Update Closer Rankings – Brian Wilson Injury Concerns

Here are my updated closer rankings for 2011 fantasy baseball. Players that moved from the prior rankings are shown with an up or down arrow, with relevant notes about the change. Also make sure to check out the AL Tiers and NL Tiers of Relief Pitching for detail on how I came up with the original rankings.

Rank Player Team
Tier 1
1 Heath Bell SD
2 Joakim Soria KC
3 Mariano Rivera NYY
4 Carlos Marmol CHC
5 Neftali Feliz TEX
  • Mariano Rivera is on schedule for another productive season, although the presence of Rafael Soriano could mean less work than in the past, and much fewer four and five-out saves.
  • Carlos Marmol is a risk because of his checkered history, but he’s still nasty. Hence, he’s worth the risk. And he’s looked good this spring.
  • Neftali Feliz is still unsure of what his role will be with Texas. The informed opinion is that a starting pitcher has more value than a closer (especially in fantasy), although some “classic” baseball minds might disagree. If Feliz ends up as a starter – a decision that could come later this week – Alexi Ogando is probably the best ninth-inning option for the Rangers. Either way, Feliz has plenty of fantasy value.
Rank Player Team
Tier 2
6 Brian Wilson SF
7 Jonathan Papelbon BOS
8 Jonathan Broxton LAD
9 Andrew Bailey OAK
10 John Axford MIL
  • Brian Wilson underwent an MRI on Saturday which revealed a mild strain of his left oblique muscle, a situation that could land him on the DL to start the season. He felt the injury during his most recent appearance Thursday against the Angels. I’ve dropped him to the second tier as a result. Stay tuned.
  • A week after Andrew Bailey walked off the mound clutching his elbow, the diagnosis isn’t nearly as bleak as first proposed. Dr. James Andrews, who cleaned up Bailey’s elbow in September, said it’s just torn scar tissue and a forearm strain. While it looks as if he’ll throw later in the week and could be ready by Opening Day, he’s clearly an injury risk in 2011. The A’s primary backup is Brian Fuentes, so… do with that what you want. I don’t like the guy.
Rank Player Team
Tier 3
11 Francisco Rodriguez NYM
12 Joe Nathan MIN
13 Jose Valverde DET
14 Matt Thornton CHW
15 Huston Street COL
16 J.J. Putz ARI
17 Chris Perez CLE
18 Brad Lidge PHI
19 Drew Storen WAS
20 Francisco Cordero CIN
  • Because of fears surrounding his return from last season’s Tommy John surgery and a possible closer time-share with Matt Capps, Joe Nathan could be the most underrated closer in baseball this season. He retired all six batters he faced during a minor league game Monday, and while there’s chatter about a split of the closing duties, I think that’s just speculative rubbish. Nathan’s the guy.
  • Francisco Cordero has thrown four consecutive scoreless innings in spring training, but he’ll have a tight leash with Aroldis Chapman in the same bullpen. The veteran reliever showed up to camp in much better shape, possibly because he knows his job hangs in the balance.
Rank Player Team
Tier 4
21 Ryan Franklin STL
22 Daniel Bard BOS
23 Rafael Soriano NYY
24 Brandon League SEA
25 Aroldis Chapman CIN
26 Craig Kimbrel ATL
27 Jonny Venters ATL
28 Joel Hanrahan PIT
29 Leo Nunez FLA
30 Frank Francisco TOR
31 David Aardsma (injured) SEA
32 Brandon Lyon HOU
33 Fernando Rodney LAA
34 Kevin Gregg BAL
35 Matt Capps MIN
  • Craig Kimbrel’s shaky start has led to speculation that the Braves will, in fact, split closing duties between Kimbrel, a righty, and Jonny Venters, a hard-throwing southpaw. If they were both righties, I’d think this plan was ridiculous, but I’m of the opinion that the best guy for the moment should be in the game in those situations, so a lefty-righty split makes sense. There’s still a chance one guy emerges and takes the job, but for now, it’d be wise to keep them close in your rankings, and down in this tier.
  • Kevin Gregg has struggled this spring, trying out some new mechanics that didn’t work out. He’s still the team’s closer, and with Koji Uehara battling elbow discomfort, the job could eventually go to Mike Gonzalez. Personally, I think Gonzalez is the best man for the job.
  • Aroldis Chapman will open the season in the bullpen, but the Reds still envision him as a future starter. Walt Jocketty admits that while the fireballer could be a top-of-the-rotation guy, he’s also a possible closer. He’s not a setup guy, so look for him to move in one direction or the other as soon as June.
Rank Player Team
Tier 5
36 Sergio Romo SF
37 Kyle Farnsworth TB
38 Hong-Chih Kuo LAD
39 Chris Sale CHW
40 Jake McGee TB
41 Evan Meek PIT
42 Luke Gregerson SD
43 Kenley Jansen LAD
44 Joaquin Benoit DET
45 Ryan Madson PHI
46 Koji Uehara BAL
47 Octavio Dotel TOR
48 Brian Fuentes OAK
49 Scott Downs LAA
50 Clay Hensley FLA
  • With the breaking news of the Brian Wilson injury, Sergio Romo vaults to the top of Tier 5. He’d be a great late-round snag in deeper leagues, and I’d spend a few extra bucks on him in NL-only leagues.
  • Kyle Farnsworth is still the apparent closer in Tampa Bay, but Jake McGee is listed on the World Wide Leader’s closer chart as the first-stringer. While I don’t trust ESPN, I do trust these guys.

AL West News Roundup, Fantasy Notes

Continuing my news roundup series, here is the AL West. It is a short one, as I’m running out of time before my NFBC draft, tonight.

  • Kendrys Morales will start the season on the DL. This is one long rehab from a broken leg. He can hit and field, but can’t run. At this point he could be back soon, but who knows? I think I’ll let someone else play the waiting game, while I wouldn’t mind Mark Trumbo late to see if he can continue his great spring into the start of the season.
  • Coco Crisp has missed a bit of action with a hamstring strain. Speedy guy, stealing bases and hamstring injury – those things really do not go together well. I picked up Crisp off waivers last year and he went well above and beyond the call of duty, but colour me skeptical he can continue that this year.
  • Maybe it is Erik Bedard who is worth a taking a shot on late in drafts instead of Jake Peavy. Peavy’s comeback ground to a halt, while Bedard has another strong start in Spring Training action against the San Diego Padres. He says he is throwing without pain for the first time in three years.
  • The Texas Rangers are really riding the fence as to whether Neftali Feliz will be a starter or the closer this season. Right now I’m not ready to make a stand it will be one way or the other, so I will just pass on him in drafts either way. Alexi Ogando is one possible closer if Feliz becomes a starter, but if I’m the Rangers I would be looking to acquire a closer from another team. I won’t be putting much draft stock in Ogando, or any other closer candidate currently on the roster as a result.

2011 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings

Last week we posted the Tiers of Starting Pitching, including rankings for the top 89 starting pitchers for fantasy baseball this season.

Lost in the 19,000 words of starting pitcher profiles, was the thought to summarize the pitcher rankings in a nice looking cheatsheet format. That is, until one of our readers suggested it to us. Great suggestion, and here it is presented below.

Note these rankings were compiled before recent news of Neftali Feliz more than likely moving to the Texas Rangers’ starting rotation, although there is a profile on Feliz as a projected starter (some time in the future) and speculative play in Part 4 of the Tiers.

[Editor's Note: Rankings updated March 21st. They now go to 90 thanks to Neftali Feliz moving up from an unranked "speculative play" in the first edition Tiers of SP to 58th in the updating rankings.]

