Today's Fantasy Rx

Unlike the American League, no NL starter has dominated in more than 2 starts this spring. Randy's three decent starts unsurprisingly allow him to top the list of 8 starters with 2 dominant starts. The only other two NL starters to avoid any disasters this spring are Kevin Brown and Juan Cruz, and the latter looks quite ready to dominate if given the opportunity due to injury to any Cubs' starters.

Vincente Padilla and Kurt Ainsworth lead the remaining five starters here, and both should post solid double-digit values. Unfortunately, I don't see too many fantastic sleepers based on spring performances since the other starters with two dominant appearances are Jason Jennings, Shawn Chacon, and Garrett Stephenson. Drafting a Colorado starter almost never is a good idea, however Stephenson could surprise if he's finally healthy. Consider a low-round pick on him if you're looking for nice potential source of wins.

Only one NL reliever has dominated in more than three games without suffering any disasters, and Billy Wagner's place at the top of our board should surprise no one. He appears quite healthy and easily holds the distinction of the third safest NL closer to own this year after Smoltz and Gagne. Wagner's six dominant appearances tie him for first among NL relievers

Three more relievers own either five or six dominant appearances this year, but none of them are particularly good investments. Mike Jackson's suffered through three disasters, and as his command deteriorated last year and he's moving to a good hitters' park in Arizona, we have no desire to roster him in any league. Guillermo Mota should emerge as a decent middle relief option within the next two seasons, however his undefined role placed him low on our draft board even before he chucked a beanball and then his glove at Piazza.

Luis Estrella of the Giants is the other reliever with six dominant appearances, and the only difference between Estrella's PQA scores and Billy Wagner's line is that Estrella pitched poorly in his first outing of the year; each pitcher's other nine appearances are cumulatively identical. Not only has Estrella displayed great skills this spring but his 7 GF also tied him for second among NL relievers. Of course Estrella's not on the Giants' 40-man roster and faces severe competition to earn a mid-season call-up, and nothing in his statistical history indicates much upside. As a swingman for AAA Fresno(PCL) over the last two years, he's compiled a 171:116 K:BB in 260 IP with 291 H and 35 HR over 37 GS(68G), and while he relieved earlier in his career, he's never demonstrated consistent command. Estrella's received a longer look than most former minor league free agents, however last spring San Francisco used Felix Diaz to finish several games before packaging him to the White Sox for Lofton, and Diaz was a significantly better prospect than the 28-year old Estrella. Although you should remember Estrella as potential roster filler for later in the season, I wouldn't plan on drafting him except in extremely deep leagues unless he compiles rather dynamic AAA numbers this year.

While seventeen pitchers have accumulated four dominant appearances, no likely fantasy contributor has emerged since I last discussed this group.

Arizona's Mike Koplove leads all pitchers in Spring Training with 10 games finished. He's only dominated in two of his appearances, but he's also only struggled in one game, thereby virtually assuring he'll remain the Diamondbacks' primary middle reliever for another year. His excellent 2.38 G-F in 200 also suggests he likely would register nearly universally dominant performances if G-F data were available for spring games. Koplove pitched exactly 1 IP in each of his 11 appearances, and he's compiled a respectable 7:3 K:BB in 11 IP with 8 H and only 1 ER. Now we expect Matt Mantei to close all year, however we've seen many analysts concerned about his normal inability to remain healthy for any length of time. The likely success of Byung-Hyun Kim in the rotation makes Koplove the logical candidate to inherit any extra save oppsortunities here. Feel free to roster him, especially if you're dependant upon Mantei as a primary saves source, although he should earn a few bucks even if left in middle relief all year.

Following Koplove, Brandon Villafuerte is tied with Luis Estrella at 7 GF, and as you've seen over the last two weeks, we expect Villafuerte to hold the closer's job with great success until Hoffman returns.

While nearly a dozen pitchers reached 4 GF, only four more relievers managed 5 or 6 GF, and Jose Mesa and Billy Wagner obviously own completely uncontested closing jobs.

The last two relievers at the top of the GF list are John Riedling and Scott Williamson, the two primary short relievers for Cincinnati. Williamson entered Spring Training as the anointed closer based on his impressive performance in both 1999 and late 2002 in that role, however he's displayed little consistency this spring while posting a 9:5 K:BB in 9 IP with 11 H, 3 HR, and a 7.00 ERA. Of course Riedling's also struggled to an 8:6 K:BB in 9.1 IP with 8 H, 3 HR, and a 5.79 ERA. I have little doubt that Riedling could succeed as a closer, however since he hasn't demonstrated much skill in Florida, I don't believe he'll usurp Williamson in the near future. Only Josias Manzanillo looks able to provide much competition for Williamson, and the Reds appear to prefer him in middle relief. Despite his questionable effectiveness over the last few weeks, I see no problem in rostering Williamson as your primary closer for anything short of $20.

NL pitcher projections available here tomorrow.

Today's Fantasy Rx: Felix Rodriguez and Kyle Farnsworth looked like the two top middle relievers in baseball as of a year ago, and after thorough examination of their relatively poor 2002 seasons, both still remain excellent roto picks. Happily bid to no less than $5 on each, especially since both could see significant save opportunities in the early part of the season.