At long last, we have real baseball to talk about!
If you missed the last edition of Depth Chart Review, here’s my spiel.
Maybe it’s not the catchiest title, but as it suggests, every Wednesday I’ll be highlighting important depth chart changes and how they might affect your fantasy team(s). This will touch on reported changes in playing time, team roles, batting order, and player personnel.
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s see what shake-ups are already happening around the league.
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Those Pesky Closers
The season is only a few days old, and closer situations are already beginning to shift.
It took all of one outing, but Phillies closer Jeanmar Gomez is already on the hot seat. Technically, Gomez got the save on Monday night, but only after giving up a two-run shot to Scooter Gennett. Following the game, manager Pete Mackanin said he was “concerned” about Gomez.
Of course, if you drafted Gomez, you were undoubtedly concerned yourself. A mediocre talent by all accounts — his career 14.1% strikeout rate doesn’t exactly scream “closer” — we all knew his hold on the closer job was tenuous at best. But we expected him to get through more than, you know, one game before his manager entered panic mode.
Gomez hasn’t lost the job just yet, but forward-thinking owners in need of saves might want to get ahead of the curve. Hector Neris and Joaquin Benoit are the most logical candidates to replace Gomez. Chances are Neris is already owned in your league (if not, he’s the first choice), but Benoit should be available in most formats and is definitely worth a pickup. He may be 39 years old, but he has 51 career saves, and managers often like going with guys who have closing experience.
Over on the West Coast, Santiago Casilla converted the first save opportunity for the Oakland A’s on Monday. We knew going in that this was potentially a closer-by-committee situation, but most expected Ryan Madson or Sean Doolittle to get the first crack. Further complicating things, Ryan Dull got the save chance on Tuesday, but blew it on a three-run jack by Danny Espinosa. This will probably remain a frustrating situation for fantasy purposes, with all of them getting a share of the saves pie this season. Given that Madson saved 30 games for them last year, he’s still the presumptive favorite, but Casilla is looking like the second-best bet. Keep your expectations in check though.
Staying out west, much to everyone’s dismay, the Angels are officially deploying their own closer-by-committee. Most thought Cam Bedrosian would become the closer and run away with the job while Huston Street is out, but apparently Mike Scioscia has other ideas. Last year, Bedrosian had a 31.5% strikeout rate with a 1.12 ERA and 2.77 SIERA. The good news is he converted his first save opportunity Tuesday night, and should still get most of the chances for the foreseeable future. However, by not committing to him in the ninth, it’s possible Scioscia plans to give Street the job back when he returns. Street isn’t expected back until late April at best, but keep an eye on his progress, or stash him if you have an open DL spot. In deep leagues, if you’re in dire need of saves help, Andrew Bailey could also be worth a speculative add in the event he gets into the mix.
Lastly, on Sunday Roberto Osuna went on the 10-day DL. He shouldn’t be out long, but those with daily lineup changes could opt for Jason Grilli or Joe Biagini in case any save opportunities come up this week. Grilli gave up a walk-off home run to Mark Trumbo on Monday, so Biagini could get the next shot. Either way, just know it will be short-lived.
The old adage is to not pay for saves, but as all of the above shows, there is something to be said about having an elite closer, and not having to wade through all these dicey situations.
DeShields Not Da Man?
In this space last week, I mentioned how speedster Delino DeShields was expected to be the Rangers’ surprise leadoff hitter to start the season. Naturally, in their first two games, not only has DeShields not led off, but he hasn’t even started! So much for that. Instead, Jurickson Profar and Ryan Rua have gotten starts in left field. If you have DeShields on your roster, it’s too soon to panic and drop him, but it looks like this is a situation that will require monitoring until the Rangers show how they plan to use their outfielders. Keep in mind DeShields once stole 101 bases in one minor league season. The tantalizing speed is well worth holding onto.
Speaking of leading off, some interesting leadoff hitters are popping up in the early going. Andrew Toles, Travis Jankowski, Tyler Saladino, and Adam Frazier have all made appearances in the leadoff spot for their respective teams. For the first three, this will be a big boon to their season outlooks if they become mainstays at the top. As for Frazier, he’s not a regular in the Pirates lineup, but in NL-only leagues this is a positive sign that he could push for playing time as a reserve. Across four seasons in both the minors and majors he has a mere five career home runs, but he has enough speed to reach double-digit stolen bases if he gets the at-bats.
Additionally, Adam Eaton and Mitch Haniger are batting out of the two-hole thus far, which will boost their value if things hold. There was speculation that both would bat lower in the order heading into the season.
Tough Break for Guerra
Junior Guerra was a nice surprise story last year, coming out of nowhere to make 20 starts for the Brewers, and posted an excellent 2.81 ERA. Some regression was to be expected from the 32-year-old (his SIERA was 4.42), but he was given the Opening Day start on Monday.
Unfortunately, the story will have to be put on hold, as Guerra strained his calf running out a bunt. He is expected to be out for at least six weeks. In the meantime, Tommy Milone will replace him in the rotation. In 12 starts last season, Milone put up a ghastly 5.71 ERA with a lowly 15.8% strikeout rate. He’s not worth using in fantasy.
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Kenyatta Storin is a featured writer with FantasyPros. For more from Kenyatta, check out his archive and follow him @kenyattastorin.