If you read only one thing…..

Don’t look now, but the Houston Astros have won eight consecutive games and ten out of eleven to take a commanding lead in the AL West. This coming from a team that hasn’t won more than 70 games since 2010 and haven’t been above .500 since 2008. Of course, it’s still early, but there are more than a few fantasy surprises you should keep your eye on from that Astros squad.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Milwaukee Brewers are sliding in at an anemic 5-18. The rumor mill has them as the first team to sell everything off. According to the pundits, Jonathan Lucroy seems to be the only position player that’s off limits at the moment, so there is plenty of talent there that could be moving to a contender near you. Stay tuned…….

Just as we expected….

46 years ago, the New York Mets came out of nowhere to win the World Series over the powerful Baltimore Orioles. You can never assign the credit to one player, but Hall of Famer Tom Seaver won the Cy Young award and turned in an inspired performance. Fast-forward to 2015 and Matt Harvey might be that guy. In the world of great pitching, his 2.41 ERA isn’t that tremendous, but a 5-0 record brings back memories of Tom Terrific. The Mets are off to a 16-8 start behind the work of the ace.

Jon Lester hadn’t been off to a good start himself, but water usually finds its level. Lester turned in seven shutout innings in a hard fought win over the hapless Brewers. His ERA is a still an uncustomarily high 4.71 ERA, but with another strong start he could bring his ERA back to historic levels.

But we didn’t see this coming….

One of the aforementioned surprises out of Houston is center fielder Jake Marisnick. After Friday night, he is hitting .383 with three home runs and nine stolen bases. He hit a dinger and stole a base on Friday night. There is no way he will hit .383 on the year, but even if he hits .283 he will add enough power and speed to make him worth the while.

When Yasiel Puig went on the shelf, the Dodgers were sure happy they had kept Andre Ethier in dry dock. He added some more offense on Friday night as he’s hitting over .300 on the season and has added three home runs, scored ten runs, and driven in eight runs. This all before Friday night’s action was over.

The Rest of the Details

Save Chances

• Luke Gregerson(converted)
• Wade Davis (converted)
• Glen Perkins (converted)
• Jason Grilli (converted)
• Jeurys Familia (converted)
• Andrew Miller (converted)
• Brad Boxberger (converted)
• Hector Rondon (converted)

Lineup Moves

• The Boston Red Sox have promoted stud prospect Blake Swihart to take the place of the injured Ryan Hanigan. It is not known how long Hanigan will be out, but his finger will require surgery, so it is likely it will be at least a month. Hanigan is not a fantasy factor, but Swihart certainly might be if he is given regular playing time.

Injuries

• Ryan Hanigan was placed on the disabled list and Blake Swihart was called up.

Rumors and Transactions

It has been rumored that pitching might be for sale a little earlier this year than in seasons past. Cole Hamels is obviously the biggest name on the block. Still, there are a number of other arms that could become available even before Memorial Day. A number of arms might even be available from the lowly Brewers.