Closers are the most overrated players in fantasy baseball. The good ones deliver strong contributions to one category, but generally pitch less than five innings per week.
During drafts, I usually ignore the position until the late rounds. Despite this strategy, my teams are usually very strong in the saves category. In fact, my teams have finished tied-first, second, first and first in saves over the last four seasons in my 10-team roto keeper league.
How is this possible you ask? It’s simple really. Let me run some numbers by you…
Over the past few weeks, we’ve announced the top 90 players on our 2011 big board. Click on each player’s name for a more in-depth analysis, including 2011 projections!
Carlos Marmol had one of the most mind-boggling seasons in 2010 among any position. His strikeout total of 138 was higher than that of 10 starters who logged at least 200 innings. His strikeout rate (15.99) was the highest among both starters and relievers in at least 40 years (I called off the search after 1970).
Marmol's contact rate (61.3 percent) was by far the best among pitchers who logged at least 60 innings last season. He also boasted the best slider in the majors, checking it at 19.0 runs above average. Marmol ranked eighth in saves with 38, and his FIP (2.01) actually suggests he was better than his 2.55 ERA indicates...
Over the last three years, only five closers have recorded at least 30 saves each season (Jonathan Papelbon, Francisco Cordero, Mariano Rivera, Joakim Soria and Brian Wilson). This fact alone illustrates the high turnover rate at this unstable position.
With nearly half of baseball's 30 teams likely to start 2011 with a new closer, it's important for fantasy managers to brush up on the bullpens in transition.
Every week during the 2011 season, I'll update the Closer's Corner as ninth-inning roles change hands. In the meantime, I'll post updates as free agents continue to sign and spring training battles become more clear...
Game No. 11 in our journey to score 162 games this baseball season featured the Brewers and Cubs in an exciting finish at Wrigley Field.
Game No. 11 – Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs
Randy Wells was the story of the first half of this game, striking out six batters through four, all against the Brewers’ one through three batters (Rickie Weeks, Corey Hart, Ryan Braun).
With two outs in the fifth, Rickie Weeks worked a nine-pitch at-bat, forcing Wells to labor for the first time all day. After fouling off three pitches and running the count full, Weeks delivered the Brewers’ first runs of the day, whacking a two-run double into the left-field corner that tied the game...
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
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