Rank Player Team
1 Felix Hernandez SEA
2 Roy Halladay PHI
3 Tim Lincecum SF
4 Clayton Kershaw LAD
5 Cliff Lee PHI
Tier 2
6 CC Sabathia NYY
7 Mat Latos SD
8 Justin Verlander DET
9 Jon Lester BOS
10 Josh Johnson FLA
11 Tommy Hanson ATL
12 Jered Weaver LAA
Tier 3
13 David Price TB
14 Ubaldo Jimenez COL
15 Chris Carpenter STL
16 Dan Haren LAA
17 Cole Hamels PHI
18 Francisco Liriano MIN
19 Yovani Gallardo MIL
20 Matt Cain SF
21 Daniel Hudson ARI
22 Wandy Rodriguez HOU
23 Max Scherzer DET
24 Roy Oswalt PHI
25 Chad Billingsley LAD
26 Shaun Marcum MIL
27 Madison Bumgarner SF
28 Colby Lewis TEX
29 Clay Buchholz BOS
30 Brett Anderson OAK
  
Rank Player Team
Tier 4
31 Hiroki Kuroda LAD
32 Jonathan Sanchez SF
33 Ryan Dempster CHC
34 C.J. Wilson TEX
35 Johnny Cueto CIN
36 Jaime Garcia STL
37 Ted Lilly LAD
38 Ricky Romero TOR
39 Gio Gonzalez OAK
40 John Danks CHW
41 Javier Vazquez FLA
42 Josh Beckett BOS
43 Ricky Nolasco FLA
44 Ian Kennedy ARI
45 John Lackey BOS
46 Gavin Floyd CHW
47 Brett Myers HOU
48 Brian Matusz BAL
49 Zack Greinke MIL
50 James Shields TB
51 Phil Hughes NYY
52 Jeremy Hellickson TB
  
Rank Player Team
Tier 5
53 Brandon Morrow TOR
54 Edinson Volquez CIN
55 Homer Bailey CIN
56 Jhoulys Chacin COL
57 Mike Minor ATL
58 Neftali Feliz TEX
59 Ervin Santana LAA
60 James McDonald PIT
61 Tim Hudson ATL
62 Scott Baker MIN
63 Edwin Jackson CHW
64 Kyle Drabek TOR
65 Matt Garza CHC
66 Randy Wolf MIL
67 Travis Wood CIN
68 Carlos Zambrano CHC
69 Brett Cecil TOR
70 Clayton Richard SD
71 Aaron Harang SD
72 Cory Luebke SD
73 Derek Holland TEX
74 Brad Penny DET
75 Bronson Arroyo CIN
76 Kevin Slowey MIN
77 Jon Niese NYM
78 Jair Jurrjens ATL
79 Jake Peavy CHW
80 Jorge de la Rosa COL
81 Bud Norris HOU
82 Anibal Sanchez FLA
83 Derek Lowe ATL
84 Joel Pineiro LAA
85 Jeff Niemann TB
86 Jordan Zimmermann WAS
87 Michael Pineda SEA
88 Mark Buehrle CWS
89 Randy Wells CHC
90 Wade Davis TB

Tiers of Starting Pitching – The Rest, Sleepers and Asleep

Tier 5: The Rest

Plenty of upside can be found here if you look carefully

53. Brandon Morrow, RHP, TOR (4.49 ERA, 3.24 FIP, +1.25 Differential)
Defense: Neutral
Park Factor: minus sign
After getting away from the nightmare that Seattle put him through over the years, Morrow used 2010 to adjust to life as a full-time starter. He finally stopped pumping fastball after fastball toward the plate (and sometimes not toward the plate as his control used to be abhorrent) and learned to mix his secondary pitches into his battle plan. He also took a bit off his fastball and cleaned up his release point of it in order to gain more control.

The battle plan worked, too. Morrow became a very useful fantasy pitcher over the last couple of months of the season as he managed to still strike hitters out at a high percentage while utilizing his newfound control to pop a few of the balloons that had been lifting his walk rate to somewhere in the vicinity of Paradise Falls.

Morrow’s fastball still has good late life and motion on it – moving inwards on right-handed hitters and away from lefties – despite his overall drop in velocity, and he’s still able to gun it up to 96-97mph when he really needs it. Also new was his ability to move the fastball effectively to both sides of the plate. With the movement on his fastball, this was a fairly useful new tool that he will need to continue to hone in the coming season.

Morrow’s secondary offerings are led by a good slider and an on-again off-again curve, and he has a change-up, but it lacks effectiveness as he’s never been comfortable with its release point. The lack of a useable change is one of the main reasons he has trouble with his control against lefties – he nibbles too much on the corners for fear they’ll hit his other stuff hard. Still, he gets strikeouts easily against hitters from both sides.

I describe all this because I want the reader to understand that I like Morrow and that I realize he does indeed have good stuff and his attack plan and control have improved dramatically in a very short time span. Still, he has a lengthy history with injury issues, he is a diabetic which wears on his durability, and people with historically bad control like Morrow used to have very rarely are able to fully turn things around so quickly. For every Randy Johnson, there are a million guys who never figure it out. Even when a pitcher looks like he has found control (like Oliver Perez circa 2004), it goes away just as quickly as it came.

Bid on Morrow to get a lot of strikeouts, have an ERA just north of 4.00 (with upside in the high 3.00′s range), and a WHIP somewhere in the 1.30′s. If you get more, that’s great. But there are enough caution flags (durability/injury issues that could contain him to well under 200 innings as well as a likelihood of regression in his BB/9) to suggest that expectations need to be properly managed. (p.s. It’s no coincidence that I have him ranked next to Volquez. I think they have similar upsides and downsides at the moment.)

54. Edinson Volquez, RHP, CIN (4.31 ERA, 4.00 FIP, +0.31 Differential)
Defense: plus sign plus sign
Park Factor: Neutral
Volquez came back from the Tommy John slab and displayed much the same skills he had in the past – elite strikeout ability combined with poor control. In addition, Volquez also added some sinking life to his fastball inducing grounders at a higher clip than ever before. The good news is that Volquez’s control comes and goes suggesting that the issue is more mechanical than simply lack of talent. The bad news is that this is one of the most maddening of skill sets to own in fantasy baseball. You can’t simply wait on Volquez to look like he’s getting hot and then ride a streak. You’ve got to take all the bad with the good he provides, and you’ve got to do it consistently (because he provides no real consistency of his own). If you can weather the WHIP storm your team will take, Volquez is a solid strikeout investment who won’t hurt you in ERA and should net a solid amount of Wins, too. There is some breakout ability here, although the control problems will probably never completely go away.

55. Homer Bailey, RHP, CIN (4.46 ERA, 3.65 FIP, +0.81 Differential)
Defense: plus sign plus sign
Park Factor: Neutral
There were some good signs from Bailey in 2010, and while he will probably regress in either K/9 or BB/9 (or possibly both), I still think he could put up a high 3.00′s ERA along with a WHIP in the 1.30′s and 150+ K. That Cincy defense is too delightful to think Bailey doesn’t have a good shot at bettering his FIP this year. So while I think the FIP will rise with the aforementioned regressions, his ERA should still be pretty solid. There’s even a chance that Bailey ends up being similar in value to Gavin Floyd this year, so take that valuation into draft day when looking for a bargain.

56. Jhoulys Chacin, RHP, COL (3.28 ERA, 3.54 FIP, -0.26 Differential)
Defense: minus sign
Park Factor: minus sign minus sign
Chacin’s a good source of strikeouts, and even if his ERA goes up half a run or more with regression, he’s a worthwhile investment this season. Bid on a high 3′s ERA, low 1.30′s WHIP, and plenty of strikeouts, but with an innings cap somewhere around 175.

57. Mike Minor, LHP, ATL (5.98 ERA, 3.77 FIP, +2.21 Differential)
Defense: minus sign minus sign
Park Factor: NEUTRAL
I like Minor a lot as he combines the craftiness of a veteran with the skill set of a good mid-rotation starter. His control, change-up, and velocity all point towards a possible breakout performer. But the Braves’ defense behind him is so bad that it may end up depressing Minor’s stats to the point where he looks somewhat mediocre. Even on a neutral defensive team, I would feel pretty safe in projecting Minor with a high 3′s to low 4 ERA with a WHIP in the 1.20′s. But with the Braves behind him, I think it’s much more likely that we’ll see his ERA end up in the 4′s and his WHIP closer to 1.30 than to 1.20. He should win a rotation spot outright, and if he does he could throw 175+ innings of good baseball. It’s just too bad the Braves’ defense may end up causing Minor’s (and his owners’) hair to gray prematurely.

