This year seems to be starting off in possibly the strangest way. Fantasy Baseball owners are scrambling for players like Darin Erstad, Akinori Iwamura, Elijah Dukes, and Eric Byrnes. Why? Because all the hyped players are playing like they are still in little league. Many owners are beginning to panic, which is the worst thing that you can do at this time. I know that you have heard this before, but it is a long season. I was talking with another website owner who actually fielded a question about an owner asking if he should drop Ryan Howard.

There are several ways that you can evaluate players, and see if they are playing badly or just unlucky. Here is a short list of players that are just outright playing badly.

• Adam LaRoche - Currently has a K percentage of 45.2%. That is awful!  He has even been moved from the 4th spot in the lineup to try to help get him to relax.
• Mark Teahen - Another lousy K percentage of 52.2%. He also has a BABIP of .400 which is higher then a normal batter can maintain.  He is concentrating on outfield play, and maybe not his hitting yet.
• Brandon Inge - Has yet to even get a hit, and is striking out way too much.  He may need new glasses.

Bail on Inge, but not on LaRoche and Teahen.

Here are some big names that are just having bad luck:

• Ryan Howard - Has a 22.9% walk percentage with only 2 intentional walks. His BB/K ratio is actually higher then last year. His line drive rate is also better then last year. How will come around
• Kelly Johnson - This is the classic bad luck hitter. Has a BABIP of .111, but a low K percentage of 16.7% and an outstanding BB/K rate of 1.25.
• Chris Young - Has 0 walks and only 2 strikeouts in 28 plate appearances. However, he only has 5 hits and a BABIP of .174. That means he is making plenty of contact, and still getting out.

So don’t panic unless for some odd reason you have Brandon Inge on your team.