You're up, Benoit. We think. (USAT Images)

When you check the box score from Detroit's 7-3 win over Toronto, you'll quickly notice two things about Joaquin Benoit's performance: 1) It wasn't particularly good, and 2) he pitched the ninth in a non-save situation.

Those two facts, taken together, would probably discourage you from adding Benoit under normal circumstances.

But it's worth noting that Benoit began warming when his team held a three-run lead in the bottom of the eighth, so he was in line for a save chance, until the Tigers plated a pair of insurance runs.

Look, here's a screen grab of Joaquin in the 'pen, not long after his save opportunity went away...

Nolan Arenado, making noise at Colorado Springs (Getty Images)

Rockies third base prospect Nolan Arenado had an impressive spring, as most of you know, going 15-for-54 with four doubles, four homers and 12 RBIs. The soon-to-be 22-year-old challenged for a spot in Colorado's opening day lineup, but the organization ultimately chose to ship him temporarily to Triple-A.

The move makes some sense, for all the usual financial/developmental reasons. (Realistically, the difference between Chris Nelson's production and Arenado's, this year, is probably not enough to justify starting the kid's service-time clock.) But fantasy owners need to keep a close eye on Arenado's minor league box scores; he's a potential high-impact add who, when promoted, will do his hitting in a friendly park.

Arenado opened his season with a strong series against Reno, homering in his first two games, reaching base safely in eight of his 14 plate appearances. Over three games thus far, he's scored four runs and driven in four more.

On Friday, he hit a bomb of notable distance. This via the Colorado Springs Gazette:

Kelvin Herrera cleaned up a Greg Holland mess on Sunday...not easily, but he did it (USAT Images)

On Saturday, Royals closer Greg Holland blew a save chance against the Phillies, walking the first three batters he faced, failing to protect a two-run ninth inning lead. After the loss, Holland received a partial vote of confidence from his manager:

“We’re not going to lose (many) games like that,” [Ned] Yost said, “without making an adjustment. But we’re not near that point yet.

“You don’t like losing games like that. And every time you do, everybody wants to pop the closer question."

Not the strongest endorsement you'll ever hear, but technically it still counts as a vote-of-confidence. Barely.

On Sunday, Holland again was called upon to get the final outs in a game his team led by a pair of runs. He retire the first batter he faced, but then allowed consecutive singles to Ryan Howard and Michael Young ... and at that point, Ned Yost had seen enough.

If you were taking a wait-and-see approach with 20-year-old Marlins rookie Jose Fernandez ... well, you can't wait much longer. Most of us have seen enough.

Fernandez was terrific in his major league debut on Sunday, tossing five strong innings against the Mets. He allowed just three hits, one walk and one run, striking out eight. The kid threw 80 pitches, 53 of them strikes. He reached 97 mph on the radar gun and embarrassed hitters with a ridiculous slurve. (The pitch is so great it has a nickname: "The Defector.") When Fernandez checked out of Sunday's game, his team led 3-1.

All things considered, it was a tremendous outing for the rook. Miami couldn't have asked for more.

It's fair to question whether the Marlins should have started Fernandez's service-time clock so early, but you can't really question the quality of Jose's stuff. It's of the highest quality.

Carlos Marmol, ex-closer (USAT Images)On Saturday night, the Upton brothers treated Carlos Marmol's fastball like a low-hanging piñata, stuffed with runs. Check the tape. BJ hit a game-tying bomb, then Justin delivered the game winner. No-doubters, both.

Thus, to no one's surprise, the Cubs have decided to shuffle the late-inning responsibilities. Effective immediately, Marmol is out as closer, and Kyuji Fujikawa is in.

If you're a fantasy owner in a deep-ish, competitive league, then Fuji is probably long gone, already stashed on someone's roster. But if you're involved in a smaller mixed league — maybe an 8 or 10-teamer — then there's a decent chance he's still sitting out there in the free agent pool. As of this writing, Fujikawa is available in 48 percent of Yahoo! leagues. Go get him wherever you can.

In making the switch, Cubs manager Dale Sveum acknowledged that Fujikawa was signed to close.

"I don't want to have this conversation again in 10 days," said Sveum, per CSN's Patrick Mooney.

So much sadness in this pic (USAT Images)

Right here at the top, we should note that the first pitch John Axford threw in his 2013 debut was a 96 mph fastball to Chris Nelson.

Axford was consistently throwing 94-96 in the opener against Colorado, which is essentially where you'd expect him to be on any given day. Last season, the velocity on his average fastball was 96.2 mph. He struck out three of the four hitters he faced in his first appearance this year. The one batter he didn't punch out, Dexter Fowler, lined a homer to right off a 95 mph fastball.

So, basically, John Axford had a typical John Axford outing in Monday's opener. No real surprises. We're talking about a hard-thrower who piles up Ks, yet struggles with wildness and homer-control. That's his profile. Velocity hasn't been a worry ... until Wednesday

Roy Halladay, disgusted (USAT Images)

If all you knew about Roy Halladay’s night was that he struck out nine batters while reaching 92 mph on the radar gun, then you’d probably say he pitched well. Maybe you’d regret not drafting him in any leagues.

But even with the nine Ks, Halladay’s evening was complicated and often painful. He recorded only 10 outs against the Braves, failing to escape the fourth inning. He allowed three walks, six hits, two bombs and five earned runs. Justin Upton destroyed a poorly placed fastball in the first, accounting for two of the early runs. Four batters later, Juan Francisco hit a missile through the right side of the infield, plating another.

Halladay had a messy spring (6.06 ERA, 1.84 WHIP), as most of you know, and he clearly hasn’t corrected all the issues. He needed 40 pitches to get through the first frame against Atlanta, finishing with 95 after 3.1 innings (55 strikes).

[Also: 'The Freak' might be gone but Tim Lincecum's stuff keeps Dodgers humble]

Again, his velocity wasn’t alarmingly low (89-92), but his location was lousy. He relied heavily on his off-speed stuff. Following the loss, he referred to the pitch that Upton clubbed as "halfhearted." There are reasons to be concerned, no doubt.

Collin Cowgill, opening day hero (USAT Images)

As many of you know, we have a deep history of Collin Cowgill appreciation around here, dating back to the outfielder's days as an Arizona prospect. Cowgill had a terrific year at Double-A in 2010, batting .285/.360/.464 with 16 homers and 25 steals, and he followed it with a ridiculous partial season at Triple-A in 2011. That year, he hit .354/.430/.554 with 45 extra-base hits (13 home runs) and 30 stolen bases in just 98 games at Reno, earning a late-July promotion to the big leagues.

But Cowgill, now 26, hasn't really made much noise at the major league level just yet — or at least he hadn't, until Monday.

Cowgill entered the 2013 season as the Mets' lead-off hitter and everyday center fielder, and he opened with a 2-for-5, 4-RBI performance in a win over San Diego. In the seventh inning, he hit a bases-loaded missile over the left-field fence. Not surprisingly, he was the most heavily added position player in Yahoo! leagues the following day (6,726 adds).

It's not often that I'll endorse pick-ups like this one, where fantasy owners are clearly chasing the prior day's stats, but I'm gonna make an exception with Cowgill. In this case, we're talking about a player who is A) leading off for his team, B) not involved in a platoon, and C) capable of delivering useful power/speed numbers. And here's the thing you really have to like about Cowgill's short-term potential: