We’ve all heard the opinion espoused by Fantasy Baseball Owners everywhere: No championships are won on Draft Day. However, whether you agree with that or not, most titles ARE won in April. Too many of us put in a ton of work preparing for the Fantasy Baseball Draft only to make the fatal mistake of ignoring our squads during the season’s first few weeks. Don’t be one of those guys.

Every year, even in the deepest of leagues, there are Major League Baseball players on the verge of a Fantasy Breakout season that go undrafted. Last season, alone, Miguel Montero and David Aardsma were just two who were integral parts of many Fantasy League championships despite being left unselected on draft day. The key for you, as an owner, is to identify those hidden gems as early as possible and incorporate them into your daily lineup.

That’s only half the battle, however, as t is just as critical to cut ties with drafted players not performing up to expectations. Daily perusal of the box scores and injury reports is the first step in this process; followed by the much more difficult one that forces you to admit you may have been wrong about a player. Once the draft is over, forget preferences and simply evaluate performance.

Kansas City’s Gil Meche may be back as early as Sunday if a mid-week bullpen session goes painlessly. However, he’s still just an AL-only option at this point… In Baltimore, Miguel Tejada’s Opening Day home in the cleanup spot may not be permanent. Make note of his 3B eligibility after 20 games… Do not be swayed by reports from Los Angeles that long time prospect Brandon Wood is finally ready to produce. He looked lost during the first two games of the Minnesota series and may simply be a 4A player… Angel’s LHP Scott Kazmir (right) is on course to start his first game next week vs. the Yankees…OF Alex Rios’ strong camp and first week have many White Sox teammates expecting big things. Fantasy Owners, however, will remember two straight disastrous seasons before jumping on his bandwagon… While Jon Rauch has been given the closer job in Minnesota, don’t forget that he struggled in the same role as a National and failed to emerge as the stopper in Arizona despite a muddled bullpen situation. Matt Guerrier is the Twins’ best reliever and one whom Ron Gardenhire won’t hesitate to call should Rauch falter… Oakland’s Trevor Cahill has been hampered by a sore shoulder since last September and saw the pain worsen this spring…With the release of Jack Cust, the A’s turned their backup C and DH roles over to Jake Fox. Given the injury history of current DH Eric Chavez, Fox, already eligible at  OF and 3B, could be a nice stash in an AL-only league…In Seattle, C Rob Johnson says he’s healthy after three, off-season surgeries to alleviate hip and wrist problems. The long time prospect and new starting backstop drilled an Opening Day HR… If Jays’ 3B Edwin Encarnacion has his usual slow start, look for Toronto to hand the job to rookie Brett Wallace…Rangers’ 2B Ian Kinsler is eligible to return from an ankle sprain on Saturday but looks like he’ll be out awhile longer… Be wary of owning Marlins’ starting pitchers as their defense, especially on the infield, seems like a baseball version of slapstick comedy… Franklin Morales may hold on to the Rockies’ closer job for longer than expected as Huston Street made the dreaded visit to Dr. James Andrews this week regarding his sore right shoulder… Astros’ 1B Lance Berkman has had his knee drained five times but is still hampered by swelling. He’s on the DL with no date set for his return… Erik Bedard is said to be ahead of schedule in his recovery from shoulder surgery and could be back in the Seattle rotation as early as June.

Fantasy Baseball News and Notes

Buy Low

- As a full time DH, Vladimir Guerrero is more likely to remain healthy in 2010. If so, he’ll get a huge boost from hitting in the middle of the powerful Rangers’ lineup… San Diego’s Kyle Blanks, whose 10 HR last season came in just 148 AB, posted a .407 BA this spring and landed the cleanup spot behind Adrian Gonzalez.

