SS Alex Gonzalez, Blue Jays - Who didn't see this coming? If you didn't raise your hand, you're lying. Entering play on Tuesday, the typically-light-hitting Gonzalez has already belted four home runs. Some perspective: this is Gonzalez's 12th season in the big leagues and he has finished with double digit homers only four times, topping out at 23 in 2004. He's also a career .248 hitter, which makes his current mark of .333 just as alarming as his early power display. Ride the hot hitting while you can because this reeks of a full-blown mirage.
SS Rafael Furcal, Dodgers - He missed most of the 2008 season because of back surgery and struggled to get back on track through the first half of last year, but started flashing glimpses of the old Rafael Furcal in the second half of last season. And he's picked up right where he left off through the first week-plus of games. Rafael already has three multiple-hit games and three stolen bases, after swiping just 12 all of last year. I'm betting on a bounce-back year, and if he stays healthy, Furcal should be able to provide a batting average in the .280-.290 range along with 20-plus steals and maybe 100 runs... not bad for a guy who went undrafted in a lot of leagues.
3B Scott Rolen, Reds - It seems like fantasy owners have been trying to write Rolen off for years, but he just doesn't go away. The power ain't nearly what it used to be when he would regularly belt 25-35 home runs a season, but he did pop two homers on Monday night. And the batting average is still very solid; Scott hit .305 last year and is sailing along at a .318 clip entering play today. You could do much worse than to have Rolen waiting in reserve in case your starting third basemen gets hurt.
3B Chase Headley, Padres - We've been waiting what seems like forever for Headley to deliver on his potential, but with one full (albeit unimpressive) season in the big leagues under his belt it seems he might finally be ready. Still a few weeks shy of his 26th birthday, Chase is batting a blistering .448 with a 1.036 OPS through seven games. Yeah, it's really early, I get that. But Headley has an every-day job and a much higher ceiling than many of the other third basemen still loitering in your league's free agency pool. He's worth a flier if you are looking for infield depth.
3B/2B Placido Polanco, Phillies - When my nephew left his fantasy draft with Polanco as his starting second baseman a couple weeks ago, I warned him that he could be in some trouble at the position. Polanco is a nice player and all, but for fantasy purposes he doesn't have a lot of appeal beyond that of a reliable plug-in player. At least that's what I thought. So far, he is making me eat crow with his Mike Schmidt impersonation. Placido is batting a robust .484 with a home run (a grand slam) and 10 ribbies. The career .304 hitter will probably cool off in the RBI department, especially with Jimmy Rollins sidelined, but with Chase Utley and Ryan Howard hitting behind him in the loaded Phillies lineup he will continue to see a lot of pitches to hit.
OF Vernon Wells, Blue Jays - Apparently Wells is finally trying to post stats worthy of the $12.5 million he is making this season and the $23 million he is due to make next year. No, that's not a misprint. Three straight seasons of underwhelming stats during what should have been the prime of his career leaves me very dubious of his hot start at the plate, but I certainly can't argue with what he is doing so far, namely hitting .320 and leading the American League with five home runs.
DH Andruw Jones, White Sox -Jones must realize that his career is hanging by a thread because he did some hard work to shed weight this offseason. Fortunately for him, the early returns are promising. Fantasy owners had written him off completely in light of the way his production had fallen off the table since leaving Atlanta after the 2007 season; however, he is hitting .333 with a pair of home runs in the early going. His bat could earn him additional playing time in Ozzie Guillen's lineup, but his eligibility in fantasy terms is limited to that of a DH/utility player so he'll have to keep this up in order to deserve a regular spot in fantasy lineups.
SP Matt Garza, Rays - This could be the year that Garza makes the jump from "really good starter" to "true ace". He certainly has the nasty arsenal of pitches, and at age 26 he should be entering his prime. Matt has been lights out so far, posting a 2-0 record, 1.13 ERA, and 0.94 WHIP through two games. A word of caution, though: both of his starts came against the Orioles--a lineup that won't be confused with fellow division rivals like the Red Sox and Yankees any time soon. That said, I have high hopes for Garza this season after retaining him in the eighth round of my dynasty league draft. Now, if he would just do something about that obnoxious beard of his...
SP Carl Pavano, Twins - Who is this guy and what has he done with the real Carl Pavano? Fantasy owners waited until the final rounds of their draft to shrug their shoulders and sheepishly take Pavano off the board, and he has probably been on fantasy benches since because of what appeared to be daunting match-ups against the Angels and Red Sox. That's too bad, because CP is now 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, and his pitches are darting all over the strike zone. I'm not quite sure what to think long-term of Pavano's fantasy value just yet, but I can't act like I haven't been impressed.
While I still think Pedroia will be a better option than Polanco, I'm not sure I should have thrown Polanco in with K-Rod when I swapped for Pedroia. Having said that, 6 of Polanco's 10 runs and his only home run were in his first game (the only game he played for me) and K-Rod has yet to score a save. Meanwhile, Pedroia has nabbed 2 HR and 5 RBI for me, so I'm not complaining.
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