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The hot closer talk starts at 43:48, but before that we go over the fallout from the four big injuries of Week 1 (Trea Turner, Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Andujar, and Daniel Murphy) and discuss a few popular waiver pickups, including Kolten Wong, Tim Beckham, and Trey Mancini (full list is below the podcast player). Watch ChangeUp, a new MLB live whip-around show on DAZN Along the way, we also discuss whether Chris Sale is a “pitcher” or a “thrower”, nicknames for David Hess, Mike Trout and Hunter Strickland, if a homer and stolen base in the same game should be called a “combo meal”, “smash-n-grab”, or “Dong Johnson”, what exactly a “mallet finger” is, watching baseball on mute, punting SBs, “Jay Bruce” types, selectively ignoring stats, distracting day games, the loss of the Marlins’ home run sculpture, the difference between being an “eighth-inning guy” and having “closer experience”, reading the closer tea leaves, what Terrance Gore does during batting practice, and much more....

That starts during the draft, and based on ADPs, that includes relatively early in drafts. In the past, using an early-round pick on a closer was considered a cardinal sin, but with so few reliable closers, that mentality is somewhat changing. DOMINATE YOUR DRAFT: Fantasy Alarm Ultimate Draft Guide But should it? Sure, Josh Hader and Liam Hendriks, among others, seem like sure things, but doesn’t every player who’s high in the preseason rankings?...

Who’s Not: De La Rosa might be the only starting pitcher worth investing in. Colorado ranked 28th in the majors in team ERA (4.44). … Michael Cuddyer enjoyed a 20-homer season, but his BABIP (.382) was abnormally high. Expect some regression. Who’s Hurt: Tulowitzki is the obvious high-risk, high-reward player. He’s had DL stints three of that past four seasons. Gonzalez missed 52 games last season, most because of a sprained finger....

Who’s Not: Austin Jackson’s OBP dropped by 40 points, which affected all of his 5x5 stats. … Alex Avila had his second straight disappointing year, with his OBP falling by 35 points. … Ian Kinsler’s power kept falling in Texas. He hit 32 homers in 2011, 19 in ‘12 and just 13 last year. MORE FANTASY BASEBALL: Mock Draft Round 1 | Rockies team report | Join Fantasy Source...

Who’s Not: How many more years do the Angels have Josh Hamilton under contract? It’s a shame that Hamilton chose one of his healthiest seasons (151 games) to be his worst. There’s bounce-back potential, but don’t overpay. MORE FANTASY BASEBALL: Debating early rankings | Royals team report | Join Fantasy Source Who’s Hurt: The knee and foot issues that plagued Albert Pujols are behind him – according to Pujols at least....

Who’s Not: Rookie Aaron Hicks was arguably Minnesota’s biggest disappointment, hitting just .192/.259/.338. However, he had eight homers and nine steals in just 81 games, so it’s clear the 24-year-old has upside. … Prospect Kyle Gibson struggled in his 10-game audition, posting a 6.53 ERA and 1.75 WHIP. MORE FANTASY BASEBALL: Tanaka analysis | Brewers team report | Join Fantasy Source Who’s Hurt: Joe Mauer missed the final five weeks because of a concussion, but he says he’s symptom-free now....

Of course, you won’t need to do a thing if you already have a top defense in a favorable matchup. The Eagles (@ Bears in Week 15) have been dominant all season, and now draw a banged-up Bears offense that takes the third-most sacks and has thrown the third-most interceptions over its past three games. The Chiefs (@ Texans) have become elite — at least in plus matchups — and Houston is about as plus a matchup as it gets....

MORE WEEK 5 INJURY UPDATES: Running backs | Wide receivers | Sunday Night Football For the latest news and fantasy updates, follow us on Twitter (@SN_Fantasy). WEEK 5 NON-PPR RANKINGS:Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker LISTEN TO THE SN FANTASY WEEK 5 PREVIEW PODCAST BELOW Josh Allen concussion update UPDATE: Allen remained in the concussion protocol on Thursday. Allen took a vicious hit to the head from Patriots safety Jonathan Jones on Sunday that knocked him out of the game and forced him into concussion protocol....

For the latest on injured WRs, such as Adam Thielen, T.Y. Hilton, Amari Cooper, and several more, go here; for updates on injured TEs George Kittle, Jack Doyle, and Gerald Everett, go here; for news on ailing RBs David Johnson, David Montgomery, Jordan Howard, and more, click here. Follow us at @SN_Fantasy for more news and updates. WEEK 11 NON-PPR RANKINGS:Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker...

For news on banged-up WRs Calvin Ridley, Mike Evans, DJ Chark, and DeVante Parker, go here; for the latest on injured RBs Derrius Guice, Derrick Henry, and more, go here; for the latest on ailing TEs Noah Fant, Ryan Griffin, Mark Andrews, and Jared Cook, click here; for updates on injured TEs Gerald Everett, Evan Engram, and Greg Olsen, go here; for updates on WRs Adam Thielen, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Will Fuller, and T....

We also have surprise stat checks, the possible birth of some new catchphrases, the difference between a “red-zone threat” and a “touchdown machine”, and much more. DOMINATE YOUR DRAFT: Ultimate 2018 Fantasy Cheat Sheet Fantasy Football Podcast Timestamps: Snake vs. Auction drafts (1:16) Starting your draft… RB-RB vs. WR-WR vs. RB-WR (4:13) Would you rather be the last person to draft… QB vs. TE vs. D/ST (7:10) Ezekiel Elliott vs....

Unfortunately, the injury bug was naughty and took Jalen Hurts (right shoulder), Tyler Lockett (finger), Jonathan Taylor (ankle) out of play for Week 16. A couple of backfields have undergone notable usage changes, and plenty of players have emerged as weekly reliables lately. Meanwhile, others have faded hard to be less trustworthy at the most important (and wonderful) time of the year. Keeping all of that in mind, here are our Week 16 start/sit recommendations to help you survive and advance....

Are you having trouble with those lineup decisions and best DFS price choices for Week 13? Don’t worry, the Decider is back again with his midweek dose of recommended players to play and avoid based on matchups and other factors. Let’s dive in. Week 13 Rankings:Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | D/ST | Kicker Fantasy Football Week 13 Start ‘Em: Quarterbacks Regular starts Aaron Rodgers, Packers (vs....