-- Joe Nathan just became exhibit #724 of why you don't hold your draft as soon as your preferred fantasy service goes live. No one's yet sure if the ligament tear in his elbow is going to cost him a few weeks or the season. If I were a gambling man (which I am), I'd bet on the season. Regardless, if he tries to play through the pain this year, he won't be the same pitcher and might have to shut it down at any point. Long story short: Go ahead and pull Nathan from your pre-rankings and put him on your exclude list. As far as who's going to take his place as Minnesota's closer, pretty much every pitcher in their bullpen is having his name thrown around as a possibility. Jon Rauch and Matt Guerrier are the two names thrown around the most. Guerrier's stats indicate he's the better pitcher, but Rauch has that MLB closer experience which managers just luuurve. So Rauch's probably the guy to own. Our Who's the Closer? page has been updated.

-- Knock on wood, but it sounds like Jose Reyes is going to be okay. He's got an overactive thyroid, which will need to be treated, but he could be back on the field within the week. If you were ready and willing to draft Jose as a bounce-back candidate this year, I'd say go ahead and follow through with your plan. (You might even be able to get him a round later now.) For those who were more dubious (like me), it's just one more reason to avoid Reyes this season.

-- Yes, I sprawled out on my couch and watched Nats wunderkind Stephen Strasburg pitch two scoreless innings today. I didn't mistake him for Jesus Christ returned to Earth to strike out hapless batters, but the kid looked good. I'm still not drafting him this year. Too much uncertainly over when he'll be up and how many innings they'll let him pitch. If I'm drafting a National League rookie this year, it's going to be Jason Heyward. That dude is rakin'.

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