Good morning, Fantasy Alarm Nation! The first week of the 2017 MLB season is officially in the books, waivers have been processed and it’s time to sit down and strategize for the upcoming week in fantasy baseball. Many of you are probably feeling pretty good about what’s gone down while some of you…well…some of you are probably now sitting here with a whole lot of questions and a case of the Mondays. This week’s games start up early – 1:05pm ET – so hopefully you caught The Week That was from Glenn Colton and Nate Miller’s Weekly Planner and are ready to make some decisions for Week 2. Now it’s time to look ahead and see how we can maintain that early-season momentum or turn around what was potentially a rough start to your year.

Let’s start with the obvious – avoiding the panic button. I still find it kind of funny that no matter how many times people warn each other about small sample sizes, once that season starts, all that knowledge and understanding goes out the window. Miguel Cabrera didn’t get his first hit until yesterday and people dismiss his track record and show concern. Byron Buxton is struggling in the first week and people are already looking to drop him. Nomar Mazara knocks the crap out of the ball Friday night and he’s now being anointed as the next big thing. Just pump the brakes a little, folks. It’s a long season. I can hit you with a number of clichés, but deep down, you already know. If your team is struggling, they’ll turn it around. If you’re in first place, you need to prepare for a slow-down. It’s just the nature of the beast.

That being said, here are some thoughts as we look ahead…

Bullpen Blow-Ups

The closer carousel hasn’t fully started up, but it’s about to. Think of it like a ’57 Chevy sitting in your driveway on a cold, winter’s day. You don’t just hop in, turn the key in the ignition and drive. You have to chip away some frost on the door handle, start the car to give the engine time to warm and start scraping the ice off the windshield. Maybe you brush a little snow off the hood and head back inside to grab your morning coffee and help get the kids ready for school. By the time all is said and done, the car is ready and you can go. The closer carousel is just warming up.

We saw a number of blown saves in just the first week with closers such as Mark Melancon, Kelvin Herrera, Seung-Hwan Oh and Francisco Rodriguez, but none of them are even remotely on the hit seat. The job security is definitely strong and each one of them should remain fixtures in your active lineup. But when you start looking at Sam Dyson, Jeanmar Gomez, Fernando Rodney and Jim Johnson, well, that’s another story.

Rangers manager Jeff Banister says he is unfazed by Dyson allowing eight earned runs in his first two appearances and even threw him in for an inning Sunday in a non-save situation. Dyson responded with a scoreless inning and even notched a strikeout in the process. We can appreciate the confidence Banister has in his guy, but fantasy owners should also make sure they prep for a potential issue. While most people are looking at Matt Bush as the eventual successor, a number of Rangers beat writers have alluded to veteran Jeremy Jeffress as the next in line for save. It’s not a knock on Bush, who actually has the stronger skill set, but Jeffress has filled in before and an immediate change requires a veteran presence to help stabilize the situation.

Similarly, the Nationals situation bears monitoring as well. I had a chance to talk with Eddie Matz who covers the Nationals for ESPN and he made it clear that, if Blake Treinen struggles, it will likely be Shawn Kelley, not Koda Glover who steps in next. Glover has been beaten up a little here in the first week and we all know how much Dusty Baker loves rookies anyway.

Other handcuffs to monitor include: Arodys Vizcaino for Jim Johnson, Corey Knebel for Neftali Feliz, Hector Neris for Jeanmar Gomez and Jake Barrett for Fernando Rodney. I did hear something interesting while joining some friends on the In This League Podcast and it definitely deserves some attention. The boys seem to think Archie Bradley is the speculative own for saves in Arizona, and considering there’s really nothing special about Barrett, Randall Delgado or Tom Wilhelmsen, it could be something the Diamondbacks explore. Think of it much in the way with how Wade Davis went from mediocre starter with mad potential to a high-end closer for the Royals and now Cubs.

Leadoff Specialists

Always keep in mind that a guy who hits at the top of the batting order will see at least 150 more plate appearances than a guy batting in the bottom third. The fantasy community was in an outright panic with word that Adam Eaton would bat out of the six-hole, but that was all for naught as he’s been in the leadoff spot or two-hole for every game this season. That led me to look at some interesting leadoff choices made around the league.

I may not be the biggest fan of either Corey Dickerson or Steve Souza Jr., but let’s face it – if Kevin Cash is going to have them platoon the leadoff spot, each one gets a little bump in value. Health is always an issue for Souza, but if he does avoid the injuries, he could be a great third or fourth outfielder. Dickerson as well. After a slow start last year, he showed his power again and while he doesn’t profile as a prototypical leadoff candidate, he’s slashing .318/375/.636 through five games atop the order.

I just don’t agree with what Paul Molitor has done with his batting order in Minnesota, but considering they’re 5-1 to start the season, who am I to criticize? However, I’m not sure Brian Dozier is the guy to use here. He batted .261 with a .325 OBP in 73 games as the leadoff hitter last year, but with Byron Buxton around, I think he can eventually make a change. Molitor screwed up hitting Buxton third and the kid is all wrapped up in his head now. The drop in the order should help relax him and once he does, he should move to the top. Once that happens, Buxton’s value should increase nicely.

Carlos Santana is in a ridiculously amazing spot for this year right now. With no Rajai Davis there to lead off against lefties, Santana is going to see all of his at-bats from atop the order. The massive increase in plate appearances will undoubtedly reflect in his overall production. He’s off to a solid start right now, but I see that OBP climbing higher and higher…just like his home run and RBI totals.

Streaking Hitters

It’s always nice to check in with who’s hot right now, especially for those of you in leagues with daily roster moves. Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons and Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford currently lead their respective leagues with seven-game hit streaks while Souza, Mike Moustakas, Nolan Arenado, Zack Cozart, Odubel Herrera, Jake Lamb, Daniel Murphy and Adrian Gonzalez have all hit safely in six-straight. Some of the waves are obvious must-rides here, but when it comes to guys like Cozart and Simmons, I’m just not sold on the long-term promise. Neither has proven to be a consistent fantasy performer and I don’t really see either changing that up this season.

Stolen Bases

The landscape has changed significantly since the last time I visited the steal leaderboard. You’ve got Chris Owings and Eduardo Nunez leading the charge, but as expected, we’ve seen a number of speedsters get going a little better. Jean Segura, Brett Gardner, Raul Mondesi and Dee Gordon have woken up and have three apiece, Trea Turner (before the hamstring injury) had three himself, and Adam Eaton, Aledmys Diaz and Billy Hamilton each have two now. The steals tend to come in bunches, so with all of these guys heating up on the base paths, we just may see a resurgence in overall stolen base production.

Again, if you don’t have a burner on your squad, take your steals where you can get them. If Owings and the Diamondbacks are going to stay aggressive on the bases, you should definitely fish in that pond. Marcus Semien, Kevin Kiermaier and Lorenzo Cain (when healthy) can also offer you up good but not great totals as well. Again, keep looking at the teams who are running the most and, right now, it’s the D-Backs, Rays and Mariners with the White Sox and Yankees working their way up.

We’re approaching game time and it’s time to set those lineups for the day. Make it happen and go crush your opponents!