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Last week, just about fantasy baseball GM checked his waiver priority status to see if they held the #1 spot. If you did, you were able to sign Arizona rookie pitcher Max Scherzer.

Scherzer, who was the Diamondbacks first round draft choice in 2006, gets his first big league start tonight against Philadelphia. On April 29th, he made his Major League debut, pitching 4.1 innings of perfect baseball in relief with 7 strikeouts to boot. The big question on the minds of many is how the Diamondbacks plan to use Scherzer to keep his innings pitched at a manageable lever since he only threw 90.2 innings last season.

Rookie Max Scherzer will make his first major-league start Monday night and perhaps two or three more after that before left-hander Doug Davis figures to be ready to come off the disabled list.

Barring other developments, that likely would mean Scherzer’s time in the rotation would be up. As far as his development goes, that might not be such a bad thing.

“I think potentially a good byproduct of that is keeping Max’s innings in check as we get him through the season,” General Manager Josh Byrnes said.

That is to say, when Davis returns, Scherzer could end up pitching in the Diamondbacks bullpen and perhaps remain there the rest of the season.

Clubs try to incrementally increase the workload they put on their young starting pitchers, adding a certain number of innings per season - roughly 20 to 30 - until they build toward the 200-inning mark.

This could be great news to Scherzer owners in keeper leagues.

Seattle Mariners prospect Wladimir Balentien was called up from Triple-A Tacoma and got his first at-bat’s of the 2008 season last night in an 8-3 loss to Cleveland. Balentien had an impressive start going 2-4 with 3 RBI and a run scored, with one of those hits being a 7th inning three-run home run off of Cliff Lee.

Balentien was called up after 63 Triple-A at bats where he batted .254/.329/.619 with 6 home runs, 20 RBI, and a stolen base. The 23-year-old rookie has played three solid years in the minor leagues hitting more than 20 home runs in each of the three seasons. In 2007, Balentien made a huge stride in his plate discipline reducing his strikeouts from 140 in 2006 to 105 in 544 plate appearances in 2007.

Balentien is also a stolen base threat. He stole 15 bases in 19 attempts last season, and had 14 and 9 stolen bases in 2006 and 2005 respectively.

Since Balentien should be the every day right fielder for the Mariners, he’s a must add in AL-only leagues. He also should be added in deep mixed-leagues and keeper leagues. If you’re in a shallow mixed-league you may want to wait and see if Balentien’s strikeouts continue to drop. If not, his batting average may hurt you more than his home runs will help.

Here’s the second installment of my fantasy baseball top 10 closers list.  There are a few new faces as only five closers from our first top 10 closers list made it to the second.

1. Mariano Rivera | New York Yankees - Rivera has eight saves in eight save opportunities. His ERA is a perfect 0.00 and his WHIP is 0.36. In his 11.0 innings of work he has 11 strikeouts and zero walks. These numbers are more dominant than any other closer in the game right now.
2. Joe Nathan | Minnesota Twins - Nathan also has eight saves in eight opportunities. His ERA and WHIP are identical at 0.90 and he’s worked 10.0 innings of relief. He has 10 strikeouts and only one walk.
3. Joakim Soria | Kansas City Royals - You may be asking what a guy with only six saves is doing at #3 on this list. Well, this list is for fantasy value, not just save totals, and Soria is pretty valuable. He has a 13:1 strikeout to walk ratio in 11 innings of work. And he also has a 0.00 ERA and a 0.36 WHIP.
4. Jonathan Papelbon | Boston Red Sox - Paps is the first closer with an ERA above 1.00. His is 2.25, but that was mostly a result of one bad outing against the Yankees. He has eight saves, but what is really impressive (and the reason he’s 4th on this list and not 7th or 8th) is his 20:1 strikeout to walk ratio in 12.0 innings pitched.
5. Billy Wagner | New York Mets - Wagner has six saves and a 0.00 ERA with a 0.42 WHIP. He did just blow a save last night but his ERA didn’t suffer due to a Jose Reyes throwing error. He has a 12:2 strikeout to walk ratio in 12.0 innings of work.
6. Troy Percival | Tampa Bay Rays - Percival has pitched in 9.0 innings and has recorded 5 saves. His ERA is a perfect 0.00 and his WHIP is 0.33. He has a 9:1 strikeout to walk ratio.
7. Brad Lidge | Philadelphia Phillies - Lidge has six saves in 11.0 innings of work. He also has a 0.00 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. His strikeout to walk ratio is a little rough at 12:6, but none of those walks have hurt him yet. Don’t expect that to remain true if he keep up this K:BB pace.
8. Brandon Lyon | Arizona Diamondbacks - Lyon hasn’t been the epitome of stability as he’s already blown two saves. But, his eight saves has him tied for third in MLB. His 2.77 ERA is a bit high, but his 0.85 WHIP and his 10:1 strikeout to walk ratio are keeping him grounded (and on this list).
9. Matt Capps | Pittsburgh Pirates - Capps has pitched in 11.2 innings in 2008 and has recorded 6 saves with a 8:2 strikeout to walk ratio. He has a 2.31 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP.
10. Francisco Rodriguez | Los Angeles Angels - Rodriguez’s ERA is ballooned at 3.86 due to his only blown save against Cleveland. He also has a high WHIP (1.54) as he’s given up nine hits and nine walks in 11.2 innings. He is leading MLB with 11 saves, so it’s not all bad here. He typically strikes out a lot more batters than innings pitched, but that hasn’t been the case so far in 2008 with only 9 strikeouts. The only solid aspect of his game right now is his league leading save total. Most of his other stats are currently suspect.

