Updated: April 4, 2008, 4:33 PM ET

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AP Photo/Tom Uhlman

Johnny Cueto retired the first 15 Diamondbacks hitters he faced.

Heeeeere's Johnny!
harris_christopher

By Christopher Harris
ESPN.com
(Archive)

Move over, Tim Lincecum.

There's a new sheriff in the world of scintillating rookie starting pitchers who are the talk of fantasy, and his name is Johnny Cueto. In his first major league start Thursday, the 22-year-old Cueto fanned 10 in seven innings against a pretty good (albeit strikeout-prone) Diamondbacks lineup, giving up a single run on a Justin Upton homer, no other hits and no walks. In modern baseball history, it was the only time a Reds starter reached double-digit strikeouts in his debut.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a lot of folks who could legitimately claim to have seen this outing coming. After all, Cueto walked five of the 10 batters he faced in his second-to-last spring outing. But in drizzly and chilly temperatures, the Dominican fireballer injected himself into the Rookie of the Year conversation, and made himself a no-brainer add in every fantasy league on the planet.

More Cueto
Is Cueto as good as Tim Lincecum? Matthew Berry and Nate Ravitz discuss in the Friday edition of Fantasy Focus
Will it be all wine and roses for Cueto and his fantasy owners? Of course not. After all, he's still very young and has come a long way in a short time. At this time last season, Cueto was reporting to Class A Advanced Sarasota. He would make 14 starts there, striking out 72 in 78 1/3 innings while walking 21, compiling a 3.33 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP before a promotion to Double-A Chattanooga. He would be all the more impressive there, making 10 starts for 61 innings, 77 strikeouts to 11 walks and a 3.10 ERA with a 1.03 WHIP, having allowed only 52 hits. On his promotion to Triple-A Louisville, he allowed 22 hits in 22 innings, though he struck out 21 and walked only two to post a 1.09 WHIP along with a scintillating 2.05 ERA. He probably won't be a walks machine, but if he's off on a given day, he can be wild in the strike zone, and thus eminently hittable. But hey, Lincecum was occasionally inefficient in '07; that didn't make you not want to own him. Cueto is a bonus baby. Go get him.

Highlights
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Box Score Bits
Someone lit a fire under Scott Hairston the first week. Thursday he was 3-for-3 with a triple, a double and a walk; in three games, his OPS is 1.058 and he's got two homers. When Jim Edmonds gets healthy, there doesn't appear to be an every-day gig in the Padres outfield for Hairston, but the team won't sit him if he's still this hot. He could see a lot of time in left field. … You've heard fantasy "experts" (especially myself) singing Zack Greinke's praises all spring. Thursday he gave you a sense of why. Greinke shut down the winless Tigers, giving up one run, six hits and two walks in seven innings. He struck out only three, but Greinke had his nastiest sinking stuff working: he recorded eight groundball outs and zero outs via the air. … Mark Teixeira is off to his typical unbelievably bad start, having posted a 2-for-19 mark so far, including 0-for-5 on Thursday night. He had a .686 OPS in April of '07, then wound up with a .963 OPS for the year. … White Sox lefty John Danks took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Indians and eventually won, giving up one run, two hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings. … Indians catcher Victor Martinez made a pinch-hitting appearance Thursday, his first game since straining a hamstring on Opening Day. Indians manager Eric Wedge told the Willoughby News-Herald "Every day he is moving better. Hopefully we'll have him back in (the starting lineup) in the next day or two." … The Nationals started Felipe Lopez in left field Thursday. It was the erstwhile middle infielder's first career start in the outfield, and came about presumably because Washington didn't want to use its other options against lefty starter Jamie Moyer. Lopez went 1-for-5. … Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson got the day off Thursday, but Dmitri Young suffered back tightness, and couldn't play in Johnson's stead. Aaron Boone got the start at first for the Nationals. … The Nationals intentionally walked Chase Utley and Ryan Howard back-to-back twice on Thursday. The first time, with the score tied and two out in the bottom of the eighth, it worked. The second time, in the bottom of the 10th, Jesus Colome subsequently walked Jayson Werth on four straight pitches to force in the winning run. … Freddy Sanchez came out of Thursday's game with what at the time of this writing was an "undisclosed injury." It may be related to his shoulder problems from Spring Training.


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Standing Out
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
Jeff Keppinger, Reds
A starter by default thanks to Alex Gonzalez's broken knee, Keppinger went 2-for-3 with a walk, a solo home run and a double. This comes a day after going 3-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base. Keppinger hit .332 in 241 at-bats last season and is a serious threat to permanently take the starting job from Gonzalez.

GETTING KNOCKED AROUND
Dave Bush, Brewers
There was nothing to like here as Bush allowed 11 baserunners (five walks, six hits) and six runs in 5 1/3 innings. He also served up a solo shot to Aramis Ramirez, which is notable only because Bush is usually at his best with the bases empty. If that was his best …

News and Notes
Gary Sheffield tore a tendon in the ring finger on his left hand while sliding into second base on Thursday, but told reporters after the game he intends to play through the injury. However, Tigers manager Jim Leyland said that if Sheffield's turn at-bat had come up again in yesterday's game, he would've had to leave. … The Tigers were without third baseman Miguel Cabrera Thursday; Cabrera had a sore left quad. It's the same injury Cabrera suffered playing winter ball a few months ago. As of this writing, the team hadn't commented on how long it expects Cabrera to be out. … Twins hurler Kevin Slowey had to leave Thursday's start with what the team called a "biceps strain." There's no word yet on how much time Slowey will miss. It's possible the Twins accelerate Francisco Liriano's timetable, but it seems more likely Philip Humber gets a shot. … Chad Cordero played catch Thursday and said his shoulder felt fine, and that the cortisone shot he received for his tendinitis apparently worked. He told reporters he could see action this weekend. … The Toronto Star reports that B.J. Ryan could return to the Blue Jays bullpen in as few as eight or nine days, but that Ryan is expected to share closing duties with Jeremy Accardo for a while. Hopefully you heeded our advice, and took both guys if you were going to take one.
Transactions
• Infielder Marcus Giles has reconsidered, and decided to sign a minor-league deal with the Dodgers. Giles planned to sign, got in his car, then decided he didn't want to go, but apparently reversed that decision. The original arrangement had Giles spending 10 days at Triple-A Albuquerque before joining the big-league club. If that still holds, and if Nomar Garciaparra is still out, there's a chance Giles could start at third base for L.A., which would make him interesting for a short time in NL-only leagues.
• Outfielder Nelson Cruz cleared waivers Thursday, and the Rangers sent him to Triple-A Oklahoma. The 27-year-old outfielder, acquired from Milwaukee in the Francisco Cordero trade, hasn't panned out as a big-leaguer (.232 career AVG, .282 career OBP) despite a pretty steady record of five-tool production in the minors. At this point, the fantasy ship seems to have sailed on Cruz.
• The Braves placed Mike Hampton on the 15-day DL. Hampton was to have made his first start since 2005, but hurt his chest in pregame warmups. The Braves intend to call up Jo-Jo Reyes to take his place. Reyes struggled in his rookie season for Atlanta, with a 6.22 ERA and 1.68 WHIP in 14 games, 10 of them starts, but he has the skill to be an intriguing NL-only sleeper.
They Wrote It

"While [Blake] DeWitt hits from the left side, one scout said his full-fledged devotion to baseball is similar to David Wright's. … DeWitt has his teeth in an opportunity now, and he has a chance to make a big impression if he's ready to seize the moment."
-- Jerry Crasnick Full Story

On The Farm
• Bartolo Colon hurled five scoreless innings for Triple-A Pawtucket Thursday night against Indianapolis, and gave up just one hit with one walk. He also reportedly threw in the low-to-mid 90s. If Clay Buchholz struggles early, or if Tim Wakefield's health continues to be a problem, there's a chance Colon could get a call up to the Red Sox.
• Kei Igawa -- yes that Kei Igawa -- pitched six perfect innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, striking out seven. One wouldn't imagine the Yankees have a lot of room for Igawa, but you never know. There are a couple of older starting pitchers in the Bronx.