By David Young, Special to SI.com, TalentedMrRoto.com

Spring Training Wheels

I've broken up the pitchers by league and by whether they are exceeding expectations or disappointing. Therefore I'll try to omit the obvious ones (for example Chris Carpenter really is good and Russ Ortiz really is bad). So based on Thursday afternoon's stats:

NL Overachievers PITCHER TEAM GS ERA WHIP K/BB GO/AO NP/IP COMMENTS Brian Bannister NYM 2 0.64 0.429 9.00 0.62 4.93 Who? Probably starts the year in Norfolk, but he's worth a reserve pick. Dewon Brazelton SD 4 1.50 1.083 3.50 1.56 8.67 Perhaps this is Chris Young in disguise. So far he's looking very good. Taylor Buchholz HOU 3 2.65 1.294 2.00 1.67 5.76 Anyone who shows promise will get a chance in Houston. David Bush MIL 5 0.90 1.100 7.00 1.10 7.30 I'm really liking him in the NL this year. Milwaukee may blindside the NL. Brandon Claussen CIN 4 2.25 1.375 2.00 0.42 7.00 Hard to recommend more than one Reds SP, but we know he has skills. Kevin Correia SF 2 2.70 0.600 inf 0.53 5.90 Brian Hennessey's loss is ... Kyle Davies ATL 4 0.64 1.214 1.75 1.13 6.79 I'm not totally buying it, but he does play for the Braves. Aaron Harang CIN 3 0.00 0.750 inf 8.00 5.38 Even for the Reds he's a good pick. Aaron Heilman NYM 4 1.29 0.929 inf 1.54 5.79 Any reason why they couldn't start him last year? Love him this year. Derek Lowe LAD 4 0.69 0.462 inf 3.14 5.77 I'm telling everyone who will listen to me that this is his year. John Patterson WAS 3 0.00 0.750 6.50 1.00 6.33 Why has fate put him in Washington? Worth a pick but beware wins glass ceiling. Jason Schmidt SF 2 2.45 0.818 4.50 0.85 4.50 I know he's an obvious choice, but I love him for a big bounceback this year. Brett Tomko LAD 5 1.35 0.900 3.00 1.14 8.05 May not be enough wins to go around in L.A., but he'll be above average. Brandon Webb ARI 4 1.93 0.643 4.00 5.00 6.07 And if it's not Lowe's year, then it's Webb's.

NL Underachievers PITCHER TEAM GS ERA WHIP K/BB GO/AO NP/IP COMMENTS Brandon Backe HOU 4 7.79 1.618 1.00 1.05 7.67 I've never been a fan, and there's a big dropoff in Houston after the top two. Matt Cain SF 4 7.43 1.500 5.50 0.23 8.93 Everyone's darling this year. Could still pitch well but not with all those fly outs. Chris Capuano MIL 3 7.88 1.750 1.67 1.25 7.25 Instant karma's going to get you. Don't expect 18 wins. Doug Davis MIL 2 14.40 2.600 1.67 1.00 9.00 People who have already drafted are having heart palpitations about now. Zach Day COL 5 10.42 1.529 0.73 1.47 7.79 And this is AWAY from Coors Field. Jeff Francis COL 3 7.07 1.643 1.25 1.64 6.14 Not worth the bad ratios even if he pitches well. Brad Halsey ARI 3 9.00 2.091 0.80 0.93 7.27 Abandon ship! (with apologies to Bob S.) Brian Hennessey SF 3 7.02 1.920 0.89 0.91 7.38 Now probably seventh on the SP depth chart for the Giants. Ramon Ortiz WAS 5 6.50 1.944 1.25 1.19 7.28 Perhaps it wasn't the ballpark. Stay away. Glendon Rusch CHC 5 7.31 1.750 1.60 2.91 6.50 I'm rooting for him (as is one of my readers), but it's not looking good so far. Jeff Suppan STL 5 8.20 1.768 2.20 1.45 7.02 I actually think he pitches well this year, but he's off to a bad start. John Thomson ATL 5 5.85 1.600 1.50 0.97 5.85 Not worth it anymore. If he can't pitch well for Atlanta ... Chris Young SD 4 12.60 2.500 0.88 1.18 12.30 Oops. I still think he's valuable in NL-only, but beware the sophomore jinx.

