Relief Pitchers/Closers

Closers/Relief Pitchers

1st Tier:  Joakim Soria, Heath Bell, Brian Wilson, Mariano Rivera, Carlos Marmol

     Lock ‘em in, folks.  These should be, barring injury or trade, your top five targets for closers this season.  They have held th e job with their respective teams before and have little or no competition to overtake them.  There was plenty of talk about the Padres trading Bell, but the team seems to have backed off from the notion….for now.  I mean, it is the Padres.  Everyone else is dialed in and ready to go, although Wilson’s spring has gotten off to a rocky start with back stiffness.  Marmol’s K’s are a dream for fantasy owners, and for those concerned with Rivera’s status now that Rafael Soriano is around, rest assured, Mo is the man in the Bronx.  Bringing in Soriano adds insurance in the event of an injury, but what it does, more importantly, is guarantee that Mo won’t need to come in for mor ethan the standard one inning save.

2nd Tier:  Neftali Feliz, Jonathan Papelbon, Andrew Bailey, Francisco Rodriguez, Chris Perez

     The only reason Feliz is down this far is due to the fact that the team is stretching him out as a starter this spring and giving him an opportunity to make the rotation.  But if the Rangers do finally decide to keep Feliz in the pen, he’s top tier all the way.

     Papelbon remains a top option on a competitive team, but there’s been talk of the Red Sox trading him and going with Daniel Bard.  If Paps moves, he’ll undoubtedly close, but where he ends up is the question.  Perez did a solid job picking up where Kerry Wood left off and should be a solid option this year. 

     Bailey just needs to stay healthy and K-Rod needs to keep his head on straight.  If both happen, then both are going to be great options all year.

3rd Tier:  Jose Valverde, Francisco Cordero, John Axford, Brad Lidge, J.J. Putz, Huston Street, Jonathan Broxton, Ryan Franklin

     So everyone in this tier has been officially named their teams’ closer, but each has a cveat that should always be noted when considering in your draft.  Valverde was lights out in the first half but tired after the break, got hurt and fizzled out.  He returns this year, hopefully stronger and more prepared for a full year.  Coco Cordero always has his blow ups, so while he’s locked into the Reds pen, his ratios are never the most desirable.  He also has Aroldis Chapman in the pen causing Coco to steadily look over his shoulder.

     Putz hasn’t closed full time in a few seasons after a major injury, but had a great rebound year with the White Sox last year, Axford needs to prove himself some more before I fully endorse, and Lidge is…..well…..Lidge.  Broxton lost his job last year, but is being given every opportunity to reclaim the job this season, Street has chronic health issues, and Franklin hits a few bumps in the road here and there.  Another guy who will log saves but doesn’t always have the ratios you’d like in a closer.

4th Tier:  Frank Francisco, Joe Nathan, Drew Storen, Kevin Gregg, Brandon Lyon, Fernando Rodney, Leo Nunez, Craig Kimbrel, Matt Thornton, Joel Hanrahan

     Getting a little dicier down here, but still some decent options.  Storen and Kimbrel have the best upside here with Storen getting the edge since the Nats have named him their closer.  Kimbrel will share time with Johnny Venters to start probably but should win the job outright sooner than later.

     Francisco was named the Jays closer but has a pair of vultures in Octavio Dotel and Jon Rauch lurking, Nathan is penciled in but is making his way back from ligament replacement surgery and may need some extra days off this season, and Gregg hasn’t been officially named the closer for Baltimore, but is the obvious choice.  Hanrahan has great K potential (100 in just under 70 IP last year) but has control issues and Evan Meek right behind him, Nunex lost his job last year but is getting another chance, and Lyon couldn’t beat out Matt Lindstrom for the job to start the year in 2010, but ended up coming up big in replacement in the 2nd half.

     Rodney has the job right now but had a seriously disappointing year last year.  Indicators such as K rate, walk rate and a high BABIP make me believe in him even less.  Still, the job is his to lose. 

     And then there’s Thornton.  Penciled in right now and could be a great option, if it wasn’t for Chris Sale being moved back into the bullpen this.  I wouldn’t draft on ewithout the other though.

5th Tier and beyond:  Kyle Farnsworth, Jake McGee, David Aardsma, Brandon League, Chris Sale, Matt Capps, Evan Meek, Clay Hensley, Hong-Chih Kuo, Johnny Venters, Luke Gregerson, Koji Uehara

     So Farnsworth and McGee will duke it out this spring with my money going on McGee.  Aardsma is still recovering from off season hip surgery and there is a strong chance he starts the season on the DL.  That would move League into th ecloser’s job which he’ll have this spring.  All the other guys are some of the top vultures in waiting and solid options if you like to use middle relievers on your roster.