58. Neftali Feliz, RHP, TEX (2.73 ERA, 2.96 FIP, -0.23 Differential)
Defense: plus sign plus sign
Park Factor: minus sign
I love him as a closer. I love his potential as a starter, but longer term – not in 2011. I’m intrigued to see what the (probable) loss in velocity does to his IFFB% and also what it does to his HR/9 against lefties. I don’t think he has the pinpoint command with his stuff at this point to make up for that velo dip (if and when it occurs). And that means he’ll either nibble the corners too much, especially against lefties, and pad his walk total well over 3.00 or he’ll serve up too many homeruns for our liking (or both). I’m also assuming his strikeout rate dips, too, so then you’re looking at a starter whose K/BB is closer to 2 than 4 and whose HR/9 ratio should increase fairly dramatically. Given the bevy of good pitching in the majors right now, I don’t think Feliz is a guy I invest too heavily in as a starter in 2011 if I’m a fantasy owner. He’s in my Top 60, but if others want to bet on the upside, let them. His inning cap will be too low as a starter to really blow away the competition. As an aside, Feliz is a guy for whom I’d love to figure out Pitch F/X. His ability to induce pop-ups interests me enough to wonder what it is about his fastball that gets so many of them. And will that change when he’s no longer able to pump everything in there at 97-99 mph? Color me intrigued.

59. Ervin Santana, RHP, LAA (3.92 ERA, 4.33 FIP, -0.41 Differential)
Defense: plus sign
Park Factor: Neutral
I’d put the over/under at 190 innings and 150 K with a 4.00 ERA and WHIP above 1.30. There’s always going to be potential with Santana, but he’s a bit of an injury risk. The upside at this point comes more from my belief in Bourjos being a flyball Hoover than from Santana returning to 2008 form.

60. James McDonald, RHP, PIT (4.02 ERA, 3.12 FIP, +0.90 Differential)
Defense: minus sign minus sign
Park Factor: Neutral
McDonald is an obvious sleeper, which, I suppose, means he’s not much of a sleeper at all. Even with a poor defense behind him, he’s got a solid shot at a high 3′s ERA and a lot of strikeouts. Why the Dodgers basically gave up on him is anyone’s guess, but he’s got legit talent and has had it for a while now. The Pirates actually intend to give him an opportunity to use it, too, so it should be fun to see what McDonald can do with the confidence of the organization behind him. The upside here is a 3.70 ERA with 170+ K. I’d bet on the under with that awful defense behind him, but there’s certainly a chance he’s a big asset.

61. Tim Hudson, RHP, ATL (2.83 ERA, 4.06 FIP, -1.23 Differential)
Defense: minus sign minus sign
Park Factor: Neutral
He was lucky last year. There’s no two ways about it. His BABIP will normalize this year (and possibly even be bad due to his crappy defense) and his strand rate will fall. And the world will be whole again. I’d bid for an ERA near 3.70+, a WHIP in the mid-to-high 1.20′s and not very many strikeouts. And there’s downside due to the defense and all the balls that Hudson allows to be put into play.

62. Scott Baker, RHP, MIN (4.49 ERA, 4.04 FIP, +0.45 Differential)
Defense: Neutral
Park Factor: plus sign
Minnesota’s new park is interesting in that it severely depressed homeruns in its inaugural season while still allowing runs at a fairly neutral clip. This should be helpful for the likes of Baker and Kevin Slowey especially (unless the Twins’ management decides to bench them both in favor of Nick Blackburn and a Blackburn clone they’ve been growing in their control pitcher Twins lab over the off-season). I like Baker to improve the ERA enough this season to not hurt you (think 4.00) while becoming a major asset in WHIP again (high 1.10′s or low 1.20′s). And oh yeah, he doesn’t hurt you in strikeouts. Hooray for control pitchers with mild strikeout ability!

63. Edwin Jackson, RHP, CHW (4.47 ERA, 3.88 FIP, +0.59 Differential)
Defense: minus sign
Park Factor: minus sign minus sign
Jackson went from being in a bad ballpark with a good defense behind him to being in a bad ballpark with a bad defense. Sucks for him. Don’t make it suck for you, too. He’s got obvious upside, but it’s like playing hot potato with a hand grenade in that park and that defense. I plan on walking away from the 2011 season with both my hands intact. How about you?

64. Kyle Drabek, RHP, TOR (4.76 ERA, 4.08 FIP, + 0.68 Differential)
Defense: NEUTRAL
Park Factor: minus sign
Drabek has elite groundball ratios which will make up for a lot of mistakes including defensive miscues and a ballpark that plays like it’s a little league field whenever a ball is hit in the air. He’s unlikely to ever be a severe strikeout artist, but there’s room for growth beyond the 6.35 K/9 he put up last year in limited time. Pay for a 4ish ERA and 1.30+ WHIP with a healthy amount of strikeouts. The issue isn’t his talent, but the perception of his current abilities and breakout potential. There are better values out there in mixed leagues as many people will pay for Drabek’s “upside” due to his top prospect status. I doubt he’s worth the hype in 2011, though, as his defense, park, and growth curve are all working against him.

65. Matt Garza, RHP, CHC (3.91 ERA, 4.46 FIP, -0.55 Differential)
Defense: Neutral
Park Factor: minus sign minus sign
Garza goes from a great pitcher’s park and excellent defense to a great hitter’s park with mediocre defense. Those expecting much improvement from him simply because of his shift from the AL to the NL are in for a rude awakening. I’ll be surprised if he has an ERA south of 4.00 or a WHIP below 1.30 this season. Also worth noting is that he works slower on the mound than my constantly shortening attention span can handle. WGN should provide a delayed feed for Cubs games this year so that they can edit out Garza’s human rain delay tendencies.

66. Randy Wolf, LHP, MIL (4.17 ERA, 4.84 FIP, -0.67 Differential)
Defense: minus sign minus sign
Park Factor: Neutral
Wolf had an abysmal first half last year but followed it up with a somewhat hopeful second half performance. His defense is even worse this year, though, and I am less optimistic than some for a potential total rebound because of it. A 4.20+ ERA, a low-to-mid 1.30′s WHIP, and 150 strikeouts seems like a decent bet, but there’s some downside too, if the defense plays poorly for him.

67. Travis Wood, LHP, CIN (3.51 ERA, 3.47 FIP, +0.04 Differential)
Defense: plus sign plus sign
Park Factor: Neutral
Dusty Baker Factor: minus sign minus sign
He’s good, although perhaps not quite as good as his WHIP indicated last year. I think he’s in line for 160+ innings worth of mid-3.00′s ERA, a low 1.20′s WHIP, and 140+ K’s. I like him plenty, and that sensational defense in Cincy gives me confidence that he’ll be at least as good as his FIP in all likelihood. Bid confidently here. Just remember that Dusty is in charge here, which is always terrifying beyond the capacity for rational thought.

68. Carlos Zambrano, RHP, CHC (3.19 ERA, 3.79 FIP, -0.60 Differential)
Defense: Neutral
Park Factor: minus sign minus sign
He has pronounced himself anger-free. I expect the new Zen-Brano to be much like the old – slightly overrated in some circles while simultaneously being slightly underrated in others. He’s still got a good shot at a high 3′s ERA and a mid 1.30′s WHIP. The big difference now, though, is that Zambrano is no longer the durable workhorse he once was. Expecting more than 170 innings at this point seems a bit rash, so make sure you’re taking into account the lowered counting stats in accordance with the drop in total innings.

69. Brett Cecil, LHP, TOR (4.22 ERA, 4.08 FIP, +0.14 Differential)
Defense: Neutral
Park Factor: minus sign
There’s actually a bit of upside in Cecil’s strikeout rate, but I think most small improvements he makes will likely be masked by a mediocre defense, an uptick in BABIP, and a bad ballpark. Bid for a near repeat in his 2010 as he replaces any lost Wins with extra strikeouts and an innings increase.

70. Clayton Richard, LHP, SD (3.75 ERA, 3.80 FIP, -0.05 Differential)
Defense: plus sign
Park Factor: plus sign plus sign
Richard went from fantasy afterthought to person of interest once he was dealt to San Diego in the Jake Peavy trade. Petco + Good Defense + Decent Peripherals = Richard being a solid asset in fantasy. He could easily repeat his ERA of last year with a slightly better WHIP in the process. I’d take the certainty of his mid-level skill set over the breakout potential of a guy like Bud Norris.

