Earlier this week we opened our 2010 Closer Report series with a look at the American League closers. Today, we’re looking at the National League.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (#3 in MLB)
The Man: Jonathan Broxton
The Pitch: 97 mph fastball (1.45 runs above average per 100 pitches)
The Health Report: Healthy
The Comments: Broxton enters his second full season as the Dodgers’ closer and he could be primed for a 40-save season. He’s almost impossible to hit (44 hits in 76.0 innings, 13.50 K/9). Sherrill is a pretty good short-term insurance policy, but not long-term.

The Back-up(s): George Sherrill, Ramon Troncoso
The Future: Josh Lindblom, Kenley Jansen

2. San Francisco Giants (#5 in MLB)
The Man: Brian Wilson
The Pitch: 96 mph fastball (1.64 runs above average per 100 pitches)
The Health Report: Healthy
The Comments: Wilson has 79 saves over the past two seasons and showed significant improvement from ’08 to ’09, which is very encouraging. Along with 35+ saves, he should produce a 10.00+ strikeout rate (K/9) in 2010.

The Back-up(s): Jeremy Affeldt, Sergio Romo
The Future: Waldis Joaquin, Dan Runzler

3. San Diego Padres (#6 in MLB)
The Man: Heath Bell
The Pitch: 94 mph fastball (1.72 runs above average per 100 pitches)
The Health Report: Healthy
The Comments: Bell has been a quality reliever for the Padres but he could be on the move by the trade deadline if a desperate club matches the organization’s demands. Another 40-save season could be in order.

The Back-up(s): Luke Gregerson, Mike Adams
The Future: Unclear

4. New York Mets (#7 in MLB)
The Man: Francisco Rodriguez
The Pitch: Change-up (3.44 runs above average per 100 pitches)
The Health Report: Recovering from pink eye
The Comments: Rodriguez has pretty much remade his approach over the past two seasons by ditching his slider and focusing on his curveball and change-up as his secondary pitches. The change-up has developed into a real weapon for him. Keep an eye on him, though, as his numbers are starting to erode (5.03 BB/9, lowest K/9 of his career).

The Back-up(s): Pedro Feliciano, Sean Green
The Future: Unclear

5. Chicago Cubs (#9 in MLB)
The Man: Carlos Marmol
The Pitch: Slider (1.12 runs above average per 100 pitches)
The Health Report: Healthy
The Comments: With the inconsistent Kevin Gregg now in Toronto, the closer’s gig in Chicago belongs solely to Marmol. If he can find the plate (7.91 BB/9 in ’09), Marmol could be an impact closer, as he’s been almost impossible to hit over the past two seasons (83 hits in 161.1 innings).

The Back-up(s): John Grabow, Jeff Samardzija
The Future: Esmailin Caridad, Marcos Mateo

6. Cincinnati Reds (#10 in MLB)
The Man: Francisco Cordero
The Pitch: 95 mph fastball (1.17 runs above average per 100 pitches)
The Health Report: Healthy
The Comments: Cordero has tallied 34+ saves in five of the past six seasons, and a total of 117 over the past three years. On the downside, his strikeout rate has dropped from 12.22 to 9.98 to 7.83 K/9.

The Back-up(s): Arthur Rhodes, Nick Masset
The Future: Brad Boxberger

7. Colorado Rockies (#13 in MLB)
The Man: Huston Street
The Pitch: Slider (4.46 runs above average per 100 pitches)
The Health Report: Injured (Shoulder, 2-4 weeks)
The Comments: Street rediscovered his closer’s touch in ’09 with the Rockies and blew just two saves in 37 opportunities. He also showed improved control and posted a 10.22 K/9 rate. His fly-ball tendencies are mildly concerning, as is the shoulder discomfort, which should keep him out for at least half of April.

The Back-up(s): Franklin Morales, Manny Corpas
The Future: Franklin Morales, Rex Brothers

8. Milwaukee Brewers (#15 in MLB)
The Man: Trevor Hoffman
The Pitch: Change-up (3.95 runs above average per 100 pitches)
The Health Report: Healthy (but old)
The Comments: The 42-year-old vet had a huge bounce-back season in ’09 with 37 saves in 41 opportunities. He should break 600 career saves by the middle or end of May.

