A pair of pitching performances caught my eye Thursday.

First, Kyle Davies -- a guy I chronicled all spring only to shy away from him in the end -- pitched his best yet in a start against the White Sox, allowing only five baserunners and recording eight strikeouts in seven shutout innings. I don't know that you can expect him to strike out so many batters going forward, but his other numbers continue a trend he started last September, when he went 4-1 with a 2.27 ERA.

So would I pick him up in a mixed league? If I already had a scrub pitcher on my bench, I wouldn't mind making an exchange. Ian Snell for Davies is already all-systems-go in one league. When trying to find an out-of-nowhere breakout, you want to keep shuffling the hottest pitchers on and off the waiver until one sticks by staying hot. Nobody will pick up someone like Snell, coming off a miserable start, if you drop him, but someone else might look at Davies if you don't grab him first.

Of course, the pitching performance that won't go unnoticed is Chris Carpenter's seven innings of one-hit baseball against the Pirates. He had a 1.52 ERA in 23 2/3 innings this spring, and now this. I feel confident and not the least bit premature declaring what 71 percent of Fantasy owners had already come to realize: He's baaaa-aaaack.

Speaking of back, Andruw Jones not only started for the first time this season, but he hit cleanup for the Rangers . Oh, he also went 3-for-5 with a double.

How long before he replaces David Murphy in the lineup?

I unfortunately won't get a chance to go into much detail, but I wanted to get my predictions on record so people can ridicule them and me and whatever else they want.

So here we go -- my expected standings, as well as award winners, for the upcoming season:

NL EAST
1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. Atlanta Braves
3. New York Mets
4. Florida Marlins
5. Washington Nationals

NL CENTRAL
1. Chicago Cubs
2. St. Louis Cardinals (wild card)
3. Cincinnati Reds
4. Milwaukee Brewers
5. Houston Astros
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

NL WEST
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. San Francisco Giants
4. Colorado Rockies
5. San Diego Padres

AL EAST
(These first three will be ridiculously close.)
1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees (wild card)
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Toronto Blue Jays

AL CENTRAL
1. Minnesota Twins
(These next three will be close.)
2. Chicago White Sox
3. Kansas City Royals
4. Cleveland Indians
5. Detroit Tigers

AL WEST
1. Los Angeles Angels
2. Oakland Athletics
3. Texas Rangers
4. Seattle Mariners

NL MVP: Albert Pujols
AL MVP: Mark Teixeira
NL Cy Young: Dan Haren
AL Cy Young: CC Sabathia
NL ROY: Jordan Zimmermann
AL ROY: Matt Wieters
NL Comeback: Chris Carpenter
AL Comeback: Victor Martinez
NL Manager: Tony La Russa
AL Manager: Trey Hillman

World Series: Red Sox over Cardinals, 4-2

With most of the roster spots filled and starting pitchers making their final tuneup starts before the regular season, Thursday was a relatively quiet day in baseball.

Most notably, the Rockies named Huston Street their closer over Manny Corpas, which wouldn't have even been a story if they hadn't scared Fantasy owners away from Street earlier this spring. Really, he deserved the job all along. The Athletics drafted him and raised him as a closer, so he doesn't know anything else. He'll suffice as a No. 2 Fantasy option, but he'll have a short leash after his struggles last season.

Cardinals top prospect Colby Rasmus finally homered for the first time, raising his batting average to .286 in the process. No word yet on whether or not Rasmus will start over Chris Duncan in left field, and the two might ultimately end up splitting at-bats. Quite frankly, fellow rookies Jordan Schafer and Dexter Fowler look like safer bets to make an impact this season than the Cardinals outfielder, who has the most upside of the three.

Brad Penny went another five strong and looks like a safe bet to open the season in the Red Sox rotation. He couldn't have a better situation to help return him to Fantasy prominence, so don't sleep on him late.

Also, Wandy Rodriguez rebounded from a mostly disappointing spring, allowing just one hit and recording 11 strikeouts in six innings. Granted, he was facing the Astros' Double-A affiliate, but at least he proved he could still make batters miss. After striking out 8.6 batters in nine innings with a 3.54 ERA last season, he tends to go overlooked as a sleeper. Really, he deserves a roster spot in all leagues.

I missed a couple days of blogging, so forgive me if I touch on some outdated events.

