American League:

Grady Sizemore returned to the lineup for the Cleveland Indians in center field and hitting leadoff and went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double. He should be activated for your lineup next week in all types of fantasy baseball league formats.

Matt Capps is the new closer in Minnesota after Joe Nathan blew saves on Thursday and Saturday. Capps picked up the saved today against the Tampa Bay Rays working a scoreless ninth inning on eight pitches. Nathan should be reserved in mixed formats until he gets back in mix for saves.

Mitch Talbot who was scheduled for two starts in week 4 was placed on the disabled list by the Cleveland Indians. His spot will be taken by Triple-A pitcher Jeanmar Gomez who was scheduled to start on Tuesday, but I would not recommend on using him in your pitching rotation.

Jed Lowrie was in the lineup for a second straight day for the Boston Red Sox and went 1-for-4 with two runs scored. He should start to see some more playing time with team struggling and Marco Scutaro off to a slow start at the plate.

Oakland A’s starting pitcher Dallas Braden left Saturday’s start against the Detroit Tigers with a stiff shoulder and his start is in question for week 4. I would leave him benched if you have other alternatives with no updates as to what his status will be.

National League:

St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin blew his fourth save of the season on Sunday, surrendering a game-winning home run to Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers. If you own Franklin, I would him for now and hope that you have Mitchell Boggs on reserve who looks like could be next in line for saves in the bullpen.

With pitcher Chris Young going on the disabled list for the New York Mets earlier in the week, Dillon Gee got the start today and will have another start next week if you need someone to start for your team in a NL-only format. Gee worked 5 2/3 innings allowing one run with four strikeouts.

There is a chance that Mets outfielder Jason Bay could be back in the lineup on Tuesday which would send Willie Harris back to the bench. If you are short a hitter in your NL only league, you might want to consider activating Bay. In mixed league formats, I would leave him reserved for another week until he plays a few games.

Pitcher Roy Oswalt of the Philadelphia Phillies is still expected to make his start next week on Thursday against the San Diego Padres after leaving Friday’s start against the Florida Marlins after six innings with a strained back.

To help set your pitching rotation for next week, check out the week 4, two start pitchers.

Just when the Jordan Walden train was leaving the station and picking up stream, Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia decided to throw Fernando Rodney back in the mix and got him a save on Sunday night. It was the third straight night of work for Rodney who may be in an equal time-share with Walden for now.

Brian Fuentes picked up his fourth save of the season for the Oakland A’s on Monday night, but keep in the back of your head that Andrew Bailey is expected to return some time by the end of the month.

Despite St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa’s claim that Ryan Franklin’s job is safe, I would be looking to reserve Mitchell Boggs if I owned him. Franklin has blown three of four save chances this year and hitters are batting .353 against him.

Through two weeks of the major league baseball season, Jonathan Broxton leads all closers in saves with five, but where are the strikeouts? He has recorded only one strikeout this season in 4 1/3 innings.

This is the second part of the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings looking at the  group of closers ranked 16-30.

16) Trevor Hoffman – had his lowest ERA since 1998 so you know there is some regression coming. ERA and WHIP ratio aided by his improvement against left-handed hitters, holding them to a .222 average compared to .291 in 2008.

17) Frank Francisco – first season as full-time closer was a success outside of two trips to the disabled list which seemed to impact his second half numbers. Had a 2.28 ERA and .94 WHIP ratio the first half of the season. After the All-Star break, the ERA was 5.82 and the WHIP was 1.34.

18) Mike Gonzalez – had career high in innings pitched last season after coming back from Tommy John surgery in 2008. No doubt he can get the job done with a career ERA of 2.57 and 1.22 WHIP ratio. Question will always be how many innings does he get in before he gets hurt, with time on the disabled list four of the past five seasons.

19) Chad Qualls – good value based on his current fantasy baseball ADP. Knee ligament tear that ended his season in ’09 should not affect him in 2010. High ground ball rate plus good control means he should be solid as closer going forward.

20) David Aardsma – solid season on paper but I have some concerns going forward. High fly ball rate of 54% last season yet cut his home run per fly ball rate in half. If that regresses to the mean in 2010, his ERA jumps into the high three’s. Still has issues with command, walking 4.3 hitters per nine innings last year. Career WHIP ratio in the major leagues is 1.49.

21) Carlos Marmol – extremely hard to hit, but his inability to throw strikes makes his job as a closer far from safe. Walk rate jumped to 7.9 per nine innings last season, up from 4.2 in 2008. Like Aarsdma, Marmol is a fly ball pitcher and faces regression in his ERA after allowing only two home runs in 74 innings last year.

22) Bobby Jenks – ERA spiked due to nine home runs allowed after giving up 10 the last three seasons combined. Has been easier to hit the last two years with batting average against of .198 in 2007 rising to .230 in ’08 and to .250 last year. Questions about him are always going to revolve around his ablity to stay in shape.