Sell High

- Can’t understand how smart Fantasy guys continue to draft Cubs’ RHP Carlos Zambrano (right).  He’s still out of shape, (despite losing fifteen pounds), has seen a three year drop in dominance and battles emotional instability. Talk up his weight loss and dump him on anybody who didn’t notice he got shelled on Opening Day… Toronto’s Jason Frasor, who inherited the closer’s role by default in ’09 when Scott Downs was injured, blew the save in Monday’s opener vs. Texas.  Don’t expect Cito Gaston to be patient with him, especially with Kevin Gregg and a healthy Downs on the roster.

Grab Bag

- Twins’ OF Delmon Young had a strong camp and opened the season with a HR vs. the Angels. Don’t forget that, despite his struggles since arriving in Minnesota, he does have a 90+ RBI season already on his resume…Reds’ 3B Scott Rolen had a terrific ’09, hitting .305 while splitting time between Toronto and Cincinnati. While he is always an injury risk, he’s in a great hitter’s park and looks very strong.

Drop Zone

- RHP Jake Westbrook threw four wild pitches in Cleveland’s opener. Lack of command is the biggest obstacle for a pitcher coming back from shoulder surgery; something Westbrook has yet to overcome. He should not be on your roster even in an AL-only format… The catching situation in Colorado’ with Chris Iannetta and Miguel Olivo splitting time equally, devalues each of the platoon mates. Avoid both… If Jays’ 3B Edwin Encarnacion has his usual slow start, look for Toronto to hand the job to rookie Brett Wallace…

Down To The Wire

Ten days to go and it’s nail biting time for Fantasy Baseball contenders. Micro managing is in season as a one point move in any category could be the difference between a title and disappointment. Be careful, however, as an attempt to improve in one fantasy category could result in severe pain in another.

Such was the case last week in the HK Fantasy league as Skippy Shakes owner Bob Carr found himself looking to pick up a few saves in order to win the category. He picked up Luis Ayala of the Mets and activated a clearly not ready for prime time George Sherrill of the Orioles. After both got finished throwing batting practice later that day, the Shakes found themselves not only trailing in S but down two points each in ERA and WHIP. Adding insult to injury, Carr had placed Cubs P Ted Lilly on his reserve roster in order to get Brandon Morrow’s start vs. the Royals on Tuesday. As if he had something to prove, Lilly went out and threw a gem vs. the Astros on Monday. “It’s like they know” said Carr, who long ago made the same switch with Hideo Nomo only to watch Nomo toss a no-no at the Rockies that evening. “I woke up Sunday morning in first place and went to sleep 5 points out.”

The beneficiary of Carr’s gaffes was Mean Street Posse owner Lou Carducci, who suddenly found himself in second place after leading by a wide margin for most of the campaign. His glee was short lived, however, as he watched Carlos Zambrano throw a no-hitter on Sunday night while on the Posse’s reserve fantasy roster. “That doesn’t even come close to what Carr did”, said Carducci, “he specifically farmed Nomo in Coor’s Field to protect his ERA. He couldn’t have been more wrong. In my case, Zambrano had been out for awhile and no one knew for sure when he’d start due to Hurricane Ike. His is still the bonehead move of all time.” Looks like the last ten days are going to be a lot of fun.

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Rising

Look for the Rays to give LHP David Price a start or two before the season is done. He’s the prize of their farm system and was just called up. Josh Johnson has compiled a 5-1 record after missing most of the season due to injury.

Falling

-Pedro Martinez has been giving the Mets fits as he continues to struggle with arm strength and command. The Mets’ staff has been depleted by injury so, they have no choice but to run Pedro out to the hill at least three more times this year. You don’t have to. Be careful. Robinson Cano, in a year long slump, was benched by Yankee manager Joe Girardi for a lack of hustle.

SICK BAY

– J.D. Drew returns to the Sox this week after missing time with a bad back. Carlos Guillen may be out for the year with a pinched nerve in his back. Royals’ 3B Alex Gordon returned from the DL after missing time with a torn hip flexor.

FARM FRESH

-Nine year old Luke Ricciardi recently became one of the youngest players to take a ball out of the park at Manalapan LL in New Jersey. You can probably get him late in any Minor League draft but he’ll be worth the wait.