The Back-up(s): Todd Coffey, LaTroy Hawkins
The Future: Zach Braddock

9. Atlanta Braves (#18 in MLB)
The Man: Billy Wagner
The Pitch: Slider (3.72 runs above average per 100 pitches)
The Health Report: Upper-respiratory illness
The Comments: Wagner, 38, is nearing the end of a great career. He’s pitched in just 62 games over the past two seasons so you have to be worried about his durability.

The Back-up(s): Takashi Saito, Pete Moylan
The Future: Craig Kimbrel

10. St. Louis Cardinals (#20 in MLB)
The Man: Ryan Franklin
The Pitch: Cutter (2.04 runs above average per 100 pitches)
The Health Report: Healthy
The Comments: Franklin was a real good story in ’09 by saving 38 games in 43 tries for the Cardinals – He entered the season with just 18 career saves. Be wary of the 37-year-old hurler, who is likely to be over-valued on draft day.

The Back-up(s): Jason Motte
The Future: Jason Motte, Eduardo Sanchez

11. Arizona Diamondbacks (#22 in MLB)
The Man: Chad Qualls
The Pitch: 93 mph fastball (0.55 runs above average per 100 pitches)
The Health Report: Healthy, but coming off knee surgery
The Comments: The 31-year-old Qualls saved 24 games in ’09 – the first time he’s reached double-digits in saves in his career. He’s by no means an over-powering reliever, but the team should hand him a large number of opportunities.

The Back-up(s): Bob Howry, Juan Gutierrez
The Future: Traded away (Daniel Schlereth)

12. Pittsburgh Pirates (#23 in MLB)
The Man: Octavio Dotel
The Pitch: Slider (1.44 runs above average per 100 pitches)
The Health Report: Minor oblique injury
The Comments: Dotel has closing experience, but he’s coming off a season with the White Sox in which he recorded zero saves. Despite that, he’s posted a K/9 rate of 10.83 or better in each of the past three seasons. He’s injury-prone and not getting any younger (36).

The Back-up(s): Joel Hanrahan, Brendan Donnelly
The Future: Unclear

13. Florida Marlins (#24 in MLB)
The Man: Leo Nunez
The Pitch: Slider (1.55 runs above average per 100 pitches)
The Health Report: Healthy
The Comments: Nunez is the club’s undisputed closer simply because the organization has no one better. The right-hander saved 26 games last year but blew seven saves and he’s been pretty bad this spring.

The Back-up(s): Dan Meyer, Taylor Tankersley
The Future: Ryan Tucker

14. Washington Nationals (#25 in MLB)
The Man: Matt Capps
The Pitch: 93 mph fastball (-0.63 runs above average per 100 pitches)
The Health Report: Healthy
The Comments: Capps is coming off of back-to-back 20+ save seasons with Pittsburgh but his fastball value has been on a steady decline from 2.22 to 1.73 to -0.63 wFB/C. His secondary pitches were also inconsistent in ’09 and Capps has not performed well this spring.

The Back-up(s): Brian Bruney, Jason Bergmann
The Future: Drew Storen

15. Philadelphia Phillies (#26 in MLB)
The Man: Brad Lidge
The Pitch: 95 mph fastball (1.07 runs above average per 100 pitches)
The Health Report: Knee/Elbow injuries (Out 2-4 weeks)
The Comments: Lidge is likely to miss the first part of April while recovering from off-season surgeries. Considering how toxic he was last season, Lidge could permanently lose his job to Ryan Madson if the youngster can establish himself early on.

The Back-up(s): Ryan Madson, Danys Baez
The Future: Ryan Madson, Scott Mathieson

16. Houston Astros (#28 in MLB)
The Man: Matt Lindstrom
The Pitch: 96 mph fastball (-0.80 runs above average per 100 pitches)
The Health Report: Healthy
The Comments: For a team that spent as much money this past off-season on the bullpen, the Astros organization is in pretty poor shape (which speaks volumes). Lindstrom failed miserably as the Marlins’ closer in ’09 but he was battling injuries so we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt… for now.

The Back-up(s): Brandon Lyon, Sammy Gervacio
The Future: Sammy Gervacio, Chia-Jen Lo

Protect your windshields, Braves fans: Jason Heyward’s potent lefty bat is coming to Turner Field. The Atlanta Braves officially announced that the best position prospect in the game will open the 2010 season as the club’s starting right fielder.

