stay healthy. So far in 2008 he has been on the field on most days, and he is showing signs of that potential. Kubel hit a grand slam on Sunday, and brought his RBI total to a respectable 25. His average (.255) is still lower than he would like, but it is looking like the injury issues are behind him, and he is someone to watch in the second half.

Rangers 2B/leadoff hitter Ian Kinsler is again off to a great start. Kinsler hit his sixth homer of the year and drove in his 28^th run, and his average is near .300. Kinsler is close to being a top 5 option at second, and if he can stay on the field he has a real chance of cracking that top 5. Kinsler has never played more than 130 games however, but when he is in there, he puts up great stats at a weak position.

White Sox OF Carlos Quentin hit two homers Sunday night to reclaim the sole lead in the AL home run race. You might expect me to tell you to sell him high, but that will not be the case. As a Diamondback prospect, Quentin always flashed 30 HR potential. Now past his shoulder injury it is looking like Carlos will be living up to that potential, as he bombed out his 14^th of the season, a game winner off of John Lackey.

As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Don’t forget to check me out at mlbfrontoffice.com on Tuesdays under In The News. Also go to fantasybaseballsearch.com to find me in the Gurus Blog.