71. Aaron Harang, RHP, SD (5.32 ERA, 4.68 FIP, +0.64 Differential)
Defense: plus sign
Park Factor: plus sign plus sign
I wonder if Harang going to San Diego had more to do with getting into Petco or if he just wanted to be 3,000 miles away from Dusty Baker at any given moment. Harang has gone on record to say he never felt the same after Baker inexplicably used Harang in a lengthy 2008 relief outing that served very little purpose other than to amuse Baker’s (childlike) mind. Dusty Dice indeed. Anyway, Harang has a chance to be a real bargain for almost any owner now that he’s in Petco Cavern. I’d pay for a 4.00 ERA, a low 1.30′s WHIP and 140+ K, but there’s upside even beyond that line. Injury caveats exist at this point as Harang’s Innings Pitched trend has gone downward ever since the relief outing, but there’s room for optimism far out West. Sign me up for Harang in 2011.

72. Cory Luebke, LHP, SD (4.08 ERA, 4.44 FIP, -0.36)
Defense: plus sign
Park Factor: plus sign plus sign
There are plenty of reasons to like a guy like Luebke, not the least of which is the Grand Canyon-sized park coupled with the delightful defense behind him. In addition, Luebke’s peripherals are extremely solid (good K/9, good control, and above average groundball ratios) and he’s a lefty with a decent strikeout pitch against both left-handed and right-handed hitters. Luebke has mid-rotation potential once given a full-time rotation spot, and that means he’s got even greater fantasy potential given Petco’s proclivity to produce fantasy gods. He may not get an opportunity at the outset of the season, but bank on his abilities more so than the Padres’ decision-making whims. Keeper league owners should scoop him up if at all possible.

73. Derek Holland, LHP, TEX (4.08 ERA, 4.02 FIP, -0.06 Differential)
Defense: plus sign plus sign
Park Factor: minus sign
I’m still a pretty avid Holland fan. Given the very good defense in Texas, I could see Holland putting up an ERA in the high 3′s or low 4′s with a very healthy dose of strikeouts tossed in. He needs to win a starting role, and he needs to refine his control. But there’s plenty of upside here for fantasy value. He’s still a breakout candidate, make no mistake.

74. Brad Penny, RHP, DET (3.23 ERA, 3.40 FIP, -0.17 Differential)
Defense: plus sign
Park Factor: NEUTRAL
Penny, if not on the DL, is still an effective pitcher, although not as strong of an asset in strikeouts as he used to be. Detroit does play a bit better for right-handed pitchers than southpaws in terms of homeruns given up, so that’s a nice little bonus for him. That combined with Detroit’s solid defense and Penny’s newfound groundball proclivities make it pretty easy to project a low 4.00′s ERA with a low 1.30′s WHIP. And there’s some small upside to beat those numbers, too. Just don’t expect many strikeouts.

75. Bronson Arroyo, RHP, CIN (3.88 ERA, 4.62 FIP, -0.74 Differential)
Defense: plus sign plus sign
Park Factor: Neutral
The Reds gave Arroyo a hefty 3-year contract extension this off-season when they should have been giving their defense the extension instead. Arroyo is a pitch-to-contact pitcher with very little in the way of strikeout ability left in his game at this point, but that could play to the advantage of savvy fantasy owners. I think it’s likely he’ll out-produce his FIP again due to the stellar defense behind him (think a lot closer to a 4.00 ERA than the 4.50+ that his FIP will suggest), and his WHIP has a solid shot at being in the 1.20′s, too. In other words, a guy like Arroyo may actually be underrated in sabermetric leagues due to the low strikeout rate and high FIP. While Arroyo’s real life value may be a bit of a question mark, I think he’s an underrated asset in fantasy leagues in 2011 with all the defensive help we can expect behind him coupled with his good control. Just find your K’s somewhere else.

76. Kevin Slowey, RHP, MIN (4.45 ERA, 4.05 FIP, +0.40 Differential)
Defense: Neutral
Park Factor: plus sign
What’s baffling to me is that, as of right now, Minnesota looks to be contemplating giving up on Slowey and his potential for the rock solid mediocrity of Nick Blackburn. If I’m a GM on another team, I’m making phone calls into the Minneapolis area over the next few weeks to see what I can work out. (Imagine, for example, if the flyball/homerun prone Slowey ended up on Dave Duncan’s doorstep gift-wrapped with a note saying “Challenge: Extreme Flyball Pitcher”). He does have an injury bug which he can’t quite seem to shake, but Slowey has obvious value in WHIP and strikeouts for fantasy owners even if he does give up too many homeruns (which in turn blow up his ERA from his FIP). I still like him plenty, and as long as he doesn’t go to a homer-happy hitter’s paradise, I’d invest in him for this season.

77. Jon Niese, LHP, NYM (4.20 ERA, 4.12 FIP, +0.08 Differential)
Defense: plus sign
Park Factor: plus sign plus sign
I’ve liked him since the minors, and I see no reason to stop now. I’m looking for a 3.90 ERA, a WHIP in the low-to-mid 1.30′s, and 150 K. That’s a useful pitcher in most any format.

78. Jair Jurrjens, RHP, ATL (4.64 ERA, 4.13 FIP, +0.51 Differential)
Defense: minus sign minus sign
Park Factor: Neutral
While it’s possible Jurrjens can still put up a FIP slightly under 4.00, I think Atlanta’s “defense” will cost him any chance at having his ERA that low. There’s some wiggle room for value if people think last year was the new reality for Jurrjens’ performance level (in fact, I think last year is probably the absolute floor), but don’t bid too heavily for more than 175 innings of production.

79. Jake Peavy, RHP, CHW (4.63 ERA, 4.03 FIP, +0.60 Differential)
Defense: minus sign
Park Factor: minus sign minus sign
There’s still some skill there, but banking on anything more than 100 innings seems like a fool’s bet. I wonder if Peavy dreams about Petco every night or only on nights he throws at U.S. Cellular? And are the Petco dreams like the ex-girlfriend that broke up with you but you would still date in a heartbeat if they came back dreams? Or are they more adventuresome where Peavy speeds a motorcycle across the outfield in Petco and the trip ends up taking him as long as a cross-country ride – sort of a trippy baseball incarnation of Easy Rider? Oh to be a fly on the couch of Peavy’s therapist’s office.

80. Jorge de la Rosa, RHP, COL (4.22 ERA, 4.28 FIP, -0.06 Differential)
Defense: minus sign
Park Factor: minus sign minus sign
He’s in a bad ballpark, he walks a lot of people, and the defense behind him isn’t very good. You do the math. He has upside due to the K’s, but I think you should temper enthusiasm as he’s not a very good bet to stay healthy or help you in much of anything else.

81. Bud Norris, RHP, HOU (4.92 ERA, 4.18 FIP, +0.74 Differential)
Defense: Neutral
Park Factor: plus sign
There’s some reason for cautious optimism here. Norris continues to have an inflated BABIP which could improve a bit this year with a somewhat improved Houston defense. And his walk rate will likely go down this year somewhere closer to 4.00 than the 4.50 he posted last season. He’s probably never going to be an asset in WHIP, but with a lot of strikeouts plus a not-zero chance at a 4.00ish ERA, Norris has value. His upside is 180+ strikeouts with a low 4.00′s ERA, and I think any fantasy owner would love to have that from the 308th pick (via ADP) in his draft.

82. Anibal Sanchez, RHP, FLA (3.55 ERA, 3.32 FIP, +0.23 Differential)
Defense: minus sign
Park Factor: Neutral
Sanchez was finally healthy last year for the first time since 2006, and he ended up with a pretty good-looking stat line. His HR/FB rate was eerily low, though, and is very unlikely to sustain into the new season. Sure, he could be healthy this year and put up a near 4.00 ERA (with a normalized HR/FB) with 150 K and a middling WHIP, but he’s probably a better bet to throw 120 innings than he is 180. Are you really willing to risk your valuable draft day dollars on someone with this much of an injury-plagued past? I know I’m not.

