Hitters
Studs Doing Their Thing
Robinson Cano (998)
Billy Butler (923)
Josh Hamilton (824)
Starlin Castro (508)
Nothing much of note with these guys. Slow starts hurt their Week 1 Rankings, but they have returned to form in Week 2. It looks like Hamilton put his slow start behind him faster than I anticipated and it's just in time as the Angels are struggling.
Short-Term Waiver Adds
Brandon Moss (986)
Will Venable (869)
David DeJesus (788)
Chris Johnson (558)
Ride the hot streaks with these guys, but don't expect any to turn into a long-term starter on your fantasy roster. Moss, Venable and Johnson are all streaky hitters so take advantage of them now, but as they cool off don't hesitate to cut ‘em loose.
Long-Term Waiver Adds
John Buck (Unranked)
Chris Carter (1,060)
Brandon Crawford (823)
Starling Marte (741)
I like all of these guys for the remainder of the season. Travis d'Arnaud is a bit of a concern when projecting Buck's PT, but I expect Buck to get sufficient AB's throughout the year. Carter is going to mash and should be rostered for his HR totals alone. I really like Crawford for a MI role - his defense will guarantee him AB's and he appears to have figured something out at the plate. Marte will benefit from hitting atop the Pittsburgh lineup. Not that it packs a lot of punch, but the top of any major league lineup lends itself to SBs and Rs.
"Yeah, I guess"
Michael Young (844)
Paul Konerko (814)
Garrett Jones (775)
Neil Walker (752)
By no means a knock on these guys, but when I decide whether to plug them into my daily lineup I always seem to find myself saying "Yeah, I guess". Nothing sexy here, just solid production.
Don't Buy In
Todd Helton (752)
Ryan Howard (666)
Ian Desmond (597)
Michael Bourn (497)
Howard and Bourn are one category contributors and aren't really worth seeking in a trade at this point in the year. Helton's age is worrisome and I don't expect him to hold up for the entire season. Desmond has 12 K's this year and only 1 BB - I don't see him coming close to a .300 AVG this year.
Somehow Seems Underrated
Joe Mauer (685)
Adrian Gonzalez (654)
Denard Span (560)
These are all household names (Span is a stretch) and have produced well for quite some time, yet they seem to get no love in fantasy circles. Count on these three to continue to produce solid numbers throughout 2013.
Pitchers
Studs Doing Their Thing
Adam Wainwright (1,062)
CC Sabathia (1,003)
Kris Medlen (847)
Jon Lester (169)
Same as above in the hitters category. Note the inclusion of Medlen and Lester in the studs section - these two are locked in.
"Yeah, I guess"
Tim Hudson (1,043)
Hiroki Kuroda (941)
Josh Beckett (723)
Bronson Arroyo (424)
Also the same as the hitters category. Plug these guys in when it's their turn to take the bump, and find a different way to get your adrenaline flowing.
Long-Term Waiver Adds
Ryan Dempster (913)
A.J. Griffin (485)
Wade Davis (474)
Felix Doubront (361)
Carlos Villanueva (155)
These guys should be solid the rest of the way. Still may want to tinker a few times depending on the matchup, but you should be able to trot them out there every 5th day with some confidence.
Rotation Anchors
Doug Fister (752)
Marco Estrada (746)
Jordan Zimmermann (547)
Max Scherzer (477)
Trevor Cahill (415)
None of them are aces, but these guys are owned in all formats and should put up solid numbers accompanied by plenty of W's as all pitch behind excellent offenses.
Ratio Relievers
Santiago Casilla (659)
David Phelps (516)
Casey Fien (486)
Jared Hughes (438)
Edward Mujica (370)
Jake McGee (359)
Luis Ayala (318)
Mujica figures to get a shot at closer, and the rest of this group are guys you can plug in to boost your ratios. All have solid strikeout rates and are trusted in high-leverage situations.
I May Have Missed the Boat
Hyun-Jin Ryu (554)
Lance Lynn (454)
Shelby Miller (286)
Clay Buchholz (141)
I was down on these guys to start the season, but their recent starts have me looking twice. Sample size is still too small to say they won't struggle from here on out, but I'm definitely re-tracing my steps.