The best laid plans would be an appropriate sentiment for owners such as myself. You plan, scheme, and ponder on a plan of attack. You strike at just the right moment, or so you would think. Then... BOOM! Your fantasy dreams are left dangling by a partially torn ligament.
A little melodramatic? Sure.
But losing your closer on Opening Day is painful. Bobby Parnell isn't the missing link for fantasy success, but ask his owners that spent last week scrambling for Jose Valverde how important he is.
BONUS: Charlie Blackmon, Yangervis Solarte could help fantasy owners
A test of a fantasy owner’s mettle comes from searching the scrap heap for suitable replacements. In the case of saves replacement, owners can most assuredly bank on other closers going down for a period of time, or simply flaming out and losing their job outright.
The best bet to fulfill your best-case scenario would be to identify the suspect back-end bullpen scenarios and hoard as many top eighth-inning guys that your roster will allow. The aforementioned Valverde would be the "ideal" alternative. Most savvy owners, however, will have scooped up such guys, so you will need to get creative. In fact, if you haven’t grabbed Shawn Kelley by now… it’s probably too late.
Vic Black has been mentioned as a potential suitor for the closer spot with the Mets. A horrible spring training has sent him to the minors. In contrast, Dellin Betances has been lights out in the minors since his conversion to reliever for the Yankees. His 108 Ks in 84 innings last year for Scranton Wilkes-Barre, as well as a very solid spring, has him on the major-league roster vying for top set up duty. A little depth-chart research could be the key to finding the next source of fantasy saves.
Your time for frustration is over. Step up and get to work. Your season isn't over. It has just begun.
Questions? Hit Tracy up on Twitter @TracyFay2012
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