Outfielders

Rocco Baldelli (Rays) - Down $8
Cliff Floyd (Rays) - Up $1
Jonny Gomes (Rays) - Up $1

Baldelli fell all the way to $2 in light of the serious questions about his ability to play this year. I would have bumped Gomes up higher, but I’m guessing the Rays will pick up an outfielder before the end of the spring. If it’s Kenny Lofton, then Gomes would lose significant value. If it’s someone like Nelson Cruz, Jason Botts or Delwyn Young, then Gomes would still seem to be a good bet for 400-450 at-bats.

Starting pitchers

Casey Janssen (Blue Jays) - Down $4
Jesse Litsch (Blue Jays)

So much for one of my favorite sleepers. I still don’t see Litsch as an option in AL-only leagues, though as a groundball pitcher working in front of two exceptional infielders in Scott Rolen and Aaron Hill and two more solid defenders, he could keep the Jays in a lot of games.

Jair Jurrjens (Braves) - Up $1
Jo-Jo Reyes (Braves)

Jurrjens has really separated himself from Reyes and will almost certainly be the choice to round out Atlanta’s rotation if Chuck James isn’t ready. I’m still not as high on him for the long-term as some, but he’s looking like a nice late-rounder for 2008.

Chris Capuano (Brewers) - Down $1
Yovani Gallardo (Brewers) - Up $1
Ben Sheets (Brewers) - Up $1
Carlos Villanueva (Brewers)

Gallardo is making steady progress in his return from knee surgery, so he was given back some of the innings originally taken away from him. Villanueva also gained innings at Capuano’s expense. Sheets also moved up a bit because of the way he’s thrown so far this spring.

Kyle Lohse (Cardinals) - Up $2

There aren’t many places where Lohse would have come in as more than a $1 pitcher, but with St. Louis, he ranks as a borderline $3 guy. I still may have to tweak his projection again, depending on whether he’s going to be ready to start the season in the rotation or not.

Carlos Zambrano (Cubs) - Up $1

Yeah, it’s still the first half of March, but Zambrano’s command has been pretty impressive so far.

Hiroki Kuroda (Dodgers) - Up $1

Kuroda has had a rough go of it in his last two appearances, but I’m still a little more optimistic now than I was going into the start of the spring. He’s still not someone to target in mixed-league drafts.

Barry Zito (Giants) - Down $2

Based on his spring performance to date, there’s less reason than ever to think Zito will be better than a league-average pitcher, and no league-average pitcher is winning 14-15 games for the Giants this year. I dropped him to $4.

Sergio Mitre (Marlins)

Mitre’s innings appear set to go to Rick VandenHurk, Ricky Nolasco, Chris Volstad or Gaby Hernandez, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Jeff Weaver lands in Florida as his replacement. They’re all $0 pitchers anyway, so I’m not touching them just yet.

Felix Hernandez (Mariners) - Up $1

King Felix is up a buck, but Zambrano did move past him for the ninth spot in my overall SP rankings.

Shawn Hill (Nationals)

Hill’s injury cost him $1 in the 4x4 rankings. He remains a $1 pitcher in the 5x5 rankings.

Troy Patton (Orioles)

Zeroed out.

Brandon McCarthy (Rangers) - Down $2
Sidney Ponson (Rangers)

I gave Ponson a 5.91 ERA projection in Texas. That’s the highest figure for anyone with at least 50 innings, though Lance Cormier (6.07 ERA in 46 innings) comes close.

Scott Kazmir (Rays) - Up $1

Kazmir was given back half of the innings I originally took away because of his elbow injury. It looks like he’ll start on Opening Day, but I’m not putting him all of the way back where he was. There’s no way an elbow injury so early in the spring can be taken as a good sign.

Homer Bailey (Reds) - Down $1
Matt Belisle (Reds)
Johnny Cueto (Reds) - Up $2

I originally had Cueto at $2 and Bailey at $4. Now they’re reversed. I always had Cueto with the better ERA and WHIP projection, but I wasn’t expecting to see him until May or June.

Josh Beckett (Red Sox) - Down $1
Jon Lester (Red Sox) - Up $1

One missed start for Beckett costs him $1. It looks like Lester could take his place in Japan, giving him a few extra innings. He’s throwing well and deserved to move up a dollar anyway.

Francisco Liriano (Twins)

I gave Liriano a few more innings, but I also raised his ERA a bit, leaving his value relatively unchanged. He’s healthy enough to pitch and I’m becoming more optimistic that he’ll make 28-30 starts, but he’s not nearly in 2006 form yet.

John Danks (White Sox) - Up $1

Danks jumped from $1 to $2 based on the way he’s throwing.

Phil Hughes (Yankees) - Up $1

Hughes appears to have more velocity now than he did when he returned from hamstring injury last year. It’s a great sign for his future development.