FanHouse JedLowrie

MLB Power Rankings: Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.

So, quick apology on my part: the Power Rankings were supposed to go live Wednesday, but things happened, I'm a jerkstore, excuses, etc., and here we are. It's not Wednesday! So please note that the records reflect Wednesday -- not Thursday, not Friday, not Saturday. Don't freak out in the comments and call me names. Please. I can't take that in my fragile emotional state right now. I might turn into Raul Ibanez, at which point I would yell at you and then strain my groin. And that wouldn't be good for anyone.

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
The "Silver Boot" will stay in Arlington, Texas.

It ain't the Axe, or the Old Oaken Bucket, but the Silver Boot is an attempt to add college football flavor to interleague play, as it goes to the winner of the Texas-Houston six-game series.

By winning 6-1 on Tuesday, the Rangers went up 4-0 in the series and clinched the boot for the third straight year.

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Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

Everyone knows the No. 1 prospect in Tuesday's draft (and if you don't, read this). But after Washington selects Stephen Strasburg, things get less precise.

"Anybody from [No.] 2 to 15 could be just as good as the other guy," an executive from an NL team with a high pick told FanHouse. "It's really a strange year because it is in the eye of the beholder."

For example, Arizona State right-hander Mike Leake has been discussed as high as No. 3 overall, to the Padres. But he's more likely to go in the middle of the first round, no lower than Arizona's picks at 16 and 17.

Jed Lowrie, who had been the Red Sox's starting shortstop, will undergo surgery Tuesday to remove part of a fractured bone in his left wrist, a major league source familiar with the plan told FanHouse, and is expected to be 100 percent recovered in 6-to-8 weeks.

Lowrie has had a lingering issue with the wrist since last May, when he was injured in a minor-league game. But he never underwent surgery, and when Julio Lugo suffered a knee injury in spring training, Lowrie became Boston's starting shortstop.

Finally, after a 1-for-18 start, Lowrie went on the disabled list. The sore wrist was especially affecting the switch-hitter when he batted left-handed; he was 1-for-15 against righties this season.

Phoenix-area specialist Don Sheridan, who gave Lowrie a third opinion on Monday, will perform Tuesday's procedure. The source told FanHouse that Sheridan is expected to remove the part of a bone in the wrist that had broken completey away.

While Boston manager Terry Francona on Monday projected a Lowrie return "by the All-Star break," Sheridan gave Lowrie the 6-to-8 week timetable. That means before mid-June.

Lugo, who underwent surgery on his right knee, is expected to begin a minor-league rehabilitation assignment later this week. So in two months there may again be a choice for the Red Sox at shortstop.

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That the folks who picked Zack Greinke as a darkhorse Cy Young candidate are feeling pretty good right now. Greinke ran his scoreless innings streak to 34, dating back to last season, with a shutout of the Rangers in Arlington, the first of his career.

Greinke's streak is the longest in Royals history, but it's not the record. Baseball rules say that scoreless innings streaks must be in the same season. Kevin Appier had a 33-inning streak in 1993.

Greinke is the first pitcher since Woody Williams in 2003 to start the season with three consecutive scoreless starts. Greinke has pitched 20 scoreless innings this season.

He became the first Royals pitcher to pitch a shutout at Texas since Bud Black in 1985.

I'm about to hand out some advice that everyone knows, but many people fail to follow. This certain piece of advice concerns setting your roster in a daily transaction league.

In a daily transaction league you get to set your lineups and rotations every day. The deadline is usually on a per player basis and runs right up to the first pitch of the game that player is participating in. The great thing about this is that you don't have to make a decision about benching or starting a player until his game begins. This differs greatly from a weekly transaction league where you set your lineup on Monday morning and let it sit all week. To win a daily transaction league you have to do a persistent job at maintaining your roster, multiple times per day.

'Eye Spy' details first-hand Spring Training notes and observations from a fantasy baseball perspective.

After a long trip from Atlanta to Jupiter, Florida Wednesday night / Thursday morning, who could think of sleep when the Red Sox were playing the Cardinals? The game was sold out (all Red Sox and Yankees games are in Florida, I hear) but the nice scalper told me he'd do me a favor (he hates breaking up tickets for singles) and sell me a ticket for twice face value. Hmmmm. Josh Beckett was pitching, but the only other regulars were Jason Varitek and Jed Lowrie in the lineup on Friday. I opted to decline the nice man's offer and waited to head up to Tradition Field and see the Mets.

From now until the regular season begins, Fantasy Flings is where you'll find interesting story lines about your favorite teams from Spring Training. If there is a position battle, a nagging injury, a comeback story or a youngster making a surge for the "big club" we'll let you know the fantasy implications.

Boston Red Sox
The shortstop battle between Jed Lowrie and Julio Lugo is heating up. Lowrie has six hits in sixteen at-bats with two doubles and a triple while Lugo has eight hits in fifteen at-bats with two doubles.

Lugo has made changes the Sox hope will help him recapture the power he showed before his arrival in Boston. He added muscle this offseason and, this spring, he slightly altered his batting stance.

Hitting coach Dave Magadan has been telling Francona he expects to see more power from Lugo this season.

There aren't enough positions on the field for both of these guys to play full-time and the DH spot is going to be occupied by David Ortiz. That can only mean one thing; a who's hotter at the moment platoon. No fantasy owner wants to hear that. This is one of those situations where what's best for the Major League team isn't so good for your fantasy team.

Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.

Meet the ...
Team that decided not to spend big bucks in the offseason. Reversing course from the normal offseason spending spree in New England, the Red Sox team headed into 2009 looks remarkably similar to last year's squad. You'll recognize all nine hitters in the starting lineup and a majority of the starting rotation. Key acquisitions were made in the bullpen, bringing Takashi Saito from the Dodgers and Ramon Ramirez from the Royals. John Smoltz will look weird without a Braves uniform, but should make a major contribution to the pitching staff when he returns from shoulder surgery. And if Brad Penny can return from injuries to his 2007 form, he should provide a nice spark to the rotation as well.

The Daily Jolt is a dose of baseball reality every weekday morning.

For a second there in the winter of 2007, it looked like the Yankees were truly reformed. They told Alex Rodriguez to get lost after he shamefully opted out of his mega-contract during the final moments of that year's World Series.

And though Hank Steinbrenner couldn't resist reversing course and welcoming Rodriguez back into the fold a month later for a jaw-dropping $275 million, they went to the Winter Meetings in Nashville and resolutely refused to deal any of their prized arms for very much available two-time Cy Young-winner Johan Santana.