FanHouse Jorge Cantu

From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.

I think we can all agree that it's far too early to start voting upon who the best 2009 players are when it's only the middle of May. That being said, there are certainly some shining stars at this point who deserve some props. Plus, Major League Baseball recently released their All-Star ballots for our voting pleasure -- we vote on who will start the All-Star Game. If that's not important, I don't know what is. Let's take a gander.

Categorically Speaking is designed specifically for Rotisserie GM's. The information is great for all fantasy baseball formats, but for those of you who could use some help bolstering a specific roto category, this is for you. We're going to pay close attention to players who might be readily available on your waiver wire or who you might target in non-blockbuster trade talks.

Over the past few weeks nobody has been driving in runners like Evan Longoria. His 28 RBI over the last 14 days is tops in Major League Baseball, and head and shoulders better then anyone else. But, he's not available in any fantasy leagues and you're not prying him away from the owner who drafted him for anywhere close to fair value.

Let's look elsewhere for some help if your rotisserie team needs some more RBI.

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

He's only 21 years old. He's only 21 years old. Whenever you get frustrated that your future fantasy stud is struggling, it's important to take a breather and repeat those words. When I was 21, I think I spent my Wednesday nights playing Counter-Strike and eating bad pizza. Justin Upton, on the other hand, has to deal with expectations that he's the next Willie Mays. Whatever happened to the 27-year-old "breakout" rule? Suddenly it's six years younger?

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

Yovani Gallardo, meet "the groove." Groove, meet Gallardo.

The Brewers ace struck out 11, only allowed two hits and provided the deciding solo homer over eight juggernaut innings against the Pirates. That outing brought his ERA for the season down to 2.86 and his record to 3-1. And with 34 K's over 34 2/3 innings, it's safe to say he's in fantasy stud territory. But Gallardo isn't the only pitcher that has transcended draft value so far.

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

The Washington Nationals will be looking for a new closer as Joel Hanrahan has been fired. He was given the opportunity to close out five games and blew saves in three of those. His ERA is an unhealthy 8.64. The team will look to use a closer by committee approach for a while, waiting to see if injured Joe Beimel can return and flourish.

Tuesday, one day after Hanrahan surrendered a game-losing grand slam, Manager Manny Acta said that his team would now finish games -- or at least try to finish them -- with a committee of relief pitchers that includes Julián Tavárez and Kip Wells, both signed in March to non-guaranteed minor league deals. Once Joe Beimel (left hip flexor) returns from the disabled list in the first week of May, he could either join the mix or claim the job for himself.

Thursday we took a look at undervalued catchers. It seems like a logical progression to take a look at first basemen today.

When it comes to finding value when drafting this position, a few interesting names pop up. Believe it or not, I think Mark Teixeira is undervalued with an ADP of 12.60. Grabbing him with the 13th pick in a fantasy draft would make most people happy, and I'm not sure that he won't outperform Miguel Cabrera, who's a solid first-rounder with an ADP of 7.26. But, the swing from Teixeira to Cabrera isn't enough to "officially" place Teixeira on this list. Just know that if you walk up to me and tell me you got "Big Teix" in the second round, I'm going to pat you on the back.

Yard Work focuses on what chicks allegedly love: the long ball. From the big boppers to the small poppers, it's a rundown of which home run hitters will make a dent in your fantasy baseball league.

When Jose Reyes makes his move for second and robs another bag from an unsuspecting pitcher, the Mets faithful follow with applause and "Jose, Jose Jose Jose!" chants. But there's 50 or so more to go from Jose, and no matter how dirty that jersey gets, it's still just a stolen base.

David Wright steps up to the plate, drills a first-pitch heater into the picnic area ... it's BIG APPLE TIME. Cue the wackier video animation and the rumbling seats, too.

Say what you want about the appeal of steals, the home run is still king.

In fantasy baseball, however, that king can be overrated.

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 ...
Most bizarre franchise in MLB history? While the Yankees plod along, spending trillions and winning every year, the four Marlin fans remaining in Miami have always been treated to a roller coaster of sorts: either the Marlins are kind of randomly breaking out as a contender or they're mid-firesale.

Last year was different though: the Marlins were supposed to stink, and yet, they didn't. This season, though, as a result of that success, there's a decent chance some of their players will be overvalued for fantasy purposes (hello, Dan Uggla) which might hurt their overall team value. Still, some young sleepers are there and certainly worth your consideration.

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2009.

When the Marlins dealt Miguel Cabrera last winter, it was assumed that they would battle the Nationals for the cellar in the National League East. That made their 84-77 record one of the most pleasant surprises of the season.

Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla led an offense that finished second in the NL in home runs, the preferred method of scoring for an offense that didn't get on base with much regularity. Chris Volstad looked like a future ace in 14 starts. Volstad, Ricky Nolasco, Josh Johnson and Andrew Miller are a very young rotation, but potentially a very good one if they're healthy and consistent in 2009.

Almost any team would envy the young, talented roster the Marlins possess, but building on their 2008 successes will be contingent on which players return next season. As always, the Marlins are dealing with monetary issues that often trump diamond ones. How they manage those two sides will decide how far they go next season.

Obviously the fantasy season is past the halfway point, but you gotta work with me here. There aren't any games that count for the next few days, so it's the perfect time to formulate these teams. Unlike the actual All-Star game, there are different parameters for judging who makes the fantasy All-Star team. Value matters. For example, Hanley Ramirez is obviously the best fantasy player in baseball. He was a high first round pick in every draft, though, so he's not really exceeding expectations.

There's a reason you make the fantasy All-Star team this way ... owners don't win leagues by drafting Hanley Ramirez first overall. You do, however, win your league by loading up on value picks like Josh Hamilton and Geovany Soto ... while you lose your league by taking some of the big names I'm going to list on the "bad" team.

I've named each team after their backstop. Why? I felt like it.

Let's have fun.

TEAM GEO (these are the fantasy All-Stars)

C - Geovany Soto -- You can convince me that you thought Geo was a top ten catcher and that he'd hit 20 home runs coming into the season. You can't convince me that you had him top three and on pace for almost 30.