I have not written anything giving any fantasy baseball advice in a little while now and figured since after two weeks and being in first place in both leagues I am in, I finally have the qualifications to have legitimate advice. I think…

Two and a half weeks into the season, you may be worried about some of your star player’s poor performances. Guys like Adrian Beltre, Josh Hamilton, Matt Kemp, and Buster Posey have not lived up to how they did in seasons past. It’s important you don’t go doing something stupid and trading any of these big picks. Unless you are trading them to upgrade at a weaker position or for a guy with an equal or greater history, stick with your guys. You wouldn’t get rid of your child after two weeks if they weren’t as good as you wanted, would you?

Baseball players are pretty fragile. Football players play with broken bones and hockey players play with mouths filled with blood. Baseball and basketball players tend to be a little more prissy than their major sport counterparts. Something as small as a hand blister can sideline a pitcher. It makes sense though because it can completely change the grip on the ball. Of course players can always urinate on their hands like Moises Alou and Jorge Posada claim to do to avoid such injuries. Urinating on your hands is said to reduce blisters. I’m not sure how much medical proof there is, but two guys said it so it must be true.

When a player goes on the disabled list you have to ask yourself a few things. The first is if you could play through the pain. If the answer is yes then you should probably stop following sports because you are going to get really angry really fast at these porcelain dolls out on the field. You also have to keep in mind how many disabled list spots your league allows you to have. In my ESPN league we have only 1 spot. In my Yahoo league was have 3 spots. Always place players on the disabled list when you have the open spot. You can always remove them at any time such as in the case you want to drop them.

Big names like Jered Weaver, Jose Reyes, Aramis Ramirez, and Zack Greinke are currently on the shelf with injuries, all pretty much unknown when they will come back. Names like these, potential All-Stars, you should have no business even thinking about dropping. Unless they are out for the entire season (keeper leagues aside), make sure you have a roster spot available for them whether it be on the Disabled List or the bench. I find a bench in fantasy baseball to be extremely valuable, however, there is always room for your studs to sit there dormant until they return. Here is the Full List of Players on the DL

It is acceptable to drop an injured player when you have someone of equal or near equal value you can replace them with through free agency. As the season goes along you will discover who these names are. Statistics are still bloated or much lower than they will be at the end of the year so go with your gut.

Finally I want to bring up a few of the rookies getting the call-up recently. Tony Cingrani has been called up by the Cincinnati Reds to replace Johnny Cueto in the rotation. Is it worth picking him up? Sure. If you have a less than stellar player to replace him with and you’re a natural risk-taker, why not? Other rookies like Matt Adams who is this year’s Todd Frazier, a guy who can hit but has no room in the starting lineup for him, is a bit more of a risk. Matt Adams of the St. Louis Cardinals will get a few spot starts, but other than that his playing time will be limited. A good majority of his hits may come in games he does not start, such as pinch hit grand slams which to a fantasy owner is a drag when you don’t start the guy and they come off the bench to do some serious damage with the bat.

(Tony Cingrani throwing a ball, but you knew that second part already)

Picking up rookies is always a risk, one I think you should try with at least one player. What’s the worst that will happen? You lose money and everyone in your league makes fun of you for picking up a guy who gets sent down to AAA after putting up a 8.38 ERA? Jose Fernandez from the Marlins is a great example of a guy who will probably have a great season. Soon he will come down to earth though and barring the Marlins actually giving him run support, I doubt he will win many games. If you have him though, keep him. Or better yet, use him as trade bait for someone more proven. People are always so afraid to make trades in fantasy baseball. Don’t be. If a player screw you over you have someone to hate forever.