MLB Fantasy 2016: Five Position Battles to Watch

With fantasy baseball set to begin, PointAfter examines five position battles to keep an eye on heading into the 2016 season

They say good things come to those who wait, and perhaps these words of wisdom are best applied to fantasy baseball. When it comes to setting a draft date, the general rule of thumb is simple -- the later, the better.

Waiting until the last possible minute gives owners a chance to survey spring training results and take note of which players are injured and which have earned starting jobs. Though we can't predict the former, PointAfter examined five key position battles that will have an impact on any league's draft or auction -- some of which could continue beyond Opening Day.

Blue Jays Closer: Drew Storen vs. Roberto Osuna

At the beginning of the 2015 season, the Blue Jays' closer situation was a mess. Initial closer Brett Cecil held on to the job for a grand total of one game -- 16 pitches, to be exact -- and was demoted in favor of Miguel Castro. The job was Cecil's again by the end of April before manager Jay Gibbons opted to use rookie Roberto Osuna in the role in mid-June.

Osuna took the job and ran with it, posting a 4.7 strikeout-to-walk ratio and converting 20 of his 23 save opportunities. With the acquisition of former Nationals closer Drew Storen, Toronto now has some much-needed stability at the back end of the bullpen. The question of which one will get the initial save opportunities, at least for the time being, remains unanswered.

Storen's added experience could give him the slight edge, but Osuna is the incumbent and certainly proved his worth in 2015. Closer roles are notoriously volatile, with surprise save candidates cropping up all season long (take Osuna last year as an example). The Blue Jays have a good problem on their hands, but fantasy owners should remain leery of both until one seizes control of the job.

Cardinals First Baseman: Matt Adams vs. Brandon Moss

In his first two full seasons with the Cardinals, Matt Adams posted a .287/.327/.474 slash line and was an integral force in the middle of the lineup. A quadriceps injury marred his 2015 season, forcing the team to give the majority of starts at first base to Mark Reynolds, who hit a mere .230/.315/.398 in 140 games.

St. Louis acquired Brandon Moss just before the trade deadline, and despite struggling mightily with Cleveland, Moss hit a respectable .250/.344/.409 in 51 games with the Cardinals. The team re-signed Moss to a one-year, $8.25 million deal this offseason -- up from the $6.5 million salary he made last year -- indicating a strong interest in making him an everyday player.

Adams is only 27 and offers more upside between the two. Were it not for the Cardinals' financial commitment to the 32-year-old Moss, we'd feel pretty confident in the likelihood of Adams winning the job. He's off to a strong start this spring and appears to be fully recovered from his injury, so expect him to eventually earn the lion's share of at-bats at first base.

Astros First Baseman: Jon Singleton vs. A.J. Reed

Jon Singleton was the No. 50 prospect in the game in 2014, according to MLB.com, and has been a disaster so far in his young career. In 114 big-league games, he's hit .171/.290/.390, with 151 strikeouts in 420 plate appearances and a negative-1.0 career Wins Above Replacement total.

Though he's yet to make his big-league debut, A.J. Reed, a second-round pick in 2014, has spent the last two years lighting up minor league pitching. In 203 games, Reed has posted .324/.415/.583 slash line. He blasted 34 home runs last year and didn't slow down after a mid-season promotion to Double-A, hitting .332/.405/.571 with 11 home runs in 53 games.

Even if Singleton wins the job out of spring training, he'll have a short leash with Reed breathing down his neck. Keep an eye out for Reed late in the draft as a potential high-ceiling power option that could pay off in a big way.

Nationals Shortstop: Danny Espinosa vs. Trea Turner vs. Stephen Drew

On the surface, the Nationals' shortstop competition is one with no good options. Danny Espinosa has played just 59 games at shortstop in his career, Trea Turner didn't do much in his brief stint with the team last year, and Stephen Drew played only 15 games at the position with the Yankees in 2015 and was worth 0.4 WAR.

Each player has his own desirable traits, though. Espinosa appeared in his most games since 2012 and cut down on his strikeouts last season, perhaps signaling a return to his old form. Turner was rated the No. 65 prospect by Baseball America in 2015, and though Drew hit an abysmal .201/.271/.381 last season, he also hit 17 home runs and had an absurdly low .201 batting average on balls in play.

Turner definitely has the most upside, with a career .322/.384/.454 slash line in the minors, though the other two could serve as stop-gaps at the very least if they're getting significant playing time.

Yankees Closer: Aroldis Chapman vs. Andrew Miller vs. Dellin Betances

Yankees manager Joe Girardi wasted little time in anointing the flame-throwing Aroldis Chapman as the team's closer, despite having the electric duo of Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances already at his disposal. Chapman's 30-game suspension for a domestic incident clouds the team's closer situation for the time being.

Last season, only three relievers reached the 100-strikeout mark: Chapman, Miller and Betances. All three of them are among the best relief pitchers in the game, and their gaudy strikeout totals make them all worth owning in any fantasy format.

How the saves situation plays out, though, is anyone's guess. Will Miller be the lone closer in Chapman's absence, or does Betances get save chances, too? What happens when Chapman returns? These questions might not have clear answers anytime soon, but that shouldn't hurt the stock of any of these players too much -- the talent is just too good to pass up on.

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