Risers and fallers

Our initial ranking lists were published in early February, and due to free-agent signings, injuries and changes of heart on certain players, we thought they could use a sprucing up. The updated rankings are available, and below are explanations regarding some new additions and big movers. Risers and fallers are ranked in order of how many spots they moved up or down.

Questions, comments or insults should be posted at the bottom of the page.

New additions

Troy Glaus, 3B, Braves (Overall rank: 176) – Glaus will start at first base for the Braves, but he qualifies only at third in most leagues. The 33-year-old slugger missed most of 2009 due to a shoulder injury, but if he can stay reasonably healthy, he’s probably got a 25-homer season in him.

Russell Branyan, 1B, Indians (Overall rank: 204) – Branyan's expected to play most days for the Tribe, and even if he struggles he’ll at least be the lefty half of a platoon at first base. He has big-time power, but his career batting average is .234, so be careful.

Kevin Correia , SP, Padres (Overall rank: 244) – Correia was an inexplicable omission from the initial ranking list. He pitched pretty well for the Padres last season, going 12-11 with a 3.91 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP and 142 strikeouts in 198 innings. He also gets to take the mound in a pitcher’s paradise, which is the main reason he can be a fifth or sixth starter for you in a mixed league. If you were a free agent pitcher, wouldn’t you sign with the Pads for a year to put up misleadingly good numbers?

Adam Kennedy, 2B, Nationals (Overall rank: 264) – Kennedy’s arrival in D.C. gets him on the list, even if his 11 homers and 20 stolen bases last season with the A’s were probably the result of selling his soul to the devil. He’s a low-end starting second baseman for NL-only leagues and a last-pick kind of guy in mixed leagues.

Milton Bradley, OF, Mariners (Overall rank: 300) – Bradley’s a near-lock to spend time on the disabled list, but he’s not a bad hitter when he plays. Move him up if your league has a “tantrums” category.

Risers

Jeff Clement, C, Pirates (Overall rank: 197, up from 293) – I’ve been writing about Clement a lot lately, and you need to make sure you’re listening closely. It looks like he’ll be the Bucs’ starting first baseman, but he only qualifies at catcher in FOXSports.com leagues (as well as on many other sites) because he played there in 2008 for the Mariners. He's always had power, having hit 21 homers in Triple-A last season and 41 between the minors and majors in the previous two seasons. As a catcher, he’s almost good enough to start in mixed leagues. I love fantasy loopholes.

Drew Stubbs, OF, Reds (Overall rank: 210, up from 277) – While there’s a chance Stubbs could get overmatched due to his stratospheric strikeout rate, the guy hit 11 homers and stole 56 bases between Triple-A and the majors last season. It’s hard to pass him up as an endgame option in mixed leagues.

Magglio Ordonez, OF, Tigers (Overall rank: 229, up from 266) – No big news here; I just think I was a little hard on Maggs for starters. If he hits close to .300 with 15 homers, he can be helpful to some fantasy owners.

Dexter Fowler , OF, Rockies (Overall rank: 173, up from 203) – Fowler’s a guy I’m starting to like more every day. Sure, he only hit four homers last season, but he stole 27 bases and walked 67 times, which indicates a mature approach for a 23 year old (and will help ensure his SB totals remain high). He's a big kid, and while it’ll probably take more time for him to reach his power ceiling, a season of 10 homers and 30 stolen bases isn’t out of the question. He’s more likely to make a large leap in speed than in power, and I’d be happy to have him as my fifth outfielder in a mixed league.

Orlando Hudson , 2B, Twins (Overall rank: 199, up from 226) – The O-Dog moved up just a little bit from where he was when he was jobless. He’s still a better real player than fantasy player.

Neftali Feliz , SP/RP, Rangers (Overall rank: 254, up from 281) – Feliz is one of the most confusing fantasy players of 2010. For now, it looks like he’ll be a setup guy. He could emerge as an above average starter with plenty of strikeouts, albeit with an innings limit. He could also become the Rangers’ closer if Frank Francisco falters or gets hurt again. He has huge, lottery-ticket fantasy potential and will probably earn this draft spot even if he just pitches 80 excellent setup innings.

Jason Marquis, SP, Nationals (Overall rank: 262, up from 283) – Moving my fellow Staten Island South Shore Little League alumnus up a bit because he got a job since the previous rankings were published.

Fallers

Carlos Marmol, RP, Cubs (Overall rank: 258, down from 186) – During the offseason, I thought it was overdue that Marmol finally got the Cubs’ closer job. Then I looked again and realized he walked 65 batters in 74 innings in 2009. No thank you.

Ted Lilly , SP, Cubs (Overall rank: 198, down from 162) – I was OK with Lilly’s recovery from shoulder surgery that'll probably keep him out the first month of the season, but then he got a sore knee that made him miss a few days and a virus that knocked him out for almost a week. This stuff has to catch up to him a little bit, right?

Brian Fuentes, RP, Angels (Overall rank: 213, down from 179) – After his shaky second half of 2009, Fuentes is no more than a mid-tier second closer for mixed leaguers, especially with Fernando Rodney hanging around and dropping banana peels in front of him. One day during spring training, Fuentes will probably wake up in his condo with a tarantula on his chest, like Greg Brady.