Here is a review of this weeks best pickups as reviewed on Daily Roto Pickups. I will try to supply one from each of the following positions at my weekly review here on Crooked Pitch (C, CI, MI, OF, SP and RP).  I will include their current availability that may have changed since my initial review.  The reviews are how I view the player today.

C: Jeff Mathis- In his last six games he is hitting .300/.348/.550 with 5/1/4 and 1 SB. I will continue to recommend him as his playing time increases. That steal was his first in 269 career major league AB’s so don’t expect any more there, but in full playing time he could be somewhere from 15-20 HR.

He is currently owned in 12% of leagues.

CI: Scott Rolen - He has gone 4 for his first 11 with a home run and I think he has looked like his old self. As I stated earlier this week he is never going to have 30+ HR again, but he is solid as an April pickup. Just toss him when the next injury comes.

He is only owned in 44% of CBS leagues.

MI: Clint Barmes – Well, since getting the job he has gone cold, but I think he will break out soon. He does have some tough pitching coming up so don’t start him yet, but perhaps next week when he gets Piniero and Looper against STL he will turn it back on.

He is only owned in 26% of CBS leagues.

OF: Carlos Quentin – Well, he should be gone in most active leagues now as he is tied for the AL lead in HR’s and is getting on base at will. As long as the shoulder holds up he could be the post hype sleeper everyone was looking for.

He is only owned in 69% of CBS leagues.

OF: Mike Cameron - He is currently playing his first game and already has a hit and a run. He is not going to blow the doors off and his average might hurt, but the speed and power are still there and should be worth a roster spot.

He is only owned in 31% of CBS leagues.

OF: Adam Lind - He is getting the everyday starts and with his power potential he could help in HR, but likely not much else at this point. He is batting in the bottom part of the order, which limits RBI potential. Watch if he gets hot and get him on your team.

He is only owned in 14% of CBS leagues.

SP: Chad Gaudin - Another good start by Gaudin and another win.  I think over the season the wins will be limited playing for Oakland, but the other stats shouldn’t. Beware the second half though as he seemed to wear down last year, which made his stats look worse for the year. I recommend moving him in the summer if you can and if he keeps up these stats.

He is owned in 52% of leagues.

RP: Max Scherzer - I’m sure everyone has put in claims already, but if you haven’t, make sure that you do.  In Yahoo standard leagues he is on waivers until May 2nd, but I’m sure most leagues he will go to the #1 or #2 depending on someone holding out for Kershaw. He is looking to be headed to the Pen now, but his K rate and potential could have him anywhere from starting to closing in no time.

He is only owned in 47% as of this morning on CBS.

The National League edged out the American League 5-3 in this week’s MVP awards. The state of Florida was nicely represented with two Rays and a Marlin on the list.

