Today's Fantasy Rx

As previously mentioned, we keep track of Games Finished stats during Spring Training. We only count GF with exactly 1 IP since that's the length of a typical closer outing. We also keep a sheet of lineups, updated every day or so, that we also use for each of our drafts.

Potential Closers

Three pitchers have finished eight games this spring. Mariano Rivera seems primed to continue his Hall of Fame career on the Yankees. Jorge Julio should establish himself as Baltimore's closer within the next week or two, and you should value him accordingly in your upcoming drafts. Atlanta's Kevin Gryboski has also closed out eight games, and we still hope he makes the team instead of a retread like Darren Holmes who hasn't seen success in years.

Another three pitchers have finished seven games this spring. Bob Wickman and Felix Rodriguez each finished one additional game in the past week. We still don't expect Oakland's Matt J. Miller to win a spot in that crowded pen this spring even if they manage to trade one of the lefties, but he's pitched well, has a good track record over the last couple of years, and should be a prime candidate to provide mid-season relief help if someone goes down with a long-term injury.

Only three pitchers have managed to finish six games. Willis Roberts will still likely see some save opportunities as Baltimore's primary right-handed setup man. Colorado's Jose Jimenez will continue to close as Todd Jones will remain as his primary setup man.

Minnesota's J.C. Romero has excelled this spring, and has not only won a spot as the primary left-handed setup man after closer LHP Eddie Guardado, but Romero might even be in line for some save opportunities if Guardado falters. While we still expect Jack Cressend to get the most consideration, we hadn't quite realized the specifics of Romero's usage patterns until recently. He finished a few more games in the past week, to merit consideration here, and his spring stats also have amazed many people. Romero has compiled a 23:3 K:BB ratio in 15.2 IP with 2 HR. You should definitely consider him an excellent choice at buck or two. Considering we thought he showed some promise as a starter before his demotion to the bullpen, he might even see some spot starts as Minnesota's only real alternative on the 25-man roster is LaTroy Hawkins.

Several more pitchers have reached 5 GF this spring:

David Riske of Cleveland;

Aaron Taylor of Seattle;

Carlos Silva of Philadelphia;

Jim Brower of Cincinnati, Brandon Puffer of Houston, and Mike DeJean of Milwaukee;

Alan Embree of San Diego and Felix Diaz of San Francisco.

Aside from the lefty Embree, the remaining seven pitchers should be considered either top closer or relief prospects. DeJean is likely Milwaukee's primary reliever in their closer-by-committee, Riske and Brower are both good set-up men, and Silva might sneak onto Philadelphia's roster if the numbers work. Taylor and Puffer are both probably a year away but could see time with injuries, and Diaz, as previously discussed, is probably two years away.

Lineups

I'll try to provide brief updates on some lineup decisions that affect player values.

Boston has moved Trot Nixon down to the #6 spot in order to protect the heart of the order. Rickey Henderson should DH and hit lead-off against most left-handers; Damon would hit 2nd. Against righties, Jose Offerman will likely see a lot of time in the #2 hole as DH, although Brian Daubach will certainly still see regular playing time. Rey Sanchez will likely hit 2nd when Daubach starts.

Cleveland will use some version of the following lineup for most games: Lawton/Vizquel/Burks/Thome/Fryman/Gutierrez/Branyan/Bradley/Diaz. Brady Anderson will likely see slightly more playing time on average then either Branyan or Bradley, and he'll split his lineup time between 1st and 7th. When Anderson leads-off, Lawton will move to #3 with everyone else shifting down one slot.

Detroit appears committed to Higginson leading off, and while Dmitri Young looks set as the clean-up hitter, the rest of the lineup is completely up in the air. Shortstop Shane Halter has even seen a few games hitting third, and he may be the worst starter on the team. They're best alternative is likely Higginson/Macias/Meluskey/Young/Palmer(when healthy)/Fick/Halter/Paquette/Easley, although you should expect this situation to continue to change. For now, discount Higginson's RBI opportunities slightly while increasing his SB projections by a few bags.

