Didi Gregorius: the bees knees? (USAT)

I suppose I can understand the buzz generated by Arizona's new middle infielder, Didi Gregorius. He's got a nifty glove, a terrific name (Mariekson Julius Gregorius if we're being technical) and a couple of homers since recalled to the majors. He was off to a snappy start in Triple-A (12-for-31, two homers), and he's a familiar name from several prospect lists. Almost 6,000 Yahoo! fantasy players have taken the plunge on Gregorius in the last 14 hours, and I see the root of that.

Alas, I also see Gregorius sitting idly on the Friends & Family League waiver wire, and I have to take that side. This is one you're better off sitting out.

Owners gifted the No. 1 pick will be all smiles for AD. (USAT)

It may seem insane-ludi-ridiculously early for fantasy football ranks, but with the NFL draft beginning Thursday, it's time for a refresher. In the first-part of a special four-part series, the Noise tackles RBs, and gets you a leg up on scoring extra beer money this fall. Team Huevos, shout, shout, let it all out in the comments section below.

Similar to other sports, no two NFL seasons are mirror images of one another. Depth-chart turnover and altered coaching strategies are ever-present, events that typically thwart widely-accepted beliefs. Naturally, change leads to unexpected twists and turns, flipping the fantasy community on its collective ear. Overconfident owners and pundits can fearlessly forecast the future, but, in the end, unpredictability reigns supreme.

Yours truly can attest. I'm still picking chunks of crow from my teeth caused by bogus predictions made last season. Thanks a gazillion wet paper towel, Ryan Mathews. Your underachievement and vulnerability to shattered collarbones are unmatched.

There are exceptions, but, overall, running back scoring in 2012 exemplified the above line of thinking. Entering the season, the position, as a whole, was thought to be on life support. No longer the backbone of commonly accepted draft strategies, many veteran fanatics ignored conventional RB-RB wisdom, choosing instead to focus on vertical-oriented weapons. On average, five quarterbacks were selected inside the first 15 picks in drafts last year. That perspective was entirely fair and encouraged, but, spearheaded by the infusion of the read-option and a dynamite rookie RB class (Doug Martin, Alfred Morris and Trent Richardson), a different narrative was written.

Running backs were reborn, to a certain extent.

Yes, the employment of timeshares was still prevalent. As a result, RB production was again top-heavy. Only nine rushers averaged 13.0 fantasy points or more per week, the lowest number in virtual game history. However, 26 rushers compiled at least 10.0 fantasy points per week, a tally in line with the RB-dominant early 2000s. Ostensibly, the abandonment of the run was greatly exaggerated. In reality, workhorse RBs, such as Adrian Peterson, Arian Foster and Marshawn Lynch remained in high-demand, a feeling most will adhere to in 2013. Add that to the bottomless pit of values found at QB, WR and TE, and it's clear owners will again have a running state of mind once draft season commences in earnest come August.

Whetting the whistle before Thursday's NFL draft, here's an early snapshot of my top-50 fantasy RBs for 2013:

Anthony Rendon, prospect of distinction (Getty Images)

Washington's Ryan Zimmerman was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a hamstring issue on Saturday, prompting the team to call up 22-year-old Anthony Rendon as a placeholder. Zimmerman's injury isn't believed to be severe — "Doctors said he needs to rest for 10 days," per manager Davey Johnson — so his fantasy investors shouldn't panic. Instead, let's simply kick the tires on Rendon, one of the game's more interesting young prospects.

Rendon, you might recall, had a terrific spring for the Nats, going 12-for-32 with four doubles, four homers and 11 RBIs. He's hit .292/.462/.500 over his first 14 games at Double-A Harrisburg, homering twice and drawing 14 walks. Rendon was the sixth overall pick in the 2011 MLB draft, so the expectations here aren't modest. You'll like Rendon's swing (take a look), you'll like his on-base skills. He's expected to bat sixth for the Nats in his big league debut on Sunday, facing Dillon Gee. As a short-term add, this is a player of interest.

Short night at The Trop (USAT)It's a casual Friday, all bulletry, all the time.

• The 2013 season started promisingly for Brett Anderson, with a couple of smooth turns against the Mariners and Astros. But the Tigers pelted the lefty for seven runs in his third turn, and then things totally collapsed against Tampa Bay on Friday.

Anderson gave up four hits and four runs through an inning under the catwalk, then left the game due to a sprained right ankle. We won't know the specific timetable on Anderson until he's re-evaluated over the next couple of days, but everyone is aware of his history with injuries (at least this new one isn't related to his arm in any way).

