Bumgarner loses first start

Giants youngster Madison Bumgarner made his much-anticipated first start of 2010 and fared well enough to hang around in the big leagues. After some early hiccups, including two home runs and four earned runs in the first two innings, Bumgarner settled down and pitched seven innings, throwing 66 of his 96 pitches for strikes.

Fantasy Impact: Most teams would take those kinds of numbers from their fifth starter, which is exactly Bumgarner's slot for now. He is, however, much more talented than a back-end pitcher in San Francisco's rotation. Bumgarner is a potential future star with high-end upside. He deserves to be active in all formats.

Bergesen strong in first start

Spitting Seeds' concerns regarding Orioles rookie starter Brad Bergesen waned a bit after seeing him pitch well Tuesday night for his first major league win. The 23-year-old commands incredible stuff, pitches that bend and dip violently on their way to home plate. Imagine whiffle balls darting and dodging White Sox bats and you get the picture.

Fantasy Impact: Bergesen worked into the sixth, going 5 2/3 innings and striking out four. He's not a strikeout pitcher, according to his minor league stats. He is, however, very poised on the mound as he worked through some difficult circumstances to beat Chicago, 10-3.

We'd recommend taking a flier on him. Actually, we believe a bit more in Baltimore's minor league pitcher of the year. We think Bergesen can stick in the majors. Add him to your pitching staff if you can, and reap the benefits of major league teams having never seen him before.

Tigers beat up Benson

Kris Benson hadn't pitched in the Majors since late September, 2006, and his five innings in Detroit Friday made the Rangers starter look like he hasn't pitched in years. Benson gave up a 4th inning grand slam to Miguel Cabrera and a solo shot to Jeff Larish to open the 5th. Seven earned runs through five innings is not what the Rangers had in mind when they picked Benson up off the scrap heap in the offseason. Texas trails 8-0 in the 6th.

Fantasy Impact: We're not willing to write off Benson after one outing, but you can leave him on the fantasy waiver wire until he finds some productive consistency. He threw very well in the spring.

Carpenter carves up Bucs

Chris Carpenter looked like his old dominant self Thursday afternoon in a 2-1 Cardinals win over Pittsburgh. Carpenter carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, striking out seven while yielding just three base runners. He fired 61 strikes in 92 pitches.

Fantasy Impact: A very sturdy first step for Carpenter, whose talent no one doubts. Whether he can hold up after multiple injuries is the concern. Enjoy the fantasy fun while it lasts, but this might also be a statement that the Cardinals' ace is back.

Carpenter set to start

Chris Carpenter says everything is normal heading into his first start of the 2009 season.

"Normal spring training. Normal routine. Normal preparation," Carpenter said. "Last year, I was coming back from surgery. ... This year, I'm going out there to do everything I can until they have to take the ball away from me. I go into it thinking I'll be OK."

Carpenter has made one start at Busch Stadium since leaving the mound on April 1, 2007, and that was five innings Aug. 5. After two elbow operations and two years loaded with rehab, a setback-free spring training allows Carpenter to enter today's start the same as his peers — ready, not recovering.

There's nothing normal about this start. All eyes and ears will be on Carpenter's performance to see if the Cardinals ace is back in form.

Fantasy Impact: Best case scenario is he returns to the top of the heap of fantasy pitchers. Worst case scenario leaves him back on the scrap heap. We're expecting to see flashes of the old Carpenter as early as today.

Carpenter successful in first outing

Chris Carpenter took a solid first step in his attempt to return from a series of injuries dating back to opening night, 2007. He threw 19 pitches and 13 strikes in a spring training start against the Washington Nationals today, working the first two innings to pick up a win.

On Saturday, though, he looked every bit as sharp as ever. He retired the first batter he faced on a ground ball to second base, then hit Lastings Milledge. After that, Carpenter sat down the next five batters. Three hitters flied out to center field, though none of the balls were hit hard. His outing ended when Jesus Flores and Jose Castillo each grounded out to third base.

Carpenter threw 11 pitches in the first inning, eight for strikes. Five of his eight offerings in the second inning went for strikes. He is scheduled to start again on Friday at home against the Mets.

There's no word on Carpenter's mechanics or velocity, but 13 strikes in 19 pitches is a good sign. We'll stop short of glowing over this development as he only threw two innings and 19 pitches. He'll have to show a lot more than that if he wants to return to the Redbird rotation. That said, this is a positive outing, and Carpenter must be watched closely by fantasy owners throughout the spring.

Carpenter goes Saturday

The top pitcher to follow Saturday in a spring training game is Cardinals hurler Chris Carpenter, who attempts to prove he's on the road to making the team's rotation.

The Cardinals concede Carpenter's recovery from nerve transposition and an unrelated season-ending nerve condition is the camp's No. 1 concern. Carpenter would prefer the attention go elsewhere.

"Like I've said all along, everybody else is making a bigger deal out of it — understandably," Carpenter said.

Carpenter will face Washington at Roger Dean Stadium and be limited to 40-45 pitches. Manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan will fixate more on Carpenter's mechanics and recovery than any instant statistical gratification.

"I know with the way that I feel that I'm not too concerned about it," Carpenter said. "I feel good. I feel strong."

He's the Cardinals number one priority in terms of monitoring progress this spring, and he should be a top priority to follow for every fantasy owner. Carpenter's draft position could slide wildly to either end of the spectrum because of a productive or unproductive performances through the end of March. Watch him closely every time out. He's probably capable of returning to his ace status. Then again, with all the injury problems over the past two years, he's also capable of becoming Mark Prior.