MLB

When we last looked at the stock values of MLB's top projected trade targets roughly two weeks ago, I wrote about the volatility of the marketplace—and how a team's fortune (or misfortune) could change the composition of the marketplace.

It's your first major league start. Your entire family is watching. All eyes are on you. Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers knew this would be a moment to remember for the rest of his life.

So, he came prepared.

Following Monday's top-heavy slate, Tuesday contains several strong mid-level starters to consider for daily MLB lineups.

The more successful daily fantasy baseball teams are not always the ones filled with obvious names. When looking to fill out a lineup for Tuesday's contests, you shouldn't be afraid to find some cheaper talent to allow you to spend big in other places.

Pitchers to Draft

Sonny Gray, Oakland Athletics ($10,100)

1. A Manager Is Just Another Chew Toy for Pit Bull Loria

Everyone knows managers are hired to be fired. But in Miami, they're not just fired; they're sliced, diced, pureed, pulsed, chopped, whipped, crushed, frappe'd and blended too.

So here comes new Marlins manager Dan Jennings, one of the game's most respected talent evaluators, in Miami's craziest move yet.

Officially, the New York Yankees will be in the capital over the next two days for a two-game series against the Washington Nationals.

Report-card season can be a stressful time of year. Just ask clubs like the Oakland Athletics and the Milwaukee Brewers, who will be racing to their mailboxes to snag those progress reports before their owners find out just how poorly they've done.

While Oakland and Milwaukee have been among the game's biggest duds, an array of clubs have aced the opening quarter of the MLB season.

For the first time in several years, the Seattle Mariners are in win-now mode at the major league level rather than looking more toward the future.

The graduation of many top prospects, particularly on the pitching side, has left Seattle's farm system a little thinner than it has been previously. While the Mariners in no way have a bad farm system and haven't been trading away too many prospects, most of the exciting young players are in the majors.

In some respects, the one-quarter mark of the 2015 MLB campaign is an arbitrary signpost. In another way, we've reached an important milestone.

There's still enough baseball left for anything to happen. Hot streaks will turn cold, injuries will hit, slumps will end, teams will rise and fall and maybe even rise again.

But we've also watched enough action to draw some conclusions and make a few semi-definitive statements. Like, say, naming the biggest winners and losers of the season's first lap.

Baseball offseasons are made for hope and optimism.

Those five months between the end of the World Series and Opening Day help dissolve any ugly memories and bad tastes that exist from the previous season. And when that fall and winter are filled with a team making blockbuster moves to improve for the following season, the hype and expectations soar.