Catcher: This is the second week a reserve catcher has won this award. Wil Nieves (WAS) is filling in for Paul Lo Duca while he’s on the DL, and last week hit .500/.529/.687 with 5 runs, one home run, and 4 RBI. His days are numbered as Lo Duca should be back shortly.

First Base: Lance Berkman (HOU) had a monster week hitting .455/.517/1.136 with 7 runs scored, 4 home runs, 12 RBI and a stolen base. His performance was head and shoulders better than every other first baseman, maybe even every other player in MLB last week.

Second Base: He didn’t collect a walk or reach base on a error last week, but Brandon Phillips (CIN) hit 4 home runs, scored 5 times, had a stolen base and 8 RBI while averaging .321/.321/.857.

Shortstop: This was an interesting competition between Miguel Tejada and Hanley Ramirez, as Tejada had a better average and Ramirez had better power and speed numbers. I’m giving the MVP award to Hanley Ramirez (FLA). He only hit .273/.314/.606 but had 6 runs scored, 3 home runs, 4 RBI and 4 stolen bases.

Third Base: Who had week 4 in the Longoria for MVP pool? It didn’t take Evan Longoria (TB) long to make a fantasy baseball impact and win his first weekly MVP award. He batted .333/.435/.833 with 4 runs scored, 2 home runs, 6 RBI, and 2 stolen bases. Longoria narrowly beat out other 3B candidates Edwin Encarnacion and Garrett Atkins.

Outfield: This was a tough race to call too. I passed over Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford to give the award to Magglio Ordonez (DET). Ordonez averaged .400/.484/.840 with 5 runs scored, 3 home runs, and 10 RBI.

Starting Pitcher: Three pitchers did enough to win this award this week, but in the end James Shields (TB) edged out Edison Volquez and C.C. Sabathia to take top honors. Shields had two wins, enjoyed a 12:3 strikeout to walk ratio, and had an ERA of 1.12 with a WHIP of 0.69.

Relief Pitcher: Brandon Lyon (ARI) had four saves last week with an ERA of 0.00 and a WHIP of 0.40. He threw 5 innings and had 5 strikeouts and zero walks.

In four starts for Triple-A Tucson, Max Scherzer has overpowered hitters. He has a 1.17 ERA in 23.0 innings, but more impressive is his strikeout to walk ratio of 38:3. It’s only been a matter of time until the promotion of Scherzer happened, and today was the day.

However, Scherzer isn’t joining the Diamondbacks rotation. It’s straight to the bullpen for Max Scherzer following his promotion to the big leagues.

“I think we’re still aware of it,” Byrnes said. “Yes, he can develop some in the big leagues. There are a lot of issues, but right now the most compelling issue is we need him in the big leagues. We just have a tired bullpen. There’s a little more short-term urgency than there has been.”

As for the bullpen/starter thing, Byrnes said the club wants him to be a starter long-term, it’s just that right now they need help in the bullpen. And what’s going to happen with his role the rest of this season?

“We’ll see,” Byrnes said. “I think that’s going to be the fluidity of this season. Sort of assessing what our big league team needs and how he can contribute. And then also aware of the longer view of him and the team.”

Homer Bailey, the Cincinnati Reds uber pitching prospect, still isn’t pitching in Cincinnati. But he’s tearing up Triple-A hitters. Harang, Arroyo, Cueto and Volquez seem pretty safe right now, but Matt Belisle needs to show Dusty Baker that he deserves that 5th rotation spot more than Bailey.

If that happens, Bailey may be promoted to the big leagues and used in a relief role.

“I haven’t thought of him as anything other than a starter,” Jocketty said. “I haven’t really talked to anybody about that.”

Bailey, a 21-year-old right-hander, is doing what he’s done the last three years: Dominating in the minors. He’s 2-1 with a 1.95 ERA for Triple-A Louisville.

Jocketty brought up Adam Wainwright in St. Louis as a reliever. Wainwright went 2-1 with a 3.12 ERA in 61 relief appearances in 2006. Last year, he was 14-12 with a 3.70 ERA as a starter.

Jocketty said there becomes a point when a pitcher has little to prove in the minors.

“When a guy continues to do well at that level, yeah,” Jocketty said. “There are some things they had him working on. From what I understand, he’s done well with what they’ve asked him.