Just 20, Heyward has pummeled opposing pitchers since the Braves selected him with the 14th overall pick in the 2007 draft. His all-around talents have earned the admiration of all the prospect mavens: Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law named the Georgia prep product the best talent in the minors, while Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein ranked him number two. John Sickels gave Heyward (who would be a junior had he attended UCLA) an A grade.

The 6-4, 220 pound man-child made his full-season debut in 2008, spending almost the entire year at Low-A Rome in the South Atlantic League (he got a late-season cameo in the High-A Carolina League with Myrtle Beach). Collectively, Heyward hit .316/.381/.473 in 533 plate appearances. He displayed some pop (.157 Isolated Power), while controlling the zone pretty well for such a young player (9.6 percent walk rate, 16.6 percent strikeout rate). Heyward was polished on the base paths as well, stealing 15 bags in 18 tries.

This past year, Heyward zoomed from Myrtle Beach to Double-A Mississippi of the Southern League, while getting a few trips to the plate in the International League for Triple-A Gwinnett. In 422 total PA, Heyward authored a .323/.408/.555 line, with a .232 ISO. Heyward walked as often as he whiffed, with 51 BBs and K’s apiece. While not a massive stolen base threat, he had 10 SB in 11 attempts.

Without question, Heyward is a premium keeper pick. But what can he contribute in 2010? CHONE projects Atlanta’s golden child to hit near a league-average clip, with a .258/.324/.416 triple-slash (98 wRC+). That jives with Heyward’s 2009 Major League Equivalent (MLE) line, which was .255/.321/.423 according to Minor League Splits. ZiPS is more optimistic that he can produce right away, forecasting .275/.341/.429 (110 wRC+). PECOTA likes Heyward even more, with a .280/.348/.477 projected line.

Heyward is a prodigious talent, a 20 year-old with the plate approach of a 30 year-old. Though it would be expecting too much for him to be a force at the plate right away, Heyward’s offensive floor for the upcoming season is probably that of an average MLB hitter. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if he easily surpasses that level, with a batting line somewhere between his ZIPS and PECOTA projections. The only real quibble regarding Heyward is durability: he missed time during the ’09 regular season with oblique, hip and heel injuries, and he was sent home early from the Arizona Fall League with a hamstring strain and a sore back.

At worst, Heyward figures to be average in 2010. At best, he could be a key contributor in all fantasy leagues. This may be the last time that you can get him without giving up a primo draft pick. Just don’t park too close to the ball park.

(As a side note, Melky Cabrera and Matt Diaz will split time in left field. While that arrangement should make for a productive real-world tandem, there’s little fantasy value to be had.)

Wednesday night I participated in a 12-team NL-only auction in a challenge run by Dave Gawron of RotoCommunity.com. This was part of a three-team competition among various fantasy sites, which included a mixed league as well as an AL-only squad.

The competition was tough and I have no illusions about winning this league. My main hope is not to sink the hopes of the other two teams for the site I was representing.

I went in with the plan of not paying more than $30 for any player. I was going to punt AVG and put a little more money towards pitching. My goal was to have a strong OF and end up with two closers. I ended up with the following team:

Ryan Doumit – $13
Jason Castro – $1
Adam Dunn – $25
Clint Barmes – $10
Troy Glaus – $14
Stephen Drew – $17
Rafael Furcal – $9
Mark DeRosa – $11
Jason Bay – $26
Michael Bourn – $19
Nate McLouth – $16
Chris Young – $8
Scott Hairston – $1
Justin Maxwell – $4
Luke Gregerson – $1
Jason Marquis – $2
Tim Hudson – $6
Jorge de la Rosa – $9
Ubaldo Jimenez – $21
Brandon Webb – $10
Heath Bell – $16
Felipe Paulino – $2
Chad Qualls – $18

Best buys – McLouth, Hudson, Bell
Worst buys – Glaus, Glaus, Qualls
Cautiously optimistic – Young, Webb
Fingers crossed – Barmes, Bourn

I was surprised both at how quickly the big boys were nominated and how much money was spent early in this auction. My first five buys – Bay, Dunn, Bourn, Jimenez and Bell – were ones I had valued differently than others, as I had them going for more, while seemingly everyone else purchased early went above where I thought they would.

It seemed like everything was going as planned. I was waiting for prices to drop in the middle and then I was going to scoop up the bargains. But for me those bargains never materialized. All of the guys I was targeting went for more money than I was prepared to bid. Then I found myself in a bad place – plenty of money and no one at key positions to spend it on.

