Any news surrounding the top 10 players in fantasy baseball is big news.
Coming off Oct. 24 surgery to remove bone spurs from his right ankle and repair a stress fracture in the navicular bone at the top of his foot, Miguel Cabrera made his Grapefruit League debut this past Sunday, going 1-for-3 while serving as the designated hitter. Continuing his progression back to full health, he played in four consecutive Detroit Tigers games, including starts at first base on both Wednesday and Thursday, going 4-for-10 with his first home run of the exhibition season on Thursday.
Seemingly minor developments, any positive Cabrera developments are in fact major, considering the magnitude of his fantasy impact. Manager Brad Ausmus termed the slugger's chances of being in the Opening Day lineup at greater than 50/50, so that's big from a rankings perspective.
And it led to this: Cabrera is back in the top 10 overall, moving up four spots to No. 7 this week. With improved chances of him being in the lineup for all 162 -- OK, that minus any in-season days off -- he's first-round material once more.
This is that same group today: Cabrera 7, Bautista 8, Encarnacion 9, Abreu 10, Hernandez 11.
To be clear, there was a reason Cabrera was not in my previous top 10: It was the serious doubt that he'd be ready in time for Opening Day, or that even if he was, that he might play a significant chunk of April at less than peak health. If you don't think it matters when Cabrera plays at beneath 100 percent, think again: He ranked but 15th on our 2014 Player Rater.
Let's get to the week's other movers and shakers, and in a week with so much minor movement in the lower tiers -- many of which pertains to AL- and NL-only leagues rather than our standard mixed -- we'll limit the "blurb" portions to only the significant movers or high-impact names:
Anthony Rendon (down from No. 22 to No. 34 overall): A degree of panic is now warranted, with 10 days remaining until Washington Nationals Opening Day and Rendon still nursing a sprained MCL in his left knee. The DL is a real possibility -- and increasingly a probability -- and the wise adjustment would be to assume that he'll miss one to two weeks of the regular season.
Kris Bryant (up from No. 160 to No. 138 overall, and No. 16 to No. 15 3B): He keeps moving, though there's no chance I could shoot him up my draft board with comparable momentum to that of his ESPN ADP; he rose an astonishing 4 1/2 rounds in the past week alone and is now a top-100 player overall in terms of preseason-to-date ADP (think about what that means for a moment, considering how much later he was going in earlier drafts). Bryant's chances of pacing all rookies in home runs as well as playing a significant chunk of the season in the majors -- think the nine-game absence to delay his free agency by a season being a safe estimate -- have increased as a result of his preseason performance, but I'll reiterate: I cannot see how he's going to wind up on any of my teams at his likely price.
Brett Cecil (up from No. 299 to No. 251 overall, and No. 43 to No. 37 RP): The Toronto Blue Jays' newly anointed closer, Cecil could warrant a top-25 relief pitcher ranking -- remember that some of the multi-eligibles depress that number -- if we had a promise that he'd hold the job all year. He possesses the skills to do it, though, and is well worth drafting in any format. In addition, take note of two rookies who should begin the season in the Blue Jays' bullpen who are now ranked as AL-only late-rounders, Miguel Castro ($1 AL-only bid) and Roberto Osuna (AL-only reserve), as both have sleeper potential.
Taijuan Walker (up from No. 282 to No. 247 overall, and No. 79 to No. 68 SP): Eighteen scoreless Cactus League innings means nothing more than Walker is the odds-on favorite to earn the Seattle Mariners' fifth-starter job out of camp, though his 19 K's compared to four walks is a promising sign, in that it hints he indeed could recapture the K-per-inning-or-better form he displayed during his minor league career. Moving him up this much might be bold as he hasn't been officially declared the winner of the job, but there's enough reason for optimism that he'll be a top-75 starter in 2015.
Koji Uehara (down from No. 118 to No. 130 overall, and No. 11 to No. 14 RP): He's nursing a strained left hamstring, and while he might resume throwing bullpen sessions during the weekend, he's now at risk of missing Opening Day. Considering Uehara's injury history, a drop in the rankings makes sense. Expect Edward Mujica, who moved up to a $1 AL-only pitcher and No. 62 overall reliever, to get any saves in early-season games Uehara misses.
Michael Wacha (up from No. 120 to No. 109 overall, and No. 32 to No. 29 SP): The stress reaction in his shoulder that cost him some time last season was a concern for Wacha entering camp, so that he's throwing as effectively as he has provides an answer to whether he'd be at peak form to begin 2015.
Joc Pederson (up from No. 217 to No. 161 overall, and No. 56 to No. 45 OF): He looks tremendous every time I see him this spring, and I think there's a chance he could be a 6-7 hitter who starts against both righties and lefties, as opposed to a platoons-against-righties No. 8 man, which was the reason for his initially low ranking. For me, Pederson has done more to convince me of his impact potential in 2015 than the aforementioned Bryant, though to be fair, part of that is because my initial questions about him were greater.
Hyun-Jin Ryu (down from No. 109 to No. 179 overall, and No. 29 to No. 47 SP): He's resting for two weeks due to shoulder inflammation, which makes him a lock for the DL to begin the season, and puts him in an extremely risky draft situation with that two-week timetable expiring around April 6, which is baseball's traditional Opening Day (and therefore after most drafts). Ryu can't possibly be picked among the top 40 at such a deep position accounting for that level of risk. Expect Joe Wieland, now an NL-only reserve pick, to fill in until Ryu is ready to rejoin the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Jayson Werth (up from No. 168 to No. 132 overall, and No. 45 to No. 36 OF): He has resumed taking batting practice and playing in minor league games, which gives him a chance at returning to the Washington Nationals' Opening Day lineup, or a backdated DL stint that could have him back during the second week of April. Werth was the No. 58 player on our 2014 Player Rater, so if he has any chance to be healthy for 150-plus games, he warrants a huge bump in rank.
Quick-hitters: Hector Olivera entered the rankings as the No. 21 NL-only third baseman. ... Matt Cain dropped from 185th to 218th overall (and No. 50 to No. 60 SP) due to his limited usage this spring as he works back to full strength. Don't expect him to be at peak form to begin the year. ... Avisail Garcia moved from No. 284 to No. 262 overall on the strength of his solid spring. ... Carlos Rodon, Daniel Norris, Anthony DeSclafani, Kendall Graveman and Adam Warren each moved up a handful of spots, more noticeable in the singular-league (AL- or NL-only) rankings, as a result of increased chances they'll all begin the year in their respective teams' rotations. ... Mike Fiers improved from No. 249 to No. 212 now that it appears that his shoulder injury was a mere one-start issue. ... Jung-Ho Kang dropped to only a $4 player in NL-only leagues now that it appears he'll either begin the season as a backup infielder or in the minor leagues. ... Kevin Gausman dropped from No. 212 to No. 245 with word that he might begin the season in the Baltimore Orioles' bullpen.