Position-by-position fantasy baseball rankings as well as other fantasy news and updates for the 2017 MLB season.

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The Yankees and Mets both will be without their top-flight closers after Aroldis Chapman and Jeurys Familia went down with injuries in the past four days.
Chapman went on the 10-day disabled list Sunday with inflammation of his left rotator cuff.
For the most part, Chapman had been his usual dominant self this season. Before blowing a save on May 7 against the Cubs, he had seven saves with a 0.79 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 12 innings.
Yankees setup man Dellin Betances will slide into the closer’s role for a team with arguably the deepest bullpen in the majors.
Betances has an impressive 0.75 ERA and 16.5 K/9 — exactly what fantasy owners are looking for in a closer, minus the saves at this point. The three-time All-Star hasn’t recorded a save yet this season but has combined for 22 in his career. 
After the Yankees dealt Chapman to the Cubs at last season’s deadline, Betances converted 12 of 17 save opportunities. Chapman is expected to miss at least a month, according to general manager Brian Cashman, so Betances should get plenty of save opportunities for the first-place Yankees.
He’s far and away the best waiver wire add, but he was only available in 14 percent of Yahoo! leagues and 21.8 percent of ESPN leagues as of Monday morning.
If Betances struggles or needs a night off, Tyler Clippard likely would be next in line. He recorded 32 saves with the Nationals in 2012 and has 57 in his career. Clippard is 1-for-3 in save chances this season with a 1.17 ERA, 0.783 WHIP and 12.3 K/9 in 15 1/3 innings. The journeyman is available in 90 percent of Yahoo! leagues and 94.6 percent of ESPN leagues, but is only worth an add as a handcuff to Betances.
The Mets’ closer situation is dicier as Familia likely is out for the remainer of the season after undergoing surgery Friday to remove an arterial clot.
Addison Reed, the Mets’ setup man, will take over the ninth-inning role. He’s had previous success as a closer, combining for 101 saves in three seasons with the White Sox from 2012 to 2013 and Diamondbacks in 2014. Reed also started the season as the Mets’ closer when Familia served a 15-game suspension for violating MLB’s domestic-violence policy.
Reed converted his first four save opportunities this season, but blew his latest chance Sunday after giving up a three-run homer to Brewers catcher Manny Piña.
As of Monday morning, Reed was available in 26 percent of Yahoo! leagues and 49 percent of ESPN leagues. With the Mets at 16-20 and dealing with a slew of injuries, Reed won’t necessarily get a huge number of save opportunities in the near future. But, he can aid in other categories with an 11.1 K/9 and 0.964 WHIP.
Hansel Robles or Fernando Salas likely would take over as the Mets’ closer if Reed struggles. Salas has far more ninth-inning experience — 24 saves for the Cardinals in 2011 and 30 for his career. Robles has just one career save in eight opportunities. Both are available in at least 88 percent of Yahoo! and ESPN leagues.
The Twins’ Brandon Kintzler or the Rangers’ Matt Bush could turn out to be better waiver wire adds for owners looking for saves. Kintzler earned his 10th save on Saturday, and Bush is 4-for-4 since taking over as the Rangers’ closer when Sam Dyson hit the disabled list April 17.
Kintzler was available in 23 percent of Yahoo! leagues and 38.9 percent of ESPN leagues while Matt Bush was available in 32 percent of Yahoo! leagues and 60.5 percent of ESPN leagues as of Monday morning.

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Fantasy baseball: Closer carousel turns with Aroldis Chapman, Jeurys Familia injuries

