Brawn over Brains for Braun

The Brewers made two of the biggest moves of the offseason to improve their lineup in 2018; signing Lorenzo Cain to a five-year deal and trading for former Marlin Christian Yelich to give Milwaukee one of the more complete lineups in the National League.

As good as those additions are, the Brewers lineup has plenty of other solid pieces, and it seems people are forgetting about the player who has carried Milwaukee over the past decade: Ryan Braun.

Braun launched two homers on Wednesday -- one of them a grand slam -- helping the Brewers beat the White Sox 11-3 in the Cactus League. He’s now hitting a robust .400/.526/.857 in his time in the Cactus League, impressive even in limited playing time this spring.

Now 34, Braun is coming off his worst season as a member of the Milwaukee organization, and he was limited to just 104 games due to injuries to his wrist and calf. Before you go predicting his downfall, let's keep a couple of things in mind. First, his BABIP of .277 was the lowest of his career, so while there may have been slightly more weak contact, it’s fair to say that he did not have the best of luck. On the contrary, in fact. Second, Braun was tearing the cover off the ball to begin the year, so it’s fair to say the injuries -- which clearly haven’t slowed him at all in Arizona -- played a major factor.

Most importantly, however, is the fact that Braun is going to be hitting in a very good lineup. Say what you will about lineup protection being real or not, there’s no doubt that he’s going to have more of a chance to produce runs with guys like Yelich and Cain hitting in front of him, and players like Eric Thames, Domingo Santana and Travis Shaw hitting behind him.

He’s certainly not in his prime, but there’s a lot to like about Braun’s fantasy upside in 2018, and you might be able to acquire his services later than ever. You should take advantage.

More injury woes for Mariners

Last year, you didn’t have to wait very long to hear about a Mariner transaction, and unfortunately, many of them involved putting players on the disabled list.

This spring, it’s been more of the same for Seattle, and two hitters that could be hitting near the top of the order were the victims on Wednesday.

Ichiro Suzuki left in the bottom of the first inning with tightness in his right calf. Just a few innings later, Jean Segura exited the contest against the Giants with tightness in his hamstring.

Simply put, the Mariners have been ravaged with injuries in the Cactus League. Seattle has now seen Felix Hernandez (contusion), Nelson Cruz (quad), Robinson Cano (hamstring), Ben Gamel (oblique) and several others go down at some point this spring.

While much of this is just bad fortune -- and none of the injuries is deemed to be serious at this point -- it does illustrate that the Mariners have several players that are difficult to trust in fantasy in 2018. Outside of Kyle Seager and Mike Zunino, we’ve seen long-term injuries to the core players in the Mariner lineup at some point recently, and Zunino isn’t exactly a beacon of consistency. Add in the concerns that seem to follow James Paxton every year, and you have one of the most frustratingly untrustworthy 25-man roster.

The Mariners have plenty of talent that’s worth going after in fantasy. You just better have a backup plan with anyone you acquire.

Quick hits: Marlins 3B Martin Prado (knee) had a setback while running and will not be ready for the start of the 2018 regular season … Dodgers SS Corey Seager told reporters that his right elbow feels good and that he has "no doubt" he'll be ready for Opening Day. Seager was able to make a couple of throws in a minor league game on Monday, and reportedly had no setbacks afterward … An MRI taken Wednesday on Mariners DH Nelson Cruz's right quad showed a Grade 1 strain. That's the least-severe type of strain and Cruz is hoping to return to Cactus League action relatively soon, after taking a few days off from baseball activities …Twins OF  Eddie Rosario (triceps) resumed throwing Wednesday in Twins camp. Rosario made two sets of 20 throws from a distance of 60 feet and reported feeling strong … Angels SS Andrelton Simmons (shoulder) is expected to return to Cactus League action on Thursday … Mets RHP Anthony Swarzak (calf) threw two innings in a simulated game Wednesday morning in Mets camp. Swarzak suffered a left calf strain in late February, but he is almost fully recovered and should be ready for the start of the 2018 regular season … Indians RHP Corey Kluber continued his dominant Cactus League campaign on Wednesday, limiting the Angels to just one hit and a walk over five scoreless innings. He now boasts a 1.98 ERA and 19/3 K/BB ratio in 13 2/3 Cactus League innings … A second doctor confirmed Wednesday that Brewers C Stephen Vogt has a right shoulder strain … Mariners 2B Robinson Cano (hamstring) is expected to return to Cactus League games next week. That should give him enough time to prepare for Opening Day … Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that free agent RHP J.R. Graham will throw for scouts on Friday in Florida. Graham  was released by the Yankees in February after compiling a 4.55 ERA and 1.62 WHIP at Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre … C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic Cincinnati reports that the Reds have hired former Red Sox manager John Farrell as a scout. He'll be in camp starting Thursday, and that his first action will be scouting the Reds' organization … White Sox reassigned OF prospect Eloy Jimenez to Double-A Birmingham … Giants prospect Gustavo Cabrera announced his retirement from baseball. Cabrera, 22, was signed to a $1.3 million bonus out of the Dominican Republic in the summer of 2012. Not long after, he suffered a devastating wrist injury after falling on a piece of glass that nearly cost him his hand … Orioles LHP Zach Britton (Achilles) will remove the walking boot on his landing foot on Saturday and ease into throwing activities … Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports that the Rockies signing of OF Carlos Gonzalez could mean OF David Dahl opens the season in the minors … Matt Ehalt of The Bergen record reports that the Mets are "intrigued" by what Zack Wheeler can do out of the bullpen. He also mentions that the Mets do not want to use Steven Matz in a relief role, so if he's going to be on the 25-man roster, he's going to be in the rotation.