Jordan for three . . . yes! (US Presswire)

While the most valuable fantasy commodities will always be the players who fill multiple categories, there's something to be said for the specialists, too. The barrier to relevance is low in two specific instances: anyone who gets saves or steals bases can easily endear himself to us, even if there's not much else to the profile.

With that in mind, it's time for me to talk you (or myself) into Jordan Schafer, the center fielder for the Astros. That's right, there's still a baseball club in Houston. Pretty little stadium, too.

The speedy Schafer stole three bases in Tuesday's loss to the Braves, his former team, and he has a strong hold on the leadoff spot in Houston. The Astros are going to let him run liberally; it should be a loose year in that dugout as the team is a few years away from any hopes of contention. Every big league city is a potential source of fantasy value, even the bad clubs and the small markets. Although there's been spirited Schafer movement this morning in the Yahoo! universe, he's still available in 95 percent of leagues as we go to press.

Schafer was considered a prospect of note back in his Atlanta days; not a headliner by any means, but someone with an intriguing future. Alas, his profile to this point is mostly covered in red ink. He had a 50-game suspension for PED use back in 2008, a wrist injury trashed his 2009 season, and he was arrested for marijuana possession last winter (a few months after joining the Astros in the Michael Bourn trade). Schafer has crammed a lot of ups and downs into his 25 years. Even his first camp in Houston came with a cloud over it; he dealt with a hand/wrist injury for half of March.

The Spurs' Big Three (Getty)Gregg Popovich called holding Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker out of Monday's matchup with the Jazz "a no-brainer" because it was the single road game in a set of four games in five nights [schedule]. The stand-in starters for Duncan and Parker were Boris Diaw and Patty Mills, and Stephen Jackson played ahead of Kawhi Leonard at small forward. The Spurs have two more sets of four games in five days, which should mean at least two more games off for the Spurs' veteran trio. Expect them to sit either the first or last game of next week's back-to-back-to-back (Mon @GSW, Wed @SAC), as well as one or both of the Spurs' final two games of the season (Apr 25 @PHO, Apr 26 @GSW).

• Magic updates: Dwight Howard is questionable for Tuesday because of his lingering back spasms. The team has Wednesday and Thursday off, so holding him out another game would mean a full five days of rest. Orlando's remaining games this week: Fri ATL, Sun @CLE. Glen Davis has been massive while Howard and Ryan Anderson have missed games - he's averaged 35 minutes, 20.6 points, 12.2 boards, and 1.2 steals over the past five games - and Stan Van Gundy said that his play has earned him more playing time over the remainder of the season. SVG says he would like to shave a few minutes off Howard's season average (38) and keep both Anderson and Davis in the 28-30 range the rest of the way. Van Gundy has also gone with a smaller look since Hedo Turkoglu was lost for the regular season with facial fractures - Jason Richardson has slid to small forward to make room for J.J. Redick, who has averaged and efficient 19.5 points (61% FG, 100% FT) and 2.5 threes in two games.

Hecotr Santiago (US Presswire)

On this date in 2011, Hector Santiago was the scheduled starter for the Winston-Salem Dash, High-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. The left-hander was making his first start of the  season. As a prospect, the kid wasn't on anyone's radar. He was a former 30th round draft pick entering his fifth minor league season.

That night, Santiago pitched four innings for the Dash, allowing just one run and striking out seven batters in a no-decision. On his way to that respectable strikeout total, he almost certainly mixed in a few screwballs. Santiago began experimenting with the pitch in winter ball in 2008, and he first used it in a game in Puerto Rico in 2010. When you're a 23-year-old minor league veteran who can't seem to escape Single-A, it's not such a bad idea to tweak the pitching arsenal.

Santiago discussed his introduction to the screwball in a recent interview with MLB.com's Scott Merkin:

"I didn't really have a change-up at the time, so it was like, 'Why not? Let's try it.' It kind of came along more as a change-up and made my change-up a lot better. Over time, I got to the point where I could get my arm into that motion where I could turn it over pretty well."

[...]

