FanHouse MannyAcosta

Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.

Meet the ...

Biggest offseason losers. At least that's what pessimists will try and tell you, anyway. The Braves -- and new GM Frank Wren -- seemingly made blunder after blunder in 2009, losing Rafael Furcal at the last minute, whiffing on A.J. Burnett, letting John Smoltz walk and failing to land Jake Peavy. But the reality is that Wren actually did a pretty darn good job assembling a talented squad that can certainly compete in the NL East in 2009. Oh, and they'll provide some nice fantasy value as well.

We're two weeks deep in baseball and there's been a lot of shifting in value already. In order to make the proper roster moves and know what to look for when you begin trade negotiations, it helps to understand the perceived value shifts that happen each week. So that's when we bust out the complex algorithms and determine who's up and who's down.

Evan Longoria, 3B, TB -- Tee. Hee. Yes, that's correct. I'm flat out giddy over Longoria's call up. He picked up a ribeye on his very first hit and then followed it up last night with is first major league double and then his first major league home run. You should have already added him in every league you play in (or should be doing that right now .... ) And I've heard some people say that there are better, cheaper options for the same type of player; please. Longoria bleeds upside.
B.J. Ryan, CL, TOR -- Ryan missed all of last season after J.P. Ricciardi kind of/sort of tricked everyone into thinking he was healthy. Now he's back and he's closing already. He also looked like he might have dropped some LB's since he last pitched, which never hurt anyone. A very nice add on an underrated Toronto team, although if he gets too hot it might be worth a sell.

Amid the good news of an Atlanta 8-0 lead over Florida on SportsSouth, the announcers dropped the unfortunate little bomb that Braves reliever and briefly one time closer Peter Moylan is likely out for the season. They were kind enough, at least for my purposes, to post this quote from Frank Wren:

I think, realistically, we know that it's a long shot that we can get Peter back this season. But we're going to give it two weeks to see what happens.

Apparently a calcium build up of some sort led to a bone spur that has "compromised the ligament in his elbow". Things did not sound anywhere near good if you're a Braves fan, so it seems safe to say that Moylan will miss the rest of the season. That means the Braves pitching staff is even more depleted than before. Rafael Soriano remains on the disabled list, Tom Glavine is banged up, Mike Hampton is Mike Hampton. Don't be surprised to see Wren make a move of some sort -- clearly Atlanta needs some MR help, and it doesn't look like it's coming from inside.

Bonus Fantasy Spin: Obviously you can drop Moylan. And it looks more and more like Manny Acosta is going to get the saves for the Braves, making him a nice add in almost any format for as long as Soriano is hurt.

Usually we reserve Always Be Closing for Mondays. But, much like 1995, the Braves and Indians are all the rage right now. Only this time, instead of being World Series opponents, they are the focus of closer issues. Both Peter Moylan and Joe Borowski -- the current shutdown guys -- were placed on the 15 day disabled list, leaving the closing duties open for two pretty cushy save situations.

Atlanta Braves
Bobby Cox never officially named Moylan the closer in the ATL, and maybe it's because he knew he could face "right elbow soreness" a little later down the road. Like, perhaps, today. Moylan had been absolutely dominant last season and equally as tough this year, nailing down his only save situation thus far. This works out "well" in the sense that the Braves need a roster spot for Buddy Carlyle, who was called up to take a rotation slot in the coming week. It works out "not well" in the sense that the previously deep pitching staff is getting thin quickly. Manny Acosta has a 7.20 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP on the season, but he's only pitched five times this year and the one bad outing was that freakish debacle against the Pirates. Add him immediately in all deep and NL-only leagues and think about jumping anywhere else if you need saves.

Cleveland Indians
Borowski has long been the bane of fantasy owners because of his ability to give up four earned runs en route to getting a save. In other words, no one understood why he kept the closer gig in the first place. Well, now he doesn't have it. Or at least he doesn't for the next 15 days as he'll be spending that time on the disabled list. Taking his place will likely be Rafael Betancourt. Betancourt recorded 31 holds last year, the sixth highest totals in the MLB, so it's pretty clear that Eric Wedge trusts him in a late inning role. Add in his 0.76 WHIP and a .184 BAA, and he's a very nice candidate to add in nearly any league. If he pitches well in this gig, there's no guarantee he gives it back.

The nightmare week for the Atlanta Braves continued today with the news that closer Rafael Soriano would be landing on the disable list with elbow tendinitis, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This news comes on the heels of the completely unrelated but no less depressing revelation that Jordan Schafer was using HGH. Of course, the Soriano injury is vastly more detrimental to the team in terms of their need to win right now. It's worth noting too that Bobby Cox held Raffy out for a game Monday because his elbow was sore and also that Soriano missed time in the preseason because of the same injury.

If Soriano's problematic right elbow wasn't barking, they would not have considered the move. He is the only Braves reliever with closer experience, and now he's out until at least April 22. The move was retroactive to Monday.

Soriano pitched in both weekend games against the New York Mets, including Saturday, when he worked the ninth inning with the Braves ahead 11-5.

In four appearances, the right-hander has a 2.25 ERA with two hits, one run, three walks and five strikeouts in four innings. He converted his only save opportunity when he gave up a run in the ninth inning of Sunday's 3-1 win.

The AJC said that Cox named Manny Acosta the closer for tonight's game against the Rockies -- it doesn't appear he'll be needed anyway -- but the FanHouse pick to get the most saves over the next week and a half is Peter Moylan. Moyland was dominant last year, posting a 1.80 ERA in 90 innings, and is sporting a quite tidy 1.93 so far in 2008. Soriano's move was retroactive as well, meaning he will not have to miss a full two weeks.

Bonus Fantasy Spin: Soriano has had lots of arm issues before, so he's a bit of a risk to go after. However, the Braves are paying him to close, so they'd like to see him do it when he's healthy. Plus, he's dominant as long as he's not spending time in the training room, making him a nice buy low, if the price is right. Moylan should be added in almost all leagues (particularly roto or deep H2H), based on his low ratios and high upside for saves.