Two days later I still can’t believe the money I spent on Glaus. I was hoping for Mark Reynolds but he was too expensive. I thought Casey Blake was too pricey at $11 but that was a bargain compared to what I was left holding. Even Chipper Jones would have been a better buy. Let’s just move on.

The other thing I wish I had done differently was spend on relievers early. Seemingly there was no premium on high-end closers but near the end, everyone started bidding up the third and fourth-tier guys. The owner who snagged Francisco Rodriguez at $15 did a lot better than the rest of us. While I paid too much for Qualls, I don’t think it was a crippling blow.

The middle infielders I ended up with were very surprising. I was targeting Phillips, Uggla or Weeks but each went for more money than I was expecting. Uggla went for $18 and I wish I had tried $19. But if Barmes holds on to the position, he could be a nice addition. I can live with the AVG if he puts up another 20 HR season.

Drew was a guy I thought was going to have a big year in 2009, so hopefully he comes through here one year later. I did not expect to pay $9 for my MI, but I thought that was a nice value for Furcal. Ryan Theriot went for $15 and Alcides Escobar for $17.

Generally, I am not a McLouth fan, but he is much more appealing when AVG is a lesser concern. The one thing I did right in the auction was to nominate Corey Hart immediately after I won McLouth. Hart ended up going for the same $16, which seems crazy to me. Nor am I a big Young fan. But he is only 26 and I am hoping that his production after he was recalled from the minors last year is indicative of what he will give in 2010.

Times have changed when a fantasy owner is happy about having two SP for the Rockies but I like both of these guys. The key for me is how soon Webb can return to the mound. If he only misses a month and comes back at 90 percent of what he was, then I will be happy.

I would prefer to have less risk (Doumit, Barmes, Glaus, Webb) and more upside but at the same time a little risk is a good thing. Now that it is over, my goal is to pull at least 75 points with this team. Do you think that is realistic?

This series will look at players that are officially on the disabled list and can be moved to an available DL slot.

Here are the seven people officially on the DL according to Yahoo:

Edinson Volquez – 12% owned – He’s a great candidate to put on the DL, especially in a keeper league. Even if you are not in a deep league, he should be ready by mid-summer and by then you will have a couple of other pitchers ailing.

Jordan Zimmerman – 2% owned – Pick him up. Young. Decent strikeout rate. If in a keeper league, grab him now and let him sit. He may not pitch at all in 2010, but if you have empty DL slots, use one for him.

Scott Richmond – 0% owned – He currently has an unknown timetable for returning. He may only be worth keeping in an AL-only league. Once the season starts, there should be other better candidates for the DL slots, though.

Anthony Reyes – 0% owned – No reason to pick up a 28-year-relief pitcher with a lifetime 5.12 ERA.

Dirk Hayhurst – 0% owned – Dirk should be back in May or June. Don’t let his ERA of 2.78 last year make you think is OK. He had a FIP of 4.55 in those 15 games. Pass.

Eric Hurley – 0% owned – Not sure if you want to waste your time with him. Should be back mid-May.

There’s an Oriole starter that quietly moving up draft boards and garnering dark-horse votes for the 2010 ROY. He’s being lauded for his poise and polish, and fantasy managers are snatching him up despite his formidable AL East opponents. Talk of his dominating college and minor league performances spreads from water cooler to water cooler and the hype is growing.

That pitcher is not Chris Tillman. Still valued at $0 in AL-only leagues on LastPlayerPicked.com, Tillman is languishing on draft boards and isn’t inspiring the same excitement currently, despite possibly more upside. Is there an open secret sitting in the shadows behind Brian Matusz? Maybe it’s the whole left-handed thing.

It seems a fait accompli that Tillman will rise to the top of this rotation… eventually. The numbers from the minor leagues, though, don’t necessarily bear out all that optimism. For every positive, there’s seemingly a negative that brings an asterisk.

Take his strikeout rate – Tillman had a nice, steady strikeout rate all the way through the minors as he rode his 92+ MPH fastball and big breaking curveball to a 9.8 K/9 career minor league rate that never once dipped below a strikeout per inning. That’s beautiful. Less exciting is his career minor league 3.89 BB/9 that was actually over four walks per nine in the majority of his stops along the way. Much of the optimism about Tillman comes from his stellar work in AAA last year, when he put up an outlier walk rate (2.4 BB/9) that he had never once shown before. In his short time in the majors last year, the walk rate looked okay (3.3 BB/9), but the strikeout rate wasn’t there. Though he’s still young (21) and did most of his minor league work before he could drink, Tillman needs to repeat his 2009 control to really impress the general public, it seems.