"There was big drop to it. It was kind of like a curve ball. It had some fade and drop."

When Santiago throws the screwball to a right-hander, it can be a knee-buckler, breaking down and away. It's a rarely seen pitch — tough to master, stressful on the arm — yet it's a significant weapon for any left-handed pitcher, an equalizer, a key to success against righties.

New Yu Revue (US Presswire)

The Yu Darvish debut looked like a train wreck in the first inning, but I wound up being impressed with him by the end of the Monday night. And with a little help from his Texas offensive mates, the man who launched 1,000 puns is now 1-0 in the majors.

The Mariners plated four runs off Darvish in the first inning, taking advantage of the import's wildness (he opened the game walking Chone Figgins on four straight pitches) and a little good fortune as well (Ichiro Suzuki dunked a flair into shallow left field, as cheap a hit as you'll see). I don't think this was a case of Darvish being nervous or intimidated; to the contrary, I get the idea he probably had too much adrenaline on the mound and it messed with his mechanics. He retired 10 batters in a row later in the evening, and finished with a reasonable line given the messy first frame: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 5 K. Darvish also uncorked a wild pitch and hit one batter (hey, it saves the WHIP). Here's some scouting video to satisfy the basement tape requirement.

My two biggest concerns with Darvish going forward are his home park (we all know the Arlington story by now) and the likelihood that he'll quickly run up pitch counts since he's going to collect plenty of strikeouts and walks. It's not that easy to win games if you're regularly leaving before the seventh inning. He'll need to be around the plate more than he was Monday: only 59 of his 111 pitches were strikes. But Darvish's experience, maturity and personality have him well prepared for the challenge in front of him — he's considered more "Americanized" than previous big-name Japanese starters — and the Texas lineup figures to keep him well supported with runs.

Add it all up and I'm still less sold on Darvish as a 2012 fantasy prospect than the industry average, but it's not the same distance you saw a month or two ago. If I were doing a Shuffle Up for starting pitchers right now, I'd probably consider him a reasonable No. 3 for most mixed leagues, someone in the 25-36 ranking range. Maybe that's not lofty enough to get him in a redraft, but my strategy is never about targeting specific players anyway. There's a reasonable price where almost anyone makes sense, and there's a lofty price where I'll walk away from just about anyone. You're invited to share your Darvish notes and observations in the comments.

The doctor will see you now (US Presswire)

It's just another weekday, you're getting through it. Maybe you're daydreaming of the Yu Darvish debut, or maybe you're getting ready for Mayday Milone to drop in Oakland. You're not Rappin' Rodney these days, you're picking him up (and saying a silent prayer). Baseball's back, so we're all in a good mood.

Not so fast, Washington.

Nationals beat writer Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post sounded the alarm at 5:08 pm ET:

Drew Storen will visit Dr. James Andrews after feeling tenderness in his elbow during a sim game. Nats fear bone chip.

And then there's this follow-up Tweet from Kilgore:

Davey on Storen: "It doesn't sound good to me." Fact that Storen rested so long, then felt same elbow pain, is a bad sign.

And one more word from Killer (I don't know if anyone calls him Killer, but they should — underrated nickname):

Storen had an arthrogram (the "wet MRI"), which should rule out Tommy John. But bone chips could require surgery. That's what [Jason] Marquis had.

Okay, so it sounds pretty dim on Storen. I'm certainly no doctor, but we can all read between the lines. Get prepared for the worst here. But in some leagues, it presents a couple of interesting buying opportunities; hard-throwing relievers with a mix of upside and downside. Get out your Lincoln Penny, it's time to make a coin flip. 

Never gonna give Yu up. Never gonna let Yu down. Never gonna run around and desert Yu. (US Presswire)

Over the past several weeks, the hype machine has worked overtime for Yu Darvish, quite possibly the greatest Japanese pitching import to invade the major leagues. As a result, thousands flocked to the desert this past March to see what the fuss was all about. He didn't disappoint. Over 15 innings he showcased a deep, variable repertoire, including a mystifying mid-90s fastball. Most impressively, in his final tune-up, the "rookie" sensation punched out 11 Rockies, leaving superstars Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez completely awestruck.

