Year after year we’ve seen how difficult it can be to be a manager in Major League Baseball. Joe Girardi won 85 games or more in eight of his ten years in New York and was promptly fired after a 91-71 season in which he brought his team to within one game of the World Series. Joe Maddon won a World Series with the Chicago Cubs in 2016 and was criticized for his use of closer Aroldis Chapman , by Aroldis Chapman . The intricacies of managing a professional baseball team make it very difficult to measure success, let alone have success from a real life perspective.

 For fantasy purposes, there are a few major components of manager tendencies that directly impact us all. The first being how aggressive he is with his players on the base path, secondly, how he handles the lineup decisions day in and day out and third, how quickly he gives the hook to his rotation and bullpen. Once a week for the rest of the baseball season we will be analyzing these tendencies from the previous week, as well as any other outliers, and try to decipher whether or not you can trust them for your fantasy team moving forward. To start things off we have the new kids on the block with six new managers heading into 2018. Below, we’ll take a look at each managers’ brief history as well as tendencies that they will bring to their respective teams heading into the new season.

Gabe Kapler, Philadelphia Phillies

The 42 year old is a former MLB outfielder who played for six teams in twelve years. He brings a high-energy attitude and confidence to a young Phillies squad that looks to surprise people in the National League East this season. Having no professional managing experience may be his biggest downfall in the long run here in 2018 and it’s reared it’s ugly head already in the early going with a bullpen mishap in Atlanta. Kapler inherits a team that finished 26th in stolen bases in 2017 but there are reasons to believe that the Phillies can improve drastically in that category this season. Odubel Herrera , César Hernández , Scott Kingery and JP Crawford all have the speed to snag 15-20 bags and depending on how aggressive Kapler wants to be, they could get more. Kapler could push the envelope on the base paths to create runs and prove that he’s ready to be on this stage, whether it’s true or not.

Early on this season there are some other things to monitor as well. Aaron Nola pitched well on opening day yet was pulled after 5.1 innings against Atlanta. If Kapler intends to have the quick hook with his ace throughout the season then it would severely diminish Nola’s value in 2018. Another situation to keep an eye on is that after giving up a three-run home run to Nick Markakis and getting the loss on opening day, closer Héctor Neris was put right back in the next night to which he converted an easy save. Small sample sizes here, however it is definitely something to watch.

Ron Gardenhire, Detroit Tigers

Gardy is back ! The only new manager in 2018 that has managed an MLB team before inherits a Detroit Tigers team that has hit full rebuild mode. Making the move to an experienced and successful Gardenhire with a team in rebuild mode tells us one thing, they don’t want to wait long. This is a Tigers team that doesn’t have the talent to compete this season but with Gardenhire’s track record with low payroll/less talented teams, Detroit could be a pesky team throughout the season. In Gardy’s last season as manager of the Twins, the team finished 14th in baseball in steals and 8th in BB/K rate. This tells you that he liked his team to be patient and work counts and then manufacture runs by way of the stolen base. Detroit’s sub par pitching staff makes it really difficult to own any of them this season but if you do here’s a little nugget. In Gardenhire’s last two seasons with the Twins they finished in the bottom two in quality starts. There isn’t much upside to this situation as far as fantasy teams are concerned.

Dave Martinez, Washington Nationals

Opposite of the previous manager situation, there is upside galore in this situation. Martinez has been Joe Maddon’s long time bench coach with the Rays and the Cubs before finally getting a shot to manage his own team. What a gift it is for your first gig to be with a loaded Washington Nationals team with the likes of Bryce Harper and Max Scherzer in the clubhouse. With little to go off of, the best we can do is assume he’ll take on some of Maddon’s tendencies with all of the success the two have had in the last ten-plus years. If that’s the case, look for the Nats to run a little less and be a little more situational. This will hurt Trea Turner and those hoping for 60- plus steals from him.

What should benefit is the run scoring opportunities due to lineup optimization. Joe Maddon has long been the mad scientist, tweaking lineups regularly in order to maximize potential in any given daily matchup. We’ve seen Evan Longoria and Anthony Rizzo bat lead off under Maddon’s hand and if Martinez uses any of that in Washington we could see increased scoring in the Nation’s Capital. With a great staff and bullpen there shouldn’t be any concern in regards to how Martinez will handle them this season. It’s hard to imagine Martinez pulling Scherzer too early very often as he’s been on teams with big time aces before and has been given excellent direction from Joe Maddon.

Alex Cora, Boston Red Sox

A former infielder on Boston’s 2007 world championship team, Cora’s first opportunity to manage in the big leagues will be with a loaded Red Sox team that is ready to make another run. Cora has been around a few clubhouses after spending fourteen seasons with six different teams. Boston is a team that is built for situational hitting and stealing bases so there’s not much to analyze here offensively. The biggest concern with this situation is Cora jumping off of the Mookie Betts at leadoff train, possibly in favor of Xander Bogaerts , although just pure speculation.

Pitching wise it seems pretty straightforward when it comes to the bullpen. Craig Kimbrel is the closer and injury is all that would change that. Having such a successful bullpen in 2017 could lead to quick hooks to the starting pitching and early on in 2018, it’s shown itself to be true. Chris Sale was pulled after just 92 pitches on opening day, David Price was pulled after just 76 pitches the following night and Rick Porcello after 89 pitches in game three of the series. The plan being to keep his starters fresh during the season, this could lower the ceiling of top guys on this staff making Sale and Price owners cringe.

Mickey Callaway, New York Mets

A former Cleveland Indians pitching coach, Callaway was an integral part of the teams run the past few years as he led an excellent staff to the playoffs and even a World Series. The 42 year old is another first time manager who is looking to put his stamp on the team. A staff led by Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom has to excite Callaway and his pitching background. Seeing the potential from a Callaway led staff in Cleveland should leave little doubt that the aces in the big apple can provide a limitless ceiling.

The unknown in Callaway’s game early on will be with the lineup and handling situational adversity. Scoring 16 runs and walking 17 times in the first three games is a positive sign offensively for the Mets. Callaway’s experience in pennant races and dealing with big time players gives confidence that the stage is not too big for him and that his sights are set on getting the Mets to the playoffs. Having two big time aces to go with guys like Michael Conforto , Yoenis Céspedes and Todd Frazier , New York could really surprise the baseball world with an underdog mentality throughout 2018.

Aaron Boone, New York Yankees

I mean come on, look at that lineup! Aaron Judge , Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sánchez in the same lineup is ridiculous. Former Yankee hero Aaron Boone gets to write lineup cards every day with these mashers in it. Not a bad first gig for a bunch of these first time managers huh? Boone hit the home run in the 2003 ALCS against the Boston Red Sox to send the Yankees to the World Series. Knowing that rivalry and being around the game for so long with his dad also being a former player and manager in the big leagues leaves little concern that he can handle this role and make sound decisions. At first glance it doesn’t seem like Boone will need to do a whole lot of tinkering with this lineup as the team is constructed in a way that almost writes itself.

Boone is going to earn his stripes (see what I did there?) by his handling of the pitchers. This doesn’t have the look of a Yankees rotation like the ones that they’ve had over the years. After Luis Severino it falls off rather quickly. Masahiro Tanaka had a tumultuous 2017 season and is looking to rebound, C.C. Sabathia is battling Father Time, Sonny Gray is trying to get back to 2015 form after injuries and struggles derailed his 2016 season and early on in 2017. Any injuries or struggles in 2018 will provide Boone’s first opportunity to put his decision-making at the forefront so we can see what’s in store for our Yankees’ fantasy investments.