Then there’s the pitching mix. The scouts like his fastball and his curveball, but it was his changeup that was the only pitch that scored positively in linear weights last year. He also gave up too many fly balls on mid-to-high-heat as Heat Mapper Dave Allen showed so beautifully late last year. That problem seems commensurate with his minor league career, where he had about an unimpressive one-to-one groundball-to-flyball ratio.

Can a fly-ball pitcher succeed in Baltimore, or can Tillman at least push his ratio back to his minor league level? No matter what, the home run rate should fall. His 2.08 HR/9 rate came on the heels of a 15.2 HR/FB percentage that shouldn’t continue.

There’s also talk of Tillman developing a cutter, which, as Daniel Moroz of Camden Crazies points out, might help him locate his pitches in a new part of the zone in between his high heat and his low curveball. Although the cutter is en vogue, and it doesn’t work for everyone, Tillman might really benefit from augmenting his pitching mix. Anything to keep him from grooving fastballs at the belt would, of course, help.

Taken as a whole, there’s more to like than dislike in the Tillman package. If you squint just right, you could see this young pitcher find his old dominant strikeout rate, push the groundball-to-flyball ratio back to his normal (if mediocre) levels, exhibit his new-found control once again, and drastically improve his results. That’s all without the intrigue of the new pitch added in. In an AL-only league, that’s certainly worth a dollar.

Well, this is my first post here at FanGraphs. This season, I will be be updating an ongoing injury data set and writing about injuries on the main and fantasy sides of the website. Also, I will write whatever else I have time for that Mr. Hulet and Mr. Cameron will allow. Let me know if there is any injury specific information that you want and I will gladly try to work on it.

One series I plan on running is a look at different injuries types, what the injury entails in simple terms and how it affects a player. So without further ado, here are some pitchers that will be on the DL due to injuries once the season begins:

Ted Lilly – Ted looks to be out until late April after having objects removed from shoulder. You might want to monitor him for a start or two when he come back, but there should be no real worries with him. Looks like a great candidate in deep and NL leagues to stick in your DL slot once he becomes DL eligible.

J.P. Howell – Looks like he is also going to be out until the end of April. Rafael Soriano will get the first crack at the closing job with Grant Balfour and Dan Wheeler waiting in the wings.

Brad Lidge – Brad had a rough off-season having surgery on his knees (loose objects) and elbow (loose objects again). He is currently rehabilitating and is aiming for a April 10 return to the roster. Looks like Ryan Madson will get the first shot at the closer role in Philly in Lidge’s absence.

Cliff Lee – Cliff isn’t able to pitch yet and if you planned on him this year, you may need to find a backup for a couple weeks as he gets healthy.

Kerry Wood – At least it’s his back hurt and not his shoulder or elbow so there may be a chance he will come back this season. In his absence, grab Chris Perez. He has the closer role for now and should eventually take it over. After all, it’s not like Kerry isn’t going to go on the DL a couple more times this year.

Erik Bedard – Erik Bedard on the DL? You may be as surprised as I am. Looks like right now he is aiming for a June return. If you have a free DL slot you might want to stick him there (once he become eligible) and wait, but if a little more reliable player needs the slot, drop Bedard, as there is a chance he may never pitch this season.

Last season was a year to forget for Tigers pitcher Nate Robertson. A sprained thumb suffered during Spring Training contributed to him opening the season in the bullpen, a place he was unfamiliar with having made starts in 163 of his previous 174 outings in the majors. His new role, along with more injuries, kept him under 50 innings pitched for the year. And when he did pitch the results were just not there. But last year’s troubles are why Robertson is an attractive end-game target for those in AL-only leagues this season.

In addition to the thumb injury, Robertson also suffered in 2009 from a lower back strain that landed him on the disabled list. And if that wasn’t enough, he had surgery to remove a mass from his left elbow that kept him out for 60 days. Robertson ended the 2009 campaign with inflammation on the left side of his pelvis. And in November he had surgery for a torn muscle in his groin.

And you thought you were happy to see 2010 come.