83. Derek Lowe, RHP, ATL (4.00 ERA, 3.81 FIP, +0.19 Differential)
Defense: minus sign minus sign
Park Factor: Neutral
Woe is the day that a pitcher so reliant on dominant groundball tendencies ends up with a team that can’t catch the ball for crap. I expect another very solid FIP from Lowe, but the Braves’ fielders should hinder him from providing an actual useful ERA or WHIP for all but deep leagues. If I were Lowe, I’d try to become a little more fascist this year in the interest of self-preservation.

84. Joel Pineiro, RHP, LAA (3.84 ERA, 3.80 FIP, +0.04 Differential)
Defense: plus sign
Park Factor: Neutral
Good on Pineiro for keeping Dave Duncan’s techniques in his noggin’ even after leaving St. Louis. I would bid confidently on Pineiro to repeat last year’s numbers only with 180+ innings instead of 150.

85. Jeff Niemann, RHP, TB (4.39 ERA, 4.58 FIP, -0.19 Differential)
Defense: plus sign plus sign
Park Factor: plus sign plus sign
Niemann’s a decent back-of-the-rotation guy for Tampa and for fantasy owners. He doesn’t do anything too tremendously well, but he’s also not terrible at anything. Boring, sure, but not without his merits. The only issue I have with him is that he’s not as durable as I’d like my back-end starters to be, so be wary of his strikeout total not being as high as one would like due to lack of overall innings. I put the over/under at 160 innings for him this year, and if Tampa Bay fans who want to see all their top pitching prospects have their voodoo way, I think that’s the safest number to expect.

86. Jordan Zimmermann, RHP, WAS (4.94 ERA, 5.85 FIP, -0.91 Differential)
Defense: plus sign
Park Factor: NEUTRAL
Zimmerman’s the real diamond in the rough (cue the Aladdin song) on the Nats’ pitching staff. His FIP last year was very misleading as his HR/9 rate was an astronomically fluky 2.32. That’s going to get better (he’s very likely to cut it by well over 50%) and all of Zimmerman’s peripheral stats suggest a good pitcher being hidden by one outlier – the ghastly homerun rate. Zimmerman strikes hitters out at an above average clip, he has good control, and he’s a bit better than average at inducing groundballs. Yes, he needs to work on his change-up – what young pitcher doesn’t (beyond the Strasburgian otherworldly creatures that haunt my soul with their awesomeness)? And sure, his approach against hitters right now is very elementary. For example, one of the reasons for the high homerun rate is that he throws way too many hittable strikes to right-handed hitters. But in the end, this is a guy with definitive upside. The upside here for 2011 is a pitcher with a high 3′s or low 4′s ERA with a WHIP in the neighborhood of 1.30. Add that to a solid number of strikeouts (I’m thinking 140 or so in 160+ innings), and I’d suggest we all rub the lamp to see if this diamond in the rough can shine.

87. Michael Pineda, RHP, SEA (Rookie)
Defense: plus sign plus sign
Park Factor: plus sign
He’s more likely than most rookie pitchers to be an asset immediately as he possesses very good control to go with his excellent fastball. Combine that package with Safeco and the Mariners’ excellent defense and I think he could be a fantasy aid in WHIP and K sooner than later. I do believe he’ll be a bit homerun prone as he throws his fastball around the plate too much. Until he refines his secondary stuff, this is likely to be the case.

88. Mark Buehrle, LHP, CHW (4.28 ERA, 3.96 FIP, +0.32 Differential)
Defense: minus sign
Park Factor: minus sign minus sign
Like all the White Sox pitchers, I feel like you can expect them to do a little worse than you’d like given the poor park factor and negative defense. But still, you pretty much know what you’re getting with Buehrle – not many K’s along with some hope that he can out-produce his FIP due to solid fielding behind him. That hope should be slimmer than most this season if the poor defense holds up.

89. Randy Wells, RHP, CHC (4.26 ERA, 3.93 FIP, +0.33 Differential)
Defense: Neutral
Park Factor: minus sign minus sign
He’s a pretty decent pitcher. If he gets a full-time gig, he could put up another ERA near 4.00 with a WHIP in the mid-to-high 1.30′s and 140+ strikeouts. That’s not totally sneeze worthy in the right type of leagues. His upside is limited by Wrigley and a middling defense, though.

90. Wade Davis, RHP, TB (4.07 ERA, 4.83 FIP, -0.76 Differential)
Defense: plus sign plus sign
Park Factor: plus sign plus sign
He has no idea what he’s doing against lefties at the moment. Until he hones a change-up or his control begets command, I don’t think he’s a safe investment for much more than some strikeouts, extra Wins and the standard middling 4.00+ ERA/1.30′s WHIP.

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2011 Fantasy Baseball Closer Rankings

Here are my closer rankings for 2011 fantasy baseball. Some notes are included below, but if you really want to get to the analysis part of why each relief pitcher is ranked where he is, make sure to check out the AL Tiers of Relief Pitching, and similar NL Tiers of RP articles. I’ll be back to update these rankings later this month.

Rank Player Team
1 Heath Bell SD
2 Brian Wilson SF
3 Joakim Soria KC
4 Mariano Rivera NYY
5 Carlos Marmol CHC
Tier 2
6 Neftali Feliz TEX
7 Jonathan Papelbon BOS
8 Jonathan Broxton LAD
9 Andrew Bailey OAK
10 John Axford MIL
Tier 3
11 Francisco Rodriguez NYM
12 Joe Nathan MIN
13 Jose Valverde DET
14 Matt Thornton CHW
15 Huston Street COL
16 J.J. Putz ARI
17 Chris Perez CLE
18 Brad Lidge PHI
19 Craig Kimbrel ATL
20 Drew Storen WAS
  
Rank Player Team
Tier 4
21 Ryan Franklin STL
22 Francisco Cordero CIN
23 Daniel Bard BOS
24 Rafael Soriano NYY
25 Brandon League SEA
26 Aroldis Chapman CIN
27 Frank Francisco TOR
28 Leo Nunez FLA
29 Joel Hanrahan PIT
30 Jonny Venters ATL
31 Brandon Lyon HOU
32 David Aardsma SEA
33 Fernando Rodney LAA
34 Matt Capps MIN
35 Kevin Gregg BAL
Tier 5
36 Kyle Farnsworth TB
37 Hong-Chih Kuo LAD
38 Koji Uehara BAL
39 Chris Sale CHW
40 Jake McGee TB
  
Rank Player Team
41 Evan Meek PIT
42 Luke Gregerson SD
43 Kenley Jansen LAD
44 Joaquin Benoit DET
45 Ryan Madson PHI
46 Octavio Dotel TOR
47 Brian Fuentes OAK
48 Sergio Romo SF
49 Scott Downs LAA
50 Clay Hensley FLA
  • Two-time NL All-Star Heath Bell missed San Diego’s first seven exhibition games with a strained left calf, but threw 10 of 12 pitches for strikes in his first exhibition of the spring.
  • He may not be comfortable being called “The Mexicutioner” anymore because of increased violence in Mexico, but Joakim Soria should get used to being the Royals’ closer. The team has no plans on trading him before this season’s deadline.
  • If Neftali Feliz grabs a spot in the starting rotation, the favorites to step into the closer’s role for Texas are Mark Lowe, Alexi Ogando, and Darren O’Day.
  • Andrew Bailey is scheduled to appear in his first spring game this week, probably Thursday. Bailey had a minor elbow cleanup after last season, and the A’s primary backup is Brian Fuentes.
  • Joe Nathan pitched a perfect inning Friday for Minnesota in the closer’s second appearance in his comeback from major elbow surgery.
  • There’s no official word yet on the closer situation in Atlanta. For now, keep Kimbrel about a tier ahead of Jonny Venters.
  • No word on how fast he’s throwing this spring, but we all know Aroldis Chapman can reach 105 mph on the radar gun; this means that Francisco Corder (who blew eight saves in 2010) has a very tenuous hold on the closer job heading into 2011.
  • Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan could be a huge steal this season. He’s shown marked improvement over the past couple seasons and just has to fend off Evan Meek to hold onto the job. Meek was an All-star last year and should resume pitching soon after straining his calf, but he’s got some control issues that need to be resolved.
  • I have a feeling that Octavio Dotel is going to get pounded this season in Toronto. He’s in a tough division coming off a relatively lucky season (.269 BABIP), and he’s not a ground ball pitcher. As I said in the AL tiers piece, he’s worth a few bucks for his Ks, but don’t start him at home against power teams – he’s a pitcher’s park guy for sure.
  • Chris Sale is a talented kid, but the White Sox appear committed to Matt Thornton – who agreed to a $15 million, three-year contract Sunday that adds two years and $12 million to his previous deal. Thornton is 34, but he still sports one of the best fastballs in the game.

