By Dan O’Shea
The biggest surprise of the young MLB season – aside from the fact that the Cleveland Indians are leading the American League Central – may be the emergence of journeyman Willie Bloomquist, SS/3B/OF, Arizona.
The type of player who occasionally ends up on fantasy baseball rosters for short stretches thanks to multi-position eligibility and better-than-average speed, Bloomquist started the season as the Diamondbacks’ starting shortstop because of an injury to Stephen Drew. He also has played the outfield. After the first week-and-a-half of the season, Bloomquist is among league leaders in hits (14), and stolen bases (6).
At the beginning of the season, there are always a few breakout stars whose names will be hard to remember by the All-Star break. I’m betting Bloomquist won’t be just a flash in the pan for two reasons:
* Arizona manager Kirk Gibson has embraced the running game. The D-backs already lead the National League in SBs, and Bloomquist not only fits the game plan, but should get the green light to run early and often.
* Arizona is not a great team. Few starters are really locked in, and Bloomquist should end up playing almost every day somewhere.
These are just a couple reasons why Bloomquist has been one of the hottest acquisitions on the Yahoo! waiver wire this week, going from about 50% availability last weekend to only about 30% by Tuesday. Act fast.
A few other surprises from these opening days:
* Paul Konerko and Starlin Castro were tied (with a few others) for the league lead in hits through Monday with 16. Which one can keep it up?
How about both. Konerko has rejuvenated what looked like a fading career at the beginning of the 2010 season, and Castro appears to be years ahead of schedule.
* Mets first baseman Ike Davis was tied for the league lead in RBIs through Monday with 11. Davis at best was a late-round back-up pick at a very deep position, and it’s not clear he’ll stay among the leaders, but ride him for this hot streak, however long it lasts.
* Albert Pujols, the consensus No. 1 pick in many fantasy leagues, was hitting .150 through Monday. Unlike a lot of stars, Pujols is not usually a slow starter; in fact he tends to pile up home runs right out of the gate. Expect greater things, especially during his contract year, but if you’re in a daily league, I wouldn’t blame you if you sat him for a day, particularly if you have Ike Davis.
Expert Wire
* USA Today discusses fantasy surprises, including Sam Fuld, the guy apparently never good enough for the Cubs outfield.
* Yahoo! RotoArcade has the bad news on Josh Hamilton: Out 6-8 weeks with an arm injury.
* Finally, Johnny Damon thinks Manny Ramirez is dead . . . oh, wait, he is . . .
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Dan O’Shea’s Fantasy Fix appears in this space every Wednesday. He welcomes your comments. You can also read his about his split sports fan personality at his Beachwood blog SwingsBothWays.
Posted on April 13, 2011