Fantasy baseball: Latest closer carousel

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Brewers first baseman <a href="http://newsday.sportsdirectinc.com/baseball/mlb-players.aspx?page=/data/mlb/players/player105139.html" target="_blank">Eric Thames</a> has been one of baseball’s biggest surprises through the first month of the season.
In 24 games, he’s slashed .345/.466/.810 with 11 home runs (tied for the MLB lead), 19 RBIs and 28 runs in his first big-league season since 2012.
After getting released by the Astros in December 2013, Thames reluctantly made the move to the Korea Baseball Organization, where he hit 124 home runs in three seasons with the NC Dinos.
Typically when a former major-leaguer makes the switch to the KBO, they stay there, but Thames, 30, got his second chance when the Brewers signed him to a three-year deal last November.
In his previous two big-league seasons, Thames combined for just 21 home runs in 181 games. In that span his HR/FB rate was 9.05 percent. This season, it’s 32.4 percent. That’s over a small sample size, and he’s more than certain to regress, but his 83.7 percent contact rate this season is drastically better than his 72.3 percent rate from 2011 to 2012.
 Don’t expect Thames to hit 80 home runs, but 40 isn’t out of the question. He hit at least 40 homers in each of his last two seasons with the NC Dinos.
We’ve yet to see the speed this season that Thames displayed in Korea. He has no stolen bases and just one attempt, but he swiped 64 bases in three seasons in the KBO. With his other big-time counting numbers, though, Thames is a four-category fantasy asset. Speed would be just an added bonus.
The Brewers faced a scare when Thames left their game Wednesday against the Reds with left hamstring tightness. But he returned Friday against the Braves after the team’s off-day Thursday.
The lefthanded Thames is slated to face all righthanders in the Brewers’ upcoming four-game series against the Cardinals starting Monday in St. Louis. He’s slashing .323/.450/.708 with seven home runs against righties. 
The Brewers’ slugger has been better on the road so far this season, slashing .452/.541/1.161 with six home runs away from Miller Park, so his hot April should carry into early May. Milwaukee follows up its series against the Cardinals with a three-game set in Pittsburgh against the Pirates at hitter-friendly PNC Park, which ranks sixth in home runs on ESPN’s Park Factors.
Thames’ average draft position in Yahoo! leagues was 219.6, and he went undrafted in 10 percent of those leagues. Now he’s owned in 96 percent of both Yahoo! and ESPN leagues, and should be owned in all formats.

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Fantasy baseball: Can Eric Thames maintain his hot start?

Fantasy baseball: Can Thames maintain hot start?

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With baseball’s new 10-day disabled list, players are hitting the DL nine percent more frequently so far this season.
As of Monday evening, there were 153 10-day DL stints compared with 140 15-day DL stints in the same time frame last season.
In the last decade, disabled list stays have grown tremendously. In 2006, 347 players wound up on the disabled list for 22,472 total days. Last season, a record 478 players spent 31,329 days on the DL. The implication is that could increase with the new rule.
In the first few weeks of the season, players with minor injuries have found themselves on the shelf when in the past they likely would’ve just been day-to-day.
The Nationals placed star shortstop Trea Turner on the 10-day disabled list on April 10 (retroactive to April 9) with a mild right hamstring strain. He was activated on April 21. Had the 15-day disabled list been in effect, Turner likely would have avoided the disabled list entirely.
Turner, who’s ADP was 16.0 in Yahoo! leagues and 17.7 in ESPN leagues, was a no-brainer to stash on the DL in fantasy leagues. And even if owners didn’t have a DL slot for him, they weren’t dropping him for whatever second-rate backup shortstop was available knowing he wouldn’t be on the shelf for long.
Big names such Turner, Josh Donaldson and Miguel Cabrera, all of whom have been on the 10-day DL this season, are always worth stashing, barring a season-ending injury in a non-keeper league. But with a player such as Red Sox utility man Brock Holt, who was placed on the 10-day DL with vertigo on April 21, it’s tough to justify using a DL spot in most formats because he doesn’t play every day. Aside from AL-only leagues, Holt was droppable, especially in ESPN standard leagues, which have just one DL slot.
The 10-day DL particularly benefits starting pitchers because, depending on their team’s schedule, they could potentially miss just one start.
Take Red Sox starter Drew Pomeranz. Boston put him on the DL on March 30, before the start of the regular season, with a left forearm flexor strain. The Red Sox activated him on April 11, which pushed back his first scheduled start by just two days.
That may have hurt owners in head-to-head formats in the first week of the season because Pomeranz was due to make his first start on the final Sunday of the first week, but instead he made two starts in Week 2, earning a win and striking out 16. Pomeranz’s DL stint also allowed owners to stream another starter in Week 1.
According to ESPN’s Ron Shandler, an average of 10 to 12 players per fantasy team land on the DL throughout the course of the 162-game season.
The bottom line — expect to see more players accumulate more days on the disabled list, and prepare accordingly.

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Fantasy baseball: The implications of MLB’s 10-day disabled list