American League Tiers of Relief Pitching

Here is a detailed look at each relief pitcher in the American League with fantasy baseball significance as a closer or one who could assume the job down the road. This analysis, along with similar work in the National League Tiers or Relief Pitching, helped form my final mixed league closer rankings.

 
Tier 1 ($20+)*

* Dollar values represent estimates for AL-only leagues

Joakim Soria, KC – Even with the shoulder soreness he experienced last spring, Soria saved a career-high 43 games and struck out 9.73 batters per 9 innings – compiling a 1.78 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. Perhaps most significantly, he induced groundballs 48% of the time and kept his xFIP under 3.00 for the second straight season. There will always be concerns about drafting a closer on a poor team, but the only reason that’s a real concern is that stinky teams often have rubbish closers. Soria is a special pitcher who demonstrates his dominance whenever he gets the ball.

Mariano Rivera, NYY – Rivera didn’t post elite closer metrics in 2010, and his overall numbers, while decent, were buoyed by a 3.6% HR/FB rate and .222 BABIP – the third lowest of his career. Because he was relatively lucky when it came to keeping the ball in the park and getting a few more fly ball outs than normal, Rivera’s 1.80 ERA and 0.83 WHIP look a little better than they actually were. Most surprisingly, “Old Man” Rivera struggled to get batters out via the strikeout – and hitters made more contact with his darting cutter outside the zone (75.7%) than at any time in his storied career. He also threw fewer first strikes. Still – the 6.75 K/9 rate was in line with his modus operandi from 1998-2000, when he only whiffed about 6.38 hitters per 9 innings. I’m a little worried about last year’s 3.65 xFIP, but not enough to drop him out of the top tier.

 
Tier 2 ($15-19)

Neftali Feliz, TEX – Since Feliz is still being considered for a spot in the starting rotation, I’m wary of putting him in the top tier. While his overall fantasy value will improve if that’s the case, it’s always dangerous to mess with a guy’s head in Spring Training when it comes to the bullpen/rotation arm-lengthening process, especially when a pitcher is briefly considered then thrust right back into the closing role. There’s no denying his effectiveness; only Matt Thornton had a better fastball (20.3 >19.3) among relievers in 2010 – when Feliz posted 40 saves, a 2.73 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 9.22 K/9 and 3.94 K/BB. There’s a chance Feliz will get beat up a bit more this season, as he’s been remarkably lucky with regard to balls in play; his 2009 BABIP was .169 and last season, the figure was a still-low .224. I’m anticipating that number to trend closer to .275, and the ERA to bump over 3.00 this season. He’ll still get a lot of Ks and saves, but if pitching in Arlington half the time hasn’t caught up to the youngster yet, it promises to in the near future.

Jonathan Papelbon, BOS – Jonny Pap’s 2010 season was a disappointment; his 3.90 ERA and 1.27 WHIP were largely a result of an increased walk rate (3.76 BB/9 compared to his career rate of 2.59) and a HR/FB rate (9.1%) a few clicks above normal. In the past, Papelbon did an excellent job with runners on base, but his career LOB rate of 81.6% looks brilliant considering he only stranded 68.7% of base runners in 2010. With Daniel Bard beating down his door and Bobby Jenks in town to close games if needed, Papelbon will be on a short leash and could help yield a quality starter as the Sox approach the trading deadline. The good thing is that he’ll probably close out games wherever he ends up going, so he won’t lose too much value, but I can’t consider him an elite closer until he stops walking so many dudes.

Andrew Bailey, OAK – The 2009 AL Rookie of the Year dealt with an oblique strain last year and had a clean-up surgery on his elbow in September. The early word is that he’s approaching 100 percent and about 10 to 12 pounds lighter than last year after seeing some extra chunk on his frame in wedding photos. Along with the extra poundage, Bailey must have been toting around a horseshoe last season; despite a 3.80 xFIP and relatively low (7.71) K/9 rate, he posted a 1.47 ERA, albeit with just 25 saves in 49 innings. Despite the injury issues and one glaring red flag (.225 career BABIP), I’m still bullish on Bailey’s prospects this season because he’s got excellent command of his three pitches – a four-seam, mid-90s fastball, an effective curveball, and a solid cutter that treads about 89-92.

 
Tier 3 ($12-15)

Joe Nathan, MIN – Nathan is back from Tommy John surgery and looks good; he pitched a scoreless inning in his spring debut and said he felt fine. His fastball was running about 86-90 mph, only a few clicks below where it was in 2009 (93-94) before the elbow injury. While he’ll be the closer barring any setbacks, nobody’s expecting an immediate return to the dominant form he showed from 2004-09 with the Twins. Where he’ll go on draft day is anybody’s guess, but you shouldn’t have to reach for him before the fifth or sixth round in most formats.

Jose Valverde, DET – A strange thing happened to Valverde last season: he induced ground balls at an alarmingly high rate (54.7%), and his GB/FB ratio (1.69) was nearly twice that of his 2009 ratio (0.88). Whether this is a case of an old dog learning new tricks, or just a statistical anomaly will probably be settled this season, but career-highs for overall contact rate (74.7%) as well as zone contact rate (86.8%) indicate the veteran reliever is making a significant effort to pitch to contact. The .231 BABIP portends somewhat of a regression from last season’s 3.00 ERA, but since his career figure is just .265, it’s not a huge problem.

Matt Thornton, CHW – I really like what I’m seeing from Matt Thornton’s metrics: a gradually improving K/9 rate, acceptable BABIP levels, and ERA/FIP/xFIP lines under 3.00 (in every circumstance) for the past three seasons. As I mentioned before, his fastball is the best among major league relievers (20.3 in 2010), and he throws it almost exclusively (90.1%). Being a one-pitch closer doesn’t work for everybody, but when your fastball is as good as Thornton’s, it’s okay to forget the curveball… and give ‘em the heater!!!

Chris Perez, CLE – The man who was developed as the Cardinals’ “closer-of-the-future” became the man for the Tribe when he was dealt in June 2009 and Kerry Wood got injured in Spring Training last season. He got the job done in 2010, but there are some reasons to be cautious heading into another full season. First, his 1.71 ERA belied some sinister figures, including an xFIP of 4.30 and .222 BABIP. His HR/FB rate was also unsustainably low at 5.5%, which means that some of those line drives and fly balls are bound to find gaps and escape the yard in 2011. He’ll probably cost you a pretty penny based on last years numbers, so don’t be too freaked out if you miss out on him and end up with a few of the more save-challenged but no more uncertain bargains in the next tier.

 
Tier 4 ($8-11)

Daniel Bard, BOS – I thought the Bosox would have dealt Papelbon last season before the trading deadline, but he’s still the closer. That leaves Bard, along with the guy that’s next in this tier, among the best two setup men in baseball, let alone the AL East. It just doesn’t get much better than Bard’s fastball/slider combo, and it’s a safe bet that his K/9 rate will be over 10.0 again this season.

Rafael Soriano, NYY – I have a feeling that Soriano will be tough to acquire in many drafts, but if folks over think the fact that he’s no longer a closer, you might be able to get him for a song. With talent like this, the Yankees will be using him frequently to give Rivera some extra time off, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a few two-inning saves after some late Yankee scoring counterfeits the necessity of Rivera.

Brandon League, SEA – With David Aardsma just getting off crutches, League will be the front runner to close out games for the Mariners. With his velocity, you’d expect League to miss more bats, but the secret to his success lies in getting mostly ground balls (career 3.09 GB/FB rate). If he can raise his K/9 a bit, he could hold onto the job for a while.

