Spring Stockwatch: Armed and dangerous?

Each week during the season, we'll survey the Fantasy Baseball landscape and provide you with a list of players whose Fantasy value has increased or decreased over the course of the past week. As of now, we are previewing players as Fantasy owners prepare for Draft Day 2008.

	Francisco Liriano, SP, Minnesota Here is a guy that missed all of the 2007 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, but is projected to be a top 25 Fantasy starting pitcher. Why? Just look at his numbers before surgery. He went 11-3 with a 1.92 ERA in 16 starts in 2006. He struck out 144 batters (starting and relief) in 121 innings. Relying on his nasty slider is what brought on Liriano's arm problems, but he still has a wicked fastball and the Twins will work on him to develop other off-speed pitches. Having Tommy John is not the end of the world. Just reference some of the success stories such as John Smoltz, A.J. Burnett, Erik Bedard and Jason Isringhausen. Add to the equation for Liriano that he now becomes the potential ace in Minnesota with Johan Santana in New York. Liriano is an injury-risk option on Draft Day 2008, but one worth taking, especially if he reverts to his former self.
	Brett Myers, SP/RP, Philadelphia Philadelphia was busy in the offseason, and at one point was involved in a trade that brought Brad Lidge to the city of Brotherly Love. There was little love coming from Myers. He was happy in his role as closer for the Phillies, but with the trade, Philadelphia opted to move Myers back into the rotation. Myers objected at first, but then accepted his role after talking with manager Charlie Manuel. It's not hard to see why Myers wanted to stay in relief. He went 5-5 with a 2.87 ERA and 21 saves as a reliever last season. He struggled as a starter, posting a 0-2 record and 9.39 ERA in three starts. The only upside is that he struck out 19 batters in 15 1/3 innings. A strikeout-per-inning rate is why Myers is enticing heading into the 2008 Fantasy season, but he has never been a dominant starter. He doesn't walk a lot of batters, but nearly gives up a hit per inning and will likely post a 4.00-plus ERA.
	Eric Gagne, RP, Milwaukee The Red Sox acquired Gagne at the trade deadline in 2007 to bolster their bullpen for the stretch run. The Red Sox ended up winning the World Series, but with little help from Gagne. The oft-injured reliever revived his career early last season with Texas after a serious elbow injury robbed him of the 2005 and 2006 seasons. He went 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA and converted 16 of 17 save chances before heading to Boston. In Beantown setting up for Jonathan Papelbon, Gagne went 2-2 with a 6.75 ERA and blew his three save opportunities. Well, it's time to once again hop on the Gagne bandwagon as he takes over the closer's role in Milwaukee for Francisco Cordero (signed with Cincinnati). Gagne is back closing games for a contender, a role in which Cordero thrived in last season on his way to 44 saves for the Brewers. Look to Gagne as a steal in the late rounds on Draft Day 2008. A projected 25-30 saves is realistic, if he can stay healthy.
	Joe Blanton, SP, Oakland The A's are excited to have Blanton atop their rotation, but how jubilant should Fantasy owners be? Blanton had his moments in 2007 on his way to a 14-10 record, 3.95 ERA and 1.210 WHIP. He even made it to 230 innings. However, he is now going against opposing team's aces and will be backed by one of the weaker lineups in the American League. This might be the first time in Blanton's career he finishes under .500. He is definitely a solid middle-of-the-road pitcher, but an ace? That could be a stretch. Blanton might pray that Rich Harden can stay healthy for an entire season to take some of the pressure off.
	Dontrelle Willis, SP, Detroit Maybe it's not such a good idea for me to talk up the D-Train after it backfired on me in 2007. But Willis has been traded to a contender, so it's time to back the 26-year-old lefty again. Willis had one of his worst seasons a year ago with the Marlins. He went 10-15 with a 5.17 ERA and struck out just 146 batters in 205 1/3 innings. Willis dealt with forearm soreness in the middle of the summer and it likely bothered him the remainder of the season despite the fact he denied any health issues. But it's hard to overlook he went 5-1 in April and 5-14 the remainder of the way. Well, an offseason of rest and new surroundings will suit the D-Train just fine. His ERA still might linger in the 4.00-range, but we might once again see the kid who won 22 games in 2005. The Tigers will offer Willis plenty of run support.
