Frank Francisco (RHP, NYM) has been his team's favorite to close for the past two seasons, only to lose the job early due to health and / or performance issues. Is it happening again?

The Red Sox have finally determined who will open the season as the fourth and fifth members of their rotation. But fear not for the fantasy value of one of the runners-up, who may become the source of some early season saves.

The Orioles placed Alfredo Simon (RHP, BAL) on waivers Saturday, clearing up some questionmarks about the team's starting rotation, while also freeing up space on BAL's 40-man roster for additional offense. Simon compiled pedestrian stats in 16 starts for the Orioles in 2011 with a 6.6 Dom and 3.1 Ctl. However, his xERA (4.18) and slight uptick in Cmd from 2010 to 2011 (1.7 to 2.1) provides hints of usefulness.

While building a starting pitching staff isn’t nearly as frustrating as finding a healthy closer, it still can be a challenge. Remember a little over one-third of the pitchers who will pitch in the majors this season will spend time on the DL, which doesn’t help. As hard as it is to build an effective staff, we need to reduce our risk on draft day. Here is a look at American League starters who might be at risk this season.

Manager Joe Girardi's recent remarks that the loser in the starting rotation competition is not guaranteed a bullpen spot merely added fuel to recent media speculation that off-season acquisition Michael Pineda (RHP, NYY) might begin the season in Triple-A. While Pineda's 2011 skills clearly rank him as one of NYY's top rotation options, he reported to spring training camp overweight and has shown less velocity than during his rookie season with SEA.

Along with the regular season's first real game comes the regular season's first injury. Mike Carp (OF/1B, SEA) sprained his shoulder in Wednesday's opener in Japan. It was enough to send Carp to the DL. Carp 's surprising 2011 MLB production in his first extended look (290 AB) was due in part to high hit and hr/f rates (35%, 18%). Still, he had won the LF job in spring training and at 25 and with some pop (12 HR, 136 PX in 2011) he held, and still holds, some promise.

Adam Lind (1B, TOR) has been shut down for at least three days with stiffness in his lower back. He is scheduled to take batting practice on Friday, March 30. The Blue Jays are treating this as a potentially serious issue, since Lind spent 27 days on the DL last season with the same problem. As we know, back problems tend to linger and recur. Manager John Farrell acknowledged that Lind's back would need to be monitored throughout the season. What are the Blue Jays options?

As expected, Mike Aviles was named the starting shortstop in Boston to begin the season. His main assets are his contact rate (86 percent career) and his speed. Aviles has stolen 14 bases each of the past two years, and did so in just 286 at-bats last year. A consistently low walk rate makes getting on base a struggle, though, which could eventually cut into his playing time somewhat. At this point, though, that doesn't seem to be a major concern, as manager Bobby Valentine is thinking of using Aviles in the leadoff spot.

Hands down, the closer position is the most frustrating in fantasy baseball. There are seasons where near 50% of the closers on Opening Day are not in the same role by the end of the season. Some lose their job because of ineffectiveness and even more due to injuries. Any edge you can get for draft day can only help you increase the odds of not getting burned by leaning on a high risk closer.

Previewing the opening series of the MLB season in Japan between the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners.

Both Pedro Alvarez and Lonnie Chisenhall entered March as their teams’ Opening Day 3B favorites, but their spring performances haven’t cooperated. Thames wins TOR’s LF job, and more observations as April approaches …