Paul Konerko gets little respect from fantasy owners, though as fantasy drafts have come upon us he has quickly become a player that I’m targeting.  No, not in shallower leagues, but if I’m in a league that requires a corner infielder he is one of the players on my list.  Why?  He’s a cheap source of power that no one else seems to care about.

First let’s look at his statistics from last season:

For years Major League pitchers have been cringing about taking the mound at Coors Field.

When it comes to spring training and statistics I am a non-believer. I am obsessed with watching the games, but it is more to get a feel for the players involved and it hardly ever matters to me who won, who lost, or if the players do really well or really poorly. Sure, part of me cringes a little bit if someone has a horrible day, but in the end I realize it is spring and this doesn’t really count (this lead was stolen from example A ).

Is it me, or are the Seattle Mariners either doing something or have something going on that makes headlines everyday?

I woke up this morning and there they were again. I guess if you notice a team’s news and notes on a regular basis, it means they are relevant—and the Mariners will certainly be relevant in 2010.

Since the Mariners had a couple of relevant stories going on, I decided to include them  in one post.

Cliff Lee has an abdominal strain

The Yankees have sent two more players, right handed pitchers Romulo Sanchez and Ryan Pope, to the minor league camp cutting the total number left in camp down to 50, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com .

Kanekoa Texeira is a hard-throwing right handed pitcher who the Yankees got as part of the trade with the White Sox for Nick Swisher.

Pitching in double-A Trenton last season, he went 9-6 with a 2.84 ERA in 41 games and 101.1 innings. Good, but not great, numbers.

Unfortunately for Texeira and the Yankees, he didn’t have the outstanding talent to warrant protection on the 40-man roster, and he was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the Rule 5 draft.

Speed is something fantasy owners are always on the hunt for. It doesn’t matter if the player can hit for average or power, as long as he can steal bases, he’s going to have some value. 

Peter Bourjos, a prospect for the Los Angeles Angels, has been flying under the radar. But he could burst onto the scene in 2010 and become a must-own fantasy option quickly, thanks to what he brings to the table with his legs.

2009 Statistics (Double-A)

Ah, fantasy baseball. Where real life combines with make belief in a beautiful fusion of mixed allegiances and sporting know-how with bragging rights on the line.

It's just 15 sleeps to Opening Day, and if you want to pit your baseball wits against some of the best in the business, here's your chance.

Over the next six months, I'll be running my own fantasy baseball league, providing weekly updates here on Bleacher Report with all the results, news, and notes you need to fully immerse yourself in one of the nation's favorite pastimes.

Coming into this evening, Jason Heyward was leading all players in walks (nine) along with car damaging home runs (two) during batting practice. 

At 6'5" and 250 lbs, it is clear that Heyward would pack a great deal of power in his swing. What is not so clear, is that he has the ability to wait and his game plan at the plate is similar to that of a ten-year veteran's.

The talk of the mammoth blasts are just starting, but as a Braves blogger what you have to be most impressed with is his knack for letting pitches go.