Josh Willingham

Cliff Lee was the first big name to get traded, and certainly no player on the block has been more discussed this season. Roy Oswalt, Dan Haren, Corey Hart, and Prince Fielder are the most recognizable of the remaining names that are being bandied about by sports commentators and trade "experts."

Still, others seem to be of interest to every team.

Before the season began I wrote the "Fantasy Baseball: Top Value Picks at Each Position"

The players I calculated as solid value picks were as follows:

SP- Ryan Dempster

RP- Mike Gonzalez

C- Chris Iannetta

1B- Garrett Jones

2B- Kelly Johnson

3B- Jorge Cantu

SS- Alcides Escobar

LF- Josh Willingham

CF- Nate McLouth

RF- Jason Kubel

Here is an update on how all of these players are doing. Some are absolutely killing the ball and some have had very rough starts to the season, to say the least. Let's take a look.

Always afraid to release your drafted stars whose weak performances are killing your fantasy squad, you risk missing out on some early-season hot up-and-comers that could make or break your team.

Remember this: in fantasy, you need to play it week by week, and you need to take advantage of the fact that your players aren’t “real.”

In the real world players demand and possess no-trade clauses, so Theo Epstein and Brian Cashman can’t run around signing free agents and immediately packaging them for positional or rotational upgrades.

In fantasy, you can, and you must.

A great start can do wonders for a player.

For some, it is the fulfillment of hard work, whether it be a new workout regiment, a changed approach at the plate, or new found work ethic in the field.

For others, it is merely a flash in the pan, a one or two week hot streak where the player goes right back to being the man we expected as the season begins.

To start 2010, there are many players off to great starts. Some, like Utley, Pedroia, and Pujols are expected, as they are great, MVP-caliber players who are starting the season off right.

If there’s one word that makes fantasy owners ears perk up like Tiger Woods at a sex convention, its sleeper. Everyone thinks they have a few gems, but usually keep their names under tighter wraps than Al Capone’s vault. Most would rather lose a limb than divulge such top secret information to even their closest of confidants.

Why such secrecy?

Rumors have been flying around Nationals sluggers Josh Willingham and Adam Dunn. Most of the rumors have Willingham and Dunn headed to Boston, Kansas City, Atlanta, and the Mets, among others.

This article hopes to break down the reasons why and why not for trading Willingham and Dunn.

When the Nationals traded Emilio Bonifacio, P. J. Dean and Jake Smolinski to the Florida Marlins last winter for Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham, a couple of things seemed certain.

First, Olsen would become the Nationals No. 2 pitcher; second, Josh Willingham would become a sorely needed offensive weapon for the team, likely in left field.

Over his career, after all, the 30-year-old has been a solid hitter. Since joining the Marlins in 2004, Willingham has averaged .266-25-85 over a 162 game season.