23) Ryan Franklin – helped his ERA by allowing only two home runs after giving up 10 in 2008. Luck ran out after the All-Star break when his ERA was 3.33 and WHIP ratio was 1.70. Blew three of six saves in September.

24) Kerry Wood – first season in the American League did not go well for Wood as his home runs allowed more than doubled from the previous season and his control reverted back to 2007 level. Was much better the second half of the season with a 2.96 ERA and 1.32 WHIP ratio.

25) Brad Lidge – two seasons of extremes when looking at 2008 and 2009. Blew 11 saves last season after going a perfect 41 for 41 in 2008. Allowed 11 home runs and batting average against jumped to .301. Had surgery on his elbow in November and on his knee in January so it is questionable whether he will be ready for the start of the season. Possible that his knee injruy that bothered him in April and landed him on the disabled list in June was responsible for some of his issues last season.

26) Matt Capps – another closer who saw his home run total jump in 2010. After allowing five home runs in ’08, Capps gave up 10 in 2009. Walk rate also increased, allowing 2.8 walks per nine innings after walking only five batters in 53 2/3 innings in 2008. With only a one year contract with the Washington Nationals, there is a good chance that he gets moved at the trade deadline.

27) Leo Nunez – took the closer job away from Matt Lindstrom, but encountered some problems with the long ball, surrendering 13 home runs in 68 2/3 innings. Walk rate increased for the second straight season which offset his improvement in batting average allowed.

The following teams have multiple players in a battle for the closer position. The closer will most likely be determined at some point during spring training.

28) Toronto Blue Jays – Jason Frasor, Scott Downs, Kevin Gregg

29) Houston Astros – Brandon Lyon, Matt Lindstrom

30) Pittsburgh Pirates – Octavio Dotel, Joel Hanrahan, Evan Meek

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With two weeks now in the books in major league baseball, lets review some of the bullpen situations from a fantasy baseball perspective.

Washington Nationals:

Current closer Joel Hanrahan could be out of a job after blowing consecutive saves against the Florida Marlins on Friday and Saturday. Saul Rivera got the chance to close on Sunday and he blew that as well. Rivera was sent to Triple-A after the game. Garret Mock has been recalled from Triple-A and could see a save opportunity, although he had a 17.18 ERA in the minors so far this year. Joe Beimel could also see save chances as he has been the one decent reliever so far this year in the Nationals bullpen. A dark horse candidate is Jason Bergmann who was also recalled from Triple-A on Sunday.

Colorado Rockies:

Two days after being named closer by manager Clint Hurdle, Manny Corpas pitching in the 7th inning in the blowout loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday allowed two runs in one inning, bumping his ERA up to 6.75. Recently replaced closer Huston Street has not been any better, currently sports a 9.64 ERA. In a perfect world, Street would have been the closer until July and then traded with Corpas taking over.  Taylor Buchholz might have been an option but is still on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right elbow.  Jason Grilli could be next in line in Corpas fails to deliver when presented with a save opportunity.

Chicago Cubs:

Carlos Marmol – 1.35 ERA, got the save on Friday night and was rewarded by being brought into the game in the 7th inning on Saturday.

Kevin Gregg – 6.00 ERA, has not had a save since opening day, but is still the closer according to manager Lou Piniella.

Talent eventually will win out over stubbornness I have to believe in this case, but until Gregg blows a save or two, it looks like he is still the man.

St. Louis Cardinals:

Without doubt, the main closer is now Ryan Franklin. Manager Tony La Russa is trying to work Jason Motte into situations to be successful to get his confidence built back up. Recently recalled Chris Perez from Triple-A gives them another option in the bullpen, but for now, Franklin should see the majority of save opportunities.

Milwaukee Brewers:

Carlos Villanueva has not been the answer with a 9.00 ERA. Injured closer Trevor Hoffman is scheduled to pitch Tuesday night in Triple-A and again on Friday and if all goes well, he will be recalled the following week. Todd Coffey and Villanueva will battle for the eight inning role once Hoffman returns.

Baltimore Orioles:

George Sherrill remains the closer, but he has to keep on eye on Chris Ray. Sherrill has been getting saves, but his ERA and whip ratio make him less than an ideal closer to own. Ray has strung together three good outings in a row after two initial poor performances. Ray has struck out seven in his last 3 1/3 innings. Ray has not pitched on back-to-back days yet this season so when he does eventually take back the closer role, Sherrill will still see save chances.

Seattle Mariners:

Brandon Morrow has been perfect in his four appearances since blowing his first save. If you own Morrow, handcuff David Aardsma to him. If you don’t own Morrow, Aardsma could get you 5-10 saves the remainder of the season.