The Yankees' lineup remains in flux due to the uncertain status of Rondell White. We still expect Soriano to hit 9th on most days, although this situation could certainly change at any time.

Oakland will hit David Justice fourth until Jermaine Dye's return. Scott Hatteberg's scorching spring has left him as the primary DH and likely #3 hitter. Their lineup appears set for the next couple of weeks with Giambi/Menechino/Hatteberg/Justice/Chavez/Tejada/Long/Pena/Hernandez, so bump up Hatteberg's value and be ready to trade him as soon as Dye returns since Pena should be outhitting him by that point.

Texas has apparently shifted Carl Everett to the #2 slot with Ivan Rodriguez slipping down to #6. Catalanotto will still lead-off most games with Kapler and Greer in the #7 or possibly #9 slots around Hank Blalock. Mike Young will remain at #9 when Catalanotto isn't playing second base.

Toronto has continued to use Eric Hinske in the #2 hole as much as possible, although they could still move Homer Bush back to that slot. Expect one of the youngsters to take this role eventually, with Hinske holding a slight edge over Felipe Lopez and Vernon Wells due to his superior plate discipline.

Arizona might use Damian Miller as the clean-up hitter against left-handers, but as the National League doesn't have many lefty starters, expect Mark Grace or Steve Finley to see most of the time hitting behind Luis Gonzalez.

The Cubs are keeping the red-hot Corey Patterson in the #2 slot at least until Bill Mueller's return. If he can maintain a respectable OBP, don't expect him to leave this spot in the order for the next few years. Delino DeShields held off Bobby Hill for the second base job, although expect the lineup to begin Hill/Patterson/Sosa beginning no later than August; it will probably stay that way through at least 2005.

Los Angeles made a major shift a couple days ago. Despite his public comments opposing such a move, Grudzielanek has been moved down to the #8 hole. A Dave Roberts/Marquis Grissom semi-platoon will lead off, followed by Cesar Izturis, Paul LoDuca, Shawn Green, Brian Jordan, Adrian Beltre, and Eric Karros. The immediate impact of this change is to hurt the value of LoDuca in 4x4 leagues by decreasing his RBI opportunities. Green's potential also logically goes up as he'll have LoDuca on base in front of him much of the time.

Montreal released Jose Canseco, rightly awarding the left field job to Brad Wilkerson. With the return of Fernando Tatis to the DL, their Opening Day lineup should read Bergeron/Vidro/Guerrero/Cabrera/Stevens/Truby/Wilkerson/Barrett. Don't expect much variation in that order on a nightly basis.

The Mets have given some indication that they may return Alfonzo to #2, bumping Alomar to #3 and then switching Piazza with Vaughn. As we can't see why they'd leave the best hitter on the team in the #5 hole at the expense of the over-rated Vaughn, hope that Valentine leaves the heart of the order alone at Alomar/Piazza/Vaughn/Alfonzo, especially as a healthy Alfonzo should show solid power development while Alomar's maxed out around twenty homers.

St. Louis has switched Albert Pujols to left field and Placido Polanco back to 3B after attempts at a left field platoon involving Japanese import So Taguchi failed. Readers in leagues with in-season position-eligibility switches should note this change.

I hope you've enjoyed this weekly look at bullpen and lineup changes around the league during Spring Training. Tomorrow we'll discuss our lineup for the BBW Diamond and Internet Challenges.

Today's Fantasy Rx: During the year, I intend to use this space to recommend underrated players on a frequent basis. For those of you drafting this weekend, Vladimir Nunez and Jorge Julio are the two most underrated almost-closers out there. Florida's Jeff Torborg has said that Nunez will see most 1+ IP saves with Looper only filling in when Nunez can't work two days in a row. Despite all his publicity, Looper has shown little skill even compared to a relatively average pitcher like Nunez, so expect the latter to win this job completely within the next month.

Eric Gagne also seems poised for a nice run in Los Angeles, and we're ecstatic that we have him rostered at a buck in two NL 4x4 leagues. We valued him at over $20 and believe he's a safe buy at least into the mid-teens; go higher if you believe that he'll stay in the bullpen all year.