Despite the controversies surrounding him of late, Houston shortstop Miguel Tejada is batting .343 with four homers and 22 RBIs through 28 games this year.

AP

By John Rakowski, SportsGrumblings.com, Special to SI.com

Last December baseball was rocked by the Mitchell Report, which documented use of anabolic steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) in the big leagues. The 204-page report named 90 former and current ballplayers as either acquiring or using performance enhancers.

Some named on the report confirmed the allegations, as was the case with Andy Pettitte. Others denied it, most notably Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Despite an aggressive legal defense, the news keeps getting worse for Clemens. The former Cy Young winner's defamation lawsuit against accuser Brian McNamee hit a snag with the latest salacious scandal, that involving an alleged affair with country music star Mindy McCready. McNamee's lawyers are playing hardball and say that Clemens' extramarital affairs are fair game for legal discovery.

The active players named on the Mitchell Report are on the whole doing poorly this year -- maybe not as bad as Clemens, but pretty bad. Are they feeling the pressure? Feeling stained by the Mitchell Report? Or are they just getting old? Most are older players, whose skills seem to be eroding, though at a more rapid pace than before. The list of Mitchell players with some fantasy upside (for better) is much shorter than those losing their fantasy value (for worse).

For Better

Andy Pettitte, SP, Yankees: Yankees fans are still in denial about Pettitte. Unlike Jason Giambi, they forgave Pettitte early and without reservation. This took a lot of the pressure off him, and Pettitte has started the season strong with a 3-2 record and a 3.23 ERA. Can he stay healthy? On the Yankees he should be good for another 15-win season.

Miguel Tejada, SS, Astros: Off-the-field trouble has prematurely aged Tejada. He was 31-years old on his last birthday, and will turn 34 on his next birthday. (He lied about his age.) The FBI is also looking into whether Tejada lied to them in 2005 during an investigation. Plus Tejada was featured in last winter's bestseller, the Mitchell Report. With all that baggage it's amazing that Tejada is having such a strong start. Tejada is batting .337 with 4 HR and is among the league leaders with 21 RBIs. Tejada is hitting .455 at home, at Minute Maid Park. Tejada is still considered a hero in his native Dominican Republic, which probably shelters him to a degree.

Brian Roberts, 2B, Orioles: Roberts' power numbers jumped from 4 HR in '04 to 18 in '05. Last year he hit 12 HR, which is a more normal number for someone of his size. Roberts would be an elite fantasy second baseman even if he never hit a home run. He stole 50 bases last year and already has 10 in '08. On the down side, Roberts is hitting .267, which is below his career average of .281, but nothing to be alarmed about. There seems to be no lingering effect from being mentioned in the Mitchell Report. 

Ryan Franklin, RP, Cardinals: Franklin is a valuable pitcher in leagues that count holds. He is tied with Chad Qualls for the major league lead with eight holds. Franklin (2.02 ERA) has a history of losing steam in August and September, so if you have him, think about selling high at around the All Star break.

Rick Ankiel, OF, Cardinals: The pitcher-turned-outfielder continues to hit for power. In his career, Ankiel has hit 16 HR in only 264 at bats as an outfielder. Weird stat: Ankiel, a lefty, hits left-handed pitching better than right-handers. Eventually teams will stop challenging him with fastballs. The free-swinging Ankiel has a 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio. In the crowded St. Louis outfield, he is a sell-high stock.

Scott Schoeneweis, RP, Mets: The 34-year-old southpaw is thriving in a limited role this season.   Manager Willie Randolph brings him in to face one or two left-handed batters and then gets him out before he gets into trouble. Lefties are batting .125 against Schoeneweis; righties are hitting .308. In 5x5 roto leagues that use holds, Schoeneweis is worth a look. (He is available in just about every league.) He has three holds so far, and he could compile a decent total in that category.

For Worse

Jason Giambi, 1B/DH, Yankees: It was no surprise that Giambi was named in the Mitchell Report. He had essentially spilled the beans long ago, so he has not been under the microscope like some others have been. So you can't blame pressure for his performance. Giambi, 37, is losing his skills just like aging ball players typically did years ago before performance enhancing drugs extended careers. Often injured, Giambi will hit the occasional homer between walks and strikeouts. Giambi is hitting only .167, with as many strikeouts as hits. He has no fantasy value, since there are so many first basemen to choose from.

Jack Cust, OF, Athletics: Clang. Clang. Clang. That's the sound of fantasy owners dropping Cust from their rosters. Cust, 29, was a nice story last season. Here was a long-time minor-leaguer finally getting a chance. Cust hit 26 HR in only 395 at bats and had an outstanding .912 OPS.   Given what we have seen so far this season, a .169 average, a .625 OPS and 1 HR, last season seems ... synthetic. The addition of Frank Thomas means he will lose some at bats and platoon with Emil Brown. 

Jose Guillen, OF, Royals:  Guillen, 31, has been dropped more often than Bear Stearns stock. Now owned in only about 1/4 of fantasy leagues, Guillen is hitting just .177 with a .525 OPS.  Kansas City opened up the wallet for Guillen last winter to add some punch to their lineup.  Blunders like that kill small market teams.

Gary Sheffield, DH/OF, Tigers: He is off to a brutal start, hitting only .159 with 1 HR and 3 RBI.  He did the same thing last season, hitting only .200 in the month of April and then .279 the rest of the way. Sheffield is owned in about 60percent of leagues. Last season he was strong in the middle of the season, but had a tired bat again in August and September. At 39, Sheffield has lost too much.

Eric Gagne, RP, Brewers: Gagne has converted only seven of 11 save opportunities. Four blown saves is a lot for anybody -- top closers can have fewer than that in an entire season. The Gagne of '03-04 had a total of 100 saves in 102 opportunities. Losing the closer's job is not out of the question since Gagne is coming off a second-half meltdown last season in Boston. Gagne's job security is that $10 million contract he signed. Milwaukee will look awfully stupid if they demote him.

Derrick Turnbow, RP, Brewers: Last year Turnbow was valuable in 5x5 roto leagues which counted holds. His 33 led the majors. This season he has been as bad as Gagne. Too bad for him, since he could have had an opportunity to compete for the closer's job. It's as if the 30-year-old Turnbow lost his mojo. Hmm.

Gary Matthews Jr., OF, Angels: Matthews is owned in most leagues for his speed and power.  He is off to a good start as far as home runs go, but not in average (.234.) The allegations around Matthews actually first came out well before the Mitchell Report. So last year was his season to "play under a cloud." In '07 he was two steals and two homers from a 20-20 season. That's the maximum you can expect from the 33-year old Angel. Matthews is an adequate for AL-only or very deep leagues.

Paul LoDuca, C, Nationals: LoDuca was dumped by the Mets for off-the-field issues, apart from the Mitchell allegations. He was struggling in Washington before going on the DL with a hand injury. With modest power and run production, LoDuca had little fantasy value with the Mets. In Washington he has none.

Gregg Zaun, C, Blue Jays: Zaun, now 37, peaked two years ago when he hit .272 with 12 HR. He is a bottom-tier starting catcher that was never that good when he was at his best.

Paul Byrd, SP, Indians: Too few strikeouts, too high an ERA and WHIP to ever be useful in fantasy.

John Rakowski is a senior writer for SportsGrumblings.com, a fantasy sports portal. John is a 2007 winner of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association award for journalistic excellence, for his "Snap, Crackle and Pop" column. Please visit Sports Grumblings for all your fantasy baseball needs, so you can DOMINATE your league this season!