This year Robertson finds himself battling for a spot back in the rotation. He has had a strong Spring and thru games on Tuesday he leads the Tigers with 14.2 IP. Robertson has 2-0 record with a 3.68 ERA, with 6 BB and 14 Ks.

For the five seasons prior to 2009, Robertson averaged just under 31 starts per year for Detroit. His strong showing in Grapefruit League play should help him sew up a spot back in the rotation this year. In 2009, Robertson had a 3.86 ERA in six games as a starter and a 7.48 ERA in 22 games out of the pen.

In addition to pitching out of the pen, two other things stand out as outliers for Robertson last year. Historically a ground ball pitcher, he had a 0.99 GB/FB ratio last year. Also, Robertson usually has pretty solid control, but last year he had a 5.07 BB/9, nearly two full walks above his 3.24 career average.

Assuming Robertson reverts to throwing strikes and getting ground balls, he should be a fine $1 pitcher to target at the end of drafts. In addition to everything else that went wrong last year, he also had a .344 BABIP, 33 points above his career norm. Robertson does not need to make any improvements in his game, he just needs to be healthy and have a reasonable amount of luck to be a good addition to your fantasy team.

I’m pleased to announce that FanGraphs first publication, The 2010 Second Opinion is now available for sale at the price of $7.95! What you get is a PDF and all the information is also available online through your FanGraphs.com account. Here’s the rundown:

Player Profiles – Over 400 in-depth player profiles written by many of the FanGraphs and RotoGraphs contributors you’re already familiar with.

Articles – Closer situations, players coming back from injuries, sophomore players to watch, 2010 fantasy prospects, impact trades, the big questions for 2010, and something that Carson wrote, where he answers your questions before you even ask them!

Stats & Graphs – Each player profile is accompanied by a stat box with 10 very useful stats for both fantasy and real-life player evaluation including spark graphs showing career trends.

Team Previews – Each team is previewed for next season, giving you the rundown on what to expect from a fantasy and real-life standpoint.

Bonus Material – FanGraphs has partnerned with ESPN Insider this season and if you purchase the PDF, you’ll have access to anything we write for ESPN Insider right here on FanGraphs.com up until March 1st, 2011.

Online Integration – In addition to the PDF, you will have access to all the information in the book on FanGraphs.com when logged in to your FanGraphs account. This information will include the written player profiles which will be integrated into the stats pages and all the articles and team previews in the book.

If you run into any payment problems or other issues please fill out a contact form and we’ll try and solve the problem as soon as possible!

Stock Up

Jaime Garcia, St. Louis Cardinals

Dan Budreika took a close look at Garcia back in December, and the 23 year-old lefty has done nothing to dispel the notion that he could be a handy starter at the back of St. Louis’ rotation. Garcia made his big league debut in 2008, but Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the majority of the ’09 season.

In the minors, the 2005 22nd-round pick has punched out 8.3 batters per nine innings, with 3 BB/9. Armed with a low-90’s sinking fastball, a big-breaking mid-70’s curve and an occasional cutter and changeup, Garcia is an extreme groundball pitcher. On the farm, he has a career 58.7 GB%. If Garcia can stay healthy and show modest control, he could be a sleeper in NL-only and deep mixed leagues.

Sean Rodriguez, Tampa Bay Rays

The former Angels prospect is making a strong claim to be in Tampa’s lineup on a near-daily basis. Rodriguez’s minor league lines at the Triple-A level are eye-popping, though they should be tempered by the hitter-friendly nature of the Pacific Coast League.

Still, the soon-to-be 25 year-old has quality secondary skills for a middle infielder. CHONE projects Rodriguez to hit .241/.327/.447 in 2010, a performance that would be six percent above the MLB average once park and league factors are accounted for (106 wRC+). He’s going to whiff a lot, and his batting average won’t be pretty. But if you focus on Rodriguez’s walks and power, you could nab a serviceable starter in AL-only and deep mixed leagues.

C.J. Wilson, Texas Rangers

Wilson hasn’t started a big league game since 2005, but his lobbying to crack Texas’ rotation appears to have been successful. How will it go? Matt Klaassen tackled that topic last week, mentioning Wilson’s addition of a cut fastball to his repertoire and his improved showing against righty hitters in 2009.

