.jpg&w=244&h=193&zc=1 "Star's Shares: 5/14/13")
Fantasy Baseball 2013: Tiers, Not Fears (Closers)
Yuck it up Mo’, you still the shit
Photo Credit: Keith Allison
In the final installment of “Tiers, Not Fears,” we have landed at relief pitching. A lot of fantasy owners hate having to deal with closers, but not me. While you read a lot of “don’t pay for saves” idioms being thrown out there, the fact is, if you play in a league that uses closers, you HAVE to pay for saves. Me? I cast a wide net and try to come away with at least four (but preferably five) closers to ensure I have some insurance.
Sure there is a ton of turnover at the position, and you will probably watch at least one of your draft/auction day closers shit the bed or get hurt at some point. That’s even more of a reason to pick up a bunch of ninth inning options in your drafts and auctions. Trying to scour the waiver wire for saves is a frustrating endeavor in competitive leagues, as all the best handcuffs are usually rostered. You become a slave to fantasy news information sites, looking for every edge you can get. Then you end up picking up, like, eight relievers in the hopes that you can scrape up enough saves to stay in the race. Don’t be that guy. Suck it up, pay for saves, and win your goddamn league.
More after the jump:
The “Closest To A Guarantee” Generals
These two are the closest thing to a guarantee at the closer position. And yes, I understand Mariano is 43 years old. Blow me.
1. Craig Kimbrel
2. Mariano Rivera
The “Second Level” Locals
These dudes are next up on the closer ranks. Rodney and Papelbon will cost you a pretty penny. Holland is a popular closer too, but his price tag is cheaper and he’s the only one I’d really feel comfortable drafting out of this group (if only because I would hate to allot so much money to the other three).
3. Fernando Rodney
4. Jonathan Papelbon
5. Greg Holland
The “Somewhat Safe” Syndicate
There’s really no such thing as a “safe” closer, but these guys have a good amount of leash and are talented enough to perform as RP1s. Problem is, they won’t come cheap (and thus, none of these guys will end up on my team unless their price plummets).
6. John Axford
7. Rafael Soriano
8. Joe Nathan
9. J.J. Putz
The “Talented, Yet Relatively Vulnerable” Villains
The players in this tier all have the ability to put up great numbers in the closer role, but there’s a touch of uncertainty surrounding them. None of the dudes in this tier have much pressure from other late-inning arms on their team, but they’re just not as sure a bet as the players in the above tiers. Still, I’m willing to spend the money/pick necessary to land Frieri, Johnson, Reed, and Street (the others I’ll probably pass on, unless the price is right).
10. Sergio Romo
11. Glen Perkins
12. Addison Reed
13. Ernesto Frieri
14. Jim Johnson
15. Huston Street
16. Tom Wilhelmsen
The “Over The Shoulder Peeking” Posse
The closers in this tier don’t have the type of job security you like to see from a closer. Aside from Betancourt and Rondon, all the dudes in this tier have someone with closing experience setting up for them. Betancourt finds himself on this tier because he’s 38 years old and, frankly, I don’t know if he can be as effective in 2013. Rondon is a bit of an unknown quantity as he has no big-league experience (but has the makeup and skill-set of a closer).
17. Joel Hanrahan
18. Jason Grilli
19. Grant Balfour
20. Rafael Betancourt
21. Bruce Rondon
The “Cheap For A Reason” Renegades
Perez is actually quite costly considering he’s already dealing with a shoulder issue (he’s going amongst the top 15 closers on draft day), so I’d stay away. Marmol, Broxton, League, and Parnell could all lose their jobs to a teammate. Cishek and Veras benefit from not having much competition for the ninth-inning gig on their respective squads, but both are very low-end options who sneak onto this tier because they will be saving games at the start of 2013 (though to be fair, their crazy-cheap price tags mean I’ll likely end up with one of them in a couple of leagues).
22. Carlos Marmol
23. Chris Perez
24. Jonathan Broxton
25. Brandon League
26. Steve Cishek
27. Jose Veras
28. Casey Janssen
29. Bobby Parnell
The “Handcuff” Hooligans
Should the closers ahead of any of these guys falter, expect these dudes to step up and seize the role. They are all worthy of being paired with their closer teammate as insurance.
30. Sergio Santos
31. Jason Motte
32. Frank Francisco
33. Kenley Jansen
34. Kyuji Fujikawa
35. Vinnie Pestano
36. Rex Brothers
The “Could Be Closers” Congregation
All of these players could find themselves seeing save opportunities in 2013. You don’t have to draft them, but definitely keep all these names in mind.
37. Ryan Madson
38. Luke Gregerson
39. Sean Doolittle
40. Andrew Bailey
41. Mark Melancon
42. Drew Storen
43. Ryan Cook
44. Wesley Wright
45. David Hernandez
46. Jake McGee
47. David Robertson
48. Brandon Lyon
49. Bryan Morris
50. Sean Marshall
*Last updated 3/27/13.
A week later and Motte is lost. I picked up R. Cook, but Balfour looks healthy. Would you consider Coke or even Valverde? I need one more closer--Santos is on the wire. Any suggestions?
@Traveller23 Frank Francisco if he's out there. Threw a bullpen session, should be back in about two weeks, and I'd be surprised if he didn't get his closing job back (Parnell kinda sucks). Otherwise, I'd pick up Santos. Janssen is coming off shoulder surgery, so even though he's healthy now, I can't see him staying on the field all season.
I think Axford should be the next tier down, and Romo should be waaaay higher. And no Castilla on the Giants mention? Other than that, great work as usual!
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@CollegeWolf I put Axford in the tier because of job security and great swing-and-miss ability. Romo worries me because he throws a ton of sliders and Bochy has already indicated he may sit him more often than one would a closer in order to keep his arm fresh. I thought about Castilla, but I think the other dudes all stand a better chance of getting saves.
