Masahiro Tanaka has a forearm injury, but threw a simulated game

Fantasy Impact:

Tanaka took on Brett Gardner, Chase Headley and Chris Carter this time around, tossing multiple innings in the outing. It won't be long before the projected Opening Day starter is back on the mound for spring action. The fear of impending Tommy John surgery sometimes instills excessive fear within us, with Tanaka an excellent such example. Since it was revealed in late 2014 that he had a small tear in the UCL in his right elbow, he has finished among the top 25 starters using Rotisserie scoring in both 2015 and 2016; volume-wise, he finished 36th among starters in the former. Tanaka's elite control -- he's one of three pitchers to have made at least 20 starts with a walk rate beneath five percent of his total batters faced in each of the past three seasons (Bartolo Colon, Clayton Kershaw) -- and difficult-to-square-up splitter makes him an extremely reliable, high-floor starter when healthy. While there'll always be risk he succumbs to such a surgery someday, Tanaka's consistent success makes him well worth drafting as a top-25 starter in any format.

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