I want to start with the one player whose performance at this late date in spring training might actually mean something. No, not Alex Gordon, though he fits that same criteria. I'm referring to Travis Hafner, who homered for the second straight game Wednesday, showing the kind of power outburst not seen from him since early in 2007.

But it's two days -- two days -- so I don't want to look too much into it. Then again, I don't want to look too little into it either. For as gone as his power was last year, his shoulder damaged beyond repair, and as little as he has seemed to progress this spring, the Indians sure do show a lot of confidence in him, with manager Eric Wedge already committing to batting him third or fourth in the lineup -- as in the two spots normally reserved for the team's two best hitters.

Wedge has to know something I don't know, doesn't he? He has to.

If nothing else, the two homers mean you should start paying attention to Hafner again. I recently dropped him for Pablo Sandoval in a 12-team mixed league, and I have to admit I feel a little uneasy about it today.

Not so much for the Sandoval part, though. With the recent news that he'll serve as the Giants backup catcher, meaning he'll have to move over from third base to spell Bengie Molina behind the plate from time to time, I couldn't be more thrilled. He will gain catcher eligibility, and as a catcher, he rates right alongside Ryan Doumit and Chris Iannetta. He has the potential to rank ahead of them, even, because you have to figure he'll play more than 150 games. Third basemen don't need days off the way catchers do.

I can't understate my surprise when I heard the Phillies named Chan Ho Park their fifth starter over J.A. Happ. Just what do they hope to gain by that maneuver? Happ has legitimate upside, and Park hasn't had a WHIP below 1.39 since about the time I hit purberty. I actually liked Happ as a nice, low-cost sleeper in NL-only leagues. I suppose I'd still take Park in an NL-only Head-to-Head league, where anyone who pitches has some value, but in a Rotisserie league, forget it. I don't need him bringing down my WHIP.

In another surprise move, the Tigers named Fernando Rodney their closer over Brandon Lyon. At least that one makes sense. Rodney, by my estimation, has slightly more ability than Lyon. Quite frankly, though, I don't think either has the ability to finish the year in the role. If you want to make a preemptive move in an AL-only league, my money's on Ryan Perry.

I checked out the Mets at the Orioles on Sunday, which might have given me more to discuss if a rain delay in the first inning hadn't forced both starting pitchers out of the game.

For what it's worth, Koji Uehara looked brilliant again, striking out the first two batters he faced -- the first one on three pitches -- in his one inning of work. I keep hearing he has average stuff that won't translate well to the majors, but I see his 14 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings this spring and can't help but think it means something. He has hitters fooled now, and he certainly had them fooled in Japan. The guy has zero hype in Fantasy, so I don't see any good reason why not to take a chance on him late. Hey, once upon a time, people said James Shields had average stuff too.

Nothing new on the closer battle between George Sherrill and Chris Ray. Sherrill actually had a slightly better performance, with Ray giving up a hard single and what would have been a run-scoring double if Adam Jones hadn't made a terrific running catch before smacking into the wall. Much ado about nothing, I know, but I would have liked to see Ray blow everybody away.

Speaking of closer battles, the Cubs finally settled theirs by naming Kevin Gregg -- cough, gag, wheeze -- the ninth-inning man over Carlos Marmol. Too bad the majority of Fantasy owners drafted otherwise. I fell into the trap in one league myself, so we can all support each other through this painful experience. I don't feel comfortable suggesting Gregg won't keep the job. He really wasn't a bad closer in Florida. Still, if you drafted Marmol, you can't cut him just yet. I don't know if you can cut him until we've seen a full month of worry-free closing from Gregg. Well, you can , but you might end up regretting it.

And Brandon Morrow might end up regretting his words Sunday, when he went all Jonathan Papelbon on the world and said he prefers to close, writing off starting pitching for good. Talk about a career-changing move. I always hate to see young flamethrowers give into the temptation of ninth-inning heroics. For the most part, I believe the best pitchers should spend the most time on the mound. A shortage of talent is easier to hide in one-inning spurts, making Morrow's decision a bit of a waste. Oh well. For Fantasy purposes, I had soured on him this season with all of his forearm concerns this spring. But even as a reliever, he doesn't for sure have the closer role yet -- though you figure he has to secure it eventually -- and he pitches for one of the worst teams in baseball. Still a late-rounder, in my opinion.