He probably only cost you a buck in your auction or a 23rd round pick in your 12-team, two-catcher, mixed league snake draft.  Not a very steep price to pay at all.  But the handwriting is already on the wall and it’s only a matter of time before Ramon Hernandez becomes a wasted pick for you.  Wilin Rosario is the catcher-of-the-future in Colorado and when he made the 25-man roster over this past weekend, Hernandez and his owners are learning that the future is now.

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In light of his very nice contract extension, which Brandon Warne covered extensively earlier this week, I figured giving my thoughts on Alex Gordon would be timely.

Gordon was a fantasy MVP for many teams last year. If you took a flier on him in your draft last season, you were rewarded greatly as almost nobody expected the type of season he had. Everyone understood that Gordon was talented, but a .300 average along with 23 homers and 17 steals was surprising to even the biggest Gordon optimists. He put it together, much like his fellow outfielders Melky Cabrera and Jeff Francoeur did, for the first time in his career.

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Today’s Roto Riteup mysteriously focuses on the Braves and Rockies.

–  The Braves have finally decided that Tyler Pastornicky is their shortstop, at least for the 2012. Pastornicky is what some would call a “contact machine,” but he doesn’t have much in the way of power production. Pastornicky has put up decent SB numbers in the minors, but don’t expect him to swipe more than, say, 20 bags while hitting in the eighth hole.

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Like last week, I will continue to look at players officially on the DL that may be be picked up in a league and stashed in a DL slot. I am not looking at DL eligible players owned in almost all leagues like Michael Pineda, Chris Carpenter and Scott Baker. I will try to look a little deeper for players to fill a team’s DL slots.

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Jason Bay is owned in 32% of Yahoo leagues. Those 32% must not be Mets fans.

If you’ve been watching Bay in the blue and orange, there hasn’t been much to like for two years now. Well, his strikeout and walk rates have held steady so far, but it’s the power that disappeared and never came back, and it was the power that put all those zeroes on his last contract. Maybe that home run derby appearance was a harbinger — since his last year with the Red Sox, Bay has hit fewer fly balls and more ground balls every year. And his isolated power has come down from his peak to his nadir accordingly.

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The regular season may have officially started with the Mariners and Athletics last week, but the rest of the league kicks off the year a few days from now. Here’s an early-season waiver wire for you folks itching to do some fantasy roster tinkering…

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Late and drafts and even on the waiver wire, buy lows with extremely high upside are available. In both position players and pitchers, there are oft-injured players who are also oft-productive that can be drafted late or picked up as free agents. Here are three pitchers that I think can be worth a roster spot at the start of the year.

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The White Sox’s bullpen may be their biggest strength entering this season. The team dealt away last season’s closer, Sergio Santos, because they knew there were adequate replacements already on the team. Since dealing Santos, however, the team has not named his successor. While most team’s are at a point where position battles are coming to a close, the White Sox are being very secretive about their closer situation. With multiple candidates vying for the job, the White Sox aren’t doing fantasy owners any favors.

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On Monday, I published the findings of a study that determined spring K% and BB% were actually meaningful for pitchers. On Wednesday, I looked at pitchers whose spring K% were well above what the Steamer projections were expected, while I looked at the other side on Thursday, those pitchers whose spring K% is well below Steamer’s projected season mark. Today I am looking at BB% and will start with the pitchers who have displayed much better control than anticipated.

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Today’s Roto Riteup isn’t nearly exciting as your Monday is going to be. Monday’s are the best.

–  It looks as if Red Sox closer Andrew Bailey is going to start the year on the disabled list. Owners of Bailey should have been expecting a DL stint at some point, but starting the year on the bench can be a little less psychologically damaging. With Daniel Bard sliding into Boston’s rotation, one would assume setup man Mark Melancon would finish games in Bailey’s absence. However, there is growing speculation and reports that the Red Sox would hand to job over to Alfredo Aceves, the loser of the three man fight for Boston’s final rotation spot. You should probably pick up whoever gets the nod, especially with Bailey’s injury history.

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