2007 Opening Day Standouts

2007 MLB Opening Day Standouts

Felix fans 12, Sheets pitches two-hitter, Dunn & Renteria homer twice

Felix Hernandez - SP - Mariners
Felix Hernandez struck out 12 in eight scoreless innings to beat the A's on Monday. Yeah, the Mariners were probably right to make him their Opening Day starter. Hernandez allowed three hits and walked two while throwing 111 pitches. The Mariners can't let him go past 110 pitches very often and still should be trying to steal an extra day of rest for him here and there. If they handle him correctly, he could be as valuable as any AL pitcher outside of Johan Santana. If not, there's a good chance he'll wear down in August and September or get hurt even before then.

Jason Bay - OF - Pirates
Jason Bay hit a two-run homer off Chad Qualls in the top of the 10th Monday to lead the Pirates to a 4-2 win over the Astros. That after Xavier Nady's solo blast off Brad Lidge tied it in the ninth. Bay's homer was the only hit for the Pirates' three-through-five hitters. Adam LaRoche and Ronny Paulino both went 0-for-5, with LaRoche striking out four times.

Roy Oswalt - SP - Astros
Roy Oswalt didn't figure into the decision despite limiting the Pirates to one run in 7 2/3 innings on Monday. The lone run came on a pinch-hit homer from Nate McLouth. Oswalt left with a one-run lead that was surrendered by closer Brad Lidge. 72 of his 95 pitches were strikes.

Brad Hawpe - OF - Rockies
Hawpe, who missed the final five days of the spring with a sprained ankle, went 3-for-5 with two RBI Monday against the Diamondbacks. Hawpe will get another start on Tuesday and then likely sit in favor of Jeff Baker against the lefty on Wednesday. Hawpe could be a decent fantasy outfielder, but you want a guy that starts every day. He will lose bats to Baker against lefties.

Adam Dunn - OF - Reds
Adam Dunn homered in his first two at-bats off Carlos Zambrano and walked Monday in the Reds' victory. Dunn also had two homers on Opening Day 2005 and now has five first-day homers in his career. Frank Robinson is the all-time leader with eight, and Ken Griffey Jr. is among those one behind. The second homer was also the 200th of Dunn's career. He's not going to stay hot all season, but with the way he's swinging now, don't be surprised if he reaches double figures in homers before April is over.

Ben Sheets - SP - Brewers
Ben Sheets threw a two-hitter and retired 22 straight at one point in the Brewers' 7-1 win over the Dodgers on Monday. Sheets' streak started immediately after Jeff Kent homered to lead off the second. The recently traded Brady Clark had the only other hit for the Dodgers. Given his injury history, it may seem odd that the Brewers let Sheets go nine on Opening Day. However, Sheets had to throw just 104 pitches to get his 27 outs.

Edgar Renteria - SS - Braves
Edgar Renteria hit a game-tying homer in the eighth and a go-ahead two-run blast in the top of the 10th to lead the Braves to a 5-3 win over the Phillies on Monday. Renteria tried and failed to sacrifice twice before the homer off Ryan Madson in the 10th. The first homer came off Brett Myers. Renteria's career high for homers in a season is 16, so don't expect more outbursts like this. He will, however, contribute enough in all five categories to be of use in shallow mixed leagues.

Alejandro De Aza - OF - Marlins
Alejandro De Aza tripled, singled, walked and scored two runs Monday in his major league debut. A nice start to his major league career. De Aza is unlikely to be very good offensively, but he will steal the occasional base, giving him some value in NL-only leagues.

Miguel Cabrera - 3B - Marlins
Miguel Cabrera went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer, a two-run double and two walks Monday against the Nationals. Both extra-base hits came off John Patterson. If Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla are even close to as good this year as they were last year, Cabrera should be looking at a new career high in RBI this season. He drove in 116 runs in 2005.

Hanley Ramirez - SS - Marlins
Hanley Ramirez went 4-for-6 with two doubles, four runs scored and two stolen bases on Monday. Ramirez got off to a very slow start this spring, but he ended up with a .303/.346/.526 line in 76 at-bats. We're not sure he'll get 74 extra-base hits like he did as a rookie, but since he's going to be allowed to attempt 60-70 steals again, he is likely to remain a fantasy stud.

Dontrelle Willis - SP - Marlins
Dontrelle Willis yielded two runs -- one earned -- in six innings Monday in a victory over the Nationals. Willis has already equalled his win total from the first two months of last year. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that his first win of last season also came against the Nationals.

Brett Myers - SP - Phillies
Brett Myers surrendered three runs and four hits in 7 2/3 innings Monday in a no-decision versus the Braves. With no setup man the Phillies have a lot of faith in, manager Charlie Manuel let Myers start the eighth with a 3-2 lead. Edgar Renteria ended up tying the contest with a solo homer. The other two runs off Myers scored on a Brian McCann homer. Myers struck out nine and walked two in a strong effort.