Frank Francisco, TOR – He’s the closer for the Blue Jays, and he’s still capable of striking guys out. Francisco has some competition if he struggles, namely Octavio Dotel and Jon Rauch, but his blown saves over the past few years have largely been due to bad luck; his ERA/FIP/xFIP have all remained under 4.00 since 2007.

David Aardsma, SEA – Nobody knows for sure when Aardsma will begin throwing after receiving hip surgery this December, but he could battle for the closer’s job once he comes off the DL in 2011. He wasn’t as spectacular in 2010 as his ’09 breakout, but his status is worth watching, as most expect him to be back at some point after April and before the All-Star break.

Fernando Rodney, LAA – Despite a career WHIP of 1.44, Rodney continues to get opportunities to close games, but if he can’t cut down on his walk rate, his days working the ninth are numbered. An additional concern is that Rodney’s K/9 rate is declining. Scott Downs offers a better option than Rodney.

Matt Capps, MIN – Capps doesn’t get a lot of strikeouts (career 6.97 K/9), but last season he induced more ground balls and pitched more effectively with runners on base. He’ll be the Twins eighth-inning guy unless there’s a problem with Nathan.

Kevin Gregg, BAL – Gregg has jumped around a lot since 2006, and he’s now pitching for his fifth team in six seasons. There’s nothing in his career numbers to indicate he can be elite, and since 2007 when he became a closer for the Marlins, he’s racked up 26 blown saves. I’d prefer the battle to be between strike-out heavy lefty Mike Gonzalez and Koji Uehara, but there’s no word on whether or not Buck Showalter understands sabermetrics.

 
Tier 5 ($3-7)

Kyle Farnsworth, TB – It looks like Joe Maddon is leaning toward a closer-by-committee situation, which might be the best approach considering Tampa’s list of shaky bullpen options. A whopping seven of the eight pitchers who worked the bulk of relief innings for the Rays are gone, and while team officials claim to be pleased with the likes of Farnsworth, Joel Peralta and Adam Russell, there’s still a lot of question marks. Farnsworth is the closest they have to a proven closer, but lefty Jake McGee will probably inherit the job at some point.

Koji Uehara, BAL – Uehara was scratched from his scheduled appearance Thursday after receiving a cortisone shot in his elbow and seems to have lost his lead on the closer battle. He’s struggled through injuries the past couple years but was incredibly effective last season out of the bullpen (11.25 K/9, 11.0 K/BB, 0.95 WHIP, 2.86 ERA, 2.91 xFIP).

Chris Sale, CHW – Kenny Williams and Ozzie Guillen might want to consult with Brian Cashman on how to deal with Sale, as they’ve already started pondering some Joba-like questions regarding his use in the bullpen or as a starter. For now, he’ll be in the bullpen competing with Thornton for the closing job. Expect about a strikeout per inning and a solid ERA, but don’t plan on any saves unless Thornton implodes.

Jake McGee, TB – McGee is worth watching as the season approaches, but don’t spend too much money on him. He’s largely untested and hasn’t been named the closer.

Joaquin Benoit, DET – He was unhittable last season pitching for the Rays, and the Tigers have invested a lot in his future in Detroit. If Valverde encounters any trouble, he’ll be the first they turn to.

Scott Downs, LAA – Downs should get first crack at the Angels’ closer job if (when?) something goes wrong with the volatile Fernando Rodney. It’s either him or Kevin Jepsen. Stay tuned.

Brian Fuentes, OAK – Andrew Bailey isn’t the healthiest guy in the world, and Fuentes has a lot of experience as a closer. If you’re grabbing Bailey, Fuentes makes sense as a handcuff.

Octavio Dotel, TOR – Dotel’s still got bat-missing ability and could get the nod in the ninth should Francisco and/or Rauch not work out. He’ll give up a few more homers this season, but he’s easily worth a couple bucks in auction leagues.

Top Prospects—Heyward, Strasburg Making An Impact In 2010

On our Consensus Top Prospects list there are nine prospects that stand out from the crowd. These nine are all players expected to spend some time with their big league club this season and five are likely to make an impact. Let’s take a closer examination of these nine and their role in the majors.

Jason Heyward, OF, ATL—This guy has superstar written all over him. He’s so good, Atlanta won’t be able to send him down to the minors to start 2010 so they can save money on him as he goes through arbitration. He won’t flash his power this season, but he will be a solid contributor and will be the full time guy in right field. If you are in a keeper league, this is an “all-in” situation.

Stephen Strasburg, P, WAS—Here is another guy who looks like a future superstar. Leo Mazzone referred to Strasburg’s delivery as “easy gas”, so his mechanics shouldn’t be a problem that can cause injuries. He’s another “all-in” guy for keeper leagues.

Jesus Montero, C, NYY—Montero is the only guy of the nine that might not see time on his Major League squad this season. Think Mike Piazza with this kid in terms of ability with a bat and behind the plate. That being said, he might find himself at a different position than catcher.

Buster Posey, C, SF—Unlike Montero, Posey will stick at catcher and will be up for good this season. The power is mediocre, but the average will be high. Think Joe Mauer-like potential with less power.

Desmond Jennings, OF, TB—Jennings is a 5-tool athlete who will be Tampa’s centerfielder of the future. The only question is when he’ll be centerfielder of the present. The assumption is that Carl Crawford will be too expensive to resign and B.J. Upton will be moved over to left field to make room for Jennings. He has speed, power and a contact bat.

Michael Stanton, OF, FLA—Though his time with the Marlins this season will be limited, Stanton should be up for good next year. He’s a serious power bat, but strikeouts will be a concern.

Carlos Santana, C, CLE—Santana is an all around hitter with power and patience. His defense is solid, but the Indians might hold him down for another year to improve this part of his game.

Brian Matusz, P, BAL—He has great command of four plus pitches. With Kevin Millwood to mentor him, Matusz should be on the right track to becoming an elite MLB pitcher.

Neftali Feliz, P, TEX—Very raw and still developing, but dominated in his time in the Rangers bullpen last year. Feliz might be in the bullpen again in 2010, but his future is in the rotation.

Consensus Top Baseball Prospects

Cheatsheet Compiler & Draft Buddy BaseballJust who are the top baseball prospects you should be targetting for your keeper league fantasy teams? Allow me to introduce the 2010 Consensus Top Prospects List to help answer that question.

This list is compiled from ten different Top 100 prospect ranking lists. Each list is identified below.

Players were given 100 points for a 1st place ranking, 99 points for second, 98 for third and on and on down to 1 point for a ranking of 100 from each of the respective prospect lists. Our consensus list is ranked by each player’s average score from highest to lowest.

Players had to be named on at least five of the lists to make the final cut. Ninety-six players were named at least five times to form our consensus list.

I realize this simple system has the potential to skew the results of those picked on fewer lists, but overall this presents a good snapshot of the guys you should target for your rosters. 