There are some things to like here, but we probably shouldn’t get too giddy over one-year platoon splits for a reliever. Generally, a reliever moving into the starting rotation performs about one run worse per nine innings pitched. CHONE projects a 3.70 FIP for Wilson out of the ‘pen, so a rough estimate would have him in the 4.70 range as a starter. It’s hard to predict how he’ll react to the move in terms of retaining stuff, showing stamina and adapting (or not adapting) his pitch selection. But Wilson’s bat-missing ability and groundball tendencies (career 52.9 GB%) make him someone to watch.

Gaby Sanchez, Florida Marlins

The former Miami Hurricane seems likely to open 2010 as Florida’s starting first baseman, holding off top prospect Logan Morrison for the moment.

Sanchez is no spring chicken at 26, but he’s a career .302/.392/.485 hitter at the minor league level. He split his time between the infield corners in the minors, and he’d be a more interesting fantasy option if he attained multi-position eligibility. Sanchez isn’t a hot-shot prospect- his .270/.356/.430 CHONE projection would be run-of-the-mill for a first baseman- but his excellent eye and average power make him worth considering in NL-only leagues.

Stock Down

Kerry Wood, Cleveland Indians

Wood could miss up to two months with a strained latissimus muscle. In the meantime, Chris Perez will take over the closer’s spot, and it’s possible that he might not relinquish the job if he manages not to walk the yard.

The 32 year-old Wood was phenomenal in relief for the Cubs in 2008 (3.07 xFIP). In 2009, however, his walk rate spiked, and his outside swing percentage dipped from 31.3% to 20.2% (25% MLB average). His curve and new cutter were quality, but the run value on his fastball declined from +0.75 per 100 pitches in 2008 to -0.62 this past year.

Elijah Dukes, Nobody

The Nationals surprisingly cut ties with Dukes earlier this month, waving goodbye to a player who has tantalized and aggravated over the years. Granted, Dukes wasn’t particularly good in 2009 (88 wRC+), as his Isolated Power fell to .143 and he battled various injury problems. We know the off-the-field history, and he has struggled to stay healthy: hamstring, knee and calf ailments in 2008, and more hamstring and knee issues in ’09.

But even so, Dukes is 25 years old, owns a career .280/.369/.451 minor league line and has a career 104 wRC+ in the majors. He has a good eye at the dish (13.3 BB%, 22.2 Outside Swing%) and has pop in his linebacker-esque frame (.180 ISO). It’s hard to believe that he was cut loose for purely baseball reasons, given his talent and affordability.

Joe Nathan, Minnesota Twins

Displaying 94 MPH heat and a pair of devastating breaking pitches, Nathan mows down hitters in the late frames like few others: over the past three seasons, Nathan ranks fourth in the majors in reliever WAR, with 6.2.

Unfortunately, Nathan is headed for Tommy John surgery, causing owners who already drafted him to bang their heads against their keyboards repeatedly. Check out Eno Sarris’ look at who might take the ninth for Minnesota in Nathan’s absence.

Gil Meche, Kansas City Royals

A much-derided free agent acquisition, Meche was surprisingly effective and healthy in ’07 and ’08: he compiled 4.4 WAR in 2007 and 5 WAR in 2008, while easily topping the 200-inning mark both years (by far career highs in innings pitched). However, his body paid the price last year. Meche’s 2009 campaign was curtailed by back spasms in July and shoulder inflammation that ended his season a month early. Now, Meche is experiencing shoulder stiffness. Proceed with extreme caution.

Since we are getting dangerously close to draft day in most leagues, there are probably a lot of questions going around. In an effort to help you, the reader, get ready for draft day, I am giving you a chance to get your questions answered today.

Not only will I be answering your questions, but some of my RotoGraphs colleagues may be stopping in today to give their spin. However, there are some guidelines for how this will go. All questions won’t be answered, but any reasonable question asked in the comments of this post today will be answered. What makes a question reasonable? Glad you asked.

A reasonable question would be something like “Who would you rather have, Matt Holliday or Nick Markakis?” A bad question would be “Who would you rather have, Albert Pujols or Adam Moore?” There is a huge grey area, but I’m a fairly forgiving person and will probably answer your question, as long as I don’t feel you are wasting my time.

Questions don’t just have to be in “Player X vs. Player Y” form (though I bet most of them will be). You can ask about any relevant fantasy topic, from draft day etiquette to anything else on your mind, it will likely be answered.

So, let’s get to it! Any questions?