Brian McCann - C - Braves
Brian McCann went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and a double Monday against the Phillies. McCann was the only Brave to have any luck against Brett Myers until Edgar Renteria homered in the eighth. With the potential for another 90-RBI season as the Braves' No. 5 hitter, he's far and away the NL's No. 1 fantasy catcher.

Elijah Dukes - OF - Devil Rays
After walking his first time up, Elijah Dukes homered in his first official at-bat as a major leaguer Monday against the Yankees. With Rocco Baldelli limited to DH duties, Dukes played center field and hit eighth today. B.J. Upton had two hits and a steal behind him in the order. If those two can keep it up, they'll not only stay in the lineup, but they'll soon overtake Dioner Navarro and move up a bit in the order.

Alex Rodriguez - 3B - Yankees
Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth Monday in the Yankees' 9-5 win over the Rays. A roller-coaster day for A-Rod. He committed an error on a foul popup in the top of the first and then struck out with two on in the bottom of the inning. Things got better from there. His bigger contribution probably came in the seventh, when he singled, stole second and scored the go-ahead run on Jason Giambi's single. The homer off Juan Salas in the eighth was highly unlikely to make a difference, as the Yankees had just stretched their lead from one to two and had Mariano Rivera coming on to pitch.

Aaron Harang - SP - Reds
Aaron Harang allowed just an unearned run over seven innings to defeat the Cubs on Monday. It didn't look like Harang would last that long when he began to struggle a bit in the fifth, but he retired the final eight batters he faced in a 113-pitch outing. He allowed six hits, walked two and struck out five.

J.J. Hardy - SS - Brewers
J.J. Hardy went 3-for-4 with a walk as the Brewers' No. 2 hitter on Monday. He'll certainly stay in that spot if he keeps having games like this. Hardy entered with a career OBP of .319 in 500 at-bats. He'll have to improve that considerably to be an asset so high in the order this year, but he does have the potential to do so.

Trot Nixon - OF - Indians
Trot Nixon went 3-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored Monday against the White Sox. Nixon might not hit for much power early on, but his on-base ability will aid the Indians, especially with the team using him as a No. 2 hitter. He will sit against lefties, opening up first base for Ryan Garko and Victor Martinez.

Grady Sizemore - OF - Indians
Grady Sizemore homered to lead off the game and scored three runs in the Indians' victory on Monday. Following the homer off Jose Contreras, Sizemore later singled and walked. The big game today comes after he hit just .115 this spring.

Mark Grudzielanek - 2B - Royals
Mark Grudzielanek went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI against the Red Sox on Monday. Grudzy was hitting .185 with an 18/1 K/BB ratio against Curt Schilling before collecting hits in all three of his at-bats in the matchup today.

Gil Meche - SP - Royals
Gil Meche held the Red Sox to one run in 7 1/3 innings to win Monday in his Royals debut. Maybe nowhere to go but down from here. Meche walked off to a standing ovation from the crowd of 41,257 on Opening Day. He'll have similar outings during the summer, but they may be witnessed by a quarter as many people. While he didn't need a lot of help, Meche was aided today by the Red Sox twice trying and failing to take second base after singles. He allowed six hits, walked one and struck out six.

Orlando Hudson - 2B - Diamondbacks
Orlando Hudson went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored to help the Diamondbacks beat the Rockies 8-6 on Monday. Hudson was hitting third today. He'll probably split time between the second and third spots in the order, as manager Bob Melvin intends to play matchups with his lineups.

Luke Scott - OF - Astros
Luke Scott went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer off Zach Duke in Monday's loss to the Pirates. Had the Pirates started Ian Snell first and then Duke, Scott likely would have sat out against the left-hander. However, manager Phil Garner wanted his primary right fielder in there on Opening Day and Scott responded. This may encourage Garner to give Scott more time against lefties, though Jason Lane is deserving of the at-bats.

Justin Morneau - 1B - Twins
Justin Morneau went 3-for-4 with a home run in the Twins' 7-4 defeat of the Orioles on Monday night. Morneau and Torii Hunter went back-to-back off Erik Bedard in the second inning. The quick start for Morneau comes after he had just three extra-base hits in 62 at-bats this spring.

Casey Kotchman - 1B - Angels
Casey Kotchman went 2-for-3 with a solo homer and a walk Monday against the Rangers. Kotchman had a great spring to win a starting job over Kendry Morales and seems poised for the breakthrough season he appeared set to experience a year ago before being diagnosed with mono. He's still a poor bet to reach 20 homers, but he could hit .290-.300 and drive in 80 runs.