	Ryan Dempster, SP/RP, Chicago Cubs The Cubs are ready to move Dempster back into the rotation, but the question remains: Is he prepared? Dempster has saved 85 games for the Cubs the last three seasons, but has blown 14 opportunities along the way and just isn't a sure thing when he enters games. The Cubs are dying to try either Kerry Wood or Carlos Marmol in the closer's role, so moving Dempster to the rotation is an option. But Fantasy owners will want to be wary of Dempster. The righty is vying for the last spot in the Cubs rotation and will have to hold off Sean Marshall and Jon Lieber. It's also not out the picture that Dempster ends up in middle relief. There is a chance he could have very little Fantasy value by season's end.
	Ubaldo Jimenez, SP, Colorado Jimenez was the darling of the 2007 postseason as Colorado made the unexpected push to the World Series. Jimenez went 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA. He did walk as many batters as he struck out (13), but held the opposition to a .196 batting average in 16 innings. The early news out of Colorado in 2008 is that it might only get better for Jimenez. He spent the offseason in the Dominican Republic feverishly working out. The result: He added 15 pounds to his 6-4 frame. Jimenez was already buckling hitters with his high-90s fastball and nasty slider. Add some more muscle to his frame and we might be looking at the second coming of Justin Verlander. Jimenez will have his struggles in 2008. He still hasn't pitched more than 115 innings in the majors and pitches in the thin air of Colorado. Not to mention that Colorado will likely limit him to less than 200 innings. But whatever he gives Fantasy owners will be plenty. Jimenez is a special talent.
	Bartolo Colon, SP, Free Agent It's only a matter of time before someone signs Colon to a contract, and it could very well end up being the Chicago White Sox. But whoever wins the Colon sweepstakes will end up with a lot of baggage. Colon's 2007 season didn't start until late April. He opened up 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA in April and even won his first five starts with the Angels. It then quickly went south for Colon. His ERA was up to 5.44 by May and finished the season with a 6-8 record and 6.34 ERA. He even missed most of July, all of August and most of September with elbow irritation in his pitching arm. Colon used to be a guy with 20-win potential and a must-have Fantasy ace. Now, Fantasy owners just hope to get a spot start or two out of him.
	Rafael Soriano, RP, Atlanta The Braves started the 2007 season with Bob Wickman as their closer and ended it with Soriano. In between, they lost Mike Gonzalez to season-ending elbow surgery, which opened the door for Soriano to strut his stuff. Soriano made 13 relief appearances from Aug. 29-Sept. 25 and pitched a total of 14 1/3 innings. He went 1-0, netted four saves and allowed just one earned run (0.63 ERA). That gave the Braves confidence to name him their closer heading into the 2008 season. Gonzalez, recovering from Tommy John surgery, is not expected back until at least late May and might even miss most of the 2008 season. He likely won't push for closing responsibilities and that might mean 30-plus saves for Soriano.
	Andy Pettitte, SP, N.Y. Yankees The lefty isn't too far away from getting his AARP card. He will turn 36 years old in-season, which might be his final go-round. He has been in the majors since 1995, but his production continues to tail off. He is 29-22 in his last two seasons (one with Houston and one with the Yankees) and hasn't had an ERA lower than 4.00 since 2005. His WHIP has also been 1.420 or higher since the start of 2006. It doesn't help that he will have a huge distraction to deal with this season. Pettitte has to cope with the fallout from the Mitchell Report. He has already admitted to wrongdoing, but there is the lingering thought that he might sell out his buddy Roger Clemens in the process. Also, opposing fans will have a field day heckling Pettitte when takes the mound. The odds are stacked against the aging veteran.

You can e-mail Michael your Fantasy Baseball questions to dmfantasybaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Stockwatch in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state.