Spotlight Newbie of the Week:

Update from last week:

1. Nice to see Clint Barmes live up to our praise last week. He went 4-6 with a HR, 3 RBI, and 2 runs in yesterday's opening day game for the Rockies. THAT'S a sleeper for you, courtesy of your friends here at Waaay Back! Unlike that bull-bleep ESPN tries to pimp as "sleepers" for you.

2. As for Gavin Floyd and the pseudo-sleeper Noah Lowry, both haven't had their turn in their rotations yet, so we can't eat humble pie yet.

As for this weeks Newbies. Again, we consider a "newbie" to be anyone that's going way under the radar in too many leagues, a guy you need to keep an eye on, or a young bastard nobody knows of waiting to become a rich, young bastard who puts up great numbers for you and their major league team. First up is a guy in the Noah Lowry mold (a guy who you should know of, but a guy not being used in many leagues at all), and that is Aaron Miles, second baseman for the Colorado Rockies --- the other middle infielder that goes with Clint Barmes. Miles was 5-6 yesterday, with three doubles, three runs, and one RBI. He's not going to jack 20 HRs anytime soon, but he's a guy who can easily put up a .300 average, 10 HRs, 75+RBI, 80+runs, 25-35+doubles. He's a small guy, measuring in at only 5'7", but last time I checked, Rafael Furcal wasn't Dikembe Motumbo either, and he's doing alright for most fantasy teams, right? He's a Rockie, he's got the full-time job at 2B, and he's just entering his prime. Should you pick him up? Only if you have some room on your bench or if you have a questionable second baseman already. Otherwise, keep an eye on him. Some players might already have grabbed him after yesterday, which is understandable.

Justin Duchscherer is another guy being paid no attention in too many fantasy leagues. Maybe it's because nobody can spell his last name. (Yeah, there are way too many consonants working in the middle of his last name there.) Sure, he's just a middle reliever, but those middle relievers can quietly help your ERA and WHIP. It also should be of note that the A's closer situation still isn't the most rock solid situation going in the baseball world. Octavio Dotel has the job, no doubt, but Billy Beane and Ken Macha aren't the type to let Dotel struggle through half the season before they pull the plug on him. Keep an eye on Duchscherer.

Need a deep starting pitcher? We mean deeeep. As in "Honey, we need to talk" deep. He has talent though, and that's David Bush of the Blue Jays. (No word on whether he's related to George W.) He posted a 3.69 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP in 16 starts with the Jays in 2004. He allowed under one hit per inning (which isn't bad for a rookie), and still almost had 6Ks per 9 innings. He was drafted in only 2002 out of Wake Forest in the second round, but made quick work through the minor league system. He's another pitcher you should look at if he gets off to a quick start this season. We don't expect Oliver Perez type numbers from 2004, but just as Perez showed last year, you need to pay attention to young pitchers coming up through the system that you may have never heard of before. Might he end up being a bigger bust this year than a John Travolta movie? Maybe. But he may end up being a solid #3 or #4 option for your fantasy team.

Lastly, we feel the need to throw some love the the Kansas City Royals, because Lord knows we're hardly ever going to get around to do it that often this year. If you're struggling to find a catcher, or your catcher goes down to injury (and for some of you it will happen sometime this season), look to John Buck of the Royals. His name makes him sound like he's some sort of backwoods outdoorsman, but at only 24 years old and holding down the backstop job full-time, he hit 12 HRs in 2004 in only 71 games. Yes, his average was only a measly .235, but that can only imrpove this year. After opposing pitchers pitch around Mike Sweeney, they're probably going to forget to pitch around Buck, and ta-dah --- you have an improved average. With Joe Mauer and JD Closser of the Rockies (another sleeper with the full-time job to keep an eye on), the new wave of offensive catchers are on the horizon to take the place of the aging Piazzas, Pudges, and Posadas of the world.