One Yankee and one former Yankee in today’s waiver wire post. Coincidentally enough, expectations for both players were low coming into the season but they’ve since proven to be more useful than anticipated.

Raul Ibanez | OF | Yankees | Owned: 26% Yahoo! and 47.2% ESPN

Both Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira got off to slow starts this season, but the Yankees survived thanks in part to Derek Jeter’s insane April and unexpected contributions from Ibanez. The former Phillie is off to a .273/.330/.568 start with seven homers and 21 RBI through his first 97 plate appearances, and a slight uptick in BABIP (currently .233) will boost his average even more. Keep in mind that as a fly ball hitter, it’s not guaranteed to rebound all the way to his .302 career mark. Ibanez’s strikeout rate (9.3 K%) is a career-low (by far) and I have to think that at some point he’ll run into a 12 K in 20 PA slump or something like that. Hopefully not though.

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When I published our updated first base tier rankings last week, I mentioned that Adrian Gonzalez had hit just 13 homers in his previous 478 plate appearances dating back to last year. That stretch is now up to 509 plate appearances, not all that far off from a full season’s worth of playing time. Considering that Gonzalez is in his prime (turned 30 two days ago) and moved out of Petco Park and into Fenway Park last year, the recent lack of power is a bit troubling.

The first red flag that comes to mind is his right shoulder — the power shoulder for left-handed hitters — which was surgically repaired (torn labrum) just prior to his trade to the Red Sox. Gonzalez admitted to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that his shoulder was feeling weak and tired last September, but he recently told Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe that he’s healthy now…
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The waiver wire is still full of quality options as we start the season’s second month. Here’s an outfielder and a bullpen arm who are likely better than someone on your roster…

Ryan Sweeney | OF | Red Sox | Owned: 11% Yahoo! and 17.2% ESPN

Just a secondary piece in the Andrew Bailey–Josh Reddick trade, Sweeney has become in an important cog in the top-heavy Red Sox offense. His .368/.398/.540 batting line is excellent but nothing something I would expect him to sustain for the next 130-something games, mostly because his .457 BABIP (!) is not built to last. Sweeney has always been a high contact/BABIP hitter however — .330 career — and he moved into a much, much more favorable home ballpark with the trade. A .450 BABIP is nuts, but a .350 BABIP is probably doable.

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With the calendar now flipped over to May, it’s time to update our position rankings. Here are our first base preseason tiers and consensus rankings. Due to popular demand, I’m leaving the catchers — Mike Napoli, Carlos Santana, Joe Mauer, Buster Posey — out of the first base tiers from here on out. We all know they’re far, far more valuable behind the plate both in real life and in fantasy. Remember, these rankings are geared more towards what players are expected to do from here on out, not necessarily what they did during the first month of the season.

Tier One
Miguel Cabrera
Joey Votto
Prince Fielder
Adrian Gonzalez
Albert Pujols

So, how worried are you about Pujols? The ZiPS rest-of-season projection still loves him (.291/.376/.532) and I’m sure he’ll still whack 20-something homers the rest of the way, but is he still a lock for .300/30/100? I find that hard to believe at the moment. I’m not going to drop him out of the top tier after one bad month, but consider him officially on notice.

Meanwhile, did you know that Gonzalez has hit just 13 homers in his last 478 plate appearances dating back to last season? What’s up with that?

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Let’s start the week off with two players who have recently been promoted to more high-profile roles, one due to ineffectiveness and the other due to injury…

Scott Downs | RP | Angels | Owned: 41% Yahoo! and 33.0% ESPN

One of my ten bold predictions before the season said that Downs would save at least ten games for the Halos. Jordan Walden is good but shaky, and I figured that any misstep early on could result in him losing his job, even just temporarily. Mike Scioscia pulled the plug on his struggling closer after he’d blown a save against the Rays last Thursday, inserting Downs into the ninth inning role. He closed out his first game on Saturday with a perfect inning against the Indians in a one-run game.

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Once upon a time, Todd Helton was a fantasy monster and one of the very best players in the world. His 2000-2004 seasons were off-the-charts great — .349/.450/.643 with a .452 wOBA in 3,448 PA — and it wasn’t just Coors Field because a ton of other players played there as well, and none of ’em hit like that. Age and injuries have taken their toll on the greatest player in Rockies’ history, but Helton has remained productive in recent years and is currently a nice little buy-low candidate for fantasy owners.

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We’ve got a pair of AL Central outfielders on the docket today; two players who are coming off down and/or injury-hampered seasons and are poised for strong rebounds…

Alex Rios | White Sox | Owned: 46% Yahoo!

Whenever you think of Rios, you can’t help but think of his mammoth contract — owed $38 million through 2014. Thankfully his real life contract situation means nothing in fantasy. The 31-year-old had the worst season of his career in 2011, posting an unfathomably bad 59 wRC+ in 570 plate appearances. His walk rate (4.7%) was a career worst but not completely out of line with prior years (6.1% from ’08-’10), though his strike out rate (11.9%) was by the far the best of his career (16.1% from ’08-’10). The most interesting thing about Rios’ 2011 season was his batted ball profile…

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FYI: The stats in this post do not include yesterday’s games. It’s late and we haven’t updated yet.

After two games back in the starting lineup, the Cardinals placed Lance Berkman on the DL yesterday with a slightly torn calf muscle. It kept him on the bench for four games last weekend, but Puma re-aggravated the injury running after a foul ball on Wednesday. Our consensus rankings had Berkman as the 12th best fantasy first baseman coming into the season, and he did nothing to make us look foolish by posting a .437 wOBA in 30 plate appearances before hitting the DL.

Here are three potential fill-in first baseman to help you weather the storm while Berkman recovers…

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I’ve got two early-season waiver wire adds for you, one to help your outfield and one to help your bullpen…

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The season is barely more than a week old, but let’s quickly take stock of two first baseman headed in opposite directions…

Stock Up: Carlos Pena | Rays | Owned: 74! Yahoo! and 100.0% ESPN

Moving back to Tropicana Field after a one-year stint in Wrigley Field figures to take a bite out of Pena’s numbers over the long haul, but the first week back in the old digs has been a productive one (.536 wOBA in 22 PA). What I like most about Pena’s situation is his new batting order spot, second behind Desmond Jennings and ahead of Evan Longoria, Matt Joyce, and Ben Zobrist. It’s a prime RBI and runs scored spot, where his power and patience will play well. We know Pena won’t hit for average and his platoon split is an issue as well, but if he can’t get back over 100 RBI this season, he might never do it again.

Stock Down: Mike Morse | Nationals | Owned: 94% Yahoo! and 99.4% ESPN

A lat strain kept Morse on the shelf while the rest of the team broke camp, and the diagnosis has only gotten worse. Morse is now in “total shutdown mode” according to GM Mike Rizzo, and he won’t do anything for six weeks. If all goes well, maybe he’s back in the lineup in eight weeks, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Like oblique strains, lat issues can linger if not properly healed. Adam LaRoche’s job is safe for the foreseeable future, and Morse remains will remain a question mark until June.