AL Overachievers PITCHER TEAM GS ERA WHIP K/BB GO/AO NP/IP COMMENTS Jeremy Affeldt KC 4 3.93 1.146 1.00 1.47 6.05 If you have seven starters, only then consider him. Scott Baker MIN 5 3.18 1.294 2.40 0.29 6.53 Expect Baker and Liriano to both have rotation spots this year, but beware the fly balls. Denny Bautista KC 5 3.50 1.056 2.67 1.41 6.67 He still pitches for KC. I would only take Affeldt on that team. Shawn Chacon NYY 5 2.16 1.500 1.40 0.68 8.22 I don't hate him as a Yankee, but huge dropoff after Randy and Mussina. Casey Fossum TB 3 2.00 1.222 2.25 1.00 7.67 Not a big fan, but if they look like a .500 team, he could break 10 wins Jason Grilli DET 1 1.80 1.200 2.00 0.79 6.50 Even with WBC win there's not enough data to say he's back, but watch him closely. Roy Halladay TOR 4 1.38 1.077 5.00 1.50 6.15 He's baaaack! Edwin Jackson TB 4 4.05 0.900 1.80 2.67 6.53 This is driving NL-only players nuts. I still don't like him, but he could plug a hole for you. Jason Johnson CLE 4 3.60 1.667 1.00 2.00 5.87 WHIP is high, but other numbers look encouraging. I still like him, but it may take a while to win. Kyle Lohse MIN 5 2.12 1.059 4.50 1.10 5.94 Needs to pitch well to hold off Baker and Liriano. Seth McClung TB 4 1.29 1.286 2.00 1.75 6.79 Not sure there are enough scraps after Kazmir and Fossum, but watch him. Jamie Moyer SEA 3 4.00 1.111 inf 1.40 5.00 He has value once again this year, but I can't vouch for his 2010 season. Hayden Penn BAL 2 2.45 1.091 2.25 1.67 7.09 Should change name to Hayden Starting-Rotation to help his chances. May start in AAA, but will get callup. Justin Verlander DET 3 2.63 1.244 2.40 1.07 7.46 He is for real. Even on Tigers. Doug Waechter TB 3 2.19 0.973 1.17 0.48 6.57 Yes, almost all of the Tampa Bay rotation is pitching well. Remember they play A LOT of games against the rest of the East. Chien-Ming Wang NYY 3 3.00 1.333 inf 3.80 5.89 If healthy, worth a pick. Jarrod Washburn SEA 4 2.57 1.214 1.60 1.00 6.29 Great acquisition. Expect good things this year, even if wins capped at 15.

NL Underachievers PITCHER TEAM GS ERA WHIP K/BB GO/AO NP/IP COMMENTS Erik Bedard BAL 2 7.59 1.406 3.00 1.00 6.84 Don't do this to me, Erik. I like him, but will keep a close watch on him. Kris Benson BAL 4 5.54 1.692 5.00 0.93 6.85 Now where have we seen this before? Not sure I like him at Camden Yards. Joe Blanton OAK 4 9.58 2.323 1.71 0.58 9.87 Yikes. Last year he had high highs and low lows. Boof Bonser MIN 3 9.00 2.250 1.33 0.40 7.88 Boof! Not enough slots in Minnesota's rotation this year for him anyway. Dan Haren OAK 5 5.60 1.528 3.00 0.41 9.06 He looked bad last spring as well. Perhaps he hates Arizona. Felix Hernandez SEA 4 3.86 5.670 5.67 2.43 8.07 Could be on other list but wanted your attention. He'll eventually be great, but not this year (unless he reaches K potential). Scott Kazmir TB 4 9.72 2.521 0.60 0.90 14.64 Only Devil Ray I'm sure will do well. Forget the spring, and take him in mid-rounds. Brandon McCarthy CWS 3 6.28 1.675 2.00 1.33 9.63 He's all about the GO/AO ratio. If high, he's good. If not, he'll get hammered. Mike Mussina NYY 4 8.04 1.659 3.25 1.06 9.45 Shawn Peters may be right about him, but I say jury's out. Brad Radke MIN 4 6.75 1.417 2.67 1.64 6.58 Don't get sucked in. I still hate him and will still avoid him. Kenny Rogers DET 3 7.50 1.833 1.00 1.58 6.58 Not so unexpected. I'd put my money on retirement before I would 100 IP or ERA < 5.00. C.C. Sabathia CLE 5 6.38 1.863 2.10 0.70 9.16 No worries. He'll be fine. Ervin Santana LAA 5 5.00 1.556 3.17 0.94 7.78 Anyone who can keep their ERA under 5.00 on the Angels gets 12 wins. I like him this year. Jeff Weaver LAA 4 10.05 1.745 6.00 1.24 5.79 Could be weak link on the team, despite his talent. His brother is pitching better than he this spring. Jaret Wright NYY 4 9.26 2.057 2.00 1.67 6.86 Is this a surprise to you? Even as a Yankee I'm staying far, far away.

David Young is a fantasy pitching analyst for TalentedMrRoto.com, a site featuring free advice, news, stats and analysis for all fantasy sports. Contact him at MrSnappy@TalentedMrRoto.com.