The countdown has begun. Only 16 days until the Mariners and A's meet in Japan to officially kick off the 2012 MLB season. The Cardinals and marlins tangle on April 4th for Opening Night and then April 5th will mark the official Opening Day. Excited? You should be. But with the season almost upon us, it's crunch time for fantasy baseball leagues. Plenty of leagues have already drafted and are waiting patiently for the season to start while others are studying the day in and day out spring training news as their time is almost here. For those that haven't drafted, the ADP Trend Report is chock full of information. Position battles and open spots in rotations are causing some significant movement in the ADP rankings and it's up to you to stay on top of the latest info and see, not only who's worth drafting, but where in your draft you should take them. Here's a look at the top 10 risers from the most recent trend report.
Top 10 Risers
| Current ADP | Change | 1 Week Ago | Change | 2 Weeks Ago | Overall Trend | |
| Ryan Braun | 2.08 | 338.0|PERCENT| | 9.11 | 135.9|PERCENT| | 21.49 | 933.2|PERCENT| |
| Gerardo Parra | 300.89 | 11.7|PERCENT| | 336.05 | 34.5|PERCENT| | 451.86 | 50.2|PERCENT| |
| Tyler Greene | 343.29 | 20.5|PERCENT| | 413.60 | 8.2|PERCENT| | 447.72 | 30.4|PERCENT| |
| Brett Myers | 234.99 | -1.8|PERCENT| | 230.83 | 32.1|PERCENT| | 305.03 | 29.8|PERCENT| |
| Tsuyoshi Wada | 326.74 | 0.0|PERCENT| | 326.74 | 24.4|PERCENT| | 406.36 | 24.4|PERCENT| |
| Fautino De Los Santos | 366.04 | 7.3|PERCENT| | 392.92 | 15.0|PERCENT| | 451.86 | 23.4|PERCENT| |
| Vinnie Pestano | 223.00 | 5.7|PERCENT| | 235.75 | 16.7|PERCENT| | 275.04 | 23.3|PERCENT| |
| Rafael Soriano | 292.62 | 11.3|PERCENT| | 325.71 | 10.2|PERCENT| | 358.80 | 22.6|PERCENT| |
| Brent Lillibridge | 333.98 | -6.5|PERCENT| | 312.27 | 30.5|PERCENT| | 407.40 | 22.0|PERCENT| |
| Jarrod Parker | 253.33 | 6.5|PERCENT| | 269.87 | 11.9|PERCENT| | 301.93 | 19.2|PERCENT| |
Well you didn't think we were going to miss another opportunity to hype Ryan Braun's climb up the ADP ranks, did you? He seems to have fully entrenched himself at the top of the rankings with a continued surge. The real question is, does he belong up there? Obviously, based on his track record, he deserves top tier consideration, but are we really talking about the number one guy here? He's got power and he's got speed. What happens to the Milwaukee lineup now that it is sans Prince Fielder, is probably the biggest question mark. Maybe it's fine without him and Braun will receive the necessary protection, or maybe it's not…
The trade rumors have subsided recently and it looks like Gerardo Parra is going to start the season in a Diamondbacks uniform. Could that be the reason for his sudden surge up the ADP rankings? Maybe that coupled with the horrific spring Jason Kubel is having and that there is talk that Parra could be more than just a fourth outfielder. Even if he works his way into a platoon, his fantasy upside is fairly limited. Yes, the 50-plus percentage increase is big, but he's still late 25th round material.
The second base job in St. Louis is still up for grabs, but word on the street is that manager Mike Matheny is a big fan ofTyler Greene. So much so that there are whispers saying that even if Skip Schumaker or Daniel Descalso win the job out of spring training, it is just a matter of time before it gets handed over to Greene anyway.
With the announcement in Houston that Brett Myers will be the team's closer, he is steadily climbing up the ADP rankings. And rightfully so, especially if your league puts any kind of an emphasis on saves or general relief pitching. ThoughBrandon Lyon and David Carpenter are still lurking in the shadows, one would have to assume that manager Brad Mills is going to have a fairly long leash for Myers. You just don't take a veteran like Myers, regardless of his drop-off as a starter, make him your closer and then change your mind a few weeks later. It would likely take a serious meltdown for Myers to be removed from the role.
Despite a spring filled with elbow issues, Tsuyoshi Wada is climbing up the rankings a little here. He was shelved for a few days and then given some light-toss workouts and a few bullpen sessions and with strong reports, he's almost ready to make his Grapefruit League debut. He'll need to come away from his side session this week with more positive reports and from there, he might be able to start a game early next week. He does have great stuff and is likely to make the rotation, but tread lightly as this elbow injury could just be the tip of the iceberg.
The hype on Fautino De Los Santos will likely start to fade over the next week or so as manager Bob Melvin announced that he [De Los Santos] is not being considered for the closer's role in Oakland. There was brief speculation that he was, but that has now been put to rest.
Vinnie Pestano, on the other hand, is not only the new closer in Cleveland with Chris Perez on the shelf with an oblique injury, but could remain the closer if he continues to pitch the way he did last season. By far and away, he out-pitched Perez and now that he has this opportunity, it would be tough to see him relinquish it now.
Even though reports on David Robertson's ankle have come out a little more positive than originally given, Rafael Soriano continues to climb up the ADP rankings. The official diagnosis is a bruised foot and everyone involved seems to have a fairly positive outlook. Not the fantasy drafters though. With rumors of this being Mariano Rivera's final year coupled with Robertson's injury, savvy fantasy GMs are scooping up Soriano with the hope/belief that he will be the new ninth inning specialist for the Yankees.
How is it possible for you to not have a starting job, not have a strong statistical track record and have a mediocre spring and still be climbing up the ADP charts? Easy apparently, if your name is Brent Lillibridge. The White Sox utility man for both the infield and outfield continues to see draft love even if it is super late in the draft. He's got multi-position eligibility which is a plus, and there are probably a few skeptics of Dayan Viciedo in left field. But even so, he is no more than bench fodder right now. There have been rumors of him being shopped around, but it's hard to imagine another club offering him a starting job at this point in time.
There are plenty of eyes on the rotation battles happening in Oakland right now and Jarrod Parker is certainly on people's radar. He's got mid-level strikeout potential, but as a fly ball pitcher in Oakland, he can definitely find success. His biggest issue right now is his command and until he shows that he can minimize the walks, he's probably not going to win a job. His first outing this spring was rock solid, tossing a pair of scoreless innings with four strikeouts, but he followed it up with two innings of two runs, three hits and three walks against the Dodgers, so he's going to need to settle down before earning a spot.
Honorable Mentions on the Rise: Mike Aviles (+18.8|PERCENT|), Jon Jay (+11.1|PERCENT|), Chris Davis (+11.4|PERCENT|), Greg Holland (+11.5|PERCENT|)
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Howard Bender has been covering fantasy sports for over ten years on a variety of web sites including Rotowire,FanGraphs and The Fantasy Baseball Buzz. You can follow him on Twitter at @rotobuzzguy or email him at [email protected].