The Athletics are one of the few teams that can withstand this type of injury – they're blessed with outstanding rotation depth. Consider how right-handed pitcher Daniel Straily was optioned to Triple-A in the first week of April, immediately after spinning a gem at Houston (6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 11 K). Straily hit the ground running at Sacramento, winning two starts in dominating fashion (12.2 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 16 K), and remember he struck out 222 batters in professional baseball (190 in the minors) last year.

Straily is currently owned in just eight percent of Yahoo! leagues; that number might hit a significant spike in the next few days. Let's keep an eye peeled and see if the River Cats use Straily for his scheduled weekend turn. Then Red Sox and Orioles like in wait next week, tricky matchups, but I fully expect Straily to be mixed-league relevant for a decent chunk of this season.

Fowler dials eight, again (USAT)I don't blame anyone who listed Dexter Fowler on their breakout list before the season. Fowler was coming off a career-best 2012 campaign (.300/.369/.474), he has a mix of power and speed (at least theoretically), he's entering his Age-27 year, and he plays half of his games in the ultimate hitting paradise. There's all sorts of plausible upside here.

Most Yahoo! drafters didn't go after Fowler aggressively in March, as it turns out. His ADP was a modest 218.7, the 56th outfielder off the board. Ben Revere, on average, went three rounds in front of Fowler. Andre Ethier flew off the board five rounds earlier.

No one really wants to make fundamental ranking changes through 15 games of the new season, but we're left with a conundrum of sorts with Fowler. He's off to a smashing power start, clubbing seven home runs over his first 53 at-bats (have a look at the most recent one, which departed Thursday afternoon against the Mets). We can't even pin the spike entirely on Coors Field, given three of the home runs have come on the road (heck, two of them came in Petco Park, of all places).

So what's the play now, fake baseballers? Are you buying, selling or holding on Fowler?

It's hard to shake off Matt Moore's torrid start. (USAT)

Like the human brain, fine wines and Cheez-it cheddar blocks, high-profiled prospects occasionally take time to mature. Unfortunately, because fantasy is an instant gratification game, many fanatics write-off players if dividends aren't immediately cashed.

Tampa's Matt Moore is a perfect example.

On this week's insightful program, Andy Behrens and Brad Evans decided if this is indeed the year Moore joins the elite SP class. We also revealed our favorite fantasy prospects in next week's NFL Draft, debated the merits of fast starters Coco Crisp, Travis Hafner and Shelby Miller, broke down Boston's bullpen mess and predicted what to expect from Reds heartthrob Tony Cingrani.

Too busy celebrating renewed tranquility in Beantown? No problem. Listen to the replays below:

LISTEN TO HOUR 1 HERE (MLB/NFL)

LISTEN TO HOUR 2 HERE (MLB)

Redbird Relief (USAT)

The Cardinals bullpen has been a mess all spring, everyone has seen that. Get out the legal pad and look at the notes. Jason Motte got hurt in the middle of camp. Mitchell Boggs quickly fell apart. Trevor Rosenthal has been inconsistent. Al Hrabosky isn't in game shape any longer.

It's time to ask the question once and for all: why not Edward Mujica in the closing role?

The well-traveled Mujic Man was the last reliever standing in Thursday's 4-3 victory at Philadelphia, recording four outs and picking up his first save of the year. Mujica bailed out Rosenthal in the eighth inning, striking out Laynce Nix on a nasty splitter, and he worked around his own mess in the ninth, stranding two runners after a pair of singles (neither hit particularly scalded) opened the inning. Two ground-ball outs sandwiched around a strikeout of Jimmy Rollins (splitter again) put the Phillies to rest. Start the handshake line.

I understand the natural tendency to discount a reliever like Mujica, but let's sort through some of those issues and why they really don't matter.

Stanton's early line is wrought with donuts. (USAT)

Fantasy is a speculative game. Predict the future, and you look like a genius. Don't, and you're painfully human. Gazing into the crystal ball, here's our view on 10 intriguing over/unders this week.

Inadequately protected Giancarlo Stanton, who is still looking for his first homer and RBI on the year, combined HRs and RBI over the rest of the season 124.5

Andy – UNDER. Don't get me wrong: I think he can still be great, and he makes for a nice buy-low. But if you assume 35 homers rest-of-season, then he'll need to find 90 RBIs somehow. That's the trick. Plus he'll need to stay healthy.

Scott – UNDER. He's already hurt, I hate the lineup, I hate the negative energy around this team. I know baseball is a sport of individuals for the most part, but I can't help but wonder how a player does his best in this sort of toxic situation.

Dalton – OVER. I'm assuming his shoulder problem is minor and don't expect it to be over by much, but don't forget Stanton entered May last year with just one home run, then missed a month in the middle of the year and yet still finished with 37 homers and 86 RBI. And it's not like he had any lineup protection then either.