Top 100 Prospect Lists
BA = Baseball America
DB = Dobber Baseball
HBT = Hardball Times
JS = John Sickels
KG = Kevin Goldstein
   KL = Keith Law
MLBP = Minor League Baseball Prospects
MF = MLB Fanhouse
PP = Project Prospect
TPA = Top Prospect Alert

Rank Player BA DB HBT JS KG KL MLBP MF PP TPA Average
1 Jason Heyward, OF, ATL 100 99 100 100 99 100 100 98 100 99 99.5
2 Stephen Strasburg, P, WSH 99 100 99 99 100 99 99 100 97 100 99.2
3 Jesus Montero, C, NYY 97 92 98 96 97 91 98 96 98 95 95.8
4 Buster Posey, C, SF 94 96 90 97 92 97 96 94 93 97 94.6
5 Desmond Jennings, OF, TB 95 80 97 95 94 95 93 97 99 92 93.7
6 Michael Stanton, OF, FLA 98 88 86 91 96 96 97 99 86 98 93.5
7 Carlos Santana, C, CLE 91 94 94 94 93 98 94 85 96 90 92.9
8 Brian Matusz, P, BAL 96 97 95 93 83 90 91 93 94 94 92.6
9 Neftali Feliz, P, TEX 92 89 98 98 88 76 95 87 96 91
10 Pedro Alvarez, 3B, PIT 93 81 91 92 95 66 88 88 89 93 87.6
11 Madison Bumgarner, P, SF 87 98 96 84 80 73 90 87 78 91 86.4
12 Dustin Ackley, OF, SEA 90 83 49 90 89 93 95 83 95 89 85.6
13 Justin Smoak, 1B, TEX 88 70 93 84 84 92 86 79 92 87 85.5
14 Martin Perez, P, TEX 84 66 88 86 86 94 61 92 75 80 81.2
15 Alcides Escobar, SS, MIL 89 95 70 72 82 47 78 81 90 84 78.8
16 Chris Carter, 1B, OAK 73 76 85 90 68 84 75 76 78 78.33
17 Domonic Brown, OF, PHI 86 76 36 82 77 87 92 82 77 88 78.3
18 Wade Davis, P, TB 67 90 65 88 67 86 59 84 73 79 75.8
19 Jeremy Hellickson, P, TB 83 61 82 89 88 84 58 91 24 85 74.5
20 Aroldis Chapman, P, CIN 79 72 40 87 91 85 65 69 71 73.22
21 Logan Morrison, 1B, FLA 81 75 83 77 51 80 66 50 82 86 73.1
22 Brett Wallace, 1B, TOR 74 91 74 54 57 81 79 73 72 73 72.8
23 Starlin Castro, SS, CHC 85 68 57 68 64 89 57 90 65 83 72.6
24 Micheal Taylor, OF, OAK 72 64 38 79 81 77 81 63 88 75 71.8
25 Casey Kelly, P, BOS 77 69 66 60 71 83 73 77 66 65 70.7
26 Ryan Westmoreland, OF, BOS 80 62 64 87 69 67 62 74 70 70.56
27 Kyle Drabek, P, TOR 76 87 39 67 85 61 89 86 29 81 70
28 Aaron Hicks, OF, MIN 82 77 48 62 75 82 63 61 51 77 67.8
29 Christian Friedrich, P, COL 68 48 87 46 79 65 87 89 13 69 65.1
30 Derek Norris, C, WSH 63 53 56 61 73 70 68 66 70 53 63.3
31 Matt Moore, P, TB 66 84 58 75 60 21 69 67 62.5
32 Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B, CLE 70 67 60 56 58 75 70 33 60 66 61.5
33 Mike Montgomery, P, KC 62 60 47 71 65 26 64 67 49 74 58.5
34 Jarrod Parker, P, ARZ 65 40 22 49 64 85 80 35 82 58
35 Josh Bell, 3B, BAL 64 89 29 62 40 39 59 85 48 57.22
36 Tyler Matzek, P, COL 78 44 80 63 78 79 17 7 48 76 57
37 Yonder Alonso, 1B, CIN 56 78 50 49 25 71 44 84 55 56.89
38 Freddie Freeman, 1B, ATL 69 46 64 60 50 34 83 52 28 68 55.4
39 Devaris Gordon, SS, LAD 55 6 66 74 62 52 57 62 54.25
40 Dan Hudson, P, CWS 35 86 30 57 48 69 71 35 53.88
41 Jenrry Mejia, P, NYM 45 23 75 78 53 78 45 78 1 61 53.7
42 Jacob Turner, P, DET 75 77 65 76 21 11 27 72 53
43 Donavan Tate, OF, SD 48 32 92 52 72 49 64 20 45 52.67
44 Jaff Decker, OF, SD 19 68 13 27 74 80 83 52
45 Hector Rondon, P, CLE 62 84 40 50 18 57 51.83
46 Fernando Martinez, OF, NYM 24 44 73 21 28 77 68 91 30 50.67
47 Brett Lawrie, 2B, MIL 42 69 76 2 54 82 14 61 46 49.56
48 Micheal Saunders, OF, SEA 71 85 33 39 27 44 71 31 38 48.78
49 Shelby Miller, P, STL 51 49 73 8 63 63 42 41 48.75
50 Josh Vitters, 3B, CHC 31 37 70 71 72 48 12 48.71
51 Casey Crosby, P, DET 54 14 25 83 69 56 56 19 51 47.44
52 Arodys Vizcaino, P, ATL 32 34 56 58 57 47.4
53 Jhoulys Chacin, P, COL 30 10 81 59 53 75 12 80 10 45.56
54 Tanner Scheppers, P, TEX 59 8 81 33 23 70 40 40 44.25
55 Jason Castro, C, HOU 60 1 52 48 1 36 65 74 54 49 44
56 Todd Frazier, SS, CIN 58 9 50 34 35 38 45 68 59 44
57 Julio Teheran, P, ATL 50 43 44 68 38 41 27 15 60 42.89
58 Austin Jackson, OF, DET 25 71 31 52 31 36 76 3 58 42.56
59 Tim Beckham, SS, TB 34 52 26 47 72 54 24 25 41.75
60 Carlos Triunfel, SS, SEA 16 59 57 48 28 41.6
61 Wilson Ramos, C, MIN 43 41 36 59 23 35 42 47 40.75
62 Phillippe Aumont, P, PHI 8 47 23 72 52 40.4
63 Simon Castro, P, SD 44 37 53 54 55 22 14 39.86
64 Jordan Lyles, P, HOU 10 63 61 41 74 2 21 38.86
65 Aaron Crow, P KC 61 13 17 47 14 47 47 63 38.63
66 Matt Dominguez, 3B, FLA 5 39 39 55 52 38
67 Zach Britton, P, BAL 38 22 43 28 76 2 46 50 32 37.44
68 Tyler Flowers, C, CWS 41 59 72 29 43 9 34 23 26 37.33
69 Alex White, P, CLE 36 46 41 24 37 36.8
70 Mike Moustakas, 3B, KC 21 45 78 22 32 29 30 33 36.25
71 Chris Withrow, P, LAD 53 17 80 61 18 1 36 23 36.13
72 Mike Trout, OF, LAA 16 9 51 48 52 50 49 47 3 36.11
73 Mike Leake, P, CIN 29 41 28 42 29 26 40 81 7 35.89
74 Grant Green, SS, OAK 49 31 53 70 15 8 14 37 19 54 35
75 Wilmer Flores, SS, NYM 13 15 21 58 17 60 46 50 35
76 Lars Anderson, 1B, BOS 14 67 45 36 13 35
77 Jake Arrieta, P, BAL 2 73 35 55 31 11 40 53 43 5 34.8
78 Ike Davis, 1B, NYM 39 7 35 14 37 62 43 44 27 34.22
79 Zach Stewart, P, TOR 69 46 4 41 11 34.2
80 Ben Revere, OF, MIN 36 16 55 60 21 15 33.83
81 Hank Conger, C, LAA 17 55 33 47 20 49 34 13 14 39 32.1
82 Reid Brignac, SS, TB 47 24 32 27 29 31.8
83 Jared Mitchell, OF, CWS 46 14 40 6 10 46 56 31.14
84 Zack Wheeler, P, SF 52 79 10 13 17 4 37 30.29
85 Josh Reddick, OF, BOS 26 34 25 43 25 28 30.17
86 Jiovanni Mier, SS, HOU 28 61 11 4 7 51 37 42 30.13
87 James Darnell, 3B, SD 11 5 16 37 79 29.6
88 Jose Tabata, OF, PIT 65 18 11 44 33 32 8 20 28.88
89 Drew Storen, P, WSH 9 74 41 9 3 22 43 28.71
90 Kyle Gibson, P, MIN 40 11 30 12 15 64 28.67
91 Nick Hagadone, P, BOS 57 54 10 1 8 36 27.67
92 Jay Jackson, P, CHC 3 38 32 51 10 26.8
93 Ryan Kalish, OF, BOS 56 27 25 15 6 21 25
94 Tony Sanchez, C, PIT 22 23 26 19 6 26 59 4 23.13
95 Brett Jackson, OF, CHC 27 5 19 29 18 19.6
96 Trevor Reckling, P, LAA 2 12 1 9 24 3 34 12.14