Feeding the frenzy, many fanalysts offered bold predictions about Darvish preseason. Meanwhile, owners who bought into the hype hook, line and sinker, outstretched arms to secure the phenom's services. Skeptics, however, emphasized caution, citing several examples of busts along the way (e.g. Hideki Irabu).

Now, in front of a media frenzy that could rival the Super Bowl's, the much discussed hurler toes the rubber for his regular season debut, appropriately enough, against Japan's greatest hitter, Ichiro, a battle worthy of a Godzilla versus Mothra billing.

In honor of the Monday night madness, it's time to loosen up and have some fun Arcadians. Predict Darvish's line in the comments below (IP, HA, BB, ER, K, W/L/ND). And, if you're a fan of cheesy Michael Scott-like humor, please include a song title or lyrical pun that plays on Yu's name. For the uncreative, here are a few examples from Twitter to help you get the juices flowing.

Winner gets a two-foot long "Champion Dog" (not really). And a coronary (maybe).

To get the ball rolling, here are the Arcade staff's projections:

Goran Dragic (Getty)Kyle Lowry made a surprise return to the court on Sunday, playing 18 minutes off the bench (1 point, 0-3 FG, 7 assists, 0 turnovers) in a blowout win over the Kings. His early return obviously complicates the point guard picture for the Rockets, and Goran Dragic has been a top five player over the past month. Dragic's minutes will come down as Lowry works his way back to 100 percent, but that's not going to happen immediately and we should see the two share the court regularly over the season's final weeks (Kevin Martin remains out indefinitely). Those of you that have ridden Dragic to the default h2h finals are likely to still get the majority of the production we've seen in recent weeks - after Monday's game, Kevin McHale said that Dragic will continue to play "long minutes" for the Rockets, who went 10-6 since he took over for Lowry.

• Lester Hudson came largely out of nowhere to average 24.5 points, 87-percent foul shooting (7.5 FTA), 5 assists, and 2.5 steals in 30 minutes during the Cavs' two games over the weekend. Injuries to Kyrie Irving, Daniel Gibson, and Anthony Parker opened up playing time for Donald Sloan, Manny Harris, and Hudson, and it's been Hudson that has taken full advantage. Quick background on Hudson: two huge seasons for Tennesse-Martin, followed by bit NBA roles and sporadic D-League stints over the past two years. This season's D-League numbers were very good, and 30-ish minutes look like a lock during the Cavs' five-game week [schedule]. The team will take no chances with Irving's shoulder, Gibson is done for the season, and Parker's eventual return will push Harris back to the end of the rotation. Byron Scott likes what he's seen from Hudson as the sixth man and plans to keep him in that role through the end of the season. There are no guarantees of continued production here, of course - he averaged 8.3 points on 32-percent shooting and 0.7 threes in 25 minutes over his first three games - but his scope of opportunity is substantial.

Fernando, saving games again. Yikes. (Getty Images)

Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon hasn't actually been using the word "closer" to describe Fernando Rodney, despite the fact that Rodney picked up a pair of one-out saves over the weekend. When reporters ask Maddon about Fernando, they usually get responses like this...

"He's a really good late-inning relief pitcher."

Or this...

"He's pitched in the ninth. It just happened to be his moment, just based on the match-ups."

And if you really pester Maddon about his bullpen, he'll say stuff like this...

"They all have the potential to get the last out of the game, and you might see a lot of different guys get the last out."

So whatever else Fernando Rodney is, he's not officially the Rays' interim closer. There remains a legit possibility that we'll see Peralta or Howell or some other Ray on the hill for the final out in the ninth, sometime soon. And as most of you already know, Rodney has been a mess over multiple seasons. Just check his ratios over the past five years for details.

Kyle Farnsworth is expected to be sidelined for perhaps six weeks due to his elbow strain, but he'll presumably step back into the closer's role eventually, ending this nightmare.

Let's move on to news that involves less-terrible names...