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…
To help keep fantasy managers on top of injuries this spring, Fantasy Baseball Insiders has launched a team-by-team injury report. This list will be updated every night so you can stay up to date on current injuries. Bookmark this page for an easy return. This is a must have as you prepare for your upcoming draft!
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...
After scoring one game each of the first six days of the 2010 baseball season, Fantasy Baseball Insiders took on an even more impressive task on Saturday. On a day full of exciting matchups, the Insiders scored three games from start to finish, making for the most in-depth update of the young season.
Game No. 7 – Chicago Cubs vs. Cincinnati Reds
Kosuke Fukudome went 1-for-4 with a two-run bomb off Reds’ starter Aaron Harang in the fourth inning, his first of the year. The Cubs’ right fielder just missed another homer in the sixth, chasing Jay Bruce to the wall in right field...
New day, new insider. Fantasy Baseball Insiders’ sixth game of the season was the season opener at Comerica Park featuring the Tigers and the visiting Indians.
Game No. 6 – Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers
Friday’s game featured few hits, few strikeouts and one enormous error by third baseman Jhonny Peralta.
Grady Sizemore finished with two hits and a stolen base. One of the hits was a rope off the wall for a triple. Grady is now batting .316 on the season and just may be on his way back to prominence...
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
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