Fantasy baseball: Implications of 10-day DL

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Chase Headley had a dreadful start last season, and both Yankees fans and his fantasy owners felt the pain.
It took until May 12 for him to record an extra base hit — a home run off the Royals’ Ian Kennedy — and his average hovered at or below the Mendoza Line well into May.
Yes, it’s only seven games into this season, but Headley’s been singing a much different tune so far. Through Monday’s home opener, he has a .375/.483/.667 slash line with two home runs, three RBIs and seven runs.
Beating the shift has been the key so far this season for Headley, who started strong with a 3-for-4 game in an Opening Day loss to the Rays. The switch hitter, batting lefthanded, beat the Rays’ shift for all three hits, including a bunt single.
In his first five seasons, Headley only faced a shift in 155 plate appearances, according to FanGraphs. Since 2015, opposing defenses have used the shift on him in 391 plate appearances. He’s a .308 career hitter against the shift, and so far this season he’s 6-for-12. If opponents continue to shift on him as a lefthander, and Headley continues to take hits as they come, it could be the spark he needs.
But Headley’s a long way from his 2012 season when he finished fifth in NL MVP voting after hitting .286 with 31 home runs, 95 runs and a league-high 115 RBIs with the Padres. That season’s an outlier for Headley, who will turn 33 on May 9. He’s a career .264 hitter who’s averaged 15 home runs, 68 RBIs and 72 runs per season.
Headley’s average draft position in 2017 was 471.53, according to RotoWire’s ADP, making him mostly undrafted. As of Monday evening, he was available in 82 percent of Yahoo! leagues and 83.4 percent of ESPN leagues.
The Yankees are averaging 4.71 runs per game, which helps Headley’s value even though he has mostly hit out of the No. 7 spot. Headley has at least 500 plate appearances in his two full seasons with the Yankees, and he doesn’t have much competition at third, so as long as he’s healthy, he’ll get plenty of playing time.
So, is Headley worth adding? It depends on the league. In standard 12-team leagues, he’s maybe worth adding to your watch list. In deeper leagues, he could be a serviceable addition.

New York Yankees

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Fantasy baseball: Examining Chase Headley’s hot start

Fantasy baseball: Is Chase Headley for real?

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All 30 MLB teams have a game in the books after the Tigers beat the White Sox, 6-3, Tuesday afternoon. Fantasy owners can’t put too much stock in one game, but it’s never too early to reassess, especially when it comes to relief pitchers. The closer carousel already is turning.
On Day 1, when there were only three games, two of the game’s top closers — the Giants’ Mark Melancon and the Cardinals’ Seung Hwan Oh — blew save opportunities. (Oh was bailed out by Randal Grichuk’s walk-off single to earn a win.)
Melancon and Oh have nothing to worry about as far as job security. They’re both locked in for now.
Fernando Rodney, however, is someone to monitor. The Diamondbacks closer gave up an earned run on two hits and two walks despite getting the win against the Giants on Sunday.
While Rodney didn’t get hit with a blown save, he’s not an elite closer such as Melancon and Oh. He recorded 25 saves last season, but his career 3.70 ERA and 1.37 WHIP make him replaceable. It could be worth stashing Randall Delgado, who’s next up for the Diamondbacks’ closer role. Delgado, 27, has had his fair share of struggles. The righthander had a 4.44 ERA and 1.507 WHIP last season, but if Rodney loses his job sooner rather than later, there aren’t too many other immediate options for Arizona with Jake Barrett on the 10-day disabled list and Archie Bradley lacking bullpen experience.
Monday also brought some clarity, or lack thereof, to teams’ closing situations.
Phillies righthander Jeanmar Gomez recorded a save against the Reds, but it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. Gomez, who entered with a 4-1 lead, allowed a two-run home run to Scooter Gennett before retiring Billy Hamilton for the final out. Despite recording 37 saves last season, Gomez has very low job security with Hector Neris and Joaquin Benoit behind him. Neris, who pitched a perfect eighth inning Monday, had an 11.4 strikeout per nine rate and 2.58 ERA last season. His strikeout stuff makes him a viable option to take over the closer’s role. Benoit has ninth-inning experience with 51 career saves and also recorded a perfect inning and two strikeouts Monday.
The Blue Jays’ bullpen took a blow when they announced Sunday that closer Roberto Osuna was headed to the 10-day disabled list with a back injury. Osuna’s velocity took a dip during the spring, but the young righthander told reporters he wasn’t concerned. Veteran closer Jason Grilli, who was owned in just 38 percent of Yahoo! leagues and 14 percent of ESPN leagues as of Tuesday evening, is expected to get the ball in the ninth while Osuna’s out.
In their opener, the Jays turned to Grilli with two outs in the bottom of the 10th. He got Adam Jones to ground out to end the inning and recorded the first two outs in the 11th before giving up a walk-off home run to Mark Trumbo, last season’s home run leader. Still, if you’re desperate for saves in the short-term, he’s worth owning until Osuna returns.
Athletics manager Bob Melvin said he could start the year with a committee consisting of Ryan Madson, Santiago Casilla and Sean Doolittle. The threesome combined for two scoreless innings in their opener against the Angels, but it was Casilla who closed it out in the ninth. Again, it’s just one game, but Casilla, who has recorded more than 30 saves each of the last two seasons, seems to be the favorite for the job.

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Fantasy baseball: Early closer carousel gets interesting

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