Few things are more maddening in fantasy baseball then seeing a player you were highly invested in, stinking up the joint. It is right up there with a player you totally faded, being fantastic. As we start to wrap up this second week of fantasy baseball, I need to remind people of one thing: SMALL SAMPLES ARE NOT A REALITY! Lance McCullers and Luis Castillo are not going to have the second and third worst ERAs in all of baseball. Dansby Swanson is not the “GOAT.” If you are in first (or last) place in your league, it means nothing.

Using less than two weeks of game stats to claim victory or defeat on individual players is irresponsible and stupid. Let’s look at last season to further illustrate this point. At the end of April, Jimmy Nelson , José Quintana , and Jeff Samardzija all had ERA’s over 5. All were top 25 starting pitchers by the end of the season. 21 players were hitting over .326 to start the 2017 season. Only three players finished the year with an average that high. Things change and with small sample sizes, they will change fast.

Now is the time to be watching players. Numbers haven’t stabilized to the point where we can draw conclusions, so don’t put a ton of stock into them yet. Either watch the games or trust the people who do.

Quick Hits

Trevor Williams was great today against the Cubs. He only allowed one earned run (a solo shot to Kyle Schwarber ) and pitched around the few times he got into trouble. He is by no means a stud, but he can provide valuable innings in deeper formats.

Grégory Polanco went yard twice for the Pirates. That gives him five total for the season with a .262/.385/.714 triple slash. Polanco has always had unlimited potential, but he is finally healthy and ready to deliver on that now. Of course, that can change in an instant, but this could be the beginning of something huge for the 26-year-old.

Both Aaron Hicks and Ian Kinsler have been activated and are in the starting lineups tonight. Hicks missed the beginning of the season with an oblique strain and comes back to the Yankees who are in dire need of some bodies. He’s also had lots of promise he has failed to deliver upon, but in this Yankees offense, he will get a real shot after impressing last year in limited time. Kinsler will slot back up at the top of a loaded top half of the Angels lineup after missing time with a groin injury.

Elvis Andrus will miss 6-to-8 weeks after having his elbow fractured from a hit-by-pitch yesterday. The injury won’t require surgery, which is good, but fantasy owners will have to look elsewhere to fill the hole. Jurickson Profar likely will get a lot of work between shortstop and second base, but has never been able to produce at the Major League level. The Rangers are still unwilling to call up prospect Willie Calhoun , who has played 2B in the past, and are going to fill the holes in their infield with lesser options.

[Editor’s note: It has since been reported by Fantasy Alarm’s Craig Mish that the Texas Rangers are recalling Ronald Guzman to play first base while Joey Gallo will be moved to left field.]

Francisco Lindor hit his first bomb of the season against the Tigers on Thursday. It was just a matter of time for a guy who hit 33 homers last season. This year has started off rough for him, but as I mentioned in the open of this article, don’t worry too much about small samples. He will be fine.

According to manager Alex Cora, it appears David Price may actually be good for his scheduled start on Monday. There is still plenty of time for that to change, but the Red Sox and Price appear to not be very concerned with the “sensation” that Price was feeling in his pitching start that forced the Red Sox to pull him early from his start yesterday. I am more concerned than they are obviously as Price avoided surgery on his injured pitching arm. These things don’t always take care of themselves with rest and rehab. If he comes back and pitches well, I would look to get rid of any shares I had.

Time to go light the fire, dim the lights, and watch Chris Stratton pitch...